Progress

At the start of this year, we had five open credit cards. We plan on keeping two open (for now). One has a zero balance, and the other is maxed out, but has a low interest rate and is backed by our local credit union. The other three were burdens on our family, nicknamed "The Big Three" by the hubby and me. We have managed to negotiate the interest rate on one of the cards (which dropped it 20%), and today, on one of "The Big Three," we have managed to settle our account, pay less than what the balance was, and are officially paid off on that card. You see all of these companies on TV telling you to pay them big $$$ to settle your debts for you. I simply called this credit card company, told them what we were dealing with, and asked for a debt settlement on the card, knowing that it would hit my already abysmal credit, and they happily accepted and reduced the balance by $600. Normally, I would be opposed to paying less than what I owed out of ethics and principle, but we have been paying more than the minimum payment on this card for years now, and the balance never seems to drop, so I felt I was getting rooked, and quite honestly, didn't mind the idea of screwing them back a bit.
But, at the end of the day, I took matters into my own hands, bit the bullet, put on my big girl panties, and now officially have one of "The Big Three" paid in full (and also, all of those three cards are closed, as well).
If you know me at all, you have an idea how tremendous this is for me right now. :)