Don't do bankruptcy.... yeah its a quick easy fix it seems like... but you can't lease an apartment or if anything happened and you had to get credit for something for an emergancy you're screwed.. for at least 2 years... and with the new laws, its harder than before to declare bankruptcy... its almost better to go behind on your payments and pay it when you can than to build back up from a bankruptcy... talk to a lawyer... there might be options you are not aware of... and maybe even talk to who you owe money to and see if they will set up a new payment arrangement... but don't settle with the first peorson you ask that too and they say no.. dig further into the company see if you can speak with someone higher up with more authority... Other than that, I don't know what to tell ya.... Good Luck with it all though!!