[ronp]

(presuming you are in the US) : If you are under crushing debt, go see a bankruptcy attorney. There are some kinds of debt that can help (like credit cards, judgments, contracts) but some it can't (like student loans, child support and maintenance). As an attorney I have seen plenty of people in bad situations that were just made unbearable by a debt load, and have seen them thrive once that monkey was off their backs. It's no fun, but it's a rational solution to that part of your problems. You can't start your next chapter if you're paralyzed by debt. If you are in the kind of straits you say you are, your credit rating is crap anyway, so what's to lose? Get a fresh start.