I was 19, thought I was in love, and stupid. I was working a 40 hour work week at a really evil outsourced call center. I was taking calls for Chase credit card applications. Every day I heard people's sob stories of how their credit card company raised their credit rating and they were having to pay enormous monthly payments. What drew people to apply for Chase cards was the fact that our cards had a 7.99% fixed APR and they could also apply for a balance transfer on their application. Sounds like a great deal right? Little did people know that Chase would approve these customers with a low credit limit which meant that they would receive a partial balance transfer, which meant that their debt hadn't been consolidated, it had just been seperated out even more. Another issue was that, if someone made a late payment on this account or any other account, the APR would rise to over 25%. Knowing as much as I did about all of this, you would think that I would steer clear of credit cards. One day, I walked into a Bank of America to sign up for new checking and savings accounts. I sat down with a banker and while he was processing my paperwork, he looked up at me in amazement and said, "You have a credit score of 796! I don't know how that is possible for a 19-year-old but you do! You've been instantly approved for a $3,000 credit line!" Being as knowledgeable as I thought I was about credit cards, not to mention scared of them, I said, "I don't need a credit card." But the banker retorted, "This credit can just act as a safety net. If you happen to overdraw your checking account, it will just come out of your credit card." Well that sounded alright with me. I knew that it was sometimes hard to keep track of spending with a debit card and if I slipped a little bit into the red zone, it would be nice to not have to pay a $30 overdraft fee. So I accepted and took the credit card. Now was the oppurtunity to brag about my incredible credit score: 796. My sister had a friend that worked for AT&T Wireless and I made the mistake of bragging to him about my excellent credit. He said that I should try to apply to get a cell phone, so I did. I was approved for 2 phone lines with no deposit and a free phone of my choice. Woo hoo!!! I picked the least expensive plan, one that I could afford without having to use my new credit card. Later, I decided to move in with my boyfriend who was unemployed. I was still working for the outsourced call center, making minimum wage ($7.96/hr), and supporting my boyfriend and myself. My boyfriend decided he needed to get high speed internet. We started off with a low introductory rate and luckily we put it in my boyfriend's name. Time went on, stress levels rised, and then a phone bill came in the mail. It was for $2,000. I had stupidly not paid enough attention to my contract and did not realize that I didn't have a nationwide plan that allowed me to travel outside Portland and make calls. I panicked. There was no way I was going to be able to pay this. I called Cingular and they said that they would not waive the charge because I had been late on my bills in the past. I didn't know what to do. I was in a state of shock and panic. I decided to just pretend it had never happened. Eventually, my bill went to collections. I just pretended the notices were junk mail and threw them away. I started receiving phone calls from debt collectors. Eventually, a debt collector named Cathy started to call. She had such a warm, friendly voice and I didn't feel as threatened by her. I told her about my untouched $3,000 line of credit and she told me that I would be better off paying off the debt with AT&T because I could pay my credit card monthly and not be delinquent. It sounded smart to me, so I did it. I then received a bill from the credit card. The minimum payment was $200. I couldn't afford it! I couldn't afford anything anymore. I didn't know what to do. I broke up with my boyfriend and moved away to a different house. I didn't forward my address and I got a new phone number. I have no idea how much I owe now, but I'm scared to death to find out. I know it only started out at $2,000 that I owed, but who knows how much it has grown over the years. That all happened when I was 19. Now I am 24 and still as clueless and broke as ever.