All about Finance and Insurance

I’m trying to repay my debt but I am having a very hard time. I have about 40k in debt including interest I’ve accumulated (over estimate, to be safe) most of which is 1 private and 1 federal student loan (probably 35k worth) and the rest are utility bills that are years past due. I’m in my twenties, not a home owner, and currently not a student. Most all of, if not all of, these debts have already gone to collections. I work a job with unsteady hours so I’m never sure how much my pay check will actually be for, this makes it very difficult to budget. Not to mention, I simply don’t make much money. I’ve been actively looking for a higher paying and steadier job but haven’t had luck, yet.

I was wondering if debt consolidation would be a good option for me. I’m wary because so many other people here on yahoo answers have said that they are scams that ruin your credit rating and leave you owing more than you originally did. Is this true? If so, are there other ways to consolidate your debt that are safer? I’m told bankruptcy isn’t an option for me because it will not cover student loans, the vast majority of my debt. Is this true? My biggest worry is my student loans, I feel confident that I could pay off my past due utility bills.

So my main question here is, what is the best option for an impoverished twenty something to pay off crippling student loan debt?

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