I think everyone runs their cards to the limi tthe first time they get them. Be thankful yo uhave low limits.

I did that too when I first got mine. I looked at my bill when it all added up and was like "Holy S*&^$(*&. This has to add up wrong." then I added it up and was liek "aww...damn." I jsut started working a whole bunch of extra hours and stopped buying stuff, and it helped to clear that 1.5k in what now seems like no time at all. (I think it was like 2 months or something).

Pay it off; learn your lesson; continue using credit cards, but intelligently. You'll thank yourself later.

I'm 21 and when was looking for car financing, got a 5.35% interest rate because my credit score is above 810. I've never had a "big ticket" item before now, and the only other thing that I've ever had other than a CC was a $5k small business loan which I paid back in 2 years.

To put that number above in perspective, the US government (whose debt is supposed to be as close to "riskless" as you can get) pays about 4.75%.

With no credit, I coudl have ended up having to pay 10% interest (in teh best case) or more like 17% interest. this translates to LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS (I cannot impress this upon you enough) AND LOTS of unneeded finance charges.

Stick with it, boost. Get your head back above water and then go from there. Having a CC and managing it responsibly will help you immensely in teh future. Plus, it's nice to know that you have the extra spending capability "just in case" (in case of emergency, not frivolous spending).