- House comes first, call your mortgage servicer and first ask for forebearance, allowing you to skip payments with the missed principal and interest tacked onto the end of the loan. You should have done this well before now, but that’s water under the bridge. It would help to know if you’re in a recourse state, and how far behind you actually have fallen. A loan modification could be in order, if you’re in a recourse state. If no-recourse, I wouldn’t trade away my legal right to walk if necessary.
- Transportation comes second. If you owe a note on your car or cars, you have much less leverage, and they will repossess if you miss more than two months. Get that straightened out. Again, hiding from your creditors, while understandable, is very bad. Most reputable lenders don’t actually want to take on the added difficulty and expense. But, with a vehicle, the fuse is fairly short.
- Credit cards, etcetera ... how far behind are you and how much do you owe? Your credit is already trashed, evidently. With universal default, the rate(s) are likely upwards of 25%. I, myself, would never do this, but it very well could be practical to just default.
- Utilities and such do not typically affect your credit score, but do have a grave impact upon your ability to live in your dwelling. Negotiate a repayment schedule.
- Taxes in arrears can be a real nightmare. But, again, repayment can be negotiated.
In general, don’t reestablish your liability for debt that has been passed on to a collection agency, in word or in writing.
Many of these debt couselor services are scams. Going to one is going to ding your credit even more than it already has been.
Beyond this, I don’t know what to say other than good luck, and congratulations upon finding employment in this environment. I went through the same thing last year, but did not run through all my emergency fund before taking a job with a former customer at a big cut in pay. I do know how it feels, though, and had to think through how to handle financial matters spiralling out of control. They never did for me, fortunately, but the above is what I determined at the time.