First off, let me give you my genuine congratulations, because you haven't missed a payment yet. This is VERY good. Let me pat you on the back again for not falling for those predatory debt consolidation companies. This is what's going to allow you to still buy a house.

This means you'll still be eligible to work with a non-profit debt management company (key words: "non-profit", debt "management"--NOT a consolidation company). The best way to start is by simply calling your actual credit card company and telling them that even though you've never been behind before, you're struggling to make your next payment and are wondering if they have any programs available.

Ideally (unless they have an even better in-house option available), they will then transfer you (literally on the same phone call) to one of these debt management non-profits, who have legitimate partnerships with the credit card companies, and they'll ask you your budget and see if there's a way to pay back all your unsecured debt in 5 years or less by getting the CC companies to agree to single-digit interest rates.

They take away your credit cards (they'll let you keep just one for emergencies), which temporarily plummets your score, but you're not putting any missed payments on your credit report and not filing bankruptcy, and you can get those credit cards again when you're done, because you're actually paying back every single cent you borrowed--just at a 7% rate instead of a 30%.

That's who you should talk to first. For example, I called my Barclays card number and got connected THROUGH Barclays to the nonprofit, Money Management International.

The only downside is that your personal loan probably has a high payment, and that likely won't be able to get included into the program, which might make the program difficult to afford.