u/mindump888

I’m a 20-year-old college student and I genuinely feel overwhelmed over this. It’s been causing me a lot of anxiety and panic attacks because I don’t fully understand what I should be doing with my credit card payments. My parents are supportive and would help me if things got truly bad (which feels like they are atm), but I really want to handle this myself because I feel ashamed and like I failed financially.

I’m a student worker and was only making around $345–$355 every 2 weeks after taxes during the semester ($11/hr, 19 hrs/week). Thankfully, I just started working full-time for the summer (40 hrs/week), so my paychecks should now be around $770–$780 every 2 weeks after taxes.

Here’s my situation:

• Current balance as of 5/13/2026: $2,559.21
• Statement balance from 4/27/2026: $886.63
• In April, I made:
  • the $35 minimum payment
  • another $80 payment on 4/28

Now that it’s May, my account says:
“$0.00 Minimum Payment Due on 5/24/2026”

So I’m confused because it doesn’t even show a required payment anymore. The only payment options it gives me are:

• Current balance
• Statement balance
• Other amount

My next paycheck of about $355 comes this Friday (5/15), and then my larger summer paycheck (~$770–$780) comes 2 weeks later. The only good thing is that I don’t currently pay rent or bills right now. I literally only spend money on gas and food, so I can put most of my paychecks toward this debt. The only major expense I have coming up is my summer class, which is about $1,037 due June 1st, but I’ll be putting it on a payment plan instead of paying it all upfront.

How much should I realistically pay when I get paid? Should I focus on the statement balance or just pay as much as possible toward the current balance? I’m trying really hard not to ruin my credit or fall deeper into debt. Any advice would seriously help.

UPDATE: I ended up talking to my parents about the situation, and they agreed to help me out so I can get ahead of this before it becomes a much bigger problem. I was honestly really ashamed and felt like a failure having that conversation, but I know how incredibly blessed I am to even have parents willing to help me during hard times like this.

I pay for my own tuition at Texas A&M University through FAFSA loans and work while being a full-time college student, so I’ve been trying really hard to figure adulthood and finances out on my own. This situation definitely humbled me fast and taught me a LOT.

I genuinely appreciate the people who explained things kindly instead of just making me feel stupid for asking questions.