Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background.

Should I use a credit repair agency?
I think you already have a lot of good ideas here. I also don't agree with going with a company to "repair" your credit. They don't have any secret method on how to do so anyway, it takes time and hard work.  Cut out things that you are more luxury items. Cable for me is a must (Haha) but I can go without having HBO, showtime, etc. Make a list of the things you currently pay for and you will be able to see exactly what you can't "live without" and what you can live without.  The good thing nowadays there's so many side gig options available! Check out this article here: https://www.learnvest.com/2017/06/this-is-how-much-you-could-make-through-airbnb-uber-and-7-other-popular-side-gigs. This goes into detail on how much you can make on these sites on a monthly average. Since you're in IT, you can use fiverr! I've used fiverr a lot of projects, you create your own deadlines, work schedule, you accept the jobs you want, similar to your UBer and Lyft but Fiverr has a lot of contractors with a variety of skills specifically in IT, lots of demand for web developers not sure what IT field you're in.  Hope this helps! Good luck!