Q:

Fixing Credit With Several Small Debts

I am a recent graduate from the U.S. with a checkered credit history. I have a few items in collection now totaling about $750 or so. Previously, my attitude would have been to let these slide until enough time has passed, but I've been taking steps to not just be responsible with my money. I want to sow the seeds so I can look into investing down the line, and really turning my extra money into a proper nest egg/savings/retirement -type thing.
So like I said, I have 3 things in collection coming to about $750 or so. Now that I am making enough money to put a sizable distance between my living expenses and what I'm seeing, what would be the ideal way to go about settling these debts in collection? I'm thinking I can either take out a loan from my bank to consolidate it and pay it back, or knock them out one at a time at a rate of maybe one a month. I've got a bit of time before my employee benefits start cutting into my paycheck, as well as some time before my student debts start collecting interest, so I'd like to take advantage of this while there's more breathing room. * edit: these debts are legitimate, so I cannot dispute them.
Thank you all in advance. I really appreciate any feedback, since I'm kind of new to learning all of this financial literacy stuff and I've been lurking here enough to feel that I'm in good hands.  

A:

Since you acknowledge that you legitimately owe this money and the debts are relatively small, you should pay them without trying to settle for less. 
Don't bother with a consolidation loan for these. The loan, if you can get approved, would be more trouble than it is worth, at the time frame you are looking at.  Just pay these off in full as fast as you can. Once you do that, your credit will start to heal. 
Get a written statement from the collectors to ensure that you and they are in agreement on exactly how much you owe. When you pay them, don't pay electronically; use a check. (Debt collectors have been known to clean out bank accounts if you set up an electronic payment.)
After you've cleaned these up, I would encourage you to aggressively tackle your student loans and any other debt you have. Now, when you are starting your career, is the time to dig yourself out of the hole and eliminate your debt. This will set you up for success in the future. 

