>Is it ever a good idea to just cancel the cards and set up new payment plans without payments until I get my head above water

The credit card company isn't going to be OK with you just not making any payments for a while regardless of whether or not you cancel the card.

> set up new payment plans without payments until I get my head above water

That's just not a thing. The bank isn't going to be fine with you not making payments for a few months.

I mistyped, it should have said "lower" payments not without. I was given the option to cancel a card and have the payment lowered and the term extended

What is the current interest rate and what would be the interest rate if you canceled it and turned it into a closed-end loan?

If they're no longer necessary, it's always a good idea to cancel the cards. It doesn't help or solve the problem, but it does reduce risk and prevent future use.

As far as solving the problem, there are two solutions. Paying it or filing for bankruptcy. Under the paying it option, there's two paths: paying it all over time (downside: takes time, costs more) or paying a portion as a settlement (downside: get a 1099c for the difference).

Don’t miss payments that will hurt your credit worse than anything. What you need to do is list out all your debt from least to greatest. Then start paying on the smallest amount first. When that is done move onto the next one using the amount you paid to the first one added on. It’s called a debt snowball. Maybe see about selling stuff. Get a second job delivering pizza or doing door dash. Something that you can use to put toward that debt.

I edited the post, I mistyped. It was meant to say lower payments not without payments.

It depends on if you are sure sure you won't need to charge again (or have another card still open)...because it will be hard to get a new card right away. (Also they should lower the interest rate, not just the payment amount.)

You can't just cancel a card you owe money on.

Canceling the card won’t make a big difference in payments as you still owe the money and the balance is accruing interest. All canceling the card will do is prevent you from spending more on it and resetting your progress. If that’s the only way to ensure you don’t use it, then yes, cancel it. However, if you can figure out another way, keeping the card provides the “credit history” for the future