I wasn't in that far a different situation from OP, at a similar age at the time. In my case, I grew up poor. I did what I did because I followed the advice of my parents and neighbors -- it's what they did, and they hadn't yet been bitten in the ass by it. Thankfully, I didn't get bit either.

Fast forward to today where I found long ago (~10 years ago) that getting serious about personal finance is a valuable thing. To my folks I might as well be speaking a different language, but I haven't paid a cent of interest in nearly a decade, and have maxed my tax-advantaged retirement accounts for the past 8 years.