Is debt consolidation a good idea?
Yes if you can lower the rate (e.g., 22% credit card to 12% personal loan), and you commit to not running up new credit card balances. Consolidation doesn't eliminate debt — it restructures it. Without behavior change, many people end up with consolidated debt PLUS new credit card balances.
More context
Yes if you can lower the rate (e.g., 22% credit card to 12% personal loan), and you commit to not running up new credit card balances. Consolidation doesn't eliminate debt — it restructures it. Without behavior change, many people end up with consolidated debt PLUS new credit card balances. The exact answer depends on your specific situation — the numbers above are a strong starting point, but the right next step is to plug in your actual figures.
For a deeper analysis, use one of the related tools below — they take your specific income, debt, location, and goals as inputs and produce a tailored answer.