Accumulating debt is very easy nowadays, which makes debt consolidation that much more important to the everyday consumer. The basic idea behind debt consolidation is that a consumer takes out one loan in order to help them pay off a number of other loans. The advantages of consolidating debt include a lower interest rate that is often secured, and the simplicity of dealing with just one loan instead of several.
A first word of warning is to steer clear of debt consolidation companies. These are the ones that run commercials promising debt help despite your poor credit. They will charge application and handling fees that other sources of help would not charge, and will oftentimes charge up to 23% in interest, which would be reflected negatively in your credit rating.
Credit cards often charge high rates of interest, which makes them a popular candidate for debt consolidation. In this case the process is relatively simple. If you hold several credit cards with high rates of interest, you can simply transfer their balances to a single credit card with a lower interest rate. Many times you will be able to find credit cards offering a low introductory APR, and...