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A consolidation loan may be a reasonable and affordable alternative repayment plan. In this strategy, a loan is taken out to pay all other debts. It may reduce your total monthly payment and simplify payment to one instead of many but will extend the repayment time. Increasing the repayment time also increases the amount paid in interest or finance charges. However, you can sometimes refinance these loans at a lower interest rate and monthly payments are usually smaller.
Two points of caution: 1) if you consolidate your debts, be careful not to use the "freed up" money to buy something else on credit; 2) it is not usually a good idea to use a home-equity loan for debt consolidation. That debt is now "secured" by your home. If you get behind on repayments, you could lose your home.
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