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Consolidate Your Debt in Three Steps

Of course, consolidating your debt isn’t an overnight process. It will take some work and planning on your part. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it is as easy as 1-2-3:

Step One: List Your Debt

Before thinking about taking out a debt consolidation loan, consider whether you have enough debt to consolidate or not. Take some time to write down all of your debt. Include any loans and credit cards you have that need to be paid off. Generally, if this amount is $10,000 or more you can pull out a debt consolidation loan to ease your payments.

Be sure to list each of your debts along with the interest rate. Lower interest rates on payments may be worth simply paying off instead of consolidating. You may also want to consider seeking debt counseling before settling on consolidating your debt.

Step Two: Research Debt Consolidation Loans

Once you’ve established your need for a debt consolidation loan and have identified the debts you want to target, research the different types of consolidation loans available to you. Generally, there are three debt consolidation loans to choose from:

Unsecured Loans – Unsecured debt consolidation loans require good credit, which is a difficulty for many people looking to consolidate their debt. These types of loans will allow you to pull out a loan, based on your credit, and consolidate your debts as you see fit, into one monthly payment.

Secured Loans – Secured loans for paying off debt don’t always make sense. However, if you’ll save money on the interest they can be helpful. Secured loans allow you to borrow against money you have in savings or elsewhere to pay off your debt with one monthly payment. If the consolidation loan’s interest rate is less than your credit card interest rates or loan interest rates, a secured loan is a great way to go!

Private Student Loans – For many people, student loans make up the majority of their debt. If you want to consolidate these, you will have to pull out a private student loan. Many banks offer private student loans and can provide you with a lower-interest loan to pay your education off.

Step Three: Create an Easy Payment Plan

After deciding what debt consolidation loan is best for your repayment needs, determine the terms of your loan. If you can only afford $200 per month towards debt repayment, adjust the length of your loan accordingly. You should also be sure to put your payment date on a date that is always convenient for you. To ensure the loan payment is always made, set up an automatic payment. Making the payments in full and on time will help your credit score significantly.

If you find yourself gravitating towards a debt consolidation loan, you’re not alone. Just be sure you go through the steps above and define the best course of action for you and your finances.

Readers, have you taken out a debt consolidation loan? What was your experience?

Amanda Blankenship

Amanda Blankenship is the Director of Social Media for District Media. In addition to her duties handling everything social media, she frequently writes for a handful of blogs and loves to share her own personal finance story with others. When she isn’t typing away at her desk, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband, and dog. During her free time, you’re likely to find her with her nose in a book, hiking, or playing RPG video games.

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When it comes to paying off debt there are multiple approaches you can take. For some, debt consolidation seems to be the answer but is debt consolidation the best answer?

What is Debt Consolidation?

Debt consolidation is essentially taking out one loan to pay off all (or a good chunk) of your debt. It is generally used for people who have a large amount of consumer, or credit card, debt. This makes it so that you’ll have one easy payment each month going towards your debt-payoff efforts. For some, this has been the answer to their struggle with debt.

The Problem With Debt Consolidation

The biggest issue with debt consolidation isn’t taking out a loan to pay everything off. The issue lies with the individual’s personal finance approach. Normally, people who consolidate their debt have no plan to spend cash and not run their credit cards for everything. This makes it so that some people who have taken the debt consolidation route may wind up back in tremendous debt. There is also a good chance that they don’t have an emergency savings fund either, which means if an emergency arises it will likely go on their credit card.

And, even if you’ve established a solid plan for saving and reforming your spending habits, debt consolidation may wind up costing you more in the long run. For the most part, people choose debt consolidation to make their lives a little easier and, in some cases, decrease their monthly debt payment. However, debt consolidation loans can come with a higher interest rate and will last much longer than most of your current debt repayment plans. This means you could potentially wind up paying more when all is said and done.

Should You Consider Debt Consolidation?

If you’re thinking about debt consolidation, you’re not alone. There are plenty of people who have consolidated and paid off their debt successfully. And, while there are plenty of things to consider before doing so, it is a viable option for some. If you’re considering debt consolidation, remember the bottom line: Will it cost you more to consolidate? If the answer is yes, don’t.

Also, be sure that you have a solid financial plan for once your debt is consolidated so you don’t go back to the same spending habits. Oftentimes “moving” the debt, like you do when you consolidate, makes people forget about the debt they were in, to begin with.

Other Ways to Get Out of Debt Without Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation is far from the only way to pay off a large amount of debt though. Here are just a few ways to get out of debt without consolidating:

Get a Look at Your Finances – Take a minute and really sit down with your finances. Get an idea of what is possible and what is out of reach in terms of paying off your debt and your budget. If you need to, reach out to a financial advisor.
Write Down Your Budget – Once you’ve got a sense of what your finances are like, start tracking your spending and create a budget. Make sure you write it down and hold yourself to sticking to it!
Get a Second Job – If you’re having trouble paying off your debt, consider getting a second job or side hustle. Bringing in more money will always positively affect your finances.
Live on Less Than You Make – This is a budgeting basic but something you need to keep in mind. If you truly want to be debt free you CANNOT spend more than you make.
Don’t Take on New Debt – If you’re just getting out of debt or trying to get out of debt, don’t take on any new credit cards or loans. Though credit card offers can be tempting, just say no.

Getting out of debt is no easy feat. While debt consolidation may seem like the answer to your problems, be sure you consider taking some simpler avenues (like living on less than you make and earning more) before taking on a consolidation loan. Remember, it’s not really getting rid of your debt, it is simply moving it!

Have you consolidated or paid off debt successfully? We’d love to hear your story!

Photo: CafeCredit.com

If You Must Get a Debt Consolidation Loan, Here is How