Debt you should consider consolidating

In order to keep your finances stable so you can budget your money you need to control you monthly payments in regards to how much interest you pay out. There are three main areas that most people need to pay attention to. But how you consolidate or refinance is the tricky part.

It really depends on how much money you owe and how far behind you are in paying your bills. Sometimes you can do it on your own by applying for a different credit card that allows you to transfer your balances or you can apply for a personal loan or use the equity in your home to consolidate everything, sometimes this is the better solution.

Credit card debt consolidation

This is an easy question to answer, yes you should consolidate your credit card debt. High interest rates on credit cards is the biggest  reason why we have so much debt and no money left at the end of the month. Now here is the "but" it has to be done properly.

You cannot simply cancel all cards and make a low interest loan to consolidate all your charge card debt. Most people will simply go out and apply for another one, because they need to have a credit card for emergencies.

What you have to do is take the highest rate cards you have and then consolidate these into one or two lower rate cards that you have. In order to do this though you need to find a company that offers free balance transfers with a low rate apr. 

You can compare 0% balance transfer credit cards here. If you have very high balances then a personal debt consolidation loan would be a better option. If you already have a personal loan for a car or furniture then you would be further ahead to refinance this one.

Student loans should be consolidated

Student loans should always be consolidated when you finish school and before you have to start making payments. There are many services that  specialize in student loan consolidation.

You want to get your loan payments down as small as you can while you are starting out in the job market.

It is also necessary to consolidate these types of  loans so that you can make a budget and start planning for the future. Their are quite a few student loan services so you can search online for the right plan for you situation.

All colleges and universities have student services that can get you started. If your education loan is not that big, it might be better to take out a personal loan for a little longer term. You might get a lower rate, it's worth a try.

When it comes to money management be creative, talk to the loan officer at your local bank, preferably where your family has been banking for years, and see if you can draw up your own terms.

Their is a real benefit of using the lending institution that your family has been using for years. Prior knowledge goes a long long way. The old adage of it's not what you know but who you know is still very true even in the financial world.

 Should you consolidate multiple personal loans

Yes you should, but again it depends on the interests rates you are being offered and whether you need to find a debt consolidation service. Sometimes it is better to tough it out if you only have a few months left on that loan.

Then consolidate the loans with longer terms. Consolidating a car loan should only be done if you are in the first or second year otherwise stick with it, you will pay far more in interest than you should and your car will not be worth it at the end of the term.

When we are talking about multiple loans its more for if you have store charge accounts for furniture and then a boat loan and a car loan at the same time and they all have high interest rates.