Insider's Guide to Credit Debt

Debt consolidation isn't necessarily always the best fit for your financial situation. Make sure you consider these factors first.

What You Need to Know

Consolidate My Credit advises its visitors to understand the following three critical facts before embarking on credit debt consolidation:

It is possible that debt consolidation won't get you out of debt faster, lower your payments, or save you money. In some cases, the opposite can be true.
Many consumers often confuse credit debt consolidation with other, very different debt solutions. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you sign up in any programs.
It might serve you better to try to consolidate debt on your own or with a different type of lender, such as a personal loan from a bank or credit union.

What Credit Debt Consolidation Is Not

Consolidate My Credit visitors commonly confuse debt consolidation with a number of other debt-relief services. Here is how debt consolidation differs from the following:

Credit counseling or debt management. This service is offered by a certified credit counseling agency that should be a non-profit organization. A credit counselor will talk with you about your debts and work out a repayment plan to help you pay off your debts in three to five years. This kind of intervention can have negative consequences on your credit score.
Credit Debt negotiation. Some partners of Consolidate My Credit do offer debt negotiation in addition to traditional consolidation services, but they are not the same thing. Debt negotiation requires that you stop paying your bills for a time, which, of course, will ravage your credit score. Your negotiation service will try to arrange for you to get a lower payoff amount than you previously owed.
Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will trash your credit score for seven to ten years. It erases all of your medical bills and other unsecured debts completely, which might allow you to get back on track and build good credit faster than you otherwise would have. Consolidate My Credit recommends trying other options before you use this last resort.

If you have any questions, feel free to read through the frequently asked questions and find more information about consolidating debt.