consolidate your loans to cut your payments in half," "lower your interest rates," and "help you get out of debt fast." Indeed consolidating your high interest loans and credit card debt into a single loan with a lower interest rate and more manageable payments makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. Many people who consolidate their loans end up paying far more than they would have otherwise and, in the case of home equity loans, an alarming number of borrowers end up losing their homes. Add to this the fact that many so-called "consolidation" programs aren't really consolidation loans at all, and debt consolidation, rightfully, has a bad reputation. Still, you may be able to benefit from consolidation if you explore your options and proceed with caution.
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