If you are on a budget, and are having a hard time paying off debt. Is consolidating your debt with a loan a good option?

Not always. Sometimes it just aggravates the problem. See a debt counselor first.

Maybe. The big question is will you then jump right back into accruing more debt. If the answer to that is yes, then no, it won’t help.

If it is part of a program in which you change your spending habits, start budgeting, and otherwise revamp your financial life, it might be helpful.

If you’re talking about debt consolidation through an agency like Consumer Credit Counseling, it actually damages your credit worse than a bankruptcy in the eyes of lenders. My wife works as a loan officer for Chase, she knows all about this stuff.

@pupntaco would it be better to go through a credit union then or a bank?

I don’t think banks will consolidate consumer debt per se. If you could arrange a loan whereby you pay off all your consumer debt, then repay the loan to the bank at an affordable monthly rate, I suppose that would work… but they say taking out a loan to repay another loan tends to snowball in a bad way. And if you’re behind on payments, odds are you don’t qualify for a new loan anyway.

Talk to a loan agent at your credit union or bank, let us know what they say.