You see the banks really don't care about you. I know, that came as a surprise right? But they do care about themselves - second surprise! So they might be happy to make a loan to help sort out your bad credit. Debt consolidation loan is just another way of saying refinancing of course. And the reality of that is the bank will take the money you already owe them and spread the payments over a longer period. That is down to the high amounts of interest that the card companies charge on your credit card bill. Consolidation loans are usually far cheaper rates of interest and really can work out to be quite a significant saving. And it's not just the monthly savings that are appealing. The overall cost can be very substantial too. If you had blindly followed them because you didn't know what you were doing but thought it was safe to do so because others were following them you could have finished up bankrupt. A second important point to keep in mind is to match the risk to the reward regardless of the type of investment. If you are considering a high risk bond for example you need to ensure that the rewards you are being offered are equally high. Not just the short term because that will almost all ways be better than the amount you are currently paying. It's the long term cost that can be the sting in the tail with any kind of debt consolidation loan. As a smart shopper you need to do the math on whether the amount you will pay over the life of your refinancing will be worth the monthly reduction in your outgoings. And what happens when you forget your monthly credit payments? Those nice friendly guys at the loan company who wanted to increase your credit card limit only last month now turn into Don Corleone and the boys from Mob! They start to slap on late charges and the exorbitant interest now starts to attract interest on itself and, and Well you get the picture. As with any other major decision you should do some checks to make certain you are doing the right thing. Ask about them at your church. Consult the Better Business Bureau and speak to your state consumer affairs representatives. One final point to keep in mind when you start to make your enquiries. All these organizations stand to benefit by having you as a customer.