Debt Consolidation Loan or Not?

[aspenjanae]

I use Mint. Love it. And recently in looking at my financial goals (#1. Get out of credit card debt.) I looked into Mint's advertisement for debt consolidation loans. The problem is that the one they advertise does not accept loan requests from Idaho (home) so I'm back to the drawing board.

My questions.

1. Are debt consolidation loans the way to go? I have small amount of credit card debt across three card with high interest that I want gone ASAP.

2. Whats the best option out there for this process?

Thanks,
Soon to be Out of Debt!!!

[MDM]

1. Are debt consolidation loans the way to go? I have small amount of credit card debt across three card with high interest that I want gone ASAP.
2. Whats the best option out there for this process?

If it is indeed a small amount, paying it in full ASAP may be best - it will certainly be easiest.  See http://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.html for a downloadable spreadsheet you can use to explore repayment options.

If you can't pay in full quickly, getting a lower interest rate is usually a good idea, depending on the up front charge (if any) for the new loan.

[Retired To Win]

I use Mint. Love it. And recently in looking at my financial goals (#1. Get out of credit card debt.) I looked into Mint's advertisement for debt consolidation loans. The problem is that the one they advertise does not accept loan requests from Idaho (home) so I'm back to the drawing board.

My questions.

1. Are debt consolidation loans the way to go? I have small amount of credit card debt across three card with high interest that I want gone ASAP.

2. Whats the best option out there for this process?

Thanks,
Soon to be Out of Debt!!!

Any time you can flip a debt to a lower interest rate you are money ahead.  So in your shoes I would flip any -- or all -- of those 3 credit card balances if I could do so to a lower interest rate.  However, if you are looking at doing a balance transfer to some other credit card, always remember to factor in the transfer fee into your evaluation and calculation.

I know that peer-to-peer lending outfits (Lending Club, etc) have great demand for debt consolidation loans.  Checking them out would cost you nothing, and they will give you a specific interest rate offer.  And you can prepay to your heart's content without a problem.

Good luck.

[GetItRight]

You don't mention interest rates, balances, or expected time to payoff...

I used a PenFed credit card to move some high interest student loans to a 4.99% for life no fee balance transfer. Must spend a small amount to join an affiliated organization to become a member. Chase Slate offers no fee 0% APR balance transfers for 12-15 months or so, considering moving some more student loans to that and saving a bit of interest in chunks here and there.

There may be others but those are what I'm aware of. If you cant' pay off in a few months others charge a fee, typically 3% to get 12+ months interest free, which is likely cheaper than waht you're paying now. Go ahead and optimize interest rate if you're serious about paying it off quickly and won't burn through the extra credit limit on those predictable monthly anomalies that push it off until next month indefinitely.