Explore Your Loan Debt with DebtDasher

Use this calculator to record the details of all your loans. In this case, "Loans" includes mortgages, second mortgages or home equity loans, car loans, boat loans, student loans, personal loans and any other type of arrangement in which you have borrowed money that you pay back on a regular basis.

Be sure to record all the details of each loan because this information will be used to help you consider consolidation.

Notice the check boxes under "Consolidate" on the far right side of the calculator. When you click on the check box, a checkmark will appear indicating you are considering the particular loan for consolidation. You will want to experiment with different combinations of selected loans to consolidate.

Contact a lender such as your credit union or a community bank with which you have a relationship and ask about their interest rates on consolidation loans. You're just wondering about ballpark rates here. Give as much or as little information about your situation as you wish, but remember, the better prepared you, the better impression you will make.

Once you know the ballpark interest rate for consolidation loans, you'll be better prepared to decide which loans may be best for consolidation. If the lender tells you the rate for a consolidation loan is generally about 9%, then you'll want to begin considering consolidation by checking the loans that have higher interest rates that 9%.

(If you have good credit, you may find that your greatest reduction in monthly payment is obtained when you start considering your credit card accounts using the next calculator.)

In addition to interest rates, consider the remaining term on your loan. If you have a loan that pays off in just a few months, it may not make much sense to pay it off with proceeds from a consolidation loan. You'll soon eliminate the debt by simply paying it off as scheduled. Tossing it into the consolidation loan means you're extending the time and money (in interest payments) you'll make to eliminate the debt.

Learn more by downloading an evaluation version of DebtDasher. You can also buy with confidence that you will be happy with TedCo Software's financial calculators!