Understanding the debt consolidation calculator
Debt consolidation rolls several high-rate debts typically credit cards into one loan with a lower rate and a single payment. The appeal is twofold: a lower interest rate reduces the total cost, and one predictable payment is easier to manage than several. This calculator compares your current path against a consolidation loan on both payment and total interest.
The catch is the term. Stretching debt over a longer consolidation loan can lower the monthly payment while actually increasing total interest if the rate reduction is modest. Real savings come from a genuinely lower rate paired with a disciplined term and from not running the cards back up afterward, which is the most common way consolidation backfires.
Results are estimates for education only and are not financial advice.