Unexpected expenses can turn up at any time. Your car can breakdown or a household appliance can fail and you need some extra cash quickly. Where is it going to come from? Credit cards? It is easy to see how people get into debt and how it can sometimes get out of control leading to financial problems. The answer lies in Debt Consolidation. So what exactly is this? Put simply, it is a loan that is used to pay off other existing debts, resulting in just one monthly payment. This type of loan is commonly used to combine unsecured debt, making it easier to manage your overall budget and stick to a repayment plan.

Debt consolidation in the UK is a growing industry. There are two ways to tackle -style: the debt consolidation counselors or managers, who will draw up a repayment plan and cut up to 60 percent (sometimes more) off your overall debt immediately; and the people who will offer you a debt consolidation loan (usually a secured loan) which you will then use, presumably, to pay off your debt, wholly or in part.

The first option is the more sensible, as you are not getting yourself into further debt, but rather getting yourself out of debt, literally, by coming up with a repayment plan. The second option is sometimes the more attractive to people, as the people lending you even more money (more debt) will usually find a way to secure more money than the amount of the debt itself, thus leaving you with a tempting cash sum to play around with.

The concept of packaging all your debt repayments into one affordable monthly repayment to help you keep on top of your commitments and make your situation more manageable can be very appealing. However, making the assumption that a consolidation loan will solve all your money problems could have serious financial implications, unless you set your budget and stick to it.

When shopping for a debt consolidation lender, make sure that you do your homework. These companies are not all equal. Things to look out for include any request for advance fees. Most reliable companies do not charge advance fees. If they do, they are usually small and the company will detail for you exactly what they are going to be used for. Another important issue to investigate carefully is the interest rate payback scheme. Some companies may offer you a very tempting introductory rate, but make sure that you know what the rate will increase to later on and how that increase will affect your monthly payments.