Ive never done one of these before and have no idea where to even begin. Are these frowned upon mostly? Worth getting? Suggestions?

Depends on the debt, rates and terms I'd think. I get spammed a lot of these which means they're probably bad deals imo. I assume a lot of them have a relatively low initial rate that escalates pretty quickly.

Really depends on the type and amount of debt. Are you trying to consolidate CC debt to one 0% APR card under a current offer?

In the end you're probably better off doing either the snowball method or avalanche method to pay off the debt. Snowball method is what Dave Ramsey pushes. It's all about paying off the smallest debts first and then using that payment to put towards the next smallest, and so on until all debts are paid. It's not the most mathematically smart choice, but it does help out a lot of people psychologically that have trouble paying off debt. You get to see the fruits of your debt payoff quicker as you close out those smaller debts, and then it gets easier and easier to pay off larger debts.

The other approach - the avalanche method - is all about paying off debt in order of debts with the highest interest rate first and then working your way down. Mathematically this is the best advice to save the most money in interest. Choosing one method or the other is really up to you and your willpower to get the debts paid down.

Basically two credit cards, one for me and one for spouse, and want to end those cards and pay off as quick as possible.

Complete home AC replacement, dental implant, roof replacement, U joints went bad on truck at all about the same time. I'm just exploring options. I want to essentially close the credit cards sooner rather than later and if I could combine the debt into a lower interest, it would be ok. Lesson learned no doubt on how much I should have stashed away.

I would avoid it. There are companies out there that collect the payment from you and hold it until the company you owe gets desperate enough to negotiate. They may or may not pass these savings on to you with your ruined credit.

Diggity said:

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probably better off finding a good promo on a balance transfer. I feel like debt consolidation is better suited for folks that are way underwater and having trouble even making minimum payments. I don't think it will be a great option in your case.

Take a look at this list and see if you would be able to take advantage of one of these:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/list-of-0-apr-credit-card-offers/

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This is great advice, nerdwallet is also a good resource for balance transfer offers.

txaggie_08 said:

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Really depends on the type and amount of debt. Are you trying to consolidate CC debt to one 0% APR card under a current offer?

In the end you're probably better off doing either the snowball method or avalanche method to pay off the debt. Snowball method is what Dave Ramsey pushes. It's all about paying off the smallest debts first and then using that payment to put towards the next smallest, and so on until all debts are paid. It's not the most mathematically smart choice, but it does help out a lot of people psychologically that have trouble paying off debt. You get to see the fruits of your debt payoff quicker as you close out those smaller debts, and then it gets easier and easier to pay off larger debts.

The other approach - the avalanche method - is all about paying off debt in order of debts with the highest interest rate first and then working your way down. Mathematically this is the best advice to save the most money in interest. Choosing one method or the other is really up to you and your willpower to get the debts paid down.

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Ramsey's schtick is all for psychologically weak people, helping the poor get slightly less poor

He thinks there are zero advantages to having credit cards in any capacity, when there are clearly substantial advantages

I think at one point he said something about how he would turn down an offer for an interest free 7 figure loan because 'there's no such thing as good debt', completely asinine

Get a personal bank loan to pay the cards off at a lower rate and then set up an auto draft from your checking account every 2 weeks on payday.

Appreciate all of the info. Didnt even cross my mind to do a balance transfer. Seems pretty straight forward.

There might be a large upfront fee for a balance transfer. Just something to watch out for.