American consumer debt including mortgages, car loans, credit cards and student loans reached $16.90 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the New York Federal Reserve. This is an increase of 2.4 percent, or $394 billion, from the third quarter of 2022, prompting many Americans to explore other strategies to manage their growing debt loads.
Some options for overcoming debt include working with creditors to settle the debt, using a home equity line of credit or getting a debt consolidation loan. Debt consolidation is the process of combining several debts into one new loan, sometimes with a lower interest rate.
Although it sounds like an ideal solution, there are both pros and cons associated with debt consolidation. It c…
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