In many countries, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, student loans can be a significant portion of debt but are usually regulated differently than other debt.

The bulk of the consumer debt, especially that with a high interest, is repaid by a new loan.

Consolidating all your debts into one loan might appear to make life easier but there might be much better ways of dealing with debts.

Find out more about how debt consolidation loans work, then get free debt advice before you make a decision.

Most people do this to reduce the interest rate on their debt, to bring down their monthly payment amount or to reduce the number of companies they owe money to.

Debt consolidation can be a useful strategy in some situations but for many it can involve extra costs, and potentially makes a difficult situation much worse.

For example, what if interest rates go up, or you fall ill or lose your job?

Consolidating debt usually involves taking out new credit to pay off existing credit.

The total credit card debt is about 0 billion, and the average borrower balance (for those with credit card debt) is ,400.

However, credit card debt isn’t the only type of debt.

That's why it's best to get expert debt advice before taking out a consolidation loan.

Debt consolidation involves taking out new credit to pay off your debts and debt management is where you negotiate affordable payments with the companies you currently owe money to.