Debt Consolidation Loans

Debt consolidation involves combining multiple debts, such as credit cards and personal loans, into a single personal loan. For instance, consolidating debts of $2,500 and $7,500 on two credit cards into a $10,000 personal loan can simplify your financial management as this results in one set of recurring repayments with a single interest rate and term.

Before opting for a debt consolidation loan, consider the following factors:

• Monthly payment: Find out how much your new monthly payment would be.
• Interest Rates: Check if the new loan has a lower interest rate than your current debts. Use our ‘Get your rate’ function to estimate your potential rate.
• Total Consolidation Amount: Identify all debts for consolidation, including existing balances, potential additional fees, and whether to close previous credit facilities. 
• Assess Borrowing Power vs. Total Debt: The consolidation loan can cover all existing debts if your borrowing power exceeds total debt. If borrowing power is less than total debt, prioritise which debts to consolidate by focusing on consolidating debts that offer the most significant savings and continuing to repay others separately.

To qualify for a Plenti debts consolidation loan, you must meet the following criteria:

• Age: 18 years or older
• Citizenship: Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Income: earn over $25,000 annually from a verifiable, regular income source
• Credit History: maintain a good credit history

Having one debt consolidation loan instead of lots of small debts can have many benefits: 

• Simplify your finances: Consolidating all of your debts into one loan means you only have to make one monthly repayment, instead of having to manage multiple loans across different providers or cards. This can give you a better idea of when you'll be debt free.
• Save money: Choosing a debt consolidation loan which offers a lower interest and fewer fees can save you money across the life of the loan.
• Extended repayment periods: Debt consolidation loans can have longer repayment periods than credit cards or your existing personal loans, which can lower your monthly payments, making them more affordable.  
  
• Improved credit rating: Having control over one debt, instead of juggling multiple repayments can help to improve your credit rating by avoiding inadvertently missed payments.
  

• Assess Your Debt Situation: You might want to start by listing all debts you have. Note down the outstanding amounts, repayment amounts, interest rates on each and repayment frequency of each debt. Combine these figures to determine your overall financial liability.
• Lay out your budget: First, calculate the basics like your monthly income and expenses. From there, decide how much you can afford for your monthly repayment. The debt consolidation calendar on this page is one tool you could use to see which loan terms and repayment period suits your needs.
• Consider taking out a loan: Consider taking out a debt consolidation loan to combine all of your debts into one easy to manage monthly payment. You may also decide to check your credit score before applying, as this may have an impact on your approval and the interest rate which may apply to your loan. Check your report for any errors, as these could hurt your score and approval odds.
  

If you’re looking to lock in your interest rate for your debt consolidation loan, you may be able to choose between a fixed and variable interest rate.

A fixed-rate debt consolidation loan allows you to lock in your interest rate from the start of your loan term. This means that with a fixed rate loan your interest rate and loan repayments always remain the same which can help you manage your budget more effectively.