Personal
Debt
Debt consolidation, repayment strategies, and credit card payoff guides — practical paths to getting out of debt at the lowest cost.
Guides
What to know before you compare
Debt management decisions turn on two questions: what type of debt you're carrying (revolving credit card vs. installment loan vs. student loan) and what your credit profile allows. High-rate revolving debt is usually the first priority — the average revolving credit card APR exceeded 20% in 2026 per Federal Reserve G.19 data.
The guides below cover consolidation tools (personal loans, balance-transfer cards, debt management plans) and repayment strategies. The CFPB publishes free guidance on managing debt at consumerfinance.gov and the FTC has consumer advice at ftc.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to pay off debt?+
Two evidence-backed strategies: the debt avalanche (pay minimums on all debts, direct extra dollars to the highest-APR balance first) minimizes total interest paid. The debt snowball (pay off the smallest balance first) generates faster early wins that can sustain motivation. For high-rate revolving debt, a balance-transfer card at 0% intro APR or a debt-consolidation personal loan can reduce the interest cost while you pay down — but only if you stop adding new charges.
What is debt consolidation?+
Debt consolidation combines multiple high-interest balances into a single new account — typically via a personal loan or balance-transfer credit card — at a lower blended interest rate with one monthly payment. It simplifies repayment and can save money, but it works only when paired with a plan to stop accumulating new debt. The CFPB and FTC both offer free guidance on evaluating consolidation options.
How does debt consolidation affect your credit score?+
Opening a new loan or card triggers a hard inquiry and temporarily lowers average account age — usually a small, short-term dip. Over time, consolidation can help by reducing credit-card utilization and supporting consistent on-time payments. The outcome depends on behavior: keeping old cards open and paid down after consolidating generally helps, while running balances back up reverses the benefit.