Consolidation means one new instalment replaces several existing balances — often cards or other revolving credit. It pays when the new eff. Jahreszins plus fees is lower than the blended cost of what you have now, and you close or freeze the old facilities so the debt cannot grow back.
A simple test
- Add up what you owe and what you pay in interest and compulsory fees each month.
- Put that total into the loan calculator at a conservative eff. Jahreszins and a term you can actually keep.
- Compare the result with live offers on personal loans.
A longer term can make the monthly figure look kind and still cost more in interest. If a mortgage or home-equity product is available in this market and you would use the home as security, that is a different risk — start from mortgages, not from an unsecured rate.
Browsing does not check your credit. See credit checks and eff. Jahreszins versus the headline rate. Then match on the consolidation amount.
Written for readers in Deutschland. Bankmatch is paid by providers and never by readers; that does not change what we write.