Debt consolidation loans

Generally, no — personal loans are still widely available despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which could be especially valuable if you need help making ends meet. You'll still typically need good credit and verifiable income to get approved for a loan with most lenders, including online lenders, banks, and credit unions. Keep in mind that some lenders might have more stringent requirements to ensure that borrowers can repay their loans, though.

Additionally, some lenders are offering coronavirus hardship loans that might be easier to qualify for if the pandemic has impacted your employment. These small emergency loans might come with low or even 0% interest, depending on the lender.

Read More: COVID-19: How Personal Loan Lenders Are Helping Borrowers

A debt consolidation loan is a type of personal loan that you can use to pay off multiple kinds of debt — leaving you with just one loan and payment to manage. For example, you could use a personal loan to consolidate:

• Credit cards

• Gas cards

• Medical bills

• Payday loans

• Private student loans

• Personal lines of credit

• Store cards

• Unsecured personal loans

Depending on your credit, you might qualify for a lower interest rate than you’re currently paying with a debt consolidation loan. This could save you money on interest and possibly help you repay your loan faster.

Or you could opt for a longer repayment term to reduce your monthly payment — though keep in mind that you’ll pay more in interest over time with a longer term.

If you decide to get a personal loan for debt consolidation, follow these four steps:

1. Check your credit. When you apply for a debt consolidation loan, the lender will perform a hard credit check to determine your creditworthiness — so it can be a good idea to check your credit beforehand to see where you stand. You can use a site like AnnualCreditReport.com to review your credit reports for free. If you find any errors, dispute them with the appropriate credit bureaus to potentially boost your credit score.

2. Compare lenders and pick a loan option. Be sure to compare as many lenders as possible to find the right loan for your needs. Consider not only interest rates but also repayment terms, any fees charged by the lender, and eligibility requirements. After doing your research, you can choose the loan option that works best for you.

3. Complete the application. Once you’ve picked a lender, you’ll need to fill out a full application and submit any required documentation, such as tax returns or pay stubs.

4. Get your funds. If you’re approved, the lender will have you sign for the loan so the funds can be released to you — often by direct deposit, depending on the lender. There are also some lenders that will pay your creditors directly.

While you can compare lenders by researching them individually, Credible makes this process much easier: After filling out a single form, you can compare your prequalified rates from multiple vetted lenders — without affecting your credit.

Annual percentage rate (APR) refers to how much you’ll actually pay for a loan. Your APR includes both your interest rate and any fees charged on the loan, such as origination fees.

A major factor in getting a good APR for a loan is your credit score. In general, the better your credit, the lower your APR. For example, Credible’s partner lenders offer fixed rates starting at 2.49% APR, but you’ll typically need good to excellent credit to qualify for the lowest advertised rates.

If you have less-than-perfect credit and would like to get a better APR, applying with a creditworthy cosigner might help. You could also consider working to improve your credit to qualify for better rates in the future. Some ways to potentially do this include:

• Making on-time payments: Your payment history is one of the biggest factors that make up your credit score. If you pay all of your bills on time, you could see an improvement in your score.

• Paying down credit cards: Another major factor in your credit score is your credit utilization ratio — this is how much you owe on revolving credit lines (like credit cards) compared to your total credit limits. Paying down credit card balances could lower this ratio and increase your score.

• Getting credit for other bills: There are services that will help you get credit for bills that typically aren’t reported to the credit bureaus. For example, if you sign up for Experian Boost, you could get credit for subscription service payments and cell phone bills, which might boost your credit score.

Debt consolidation offers several benefits, including:

• Can combine multiple debts: You can pay off several kinds of debt with a debt consolidation loan — which leaves you with just one loan and monthly payment to manage.

• Could save money on interest: Depending on your credit, you might qualify for a lower interest rate on a debt consolidation loan compared to what you’ve been paying. This can save you money on interest and even help you pay off your debt faster.

• Might lower your payment: If you opt to extend your repayment term with a debt consolidation loan, you could reduce your monthly payment. Just remember that you’ll pay more in interest over time with a longer term.

• Could help your credit score: If you use a debt consolidation loan to pay off revolving credit lines (like credit cards or lines of credit), you might be able to lower your credit utilization ratio. This could have a positive impact on your credit score.

Read More: How Debt Consolidation Loans Can Help Your Credit Score

As with all loans, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider with a debt consolidation loan. Some of these include:

• Fewer options for poor and fair credit: You’ll typically need good to excellent credit to qualify for a debt consolidation loan — a good credit score is usually considered to be 700 or higher. If you have poor or fair credit, it could be harder to get approved.

• Might come with fees: Some lenders charge fees on debt consolidation loans, such as origination fees. These can add to your overall loan cost.

• Could be tempting to take out more debt: A debt consolidation loan could help you get on top of your debt, but it won’t fix the spending problems that initially lead to the debt in the first place. If you feel your debt is under control, you might be tempted to rack up more.

Before you take out a debt consolidation loan, it’s important to consider how much that loan will cost you. This way, you can be prepared for any added expenses — and can decide if it’s the right financial fit for your situation. You can estimate how much you’ll pay for a loan using our Personal Loan Calculator

This depends on the lender — for example, you might receive an approval decision within minutes from an online lender while it could take longer to hear back from a traditional bank or credit union.

The time to fund for a debt consolidation loan can also vary by lender. Here are the funding times you can generally expect:

• Online lenders: Less than 5 business days

• Banks: 1 to 7 business days

• Credit unions: 1 to 7 business days

There are also some lenders that offer faster loan funding. For example, several of Credible’s partner lenders will fund loans as soon as the same or next business day after approval.

While you generally need good to excellent credit to qualify for a personal loan, there are also several lenders that offer debt consolidation loans for bad credit. However, keep in mind that these bad credit loans generally have higher interest rates compared to good credit loans.

If you’re struggling to get approved, you could also consider applying with a creditworthy cosigner. This can be anyone with good credit — such as a parent, other relative, or trusted friend — who is willing to share responsibility for the loan. Keep in mind that this also means your cosigner will be on the hook if you can’t make your loan payments.

Not all lenders allow cosigners on personal loans, but some do. Even if you don’t need a cosigner to qualify, having one could get you a lower interest rate than you’d get on your own.

Debt consolidation and debt relief are two options that could help you take control of your debt. Here’s how they work:

• Debt consolidation: With this process, you’ll take out a personal loan to pay off your debt, leaving you with one loan and a single payment to manage. You’ll still be responsible to pay off all of your debt with this option, but you might be able to get more favorable terms — such as a lower interest rate — that could help you repay it more easily.

• Debt relief: There are a few types of debt relief programs available, including debt management and debt settlement plans. With a debt management plan, a nonprofit credit counseling agency — such as the National Foundation for Credit Counseling — will help you set up a payment plan with each of your creditors. You’ll then make lump payments to the agency, which will send the funds to your creditors. Debt settlement, on the other hand, is usually offered by for-profit companies and seeks to negotiate a lower settlement amount with your creditors. These companies typically ask you to stop making payments during these negotiations, which can cause further damage to your credit — plus, your creditors might refuse a settlement.

To find the best consolidation loan, it’s important to do your research and compare as many lenders as possible. Consider not only interest rates but also repayment terms, any fees charged by the lender, and eligibility requirements. This way, you can pick the best personal loan lender for your financial needs.

This process is easy with Credible: You can compare your prequalified rates from multiple vetted lenders in just two minutes — without affecting your credit.

Here are Credible's partner lenders that offer personal loans for debt consolidation:

• Avant
• Axos
• Best Egg
• Discover
• FreedomPlus
• LendingClub
• LendingPoint
• LightStream
• Marcus
• OneMain Financial
• Payoff
• PenFed
• Prosper
• SoFi
• Upgrade
• Upstart
• Universal Credit