Bill Consolidation

Dave Ramsey.

Do not consolidate. Just speak to each creditor and ask them to help you.
LBC

There are almost no legitimate companies that do this; and even if you do consolidate your debt, it usually ends bad. Here's why: if you have too much debt, it may feel like simple math to roll it all into one payment, and then it's easier to attack. But the reality is, that when you do that, most people (80%, I think) don't change their financial habits that put them in the difficulty to begin with, so instead of getting relief with their reduced payment, they all too often keep spending as they did before, going even deeper into debt.

Most companies that do debt consolidation aren't legitimate. What they do, basically, is charge you a big fee up-front, then have you send them the money you were paying to your creditors. All too often, they hold onto the money for several months, making you late on your bills. After you're in default (which hurts your credit score), then it's easier for them to negotiate a settlement (because the creditors now think of you as a bad debtor, and they become anxious to get at least *something* from you, rather than nothing at all). So, they negotiate a settlement, which further hurts your credit. So, now you've paid a bunch of money to a company to screw up your credit and negotiate terms, which you could have done on your own for free.

Check out Dave Ramsey [http://daveramsey.com] for more thorough advice, tips, and other help to get you through this rough time. He's live on the radio & computer from 2-5 p.m. Eastern, and you can call in and get some more personalized advice on your particular situation.

Google Dave Ramsey and follow his Debt Snow Ball. Don't contact a Bill Consolidation Company they will screw you. Sorry to be so blunt but they will.

The truth about debt consolidation

http://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-truth-about-debt-co...

I would not recommend consolidation. it still dings your credit, you will stil get calls etc. What we did is we waited til we got in the mail those 0% balance tranfer for 12(or18months) credit card offers and did a balance transfer for the max. we did the math and made monthly payments to pay it off...once the 12 (or 18) months was coming up we got another credit card for another 0% balance tranfers and kept doing that until we paid all the Credit cards off. we had 18k in debt and it took us every bit for 3+ years to pay them off (at paying $500 per month since that is all we could afford)
the KEY is to not use those credit cards for any other purchase otherwise you will be paying the APR on your purchases until you pay your 0% off. you will need to change your ways of budgeting and spending money. sounds like even if you dont go this route, you need to do that anyway.
All the best