Would consolidating your debt actually help?
Consolidating turns several payments into one, which feels better the first month. Whether it costs less depends on the rate, the term and the fees — so compare total cost, not the payment.
Consolidating helps when the total cost of the new loan is lower than the cost of keeping the debts you have, not simply when the monthly payment drops. Compare total interest plus fees on each side.
The math
How this works
Does consolidating debt actually save money?
Consolidation replaces several balances with one loan, so the payment usually drops. The saving is real only when the interest on the new loan, plus the fees, comes to less than the interest left on your current debts. A lower rate over the same number of months saves money. The same rate stretched over more months lowers the payment while raising the total. Compare the two total-interest figures first, then look at the payment.
How do you compare a consolidation loan to your current debts?
Start with the facts on your statements: balance, rate, and the payment you make now for each debt. Adding the balances gives you what you would need to borrow, and adding the interest still owed gives you what the present path costs. Then price the offer using its rate, its term in months, and every fee attached to it. The comparison that matters is total cost against total cost, with the monthly payment as the second question. If one debt already carries a much lower rate than the new loan, leaving it out often beats rolling it in.
What fees come with consolidating business debt?
Lenders may charge an origination or documentation fee, and some loans carry closing costs or a filing fee for a lien on business assets. The debts you clear can add costs of their own, such as a prepayment penalty on a term loan. Fees are often taken out of the loan proceeds, which means you borrow more than the balances you are paying off. Put all of them in the fees field so the total cost of the new loan is honest. Fee schedules vary by lender, so ask for yours in writing.
Questions people ask
What counts as a debt I can consolidate?
Any balance you are paying down with interest: business credit cards, a drawn line of credit, equipment or term loans, a merchant cash advance. Enter each one as its own row with its balance, rate, and current payment. Supplier bills you pay in full every month carry no interest, so leave them out.
Why does the time to pay everything off come out so long?
Payoff time is driven by the payment you make, not the balance alone. On a credit card, a payment close to the minimum can stretch a balance over many years because most of the early money goes to interest. The debt with the longest payoff is usually what sets the time to pay everything off.
What does monthly cash freed up mean?
It is the difference between the payments you make now and the single payment on the consolidation loan. The calculator assumes you pay the new loan on schedule and nothing extra. If you put that freed-up money toward the principal instead, you finish sooner and pay less interest than the result shows.
Does this tell me whether a lender will approve me?
No. It compares costs and nothing more. Whether a loan is offered, at what rate, and whether a lender will pay off your existing balances depend on that lender's own underwriting, your financials, and any collateral. Bring these numbers to the conversation and ask for a written quote.
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This is an estimate to help you think, not financial, tax or legal advice. Finli is not a bank and does not lend. Your own numbers, and your banker, beat any calculator.