Concerns of consolidation:
In recent years, reports in the media have raised concerns about the use of consolidation loans. The worry is that many people are tempted to consolidate unsecured debt into secured debt, usually secured against their home. Although the monthly payments can often be lower, the total amount repaid is often significantly higher due to the long period of the loan. In some circumstances, snowballing debt may be a better solution.
There are other alternatives to a debt consolidation loan, where unsecured debt is not "shifted" to secured debt, but is eliminated through a settlement or payment plan. Debt consolidation can be confusing for many people, so it is helpful to learn about all of your options, and sometimes with the help of an advisor.

Debt consolidation:
Debt consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan.
Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, which is most commonly a house (in this case a mortgage is secured against the house.) The collateralization of the loan allows a lower interest rate than without it, because by collateralizing, the asset owner agrees to allow the forced sale (foreclosure) of the asset in order to pay back the loan. The risk to the lender is reduced so the interest rate offered is lower.
Sometimes, debt consolidation companies can discount the amount of the loan. When the debtor is in danger of bankruptcy, the debt consolidator will buy the loan at a discount. A prudent debtor can shop around for consolidators who will pass along some of the savings. Consolidation can affect the ability of the debtor to discharge debts in bankruptcy, so the decision to consolidate must be weighed carefully.
Debt consolidation is often advisable in theory when someone is paying credit card debt. Credit cards can carry a much larger interest rate than even an unsecured loan from a bank. Debtors with property such as a home or car may get a lower rate through a secured loan using their property as collateral. Then the total interest and the total cash flow paid towards the debt is lower allowing the debt to be paid off sooner, incurring less interest. In practice, many people are in credit card debt because they spend more than their income. If that habit continues, the consolidation will not benefit them much because they will simply increase their credit card balances again.
Because of the theoretical advantage that debt consolidation offers a consumer that has high interest debt balances, companies can take advantage of that benefit of refinancing to charge very high fees in the debt consolidation loan. Sometimes these fees are near the state maximum for mortgage fees. In addition, some unscrupulous companies will knowingly wait until a client has backed themselves into a corner and must refinance in order to consolidate and pay off bills that they are behind on the payments. If the client does not refinance they may lose their house, so they are willing to pay any allowable fee to complete the debt consolidation. In some cases the situation is that the client does not have enough time to shop for another lender with lower fees and may not even be fully aware of them. This practice is known as predatory lending. Certainly many, if not most, debt consolidation transactions do not involve predatory lending.

Variations of the debt-snowball method:
Some financial advisors suggest a variation in which the debts are listed in descending order according to the interest rate that is charged. The idea is to reduce the debts that are growing the fastest in order to minimize the total amount of interest paid. Others recommend paying the debts that cause the most worry or stress.
Ultimately, the best choice depends on the situation and outlook of the debtor. Those who are unsure of their ability to stick with the plan may want to pay the smallest debt first, because the thrill of eliminating an entire balance sooner may encourage them to continue. If an interest-free loan from a sibling or parent has gone unpaid for so long that it threatens to destroy a relationship, it would be a logical first choice for repayment.

Using the Debt-snowball method to get debt relief.
The debt-snowball method of debt repayment is a form of debt management that is most often applied to repaying revolving credit such as credit cards. This method is the primary debt-reduction method taught by Dave Ramsey.
The basic steps in the debt snowball:

1. List all debts in ascending order from smallest balance to largest.
2. Commit to pay the minimum payment on every debt.
3. Determine how much extra can be applied towards the smallest debt.
4. Pay the minimum payment plus the extra amount towards that smallest debt until it is paid off.
5. Then, add the old minimum payment from the first debt to the extra amount, and apply the new sum to the second smallest debt.
6. Repeat until all debts are paid in full.

In theory, by the time the final debts are reached, the snowball will be "rolling" quickly as it has picked up a lot of financial mass. Hence, larger debts will be paid off faster.
All retirement contributions are to be halted during the debt snowball, thus freeing up more money to pay down the debt snowball. Many dispute this practice, citing the cost of compounding interest to be greater than the gains of paying off debt. Some comprimise by reducing retirement contributions to only what a company will match with an employee. Ramsey teaches that this halting of retirement contributions should last no more than two years.
A first home mortgage is not generally included in the debt snowball, but is instead paid off as part of one's larger financial plan.

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