A little note about debt consolidation: If you have a lot of credit card debt and are thinking of getting a consolidation loan to pay the debt at a lower interest rate, think again. Credit card debt is unsecured and the minute you transfer it to the loan vehicle it then becomes secured debt. This means some of your collateral will be used to pay your debt if you don't keep up with the payments. Its a losing situation so don't do it, unless you feel morally obligated to pay the credit card companies for their deceptive trade practices. I for one, would settle my credit card debt for 30 to 50 cents on the dollar and then wait seven years to clear those bad marks on my credit report. Or better yet, start a whole new credit file and start all over again. People and companies do it all the time. For info send me an email and I can direct you in the right direction.