If youre still in high school, as rich as Croesus or a favorite of Lady Luck, perhaps the term debt consolidation wouldnt even ring a tiny bell to your ears. But if youre like the rest of us, with a huge number of bills to pay month after month, creditors to alternately hide from and beg, then Im sure you know what debt consolidation is all about.

But just for the heck of it, lets assume that one of this articles readers has been sleeping under a rock and has no idea what were talking about. But the fact remains that he does need a little help financially. Well, debt consolidation is the process of accumulating your bills for one month, adding them up and giving them over to the kind debt consolidation specialist whos willing to help you for a teensy weensy price. Instead of paying off some, disregarding the others, you get to pay just one flat rate every month and thats it. Finish. Sounds wonderful right?

And because Im a good person, Ill discuss the merits of debt consolidation and the numerous ways it can help you.

The first important thing that debt consolidation can help you with is getting your creditors, bless their nagging souls, off your already aching, heavily burdened back. We all know how these creditors can be nasty at times. Theyre good at semantics and etiquette, Ill give you that, but a threat is still a threat, albeit nicely worded. The phrase to avoid taking legal actions never cease to make us shudder, doesnt it? But thats when debt consolidation come in to help you. With your permission, they take charge of your creditors. You need not see them again anymore. Big help right? Big, big help!

Now, the next form of help that debt consolidation companies provide you with is part of the program youll be working on with whoever your debt consolidation specialist is. One of the questions theyll ask you is just what kind of help do you need. Do you want your monthly payments to be significantly lowered? Do you need help to keep your interest rates low? Do you require help in talking your bank manager into giving you an extension on the deadline of a loan youve taken? The help youll get from debt consolidation depends on the program youre going to take but rest assured that what you want, you will get.

Its not however a bed of roses with all debt consolidation companies. Sometimes, they help you the other way around. If you had the misfortune to make business with an unscrupulous debt consolidation firm, then that firm may just help push you into further bankruptcy. One way to avoid this is not choosing online debt consolidation companies and not releasing classified information about yourself unless needed.

Ive said this before but Ive said this again. In the end, its what you want that matters. Those outstanding bills do not signify the end of the world for you. Where theres a will, theres always a way, albeit sometimes rocky. You alone can help yourself and if you think debt consolidation is the way to do it, then so be it. But if youre hesitating a bit and you think that youre better off without external help and relying on yourself, then thats a good thing too.

John Collins manages Debt advice. A site dedicated to helping people with debt.