Some 40 percent of U.S. adults said paying down debt is their largest expected expense in 2026, according to a recent survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education.
Debt consolidation can help borrowers with several debt payments or high interest rates combine multiple balances into one and, in many cases, lower the interest rate on that debt. Consumers need to be wise about which debt consolidation option they use, though, said Michael Baynes, CEO of New York-based business lender Clarify Capital.
“The reason why the right debt consolidation plan matters is simply because the wrong plan can increase the cost of the debt and make it a lot harder to pay it back,” Baynes told The Independent in an email.
“The right plan…