A consolidation offer always sounds cheaper — lower rate, one payment, done. This simulator runs the real math: every fee, every extra month of term, and tells you whether the deal actually saves you money or just rearranges the leak.
List what you owe right now — up to 5 debts. Use the minimum payment printed on each statement.
Copy the terms straight off the offer letter — including the fees they'd rather you skim past.
Honest answer: after consolidating, would you keep the old cards open — and might you use them again?
Plan the payoff with the Debt Refinance Planner and track it with the Debt Payoff Tracker on Gumroad — grab the free Paycheck Protection Checklist too. Get them →
The fee is a percentage of everything you move, charged up front and usually rolled into the new loan. Move $8,000 at a 3% fee and you owe $8,240 before a cent of interest. That fee is only worth paying if the interest you avoid beats it — which is exactly what the payback threshold above measures: the month where your savings finally cover the fees. If you'd pay the debt off before that month anyway, the transfer loses money.
A longer term shrinks the monthly payment, which feels like winning — but every extra month is another month of interest. A $8,000 balance at 12% over 60 months costs roughly $2,680 in interest; over 36 months it's about $1,560. The payment dropped, the total bill grew. If the new term runs longer than your current payoff timeline, this simulator flags it yellow even when the rate looks better.
Consolidation doesn't remove debt — it moves it. The moment the old cards show a $0 balance, they look like free money again. Swipe them back up and you now owe the consolidation loan AND the rebuilt card balances — the classic rebound that leaves people worse off than before they "fixed" it. That's why a yes answer forces a red verdict here: freeze the cards in a block of ice, cut them, or close them first, then consolidate.
Estimates only — this simulator assumes fixed APRs, on-time payments, and that each current debt is paid at its stated minimum until gone. Fees are treated as rolled into the new loan balance, the way most consolidation offers structure them. Your actual statements and the lender's fine print are the final word.
The free tool gives you the number. This tracker gives you the system you keep using — one-time $6.95, yours to print and reprint.
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