The first aspect of debt consolidation is gathering your free credit report from all three companies. You also need to include your FICO scores when you obtain the credit reports. Most often you have to pay for the FICO scores to be included. When you are dealing with debt and your credit scores you need to know exactly where you stand regarding bad, poor, good, and excellent on a score basis. These scores will determine the type of debt consolidation free analysis you will get. You need to have the credit report to make sure there are no fraudulent debts in your name as well as to total up the amount of debt you have showing on the credit report. In some cases you may find there is still a loan showing an outstanding balance that you have paid off. You simply need to make a claim to have it removed. Removing unsightly or old items from your credit report that should not be there is very important to debt consolidation and your overall FICO scores.

When you seek debt consolidation free advice or analysis there is often a form for you to fill out with your current income as well as debt. It makes it easier for the analyst to read as well as you to see just where you stand. Once you have the knowledge of where you stand you are able to diagnose the issue during the debt consolidation free analysis and make better judgments on the actual debt consolidation you will do.

Debt consolidation is all about saving money. This means you want to analyze the debt consolidation free advice you get for a few things. First make sure they are not consolidating any debts that offer a lower interest rate, than the new loan. Second make sure you choose what to consolidate and check to make sure the offered interest and monthly payment is within your budget.