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See what combining your credit cards, overdrafts, and personal loans into one secured loan could mean for your monthly payments, then speak to an advisor about your real options.
A debt consolidation loan calculator estimates what happens when you combine several debts, such as credit cards, overdrafts, and personal loans, into one secured loan. It compares your current total monthly payments against an estimated new payment on the consolidated loan, and shows the total amount you would repay over your chosen term.
Because the loan is secured against your home, weighing the lower monthly payment against the total cost and the risk involved matters before you proceed. Speaking to an advisor gives you a more accurate picture based on your own circumstances.
Consolidating debts means combining several debts, such as credit cards, overdrafts, and personal loans, into one new loan with a single monthly payment. A debt consolidation loan calculator lets you estimate what that new payment could look like before you apply, so you can compare it against what you're currently paying across multiple accounts.
For homeowners, debt consolidation usually means a secured loan, sometimes called a homeowner loan or second charge mortgage. It uses your property as security, which can allow lenders to offer terms that unsecured credit cards and personal loans can't match. Because the loan is secured against your home, it's a bigger decision than simply moving debt between two credit cards.
Here's a simplified example. Say you have debt spread across three credit cards plus a personal loan, and you're currently juggling four different payment dates. Combining all of that into a single secured loan means one lender, one monthly payment, and one date to remember. For many people, that alone makes managing money easier, even before you factor in any change to the monthly cost.
That said, this isn't the complete picture. While your monthly payment often falls when you consolidate, borrowing over a longer period can mean paying more in interest overall, even if each individual payment is lower. A debt consolidation loan calculator should show you both figures so you can make an informed decision, not just the monthly saving.
A lower monthly payment isn't automatically a better deal. Before you commit, ask what the total amount repayable looks like over the full term, and compare it honestly against clearing your existing debts on their current schedule.
Not sure where to start?
A calculator gives you a starting point. An advisor can look at your actual debts, your property, and your credit history to tell you what's realistically available to you.
Getting a useful estimate from a debt consolidation loan calculator takes a few minutes, but the result is only as accurate as the information you put in. Before you start, gather the details below so your figures reflect your actual situation rather than a rough guess.
Step by step
Gather your current debt information
List every debt you want to consolidate, such as credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, and store cards, along with your current monthly payment for each. Leave out your mortgage and any debt with early repayment charges that would make consolidating it uneconomical.
Enter your property details
You'll need your property's current value and your outstanding mortgage balance. Together, these determine your available equity, which is the amount a lender may be willing to secure a new loan against.
Choose your preferred term
A shorter term, such as 5-10 years, means higher monthly payments but less interest overall. A longer term, such as 15-25 years, reduces the monthly payment but usually costs more in total interest.
Review and compare
Look at the estimated new monthly payment, the potential monthly saving, and the total amount repayable over the term. Compare this against what you'd pay if you kept your existing debts as they are.
A debt consolidation calculator produces a handful of key figures. Here's what each one means and how to read it.
The estimated monthly payment shown is usually a fixed amount, so you pay the same figure every month for the length of the term. That predictability can make budgeting easier, especially if you're currently managing several different payment dates and amounts.
This is your estimated fixed monthly payment on a consolidated secured loan. It combines the amount you're borrowing and the interest into one regular payment.
Compare this new figure against what you're currently paying in total across all the debts you'd be consolidating. If the new payment is lower, that difference is money you could put towards savings, everyday costs, or an emergency fund. If it's similar or higher, the benefit of consolidating may lie more in simplifying your finances into one payment than in reducing your monthly cost.
A good result is one that matches your goals. If you need more breathing room in your monthly budget, a lower payment matters more than minimising the total cost. If you can comfortably afford your current payments but want to reduce what you pay overall, a shorter term is usually worth exploring.
This figure shows what you'd pay back in total over the full loan term, the amount borrowed plus all the interest charged. It's the number to look at if minimising the overall cost of borrowing matters more to you than the monthly figure.
Compare the total repayable against what your existing debts would cost if you kept paying them as they are. Credit cards typically cost more per pound borrowed than a secured loan, but that comparison changes if consolidating also means extending your repayment period considerably. Speaking to an advisor can help you compare like with like.
The calculator uses an indicative rate to illustrate typical borrowing costs for a secured consolidation loan. Your actual rate depends on your credit history, how much equity you have in your property, your income, and the lender you're placed with.
Rather than quote a single figure that may not apply to you, it's more useful to understand what moves the rate: a clean credit history, strong equity, and stable income generally lead to more competitive terms, while adverse credit or a high loan-to-value ratio usually means a higher rate. An advisor can give you a realistic range based on your actual circumstances.
If you're consolidating high-interest debts like credit cards, you may see a genuine interest saving even after extending the term. In other cases, total interest goes up while the monthly payment becomes far more manageable. Choosing a longer term generally means paying more interest overall, simply because you're borrowing for longer.
Neither outcome is automatically right or wrong. A household struggling to keep up with several high monthly repayments might reasonably accept paying more in total interest over a longer term if it means a payment they can comfortably afford. Someone with stable income and some flexibility in their budget might prefer a shorter term that costs less overall, even though each payment is higher.
Don't just look at the monthly saving. Ask your advisor for the total repayable at a couple of different terms, then decide which trade-off actually suits your circumstances, not just your current month.
Several factors influence the rate and term you're likely to be offered. Understanding them helps you interpret your calculator result and can improve your actual application.
The key factors
Your available equity
Equity is the portion of your property you own outright, the value minus what you owe on your mortgage. If your home is worth £300,000 and you owe £180,000, you have £120,000 in equity. Most lenders use loan-to-value (LTV) to assess how much they'll lend, and higher equity generally means better terms.
Your credit profile
Your credit history is a major driver of the terms you'll be offered. Lenders price risk, so a history of defaults, County Court Judgments, or missed payments typically means less favourable terms. Specialist lenders exist for adverse credit situations, so an imperfect history doesn't rule consolidation out.
The amount you want to consolidate
Most secured consolidation loans range from around £10,000 to £500,000. Borrowing below roughly £15,000 can sometimes be uneconomical, since setup costs make up a larger share of a smaller loan.
Your chosen loan term
Term length creates the classic trade-off between monthly affordability and total cost. A shorter term means higher monthly payments but less interest overall; a longer term reduces the monthly payment but usually increases total interest.
Your income and affordability
Lenders check that you can afford the new payment, not just that you have enough equity. They'll look at your income, existing commitments, and typical living costs, weighing your total monthly debt payments against what you earn.
Weigh this up
Consolidation loans involve costs beyond the interest rate. Factoring these in gives you a realistic picture of what consolidating will actually cost.
These costs reduce your net proceeds if paid upfront, or increase your total borrowing if added to the loan. For example, a £35,000 consolidation loan with a broker fee, lender arrangement fee, valuation, and legal fees combined might add roughly £2,000 to £2,500 in setup costs. For smaller loans, high setup costs can meaningfully eat into the financial benefit of consolidating, so it's worth asking your advisor to confirm the exact figures before you commit to anything.
Debt consolidation through a secured loan isn't right for everyone. Consider these factors carefully before you proceed.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Secured loans use your property as security, so if you can't maintain repayments, the lender can ultimately repossess and sell your home to recover what's owed. Credit card debt, while expensive, doesn't put your home at risk in the same way. Before consolidating unsecured debts into a secured loan, it's worth honestly assessing your job security, income stability, and ability to keep paying if your circumstances change.
Monthly payments often fall, but extending debts over 10-20 years frequently costs more in total interest than paying them off faster at a higher rate. This isn't automatically a bad thing; sometimes cash flow matters more than total cost. But it's worth going into consolidation with your eyes open to that trade-off.
Most consolidation loans include early repayment charges during an initial period, often 3-7 years, which can add a meaningful cost if you repay or remortgage during that time. If you anticipate coming into money, such as an inheritance, a bonus, or a property sale, that could clear the debt, factor potential charges into your decision.
Consolidating clears your credit cards, but the available credit on them is restored. Without addressing whatever caused the debt to build up, some people run up new balances while still repaying the consolidation loan, ending up worse off than before.
If you're unsure whether consolidation is the right move, it's worth getting independent guidance before proceeding. Free, independent debt advice is available from MoneyHelper on 0800 138 7777, as well as from charities like StepChange and Citizens Advice. They can talk through your options, including alternatives such as a debt management plan, and aren't tied to any particular lender or product.
Running the calculator more than once with different inputs helps you understand your options. Many lenders also let you choose your payment date once the loan is set up, so it's worth thinking about how that could help you manage your budget around your income schedule.
You don't have to consolidate everything. Sometimes consolidating only your highest-interest debts, such as credit cards, while leaving cheaper finance like a low-rate car loan untouched, makes more sense. Running the calculator with different combinations of debts helps you find where the sweet spot falls for your situation.
You can also compare adding setup costs to the loan versus paying them upfront. Adding fees to the loan increases both your monthly payment and your total interest, since you're borrowing and paying interest on the fees too. If you have savings to cover setup costs separately, that keeps the loan itself smaller; if not, adding them to the loan is a reasonable option, just factor the extra cost into your comparison.
Compare your options
Based on helping many customers through this process, these are the errors we see most often with consolidation calculations and applications.
Some debts carry penalties for early settlement, such as extra interest on a personal loan or a settlement fee on car finance. Before assuming you can consolidate a debt for its outstanding balance, check the actual settlement figure, since early repayment charges can add a meaningful amount to what you need to borrow.
When adding up current payments, it's easy to miss the smaller ones, like a store card minimum or overdraft interest. List every single debt payment, however small, to get an accurate picture of what you're currently paying out each month.
Some existing debts include payment protection insurance or similar cover. When you consolidate and close those accounts, that protection usually ends. If that kind of protection matters to you, factor in the cost of replacing it separately.
Compare like with like. If your current debts would take five years to clear at your current payments, compare the total cost over those five years against a five-year consolidation loan, not a fifteen-year one. Alternatively, compare monthly payments if cash flow is your priority, just be clear about what you're actually optimising for.
If you expect your income to rise, it's worth considering whether a shorter term with higher payments might become affordable soon. If you're approaching retirement, think about whether you could realistically maintain payments for another 15-20 years.
A debt consolidation loan calculator gives you indicative figures based on typical rates. Here's how to move from an estimate to an actual offer.
Calculator results are a starting point. To get actual terms based on your specific circumstances, you need a proper assessment. When you speak with an advisor, they'll ask about your income, employment, credit history, and property. This kind of soft-search assessment typically doesn't affect your credit score but gives a far more accurate picture than a calculator estimate.
If you decide to proceed, the formal application process typically takes a few weeks from application to funds reaching your account. Here's roughly what to expect:
Once consolidated, you'll have one monthly payment to one lender. When setting up your Direct Debit, you can usually choose your payment date, and many people pick a day or two after payday so the payment reliably goes through.
Most consolidation loans allow overpayments, often up to 10% of the balance each year, without charge. If your circumstances improve, making overpayments can reduce your balance faster and save interest. It's also worth deciding what to do with the credit cards you've cleared: some people keep them for emergencies but reduce the limits, while others prefer closing them entirely to remove the temptation.
Ready to compare your options?
Tell us about your debts and your property, and an advisor will talk you through what's realistically available, including the total cost, not just the monthly figure.
Common questions
No. The calculator is a mathematical tool that estimates payments based on the figures you enter. It doesn't access your credit file or carry out any searches. Credit checks only happen if you go ahead with an actual application.
The calculator provides indicative figures based on typical rates. Your actual rate depends on individual factors including your credit history, equity, income, and the specific lender. Speaking to an advisor gives you a more accurate picture based on your actual circumstances.
Most secured loan lenders set minimum loan amounts of around £10,000-£15,000. For smaller consolidation amounts, the fixed setup costs make secured loans uneconomical, so you'd likely be better served by personal loan consolidation or a balance transfer option.
Yes, many people with adverse credit successfully consolidate debts through a secured loan, because the equity in your property provides security that can support lending despite credit issues. You'll typically be offered less favourable terms than someone with a clean credit history, but it can still work out cheaper than continuing to pay high-interest credit card debt. Speak to an advisor about your specific situation.
Initially, the new application will show on your credit file. However, consolidating and clearing several credit accounts often improves your score over time, since you'll show lower credit utilisation and a consistent payment history on one account rather than several.
From application to funds typically takes a few weeks. Straightforward cases can complete faster, while complex applications or unusual properties may take longer. If you need the funds urgently, let your advisor know, they can advise on which lenders tend to process fastest.
This calculator focuses on secured second charge loans that sit alongside your existing mortgage. Remortgaging to consolidate debts is a different process with different implications. An advisor can talk you through both options and which suits your circumstances.
If affordability still feels stretched after consolidating, extending the term further can reduce the payment but increases the total cost. It's also worth speaking to a free debt charity like StepChange or Citizens Advice before taking on secured borrowing, since alternatives such as a debt management plan are sometimes more appropriate.
You can consolidate most unsecured debts, including credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, catalogues, and personal loans. Secured debts against your property, like your main mortgage, work differently. Priority debts such as council tax arrears or child maintenance generally can't be consolidated, though they can sometimes be paid off using loan proceeds.
The secured loan needs repaying or transferring when you sell your property. Most lenders allow porting to a new property, subject to it meeting their criteria. Alternatively, you can use the sale proceeds to clear the loan, just remember to account for this in your moving costs.
Yes, though early repayment charges typically apply during an initial period, often 3-7 years. After that period, you can usually repay freely. Annual overpayments, often up to 10% of the balance, are usually permitted without charge, which can help you reduce the debt faster if your circumstances allow.
No. Consolidation means taking out a new loan to repay your existing debts, so you still repay everything you borrowed, just under different terms. A debt management plan involves negotiating reduced payments with your creditors, which can mean paying less than you owe, but usually has a more significant impact on your credit file.
This calculator is for secured debt consolidation loans, which require you to own a property, with or without a mortgage. A secured loan lets you combine multiple debts into one loan secured against your home, offering the possibility of a lower monthly payment, but it also means your home may be at risk if you don't keep up repayments. If you're renting, an unsecured consolidation loan, a balance transfer, or a debt management plan might be a more appropriate alternative.
A single lender can only offer you their own products. As a broker, we compare a wide range of lenders, including specialists that many people don't know exist, and can often find options for people a single lender would decline. We may receive commission from the lender if you proceed, but this doesn't affect which option we recommend to you.
Typically you'll need proof of income (payslips or SA302s if you're self-employed), a few months of bank statements, identification documents, proof of address, and statements for the debts you're consolidating. An advisor will confirm exactly what's needed once they understand your circumstances.
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