<prompt> Human: Hi guys, Little bit of background...Im a stay at home mom and my husband brings in a steady but tight income. We have 3 credit cards with about 3500 debt total. Because of our current financial situation, we are only making the minimum payments. Because the interest rates are so high, we are basically paying just the interest every month and the over all amount stays stagnant. I was looking into getting a personal loan to pay off the debt and just have the loan to pay back. If I do this to pay off the credit cards, we would not use them anymore and just keep the lines open to continue to build credit. I would like to ask around before actually doing so since I dont have experience in this area. Also, if anyone has used a personal loan, who do or dont you recommend?  <response>: I consolidated 14k of credit card debt from 14-17 apr to a personal loan with 5 apr. I paid off the debt in 1.5 years and havent had any credit card debt since. I had already learned my lesson about buying things you cant afford and the danger of compounding interest. Only free up the credit card space if you know you wont use it again. 