<prompt> Human: Im not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but rdebt seemed to be a little dead. Im a single mother, 23, I make a decent amount of money but after moving out on my own I have slowly accumulated about 8000 in credit cards and hospital bills. I have several monthly payments for various bills, and Im slowly getting more and more behind to the point that I can barely keep up with things like utilities. My credit score right now is around 648. Should I take out a personal loan to pay everything off and consolidate my debt?  <response>: If you are still falling further and further behind, the first thing you need to do is figure out whats causing your to spend more than you make. You need a detailed budget. You need a plan to gather an emergency fund for dealing with unexpected expenses. A personal loan may not be a bad idea, but without knowing the interest involved, theres no way to tell for sure. No loan is going to save you if you continue to go further and further into debt. 