what is debt settlement 
not to be confused with debt consolidation debt settlement aims to reduce a consumer s financial obligations rather than the number of creditors they have consumers can work with debt relief organizations or credit counseling services to settle their debts these organizations do not make actual loans but try to renegotiate the borrower s current debts with creditors the bottom linedebt consolidation can be a useful strategy for paying down debt more quickly and reducing your overall interest costs you can consolidate debt in many different ways such as through a personal loan a new credit card or a home equity loan 