Debt consolidation calculator
Moving unsecured debt onto your mortgage almost always lowers the monthly payment, because you are spreading it over a far longer period at a lower rate. Whether that is a good outcome depends on the total repaid — and on the fact that the debt is now secured against your home.
The trade the monthly figure hides
Answer first: a lower monthly payment and a higher total cost are not a contradiction — they are the same trade seen from two angles. Stretch £20,000 over twenty-two years instead of three and the monthly figure falls sharply while the interest accumulates for far longer.
This calculator shows both deliberately, because comparisons that show only the monthly saving are the reason people regret consolidating. Look at the total repaid before you decide whether the monthly relief is worth it.
The part that is not about arithmetic
Unsecured debt is unsecured. Move it onto your mortgage and it becomes secured against your home — which is what makes the lower rate possible, and what changes the consequence of not paying.
That is not an argument against consolidating. It is an argument for being clear-eyed about what you are doing. Where consolidation genuinely helps is when the monthly relief is what makes an unmanageable situation manageable, or when the rate differential is large and you intend to overpay the consolidated amount rather than let it run the full term.
How to make it work rather than repeat it
Two disciplines separate a consolidation that helps from one that recurs. First, close the accounts you clear, so the balances do not rebuild alongside a larger mortgage. Second, treat the monthly saving as a repayment tool rather than income — overpay the mortgage by roughly what you were paying before, and you get the cash-flow relief without the long-term cost. Check the allowance on the overpayment calculator first.
It is also worth checking the routes. Consolidating at remortgage re-prices your whole balance; a second charge leaves a good existing rate alone and prices only the new money. Debt consolidation remortgage compares them, and capital raising and second charge covers the mechanics.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it.
Debt consolidation, answered
Does consolidating debt into my mortgage save money?+
It usually reduces the monthly payment and usually increases the total repaid, because the debt is spread over a much longer term. Whether that is worth it depends on the rate difference, how long you keep the consolidated amount outstanding, and how much the monthly relief matters to you.
Will lenders let me consolidate debt?+
Many will, though criteria vary and some limit how much of the raise can be for consolidation. Lenders look at the purpose and at whether the result leaves you in a stronger position. Being straightforward about what the money is for makes the application easier, not harder.
Should I use a remortgage or a second charge?+
A remortgage re-prices your whole balance, which is usually cheaper if your current deal has ended. A second charge sits behind your existing mortgage, leaving a good rate or an early repayment charge untouched, at the cost of a higher rate on the new money. Compare total cost, not the headline rate.
What is the biggest mistake people make?+
Treating the monthly saving as spare income and letting the cleared balances rebuild — which leaves the original debt secured against the home and new unsecured debt alongside it. Closing the accounts and overpaying with the saving avoids both.