Ask a Financial Expert

Do you have questions about your finances? Need advice on how to kick your bad spending habits? Financial Expert Alison Griffiths, host of Maxed Out, is here to help.

Q: When I got married, I consolidated my debt of $42,000 at 11.9%. Now a year later, I have $30,000 left to pay and three years to go. I pay $1,000 per month on it. Our combined incomes are $110,000 and we’d like to buy a home. But my husband is debt free and doesn’t want to add my debt to our mortgage. If it was consolidated, we could more than cover the monthly costs and expenses of home ownership. Could I have the $30,000 reconsolidated with the mortgage lender (or another lender) at a lower interest rate and maybe pay out in 4 years instead? Or do you have any better suggestions?

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