Debt Consolidation Calculator
If you’re carrying a credit card, personal loan, or car loan alongside a home loan, this debt consolidation calculator helps you see what combining those debts could actually do to your monthly repayments and total interest cost. Most tools stop at a single number. This one models three paths – rolling everything into your home loan, using a personal loan, or splitting the debt across both – so you can compare them directly. Enter your debts, add your home loan details if you have one, and tell the calculator whether you want to reduce your repayments or clear the debt faster. It sets a target rate based on your inputs and flags the LVR impact, including an indicative LMI range if consolidating pushes you above 80%. The results are a starting point for a real conversation, not a quote – but they give you a much clearer picture before you walk into one.
How to use this calculator
Start by entering each debt you want to consolidate. Select the debt type from the dropdown – credit card, personal loan, car loan, or other – and the calculator pre-fills an estimated interest rate based on the type. Update that rate if you know your actual figure. Enter the current balance and your monthly repayment for each debt. You can add as many debts as needed using the Add button. The running total at the bottom updates as you go.
If you have a home loan, open the home loan section and enter your current balance, property value, interest rate, monthly repayment, and remaining term. The property value is used to calculate your LVR after consolidation, which affects both the lender options available to you and whether LMI would apply.
Once your debts are entered, choose your priority. Reduce my repayments sets the home loan to a longer term to free up cash each month. Pay off debt faster keeps the term closer to your current loan and focuses on the total interest saving.
The consolidation section then appears. If you have a home loan, you can adjust how much consumer debt to roll into it – the field pre-fills with your total debt, but you can reduce it if you want to keep some debts separate. You can also toggle the personal loan option to model a split, where part of the debt goes into a fixed-term personal loan and the rest into the home loan.
The results cards show the monthly repayment, monthly saving or increase, total interest, and interest saving or extra cost for each path. Use the term buttons and rate field on each card to adjust the scenario. The note below each card shows both the monthly and lifetime impact at the current settings so you can see the full trade-off.
Common Questions
What is the difference between consolidating into a home loan and using a personal loan?
A home loan consolidation rolls your consumer debts into your mortgage, which typically means a lower interest rate but a longer repayment period. You pay less each month, but the total interest can be higher if the term is extended significantly. A personal loan consolidation keeps the debt separate from your mortgage at a fixed rate and term, usually between one and seven years. You clear the debt faster and with more certainty, though the rate is higher than a home loan. The right path depends on your LVR, your cash flow, and how much flexibility you need. This calculator lets you model both so you can see the numbers before deciding.
Why does the calculator show a target rate rather than a real rate?
The rate shown is the break-even rate – the rate at which the consolidated loan matches your current total interest cost. It gives you a benchmark to negotiate from, not a number any lender has offered you. What you can actually achieve depends on your credit history, lender assessment, LVR, and which lenders are in play at the time. The floor on the home loan rate is set at 0.5% below your current rate, which reflects what’s realistically achievable through a refinance rather than a theoretical minimum.
What does LVR mean and why does it matter here?
LVR stands for loan-to-value ratio. It is your consolidated loan amount expressed as a percentage of your property value. When you roll consumer debt into your home loan, the loan balance increases and your LVR goes up. If it crosses 80%, most lenders require you to pay lenders mortgage insurance, which adds a one-off cost to the loan. The calculator flags your post-consolidation LVR on the home loan card and gives an indicative LMI range if it applies. That cost is not included in the repayment figures, so factor it in when comparing the home loan and personal loan paths.
Can I split my debt across both a home loan and a personal loan at the same time?
Yes, and this is often worth modelling. If rolling all your consumer debt into the home loan pushes your LVR above 80%, putting some of it into a personal loan instead can keep you under the threshold and avoid LMI. The split also gives you a fixed end date for part of the debt, which the home loan path alone does not. Toggle the personal loan option in the consolidation section and enter the amount you want on the personal loan. The calculator shows both cards side by side so you can see how the numbers change.
Is debt consolidation always the right move?
Not always. Consolidating into a home loan at a lower rate can look attractive, but if the term is extended significantly the total interest cost can end up higher than paying the debts separately. The interest saving row on each card shows this clearly – if it reads as an extra cost rather than a saving, the current settings are not working in your favour. Adjusting the rate or shortening the term often changes the outcome. There are also cases where your LVR after consolidation creates complications, or where your credit profile limits the rate you can access. The calculator gives you the modelling – a conversation with a broker gives you the real numbers for your situation.
Does consolidating debt affect my credit score?
Applying for a new loan or refinancing your home loan to consolidate debt involves a credit enquiry, which can have a short-term impact on your score. The longer-term effect depends on how you manage the consolidated loan. Closing multiple high-balance accounts and reducing your total outstanding credit can improve your score over time. What matters more than the initial enquiry is whether the consolidation actually puts you in a better position to manage repayments. If you are carrying multiple high-rate debts with repayments that are stretching your cash flow, consolidating and simplifying can be a net positive for your credit conduct over time.
The calculator gives you a solid picture of what consolidation could look like at different rates and terms. What it cannot tell you is whether you qualify, which lenders would offer the best deal for your situation, or how your credit conduct and LVR will land in an actual assessment. If the numbers look promising, the next step is a conversation. Book a free call directly using the button below and we can run through your specific numbers together.
