If you are considering contacting a debt consolidation service to get your finances in order, there are two major things which you should consider before you call. If you have a large amount of debt which you are going to be requesting a loan for, you will want to take this, as well as your past credit history into account, as it is certain that not every institution will lend you cash for a consolidation if you have a bad track record.
This leads into the fact that financial institutions have certain prerequisites that you must adhere to if you desire a consolidation loan, and is our first important thing which you must ensure you have taken care of before you contact a debt consolidation service organization. Debt consolidation services will not be too keen on lending to you if you have no job, so you should ensure that you are employed before applying.
Secondarily, the consolidation service will require you to provide them with a budget so that they can ensure that you have adequate means to pay off the amount which they will be (hopefully) lending you. Something you may want to consider is making many payments per month instead of just one, so that your debtload will decrease faster.
The second item that you must consider prior to applying with a debt consolidation service is whether or not you actually require the services of a debt consolidation firm. If you are in the midst of a financial turnaround, and have been doing will with paying off your debt, you should consider whether the services of the consolidation service are really necessary. Chances are, if you have no need of the service, you will just dig yourself further into the hole instead of being better off in the end.