Debt consolidation loans and the hidden cost of making minimum credit card payments.

I have been asked many times if it is cheaper to have a debt consolidation loan or many credit cards, some with zero interest. The first thing you need to decide is how quickly you want to pay the debt off. The best piece of advice is that you pay it off as quickly as possible. Lets have a look at the effects of making the minimum monthly payment on a credit card. I am from the UK so am using Pounds but the effect is the same in Dollars, Euros etc.

As more and more credit card companies are being