My wife and I are looking to consolidates out credit cards as some have a higher interest rate and others have lower. We recently got married and had to dip into the credit cards to pay for some things and as basic living is getting more expensive, we find ourselves starting to slip financially and have $8,000 in credit card debt.

We reached out to our primary bank and they offered two options, one is a debt consolidation loan with a 10.5% interest rate for 4-5 years and the other is a home-equity loan with interest rate of 3.75 to 4.25 to a draw period of 5-10 years, this option would require $1,000 in closing costs and minimum loan amount of $20,000.

Just wondering what other people's experiences have been in similar situations or if there are other options that our bank did not suggest.

We appreciate any help and advice.