I need to consolidate my loans, get my head out of my butt..

Welcome! :D Don't feel stupid,we've all been there,done that!Congrats for wanting to get ahold of your debt now. Since you signed up,if you also signed up for the credit counseling,someone will contact you soon. Consolidation will be of help,lower interest and one monthly payment. Your counselor will discuss the options with you.Once we see where we made bad decisions,then we can take action,not to repeat them again. Keep us posted,we are here to support and guide you through the process...Karen

You are mentioning the point of taking a new loan for paying off the existing debts. Don't use that option because your overall expenses will increase. Most companies also need some kind of collateral before they grant you new loan.

In this situation, a consolidation program will be real helpful to you. Your monthly payments will be framed as per your present situation and you can use that money for paying off all the debts. In future, you can change the plans if your finance increases/decreases. I will suggest you for a consolidation program rather than a consolidation loan. You can discuss this with a debt expert and know how this program will be the best fit at this point.

I understand that,... it makes more sense to me to get one mega-loan to wipe out the debt I have now, so I can focus on paying that off and deal with one interest rate, rather than send out a dozen payments as often as I can. I am also not too keen about paying someone a fee, especially since we're living with barely enough to get the groceries bought until I can pay some off this crud off.

Whatever decision you take, it will be respected. I was trying to focus on the interest rates and fees you will be paying twice after taking the new loan. Besides, there is a need of collateral when you go for a loan with the company unlike the consolidation program.

And in this type of program, the interest rates are minimized to the lowest and the fees are waived off. So, the monthly payments in the program are set as per your financial situation and you pay off your creditors through the consolidation company.

I've heard bad things about consolidation companies; along the lines of it will ruin your credit by paying through one because the credit card company doesn't agree not to report the smaller payments to the credit bureau.
Can you elaborate at all on any of the rumors/myths? I also spoke to someone who called me, and because my husband is military we can't get help through their company.

I am sure you haven't heard it from some professional. Well, talk to anyone here and they will suggest you consolidation as the best move. The credit card companies are liable to update your credit report with the bureaus after the account is paid off. If they don't report in the correct way, you get the legal rights to sue them in the court for violating the FCRA laws.

It's true, when you are using a consolidation program to pay off the debts, it will appear in your file. This remains as long as you are in the program. Once it is over, no one will come to know about using this program. Your credit is still fine when you are in the plan because you are doing the most important thing of paying off your debts, perhaps through a professional help. The debt management programs don't hurt the credit. Actually, they are designed to repair the bad credit by paying off the accounts.

Getting another loan will not help. Chances are, with all this debt you speak of, you wouldn't be approved I'm sorry to say. What your best choice is, is to gather all of your debt accounts and consolidate tehm with a consolidation company. There is a listing of them in this forum and listings of which ones are legit and which ones to stay away from.