The is one simple but incredibly effective step you can take to dramatically increase your wealth. Its a step, which, for a typical family, could mean anything from 100 to 2,000 or even more, tax-free, to spend or save every month. Interested? All it involves is reviewing your loans mortgage, bank borrowing, leasing, credit cards and other debts and re-organising them so that you pay the lowest amount of interest and repayment. This may not sound a very worthwhile activity so let me start with a real-life example.

The Pattersons are in a good financial position with two incomes and plenty of equity in their home. Before taking action their borrowings were as follows:

Type of loan Remaining term Rate Amount Monthly cost

Mortgage 18 yrs (25yr term) 4.03% 234K 1239.02

Home improvement 4 yrs (5 yr term) 8.5% 18K 369.30

Car loan 2 yrs (4 yr term) 7.5% 20K 483.58

Credit Card 1 N/A 16.9% 6K 300.00

Credit Card 2 N/A 10% 4K 200.00

Store Card N/A 23% 8K 400.00

Although they could well afford the total cost of their loan repayments a staggering 2991.90 a month they were paying much more than they needed to for their borrowing. They decided to consolidate in other words, move all their debt ( 290,000) to a single lender and thus benefit from a considerably lower rate of interest. In fact, as they own their own home, they were able to find them a new mortgage at just 3.5% a year only 1% over the European Central Bank rate. This gave the Pattersons two choices. They could carry on paying the same amount each month. The advantage of this would be that their mortgage (and all their other debts) would be paid off sooner in just under 10 years and also that they would save a staggering 115,217 in interest. Or they could take advantage of the lower interest rate they had negotiated to cut their monthly payments to just 1451.81 a reduction of 1540.09 ! However, if they decided to go for an interest only loan ( repaying the full amount at the end of the term or by lump sum reductions at no penalty costs during the term) their repayment at the same interest rate would be down to just 845.83 per month ! The Pattersons went for the 1451.81 monthly payment and decided to invest the difference in bonds. As a result they are looking forward to receiving a lump sum in excess of 180,000 the same year they pay their mortgage off and will be free to pursue other, exciting investment opportunities.

Should you be following the Pattersons example and thinking of consolidating your debt? If you have a variety of loans at different rates then it could save you a great deal of money. However, consolidating loans in with your mortgage should be an once-in-a-lifetime strategy. This is because what you are doing is converting short-term, expensive debt to long-term, inexpensive debt. If you repeat the process then what you will gain in lower interest rates, you will lose in a longer repayment term. Consolidation requires discipline, too. Youll be no better off if you replace one set of high interest loans with another, or if you dont use your monthly saving to good purpose.

Whether or not you consolidate, it goes without saying that you should review your level of indebtedness on a regular basis. In particular, you should:

- Check that you have the most competitive mortgage rate available. If you save just 0.5% a year over the term of a 25 year, 250K home loan, it will be worth a staggering 20,409 to you. - Avoid borrowing money on credit cards or store cards. I have seen interest rates as high as 23%. If you use plastic, pay the balance off each month and dont fall into the minimum payment trap. If you make the minimum monthly payment on a 1,000 balance at 17% it will take you 11 years to pay off the debt and cost you a staggering 1,870 in interest alone.

- Never borrow to pay for living expenses or lifestyle.

If you dont want to consolidate using a mortgage but you do want to reduce your debts then you can adopt what I call the sniper approach. This involves picking off your debts one at a time, starting with the most expensive. At the same time, you should move your borrowing to where it will cost you least.

Attitudes to debt have changed considerably over the last few decades. Greater wealth, greater competition in the financial services sector and a period of stable, relatively low interest rates have all resulted in an explosion in consumer borrowing. This in itself is no bad thing. It makes excellent sense to borrow money for such purposes as buying a home, funding an education or making a major purchase or investment. It may also make excellent sense to borrow money and re-invest at a higher return. This column is all about making money. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure you arent wasting your cash on expensive or unnecessary debt. If you want assistance in this area then you should consult your professional financial adviser.