Should I use a personal loan to pay off my credit cards?

It can make sense when the personal loan's APR is meaningfully lower than your cards' and you'll actually stop charging the cards. A typical credit card runs 22–28%, while a personal loan for someone with good credit might be 9–14% – that gap means more of each payment kills principal, plus you get a fixed payoff date instead of revolving debt that never ends. Watch for an origination fee (often 1–8%, deducted from the loan), and don't stretch the term so long that lower payments cost you more total interest. The behavioral trap is real: people pay off cards with a loan, then rack the cards up again and end up with both debts. If you go this route, consider keeping one card for emergencies and locking the rest away. The loan should be a tool, not a fresh credit line.