Obtaining a home equity loan is a common method of refinancing debt and it has several advantages. But there are a few potential 'gotchas' that are worth considering before taking the plunge. First, what is a 'home equity loan'? The basic idea is simple: obtain a line of credit, secured by the equity in your home.That is, if you have a certain amount of ownership in your house - say, as a result of having made a down payment or payments over a long time (as many homeowners do) - borrow against that equity. But, like any loan, it's important to remember that a home equity loan is just that - a loan, or debt. If one of your major problems is the inability to exert the will to refrain from spending beyond your means, you have just found another supplier to feed your addiction. As a result, a home equity loan may actually make your more fundamental problem worse, rather than better. But, if you have made a commitment to control your debt, and are seeking ways to reduce your overall expenses, a home equity loan can be a sensible method to employ. One essential exercise is to actually calculate how much money you would be spending per month - and over the life of the debt - in one scenario versus the other. There are debt calculators readily available online to help you do just that. Sometimes you will have to weigh whether you prefer to spend more money over the life of the debt as opposed to having a smaller monthly payment, but higher total amount of interest. The better calculators will help you run through both scenarios, changing amounts to help you weigh the pros and cons.