When shopping for debt consolidation loans, follow these steps:Consider how much money you need to consolidate your debt.Prequalify with a few lenders to get a sense of the APR you’ll pay.Use a personal loan calculator to estimate monthly payments based on that APR for different repayment periods.Find lenders that offer the loan amount you need and the repayment term you want.Prioritize lenders that pay your creditors directly (some will give you an interest rate discount for doing so).Prequalify with those lenders to find the loans with the best terms and lowest APRs for you.Seek out lenders without origination fees — an origination fee is deducted from the amount you borrow upfront and will reduce what your creditor receives.