Debt is a fact of life in America, making debt relief a national obsession. A search for “debt relief” on Google pulls up over 34 million pages; on Yahoo and MSN, the total is over 12 million pages.

The average American household has $9,300 of credit card debt, but the share of income going to lower credit card debt has fallen to 0.3 percent.

<b>Housing Debt</b>
Based on this study, the Washington Post recently reported that,

This refinancing trend is one of the main strategies for debt relief. It takes several forms: first mortgage refinancing, second mortgages, debt consolidation loans and home equity lines of credit. These mortgages can be either fixed-interest or adjustable-interest loans.

<b>Debt Consolidation Loan</b>
A debt consolidation loan converts a passive asset—home equity—into ready cash for debt relief. It is easier to get than other forms of borrowing because the loan is secured by tangible property. It makes better sense than borrowing against the cash value of a life insurance policy or pulling money out of a retirement or 401(k) account.

But don’t wait too long to refinance. CNNMoney.com reports that, “Real estate gains came to an abrupt halt in the first quarter of 2006, with the median price of a U.S. home falling 3.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005. … Prices were basically flat or lower during the quarter as inventories of houses for sale rose and their time spent on the market lengthened, according to a survey of 149 markets by the National Association of Realtors.”