Consolidating multiple student loans; mileage bonus credit cards; keeping …

Dear Liz: I have four private student loans that I would love to consolidate so that I can have one medium-size monthly payment instead of four large ones. How do I go about finding a company that will consolidate them?

Answer: If you have good credit and sufficient income or a willing co-signer several lenders now offer private student loan consolidation. Thats a change from the recent past, when recession-scarred lenders largely abandoned this market.

Unless youre able to get a substantially reduced interest rate, though, you shouldnt expect your consolidated payment to be much lower than the sum of your current payments. Your payment could even go up if the consolidation loan has a shorter repayment period.