Debt consolidation

My relatives called up my parents today after a very long time. My parents told them that they had been quite concerned about their welfare as we had not heard from them in over a year's time. We asked them what was the reason for the long silence. They told us that they had actually been in a bit of a financial soup because they had not been able to pay off their loans and had landed themselves up in a debt trap. We told them that we had also been in a lot of debt just a few years back, but were able to get out of the steep debt with a great deal of ease after a financial expert advised us to consolidate our debts. My relatives were not aware of this new concept and thus asked us what the benefits of debt consolidation were. We replied that debt consolidation helps a person to manage their debts better as all the debts are in one place. Hence, it is possible to be aware of how much you have already paid and how much is still pending. That way you are in a much better and financially aware position to pay off all your pending loans.