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My wife has 9 federal stafford loans totaling $29000 showing up on her credit report as 9 instalment loans would it be smart as far as credit wise to consolidate and only have one instalment loan. SHe is in deferment right now but we are ready to cancel the deferment and start paying them off the payments are not an issue we are just trying to do the best and smartest thing for her credit report and score hopefully trying to apply for mortgage loan next year any info helps thanks
Consolidating will give you one (or possibly two, if you have both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans) new tradeline. It can drop your average age of accounts, and does give you that "new account" ding for a short time. Other than that, it has no impact on your credit.
Consolidation is a good option to lower payments and make payment simpler by having only one servicer/account to deal with. It can also give you access to different payment plans and forgiveness options in some cases (like the Public Service Forgiveness). You should make the decision based on the other benefits, the best thing you can do for your credit is pay whatever loan you end up with on time.