Q. Would it be wise to consolidate two car loans (one is at a 5.89% with 21 months left on it; the other loan is at 8.75%; with 48 months left) into a $15,000 home equity loan at 10.71%?

A. No. The major reason to consolidate auto loans or credit card bills into a home equity loan is to reduce the amount of interest you're paying on that debt. This home equity loan would charge a substantially higher interest rate that you're paying on either auto loan.

The interest paid on home equity loans is a legitimate tax deduction. That's not the case with the interest paid on auto loans. But we doubt that benefit would offset the higher interest rates. Most home equity loans also cost several hundred dollars to establish. Sounds like a money-losing proposition to us.