Should you pay off your credit card debt with a home equity loan or line of credit? It sure is tempting--wouldn't it be nice to trade in all those bills in your mailbox every month for one payment? And what about the lower interest you'll most likely pay on a home equity loan, not to mention that some of the interest paid on a home equity loan can be tax deductible, while credit card interest is not.

There are some things to consider when thinking about paying off your credit card bills with a home equity loan or line of credit:

1. Remember, you are trading an unsecured debt for a secured debt. If you can't pay on your bills you'll be in a world of hurt, but your creditors can't come and take your house. When you transfer those balances to your home equity, you in effect gain a second mortgage. That means that if you can't pay the second mortgage, the lender can foreclose on your home.

2. If you are over-leveraged with home loans, if you need to sell the home for whatever reason and you have no equity, you could end up owing the difference between what you owe in mortgages and what you sell the home for. At the very least, you could end up with zero equity.

3. Too many homeowners have been using their homes as an ATM in the past few years and they have tapped out all their equity and then some. Your home is just about your only asset that will appreciate in value over time, but if you keep taking money out of it, you take away your equity.

Before you tap into that home equity, speak to a credit counselor about debt consolidation debt consolidation. While it makes sense for some people to tap into the equity of their home, older people seeking a reverse mortgage, for instance, There may be another way.