Advice on clearing Xmas debts

With presents, food and drink to buy, the Christmas period can be the most expensive time of year for consumers.

This is compounded for many people by the fact that they may not have put money away over the course of the year, relying instead on those last few monthly wages to fund the spending.

And if that isn't enough, some may find turn themselves turning to credit cards instead - often leaving a trail of debt to be cleared up after the last of the Christmas turkey has been eaten.

But as with all the best parties, the best thing to do is clear up the debris as early as possible. Susan Hannums, savings manager at financial advice firm AWD Chase de Vere, said that those who amass Christmas debts ought to sit down with a clear head and work out the damage done.

"Definitely you want to be looking at clearing that debt as quickly as you can, so the best thing to do is … to sit down with a pen and paper, work out your budget for the coming year and work out how much you can comfortably afford to try and clear those debts as quickly as possible," she advised.

One way to help clear Christmas debts may be to consolidate them in one loan.