According to James Falla, managing director of Thomas Charles, Britons who are developing problems in meeting demands for payment on areas such as mortgages, loans and utility bills need to take the time to consider the various options available to them as they look to get out of the red. He stated that before making a decision on how get back on their financial feet - whether this is through applying for a loan to consolidate debts, bankruptcy, an individual voluntary arrangement or signing up for an informal debt management plan - consumers should attempt to find out where they stand in a monetary sense. Creating such a plan, he stated, will allow people to identify how much cash they have coming in and where certain areas of expenditure can be reduced. Mr Falla added that by understanding their own situation, many people will be able to recognise the best option for them and could actually avoid getting into money management problems in the first place.

He said: "A lot of people get into difficulty because they don't have a good knowledge of their financial situation and they're not very good at managing their money or understanding it. But that's the key - to try to understand where you are, which is not really a nice thing to have to do. When you have a problem, the last thing that you really want to do is to put it all down on paper. But it's very, very important."

The Thomas Charles director reported that getting to grips with their financial situation before seeking advice from professional bodies will aid consumers to "listen to what the options are and how they are going to help in that particular situation". In turn, he advised that this may help people in avoiding a "shock". However, people were warned that the "key thing" is not to enter any form of financial plan without first understanding what they are getting into and making sure that they will be able to afford payments, as otherwise they may find themselves experiencing more problems in paying back loans and plastic cards.

Mr Falla also advised that "there is plenty of information out there on the internet", which could see numerous people find help in getting a loan online. Further research from the debt consultancy, conducted in conjunction with YouGov, also showed that 15 per cent of Britons owe at least 15,000 pounds.

Such sentiments concerning financial planning were recently echoed by Chris Tapp. Speaking earlier this month, the director of Credit Action reported that more consumers are struggling to manage money as the impact of five base rate increases by the Bank of England since August 2006 has risen the interest attached to personal loans and other types of borrowing. As a result, he urged people to take steps to get their spending under control, especially as the yuletide season approaches, with drawing up a budget or applying for a loan for the purposes of consolidating debts two possible ways in which this can be achieved.