Money Talk By Meg Van Rooyan National Debtline, Information officer

Meg Van Rooyan offers festive money tips

Many people dread the moment in the new year when the credit card bill lands on the doormat. A debt expert explains simple steps for ensuring the festive spending spree does not come back to haunt you.

Christmas puts a great strain on the family budget.

There is enormous pressure on everyone to spend a lot on presents and entertaining.

It is particularly difficult if you have children who want the latest and most expensive toy because they have seen it on the television and "everyone else has got one".

There are some sensible steps you can take to ensure that this Christmas you keep a firm grip on your finances.

• Make sure all your priority bills are being paid, including mortgage, rent, gas, electricity, water, council tax and housekeeping
• If you can decide how much you can afford to spend at Christmas in advance and stick to it, you are less likely to skip payments on essential bills which will need catching up with in the new year
• Try and spread payments for presents over as long a time as possible, so lump sums do not have to be paid all at once
• Draw up a personal budget to work out how much you have to pay out on all your essentials and make sure you have these covered. National Debtline has a self help information pack "Dealing with your debts" which shows you how to do this
• Try to avoid expensive credit offers in shops, no matter how tempting they may seem.

Checking out debt

CONCERNED ABOUT DEBT? National Debtline: A free, confidential and independent service funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the credit industry. Tel: 0808 808 4000 Business Debtline: Provides a free telephone debt counselling service for self-employed and small businesses, funded by banks. Tel: 0800 197 6026 Consumer Credit Counselling Service: Funded entirely by the credit industry, the service offers advice to people in debt. Tel: 0800 138 1111 Citizens Advice: Offers free, independent and confidential advice from more than 700 locations throughout the UK. Tel: 0207 833 2181

Even with the best will in the world, sometimes the financial demands of Christmas weigh heavy and if you are considering taking on debt you should be careful.

Follow these tips to make sure any credit you take out is right for you:

• Make sure you know how much the credit is costing you
• If you feel the only way to afford Christmas is to spread the cost by taking out a loan, be very careful to shop around for the best deals
• Check the interest rates on offer and compare different forms of credit to see how much you have to pay in total over the whole loan period
• The interest charges on credit are called the "Annual Percentage Rate" or "APR". This tells you how expensive the loan will be. Generally the APR will be higher than the quoted interest rate and will reflect the true cost of the credit.

Some loan companies will want to secure debts on your home. This means that the loan becomes a second mortgage on your home.

Your home is at risk if you cannot keep up the payments on a secured loan. Think very carefully before taking out a secured loan.