But she understands that for some people, dealing effectively with other people's money in a work capacity can often be a lot easier than managing your own accounts at home.

Unpaid bills and unforeseen outgoings can mount up, and the temptation of yet another must-have gadget is just too strong to curtail.

But Christine warns that the last thing you should do is to ignore the problem - as this just makes everything worse.

Resolve

The first step in dealing with debts that have climbed out of control is to acknowledge there is a problem and to resolve to do something about it.

Don't put the unopened envelopes to one side - they won't go away.

Next, sit down and work out exactly how much you owe.

Think about everything - credit cards, store cards, mortgage, car payments, bills etc. - be brutally honest with yourself.

Budget

Note down the interest rate you're being charged on each loan or credit card balance.

You could consider consolidating expensive debts (e.g. credit and store card balances) into a single personal loan with a lower rate of interest and a fixed repayment period - but then cut the cards up.

Otherwise you could end up in a worse position than before.

Then make a monthly budget.

Write down all your monthly expenditure using headings such as direct debits, food, travelling costs, car expenses and fuel bills.

Divide up any annual expenditure (e.g. car and house insurance) into 12 payments so there are no large one off bills you'll suddenly have to cope with during the year.

Help

Use these figures to work out the absolute minimum amount of money you need to live.

This should tell you how much you have left to pay off your debts.

At the same time, make contact with the organisations to which you owe money and let them know you have a problem with the repayments.

Often lenders will be willing to come to an arrangement with you rather than see payments cease completely.

If however you cannot sort the debt out on your own, there are many organisations that can help, such as Citizens Advice or the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.