Citizens Advice issues Christmas debt test

Citizens Advice is helping people avoid a debt hangover in the New Year, with the use of an online quiz.

The organisation's website allows consumers to test themselves to see how good they are at handling money in the festive season.

It enables them to assess whether they are spending within their means or racking up the debt, which will come back to bite them in the New Year.

Citizens Advice director of policy, Teresa Perchard said: "Lots of us want to make Christmas special, especially for children. It's all too easy to spend more than you can afford when the shops are overflowing with temptation and you're bombarded with offers of easy credit."

She added: "But we know from experience that the new year and spring is the busiest time of all for money advisers in Citizens Advice Bureaux, when people who have stretched their finances to the limit wake up to a debt hangover."

The advice Bureaux have witnessed the number of debt issues increase 74 per cent since 1996/7.

Last year, Bureaux dealt with nearly 1.1 million debt-related issues.

The Christmas money survey is available at the Citizens Advice website (www.adviceguide.org.uk).