Over the past couple of years many people have experienced huge difficulties when it comes to their personal finances, and a huge number of people have experienced difficulties when it comes to keeping up with their repayments and making their budgets stretch far enough. The financial strains that have impacted on people has resulted in many having to seek financial advice and debt advice to try and get back on track.

However, whilst the past year has been bad for a lot of people things could get increasingly worse next year, despite the fact that the recession is over and interest rates are still at their rock bottom level of just 0.5 percent, which is the lowest that they have ever been in the history of the Bank of England, which spans over three centuries.

A number of factors have been blamed for the possibility of increased financial problems for many households in the UK as the New Year approaches. One of these is the coalition government’s Spending Review, which will see a range of cutbacks that will affect consumers from all walks of life in terms of things such as benefits and jobs.

Impending job losses and rising unemployment is expected as a result of the Spending Review and cutbacks, which will leave many people in a difficult position. There is also a VAT hike that is due from the start of January, with VAT rising by 2.5 percent. This will impact on the cost of purchases for consumers, as will the high level of inflation.

One official said: “It’s likely that a rising number of people will be seeking advice from debt agencies and charities next year as the effects of things like government cuts, VAT hikes, increased petrol and food prices, and rising unemployment start to take effect.”