Christmas comes but once a year and with it heavy debts for thousands of people.

They buy presents galore by credit card, making the payments at this time of year when they stack up with other bills.

It's so easy for debts to rise quickly, particularly if people do not manage to pay off large credit card bills in time.

Luckily, as The Argus shows today, there are companies and other organisations offering good advice about ways in which to manage debt.

Better still, when Christmas arrives this year, those with money worries should go a bit easy on the festive cheer.

It's so easy and tempting to buy now and pay later but the results of partying at Christmas often bring a real hangover in the new year.