Christmas is over and thousands of people across East Yorkshire will be dreading credit card bills dropping through their letterboxes.
Hull & East Riding Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is urging people not to panic – but to seek help early if they are struggling to pay their bills.
Ray Davies, project lead for the specialist debt team, has worked for the charity for the past eight years and there is not a lot he has not seen.
Her said: "Christmas and the new year is the busiest time of the year for us.
"Typically, we see a 30 per cent spike in demand for our services in the second half of January and into February.
"This tends to be when the first credit card bills roll in after Christmas."
Mr Davies said the charity's advice remains the same each year – spend only what you can sensibly afford to repay.
However, Mr Davies says he lives in the real world and advice often comes too late for a small, but significant, number of people.
He said: "We always try to encourage people not to borrow over Christmas and get themselves into debt. But if it does happen, we always encourage people to seek help early.
"Debt will not go away. It will fester and, the earlier you deal with it, the easier it is to find a solution to the problem.
"If you are struggling with debt, you need to recognise there is an issue and seek free help from an organisation like ours."
Often, the festive period will tip people already struggling with debts over the edge.
"Christmas can tip the apple cart," said Mr Davies. "There is a lot of temptation to spend money that people do not have.
"People see all the TV advertisements. Children see them, too.
"Unfortunately, the items children want these days tend to be very expensive."
Mr Davies is one of ten people trained to give debt advice at the charity's base in The Wilson Centre, in Alfred Gelder Street, Hull city centre.
Staff will carefully go through a person's finances and advise accordingly.
"We can look at the situation someone finds themselves in and help negotiate considerably lower payments to creditors," said Mr Davies.
CAB has earned a solid reputation with major creditors, because staff will come up with realistic payment plans.
"We will look at what people can afford to pay after essential living costs are taken into account," said Mr Davies.
"In more serious cases, we can explore possible insolvency measures."
Such measures could include Debt Relief Orders, Individual Voluntary Arrangements, and bankruptcy.
Call 01482 226859 to make an appointment with the team.
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