Britain is a nation facing rising levels of personal debt but decreasing levels of savings, an expert has claimed.

Chris Cummings, director general of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers, told online resource Money Marketing that it is vital consumers are offered professional financial advice to overcome that.

With advice, Britons could reduce their personal debt by a national total of almost £30 billion, the adviser stated.

The association’s research also suggested that "within four years of low to medium income population groups receiving financial advice – and only one in ten acting on it – new contributions to medium-term savings plans would increase by £1.5 billion," he said.

Debtors who are keen to reduce their own personal debt levels have a number of options open to them, including debt management, individual voluntary arrangements – usually called IVAs – and debt consolidation.

With an IVA, any money still owed at the end of the fixed period can be written off.

Years of easily-available credit have left many Britons keen to spend "tomorrow’s money today", an expert has warned.

Cliff D’Arcy, a commentator for financial advice website Fool.co.uk, suggested that credit has become an "ingrained" aspect of life in Britain.

In fact, the country’s debt burden has never been greater, he warned.

Before a person can get themselves out of debt, they must understand the total, Mr D’Arcy continued.

He urged: "Begin by bringing together all of the paperwork relating to your debts. Find the latest documents regarding your credit and store cards, car and personal loans, overdrafts, store finance agreements and so on."

Then, debtors should throw as much money as they can at their borrowing, beginning with the most expensive, the personal finance expert concluded.

However, when they list all their borrowing, some debtors may find that they cannot afford to maintain the amount without refinancing.

One option for those facing such problem debt is an individual voluntary arrangement, or IVA, an agreement which allows them to repay an affordable monthly sum for a set period.

At the end of that period, any remaining debt can be written off, setting the person debt-free.

As people find it harder to borrow, there will be an increase in the numbers turning to higher cost credit, an expert has warned.

Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said the economy will slow over the rest of the year and this is likely to reduce borrowing levels generally.

However he warned that as banks and credit cards become choosier about the consumers they are prepared to lend to, people "are forced to look elsewhere for higher cost alternatives, if they really do need to borrow".

Recently, Citizens Advice warned that Britons are increasingly concerned about their debt levels, citing a rise in the number of people seeking help at its bureaux.

It revealed that debt is the main subject on which its experts now offer advice, with one in three enquiries relating to financial problems.

The charity warned that "many hundreds of thousands of people" are finding it hard to meet their day-to-day living expenses.

British consumer debt issues are not as severe as they were in the early 90s, an income specialist has claimed.

Chris White, of Threadneedle, made his comments to the Citywire news resource, predicting that consumers could still face a difficult period as the country "flirts" with recession.

However, he suggested that wider economic factors make it unlikely the country will experience the problems it did during the last decade.

While Mr White’s words may reassure many, those debtors who are already experiencing problems because of the credit crunch may be less optimistic.

For some households, the rising cost of debt means they can no longer refinance their credit and is squeezing their income.

There are many options to those struggling to cope, one of which is an individual voluntary arrangement, more commonly known as an IVA.

Such agreements are made through the courts and allow debtors to make an affordable monthly payment for a fixed period, at the end of which any remaining debt can be written off.

One in seven first-time buyers are helped onto the property ladder by their parents, a new report has revealed.

A study by Abbey has shown that British parents have spent a collective £27 billion helping their offspring afford their first home, with an average contribution of almost £6,000.

One in 16 first-time buyers borrow money from the parental purse in order to afford their home, it noted.

The average amount parents lend to their children for house buying is just under £20,000.

Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of Abbey Mortgages, said "most parents" are keen to help with their child’s first home.

"Because house prices have increased so much over the past few years, buying that first home is also a bigger and more daunting investment than it was for the previous generation," she added.

Scottish Widows released research earlier this week which showed adult children are costing their parents thousands of pounds which they had intended to use for their retirement.

British consumers are being hit in the wallet as inflation "kicks in" and their pay is swallowed up by higher living costs, an expert has asserted.

Chris Tapp, director of money charity Credit Action, has warned that many people are being forced to use credit cards just to meet their day-to-day expenses.

He said utility bills and the cost of food is rising, squeezing the incomes of many British households.

Mr Tapp warned that using a credit card each month in order to manage is an unsustainable scenario and urged debtors to seek help.

"If you are using your credit card to pay your mortgage, it’s a worrying indicator because you can’t do that forever," he added.

Credit Action compiled figures which show average consumer borrowing through credit cards, overdrafts, finance deals and personal loans rose to £4,713 per British adult by the end of last year.

Parents are being forced to pay out for their adult children to help them avoid debt, a new report has warned.

A study released by Scottish Widows have revealed that more than a third of parents have loaned or given money to their offspring which they had originally intended to use in retirement.

It found that four out of ten such adult children used the money to repay debt.

The organisation warned that parting with retirement money could leave parents in financial problems once they stop working.

Economist Professor Merlin Stone commented that high levels of debt and the increasing cost of buying a house has caused young adults to rely on their parents for longer.

"Baby boomers, now mostly retired or entering retirement, have just about saved enough to fund their retirement but they are facing their funds being depleted by their offspring," he added.

Research conducted earlier this year by financial advice website MoneyExpert showed that among those Britons who owe money, as many as one in three are concerned about their ability to repay it.

Consumer confidence is low and Britons are increasingly concerned over their ability to meet bills and to repay their debts, it has been claimed.

According to financial report firm Credit Expert, almost one in ten people are concerned they will be unable to manage their money.

Furthermore, an increasing number of people who rent have resigned themselves to being unable to ever buy their own home.

Darryl Bowman, director of Credit Expert, commented that as consumer confidence fell considerably during the recent economic slump, it is not surprising that people believe they cannot afford to buy a house.

Consumers must make sure their "credit report is in the best possible shape is crucial to allow you to be judged fairly by lenders and to be able to extend the amount you can responsibly borrow – particularly in the current credit cautious climate," he urged.

However, for some debtors such comments about responsible borrowing come too late as the repayments caused by years of easy credit are now squeezing their household income.

One option for those who are concerned that they cannot meet their debt obligations is an individual voluntary arrangement, usually called an IVA, which allows debtors to repay an affordable amount for a fixed period.

Women in their 20s and 30s are being forced into debt by a growing pressure to spend money, it has been suggested.

According to the Observer, a desire to emulate the lifestyles of celebrities has combined with peer pressure and easily accessible credit to cause some younger women to suffer financial problems.

Leanne Holder, spokeswoman for financial adviser Helm Godfrey, told the newspaper that credit used to be just for making large purchases.

"These days, we’re using our credit cards every day to fund clothes, weekends away, expensive restaurants and more extravagant lifestyles generally," she noted.

Last year, research published by Standard Life suggested younger people felt pressured to imitate the lifestyles of the celebrities they admired.

Anne Gunther, chief executive of the bank, commented that credit has become a tool for financing lifestyles rather than to meet essential needs.

There has been an increase in the debt problems affecting younger people from wealthier backgrounds, she noted.

The world’s biggest credit insurer has warned that insolvencies are likely to rise across the western world as the credit crunch bites and the housing boom ends.

It noted that although recent levels of insolvency across the world have been low, a combination of economic factors makes it extremely likely they will rise over the remainder of the year, Reuters reports.

Nicolas Delzant, member of the board at Euler Hermes, told the press: "The scene ahead is not catastrophic but we have to be very cautious because we have a change in the world economy that can have an effect on many countries."

For both companies and individuals in Britain, the credit crunch has caused finances to become tighter.

Some people have been relying on credit to refinance their existing borrowing and now that banks have begun to tighten their lending criteria, they may be experiencing problems.

Accountancy giant KPMG has predicted that the UK will see a rise in insolvency numbers over the rest of 2008.