If you think you are in debt then don't despair as whatever your situation there are ways to ease your financial suffering. There are two distinct types of people in debt: those who can mean all their minimum repayments and those who cannot who are subsequently in a debt crisis.

If you are in a debt crisis, don't panic as starting to deal with it will make you feel better and speed up the process. Your best bet is to see speak to a debt councillor and you can find one via the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, National Debtline or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Those who are not in debt crisis, but with problem debts, should follow Martin's checklist to help them out of the mire. This includes not hiding your debts from yourself as you can only sort your debts out if you know the scale of them.

Other tips include ensuring you never borrow more to get out of debt, and to communicate with your lender. You could also shift your debts to a cheaper credit card if you have a decent credit score. However the credit crunch is making lenders much more selective in who they lend to so you may be refused new credit if you have missed a few payments recently.

If that's the case don't despair as you can cut debt costs without new credit through the 'Credit Card Shuffle'. That involves using any savings if you have any to pay debt or moving your debt to the cheapest rate you have out of all the credit cards you hold.

You can also ask for a balance transfer from one of your existing cards as they are not purely for new customers. You may not get the same rate as a new customer but it may be a lot less than what you are currently paying. It's also worth checking if you can remortgage or find a decent personal loan.

You may also be entitled to benefits, to reclaiming back credit card or mortgage exit fees. Or you may have been missolold payment protection insurance so you may be entitled to compensation.

For Martin’s full checklist and guide to dealing with debt read Martin’s full fuide to how to deal with your debt