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The decorations have been taken down, the first snowdrops are coming out and you get sweaty palms before you check your bank balance. Yes, it’s January – and time for the traditional ritual of tightening your belt until the long-awaited post-Christmas payday.

With those winter nights in looming, there’s no better time to plan your way out of debt – especially if you are one of the millions of people who spent more than intended over the festive season.

Figures from the charity Credit Action show that, as a nation, our personal debts grew by £1 million every eight minutes during 2008, with every household paying approximately £3,950 in interest during the year. Christmas only adds to the problem for many of us – a survey from CreditExpert, the online credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service from Experian, found that more than a quarter of us planned to put the festive season on a credit card or overdraft.

"Sorting out our debts would make 2009 a happy New Year for most of us," says Jim Hodgkins, managing director of CreditExpert.

“A good starting point is to take a look at your credit report. It will give you a general picture of the amount of credit you owe and how you are coping with the repayments. It may also be a useful reminder of accounts that you have been ignoring and can help you to assess where action is most needed. If you check it regularly, you’ll be able to monitor your progress and have a better chance of staying on track.”

Here are some more tips that will help you to overhaul your finances.

Know the size of the problem

It’s no good deciding to tackle your debts if you don’t know the size of the problem, so kick off with a financial audit. That means listing all your monthly income and outgoings, including mortgage and credit card repayments, catalogue accounts and bank overdrafts.

Although it might be alarming to see it all in black and white, it may highlight areas where you can cut back, such as meals out or taking taxis instead of the bus.

Then set yourself an achievable financial goal and use your audit to work out a monthly budget to help you get there. The most important thing is to be realistic – if you are too strict with yourself, you are likely to fail. Make sure you also allow yourself some small treats as a reward for good behaviour.

Prioritise your payments

Once you’ve set up a monthly budget it will be easier to manage your finances and decide how much you can afford to set aside each month. This way, you should find it easier to save regularly and whatever you put aside can go towards paying off your debts.

If you owe credit in more than one place – on a store card and unauthorised bank overdraft, for example – you may be able to consolidate everything into a lower-interest loan. If you decide to go down this route, make sure you do the maths first and include any penalties, set-up or transfer fees in your calculations.

You might be able to improve your chances of getting good deals on new borrowing by ensuring that your credit report is accurate and up-to-date. Lenders usually look at it when you apply to them and any errors or misunderstandings could harm your chances.

Economise, economise, economise

You don’t need to live off boiled rice and baked beans to save money, there are plenty of relatively painless ways to economise.

One of the simplest is to use price comparison web sites, which could help you find cheaper deals for most household expenses, from car and travel insurance to utility bills. They could also help you to reduce your debts by directing you to better credit card and loan deals. But always check the small print and watch out for introductory rates – what might seem like a great offer initially may not look so appealing when it reverts to standard charges.

You should also be careful that any lenders who need to check your credit report before deciding what interest to charge you understand that you only want a quotation. Every full credit application you make leaves a record, known as a footprint, on your report. If lenders see high numbers of them, they can think you’re desperate for money or even that a fraud is taking place.

Act before it’s too late

If you gave in to temptation and spent too much over the festive season, it’s time to get a handle on your debts. An unauthorised overdraft, for example, could land you with hefty charges that slide you deeper into debt. Likewise, missing or delaying a monthly payment on a loan or credit card will incur substantial charges and stay on your credit report for at least three years.

So if you are getting into difficulties, talk to your lenders straight away – you may be able to rearrange your payments or even take a repayment holiday.

There is no easy way out of debt, so regard an IVA or bankruptcy as a last resort. You may lose most of your assets and they will be registered on your credit report for a minimum of six years, making it difficult for you to borrow your way back to a comfortable lifestyle.

If you need free, independent advice, there are a number of organisations that can help, including Citizens Advice at www.citizensadvice.org.uk, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) at www.cccs.co.uk and National Debtline at www.nationaldebtline.co.uk.

• It's free to see your Experian credit report with a trial of CreditExpert.