The bill after the Christmas period coupled with rising living costs have left many Brits feeling the pinch with 42% admitting they will be putting daily essentials on to their credit card. 30% also admitted to putting items from the January sales onto their card.

John Willcock, Head of Credit Cards at Post Office, said: “While many people intend to manage their credit card purchases and repayments sensibly, there are still too many people who are not thinking of the consequences of their festive spending. It is surprising to see so many people forced to rely on their plastic for daily essentials this month.”

One in 12 will also be putting everyday purchases on their credit card throughout the year.

Willcock added: “The New Year is the ideal time to think about financial planning and organising a household budget. I urge people to check their interest charges and consider switching to a deal with a zero per cent offer on purchases and balance transfers.

“People with debts spread across different cards may benefit from consolidating their debts on to one card to make them easier to manage and to reduce the amount of interest being paid.”

The report also highlighted that more people have used their credit cards this January than this time last year. Three million people more have put purchases on the plastic then this time last year.

A survey by vouchercodes.co.uk also found that people are increasingly relying on money-off vouchers and online deals to get the most out of their money this January.

During the fortnight following Boxing Day, the site received 3.1m visitors – an increase of 35% compared to the 2.3m over the same period last year.

Traffic has also almost doubled against the 1.6m visitors from 2010, indicating that over the last few years, discount sites have become the first port of call for cash strapped consumers.

Duncan Jennings, co-founder of VoucherCodes.co.uk comments: “January has always been a tough month financially as consumers attempt to lessen the impact of Christmas spending by cutting costs at the beginning of the year.

“Our data just goes to show that consumers have become savvier over the years and wised up to visiting voucher websites to slash their outgoings.

“Getting in to the habit of checking for online discounts and deals, can help shoppers make their money go further without compromising on quality.

“Those who don’t check voucher sites are spending more than they need to and should wake up a smarter way of shopping – especially at this time of year when purse strings are typically tightened.”

ADVICE: Should you manage your debt with balance transfer?