Unbiased.co.uk said the second Monday in January is already known as ‘Advice Day’ based on past figures, but economic uncertainties such as rising inflation and record low savings rates, are likely to deliver a new high-water mark for advice seeking.

“Advisers will be particularly bracing themselves this year for the Advice Day rush. The past year has been truly eventful from an economic point of view, and financial uncertainty has rarely been so high,” said Karen Barrett, founder and chief executive of Unbiased.

In previous years, searches on the site for independent financial advice have soared in the New Year.

From December 2015 to January 2016 traffic on the site rose by 75%, Unbiased said.

To mark the run-up to Advice Day, four independent financial advisers offer their top tips for the New Year, to help consumers make the right financial decisions in 2017:

• Don’t forget to maximise your saving into a pension. The government provides you with tax relief on contributions of up to 45 per cent (and at least 20 per cent) which is the ultimate ‘free lunch’. Also make sure to get a pension review in good time, to check whether you are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. – Mark Brooke, Pensionexpert4u Ltd 
• If you’re investing a lump sum, stagger it – don’t invest it all on the same day. Divide your investment into four equal amounts and invest over four months. If markets only rise, at least you have bought into a rising market. If they fall, you will be getting a cheaper price for your investment each month. This technique improves your chances of a lower entry cost, and may give you a head start or even cover some of your initial costs. – Michael McLintock, Adelp Financial Solutions 
• Never invest in illiquid and/or unregulated investments. Keeping costs down, tax to a minimum and avoiding stupid mistakes will tend to produce much better returns than the latest “hot” investment. The returns are also far easier to capture. – Jeremy Askew, Town Close Financial Planning 
• Seek advice from a mortgage adviser before you even start house hunting. Once you have seen an adviser you’ll be armed with all the information you need: the purchase price you can afford, how much you can borrow, the size of your deposit and monthly payments, the deals available and all the associated costs in buying a property. – Daniel Bailey, Middleton Finance