Hundreds of thousands of people expect to struggle to pay their bills this month as they try to get their finances back on track after festive over-spending.
Research by price comparison service uSwitch calculated today to be the poorest day of the year and 7.5 million households (30 per cent) claim it takes their bank balance up to three months to recover from Christmas.
With a longer wait for pay day caused by the festive break, around 270,000 households expect to have trouble paying their bills.
A further 108,000 said they could default on mortgage payments and 163,000 on council tax due to the "cash crisis".
The spending hangover is worsened by soaring energy costs, which uSwitch says have increased by 12 per cent to £75 a month.
Nick White, the director of personal finance at uSwitch.com, said: "The impact of the January financial blues is not restricted to the poorest families.
"With Britain's personal debt levels increasing by £1 million every four minutes, it is clear that consumers need to take some personal responsibility and carefully manage their own financial situation."
One way of saving money following the Christmas splurge is to install insulation at home.
Click here for a selection of double glazed windows and doors from Safestyle which can help cut energy bills.
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