This article starts out factually, but it ends up very bleak. I didn't really mean to go there, but what I've written is true, so I'm just going to go with it.

The busiest shopping period is after Christmas during the sales clear outs. Retailers announced increases in business of between 8% to 11%. Even on Christmas Day people managed to break shopping records. Although no retail outlets were open, bargain starved people raided the internet, where shopping activity was up 269% on last year! (This was after yet another record breaking pre Christmas shopping result)

And yet, Credit Action UK released debt statistics that showed more than a million bills in January 2007 were not paid as a result of excessive festive spending. And since we spent several billion more this year, I would suggest that there will be more unpaid bills in 2008.

It's as if we've had a collective fit of irresponsibility. Millions have rushed out to max their cards to the limit in the sales. No doubt buying things they don't want or need just becuase they're half price!

January will be the time to pay, with credit getting more and more expensive, credit card companies and banks are already fleecing their clients and will do so with even more gusto as they have to recoup their losses from the sub-prime fiasco.

Do we all think there's someone coming to rescue us from the results of our spendthrift ways? A white knight that will sweep in and pay all our bills?

Maybe we think that finally our ship will come in, we'll get that promotion or pay rise, the book we've been slaving over will be published, or we'll have the best product idea since James Dyson!

Unfortunately, the reality will be a doormat of red bills that keeps growing, phone calls from creditors wanting to know when they'll be paid, and a spiral of depressing, worrying circumstances that make our lives miserable and dull.

Is a few days of over indulgence really worth it?