Moneysupermarket has calculated that the top ten loans now for £5,000 have an average rate of 10.78 per cent.

This is 1.54 percentage points higher than in January.

People who have struggled with debt in the past could find themselves locked in a vicious circle. Moneysupermarket has also found that the cheapest loans are offered only to people whose credit histories are unblemished.

So a person who has had trouble keeping their payments up in the past could now find themselves having to pay more for a loan even if they are able to get one.

However, for people simply looking to make their debts easier to manage (who can afford their repayments), there is always debt consolidation.

While the British Bankers' Association has found that monthly lending through personal loans has experienced a 28 per cent decline, Moneysupermarket says that 20 per cent more people are using its online service to search for loans.

Age is also a factor. According to Alliance Trust figures, people aged 75 and over are experiencing the lowest rate of inflation for their living costs, at 2.3 per cent.

People aged 65 to 74 have it at 2.6 per cent and for those under 30, it is 2.5 per cent.

However, those who are between 30 and 65 are seeing inflation at 2.8 per cent - a figure which significantly outstrips rises in wages.

Spokesperson Shona Dobbie observed: "The working age groups face an inflation of 2.8 per cent, but average earnings have grown by only 1.2 per cent over the last year."