Nine out of 10 people in the UK are comfortable with their debts while one in five expect to reduce their borrowing over the next 12 months, research by MyCallcredit reveals.

The telephone survey asked people how much they owed, how comfortable they were with their debts and where people think they will be in a year.

It found young people are the least optimistic about their financial position, part-time workers are the most likely to be out of their depth and there is a significant minority of Britons who are overindebted.

MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson said: “Three times as many people expect to reduce their debt burden over the next year than expect it to increase, which is good news.

“However, there are some people who expect their situation to get worse, one in four people between 16 and 24, and one in seven people who aren’t working, expect more of their income to be spent on unsecured debt repayments in a years time.

“This is bad news for the housing market as it will put further pressure on first-time buyers and delay their entry into the housing market.

More than one in two people (55.8%) know exactly how much they owe on credit. Nine out of 10 people (92.7%) say they are comfortable with their levels of debt. One in 13 people (7.3%) say their debts are a struggle or they are out of their depth.

One in 15 Britons (6.5%) think they will be spending more than they do now on unsecured debt repayments in 12 months time.

People who are not working and have credit commitments are the most likely to say they are struggling financially or out of their depth (15.4%) followed by part-time workers (10%).

If you are a credit card holder, like most others you would probably like to have a higher credit limit. It would enable you to make more and more purchases that you would not be able to afford to in one go. More importantly, though, a higher credit limit can come in very handy when something unexpected crops up such as a car repair that you have not budgeted for. So how to go about getting a higher credit limit? One method would be simply to ask your issuer to increase, however, they are unlikely to accept. They will increase you credit limit if they feel that you have proved to be reliable. Using an analogy, if you were to borrow money from a friend and not pay him back for a long time or be very inconsistent with your payments you would need some nerve to ask him for even more money. The same applies with credit card companies and banks. Below are 5 top tips to obtaining a higher credit limit:

1. You must abide by the terms and conditions issued by the bank or credit card company. They want to give you a higher credit limit so don't give them an excuse not to.

2. Prove your credit worthiness not only to the credit card issuer but with any other credit you have such as mortgages, personal loans and car finance packages. Defaulting on any of these would certainly dissuade the bank from increasing your credit limit.

3. Use your credit card on a regular basis. Rather than paying with your debit card for everyday things, use your credit card then immediately pay it off. Regular usage and consistent repayments will allow the bank to build a more complete picture of your habits than if you just use it for emergency purchases. This will make it easier for them to decide if you should have a higher credit limit.

4. Make more than the minimum repayments each month. A higher credit limit goes means potentially larger minimum repayment amounts. It follows that if the issuer sees you are only able to make the minimum payment then it doesn't make sense to increase your credit limit.

5. Avoid making late payments. This is primarily due to the late payment fee that will be applied to your account but also because every late payment will count as a point against you in your bid to get a higher credit limit.

Treating your credit card with the utmost respect and spending wisely is the best way to gain a higher credit limit. Even more importantly, if you do manage to get a higher credit limit is not to get carried away with spending that you cannot afford to pay back. This is where a long and unpleasant cycle of debt can begin.

Filing for bankruptcy is an extreme move, not a quick fix. It's a long, painful process with a huge stigma, and you're unlikely to be able to get any kind of credit for ten years afterwards. Yet bankruptcies are on the rise. Out of ignorance or stupidity, more and more people seem to be using bankruptcy as a first option, instead of a last resort. Before you do it, make sure you've considered every alternative.

Have You Reorganized Your Debt?

If you haven't tried debt consolidation or negotiation, you really should. Yes, you'll have to pay back your debts eventually, but surely that's better than bankruptcy, isn't it?

Sell Everything You Can.

It's better to sell everything you own than it is to go into bankruptcy. Move to a smaller house. Sell your cars and take the bus. Take a good, hard look at your life, and realize that there are very few true 'basics': you can do without almost everything. Your house is probably full of quite valuable things that you never use, so bite the bullet and get rid of them. In short, subtract your debt payments from your income, and live like someone who earns that much.

You are going to lose almost everything you own if you declare bankruptcy, so you might as well try to sell it yourself at a better price and avoid the bankruptcy issue altogether.

Work More.

If you can get extra hours, do it. Being bankrupt is such an indignity that you should at least try going to your boss and asking for a pay rise or promotion. After all, the worst they can do is say no. They're going to find out about it anyway if you declare bankruptcy, and they might wonder why you didn't come and ask for their help. Also, if you're married and only one of you works, try to get the other a job - you never know, it might even be fun!

Use the Power of Threats.

One of the best things to do when you're considering bankruptcy is to write a letter to absolutely everyone you owe money to, letting them know. Make it a very clear threat: "if I cannot find a way of paying my debts then I will be forced to file for bankruptcy". Most creditors would rather let you pay back a tiny fraction of what you owe than have to try to get money out of a bankrupt.

Know Your Local Laws.

Bankruptcy laws vary enormously depending on where you are. There are some places where you'll be forced to give up everything you own to pay your creditors, some places where you at least get to keep your house, and some where you can declare yourself bankrupt and not even notice! Try to get a lawyer - you might think that you can't afford one, but many will work 'pro bono' (for free) for people who really need a lawyer but can't pay.

If you still cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel or if you are just looking for some advice on how to best remedy your situation you make want to seek out credit counseling.

Having a copy of your credit score can most often mean the difference between going deeper into debt and getting out of it. Because most people do not keep track of their credit score, they often go into deep debt without even realizing it. Every time you are late making payments to a creditor or skip one all together, you are subjected to loosing points on your credit score. Your credit score is used to show creditors and lenders how much they can trust you to pay back your loans and/or purchases when credit is being offered. If your credit score is low, creditors are less likely to offer you credit because it shows that you are a higher risk customer.

Creditors have access to computers that will report all of your credit habits and transactions such as: bill paying, credit card payments, missed and skipped payments, and debt. The more you miss payments, the lower your score gets. The average person usually starts with a credit score of about 800 and every time you skip or miss payments, that number gets lower.

Once that credit score gets to a certain low number, usually around 500 or so, is when a lot of people will file for bankruptcy. When they do this these creditors are automatically paid in full, but the bankruptcy stays on your credit report. There is one type of debt that bankruptcy will not clear and that is any money that is owed to the government from taxes or student loans etc. Filing for bankruptcy should not be used for this.

Keeping track of your credit score is necessary these days because that score can go down faster than you can imagine. When you keep up to date with your credit score you can prevent it from getting to the danger point which is 500 or less and you can save yourself a lot of trouble later on like when you want to buy a house. Ideally you should try to keep your credit score at 700 or higher but 650 is still decent. If you want to get a copy of your credit score, you can visit www.equifax.com and use the credit report to get your credit back to where it should be.

Your credit score is the best thing that you can do to avoid bankruptcy for all of the reason I mentioned above. Why wouldn't you get a copy of your credit score if that was an assured method for you to be able to avoid going bankrupt? When you correct all of your credit problems beforehand, you can be sure that bankruptcy will not be an option.