According to a recent study by uSwitch.com, one in ten Britons ‘live beyond their means and borrow regularly to finance the spending gap’, ft.com reports.

The findings revealed that 5.4m people in the UK spend more than they earn on a monthly basis. More than half of all Britons are left with less than £100 in their bank account once all financial commitments have been covered.

To fund the gap between their income and expenditure, 48% of the respondents who were spending more than they earn use their overdrafts, while 34% use credit cards and 19% borrow money from family and friends.

An IVA expert for the IVA Forum commented: “The figures suggest that many people are forced to take on debt each month just to get by. We would advise anyone in this situation to seek professional debt advice before their situation can get any worse.”