The study found that the amount people have left to spend each month, once living expenses are accounted for, has dropped by almost £10 and it is taking an extra three months to clear debts, compared to August 2007.
This means that people in debt can realistically only afford to pay a quarter of their contractual credit commitments each month, down 1%.
However, people owe £1,274 less each on average than they did in August of last year, down from £26,662 to £25,388.
Chiltern's Nathan Gladwell says: "Our figures show that people are applying the brakes sooner with their spending, or seeking help earlier than they were previously which is a positive sign.”
