» Read the full story

We all know that this financial downturn came about, in part, because people spent too much and saved too little – don't make the same mistakes this Christmas time.

The shops are now in full festive swing and every advert on TV has celebrities playing in fake snow telling you how you need to get shopping now. Walk down the high street and there is a gift idea in every window. It is difficult not to get suckered in and begin spending.

But if you have been suffering through an adverse mortgage all year, the last thing you should be doing is spending foolishly again. House prices are slowly rising and evidence suggests that some lenders are wiping away the frost from their wallets and begin to offer more mortgages to more people. But no one is out of the woods yet.

You may have got into a new pattern of saving and not spending. You may have spent the year diligently paying down debt and doing all you can to be a better borrower – so now is not the time to undo all that good work.

Don't get back into bad habits of spending beyond your means this Christmas. Spend what you can but if you cannot afford it now then think and stop. Next year looks like it is going to be a little better than this one, but it's not as if January 1 will bring back the good times – we will all still have to be very careful with our money. You need to keep saving, keep reducing debt and keep living within your means. If you don't, next year will be just as tough as 2009 was for many adverse mortgage borrowers.

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.