In a survey of some 3,000 20 to 29-year-olds carried out by Halifax Financial Services, the typical person within this age group owes more than 6,330 pounds through plastic cards, loans and other types of borrowing. As well as this, such people are an estimated 1,531 pounds in the red via overdrafts, the Daily Mail reports. The study also showed that a combination of average debt of about 8,000 pounds and low wages has caused a third (32 per cent) of Britons in their 20s to declare that they either do not have money in their savings account or do not even have such a monetary product at all. However, among those with cash set aside for a later date the typical 20-something has just 2,362 pounds put away.

Additionally, research from the financial services firm also indicated that two out of three young Britons do not have a pension scheme. It was estimated that some 38 per cent of these people claim that they simply cannot afford to put any money away to fund their retirement.

With typical annual earnings of about 14,000 pounds, those who are in debt, whether via personal loans, overdrafts, credit and store cards or other means, believe that it will take them about four years and six months until they are back into the black once more. In addition, a third of those questioned by the Yorkshire-based firm think that they will never find themselves in a position in which they will be able to buy their own property.

As a means of getting to grips with money management, however, a debt consolidation loan might be of use to many people. This type of loan could allow borrowers to pay demands on their spending quickly and reduce the amount of time it takes for them to achieve a positive financial balance.

Commenting on the findings, Andrew Norton, spokesperson for Halifax Financial Services, told the publication: "These results are worrying. Young people may feel they can't afford to save but they can't afford not to."

Those looking to get back on their fiscal feet could well discover that applying for a debt consolidation loan provides the help with money needed to achieve this. Although a consolidation loan presents another form of borrowing, such a loan could allow people to pay off numerous constraints on their spending, ranging from energy and mobile phone bills to plastic cards and personal loans, quickly and easily. And in being left with a single low-rate repayment to make each month, it is possible that consumers may find that they have more disposable income - money which could then be used to increase deposits made into savings and pensions schemes, providing financial assistance for later life.

And a debt consolidation loan might be of particular use to residents in one Dorset town. According to Anne Bowen, manager of Dorchester's Citizens Advice branch, people from the municipality have come to the guidance service in 2006 with debts totaling an estimated 5 million pounds, not including mortgages. She stated that numerous people could be overextending themselves following a combination of high rent costs and low wages.

For these residents - and many others across the country - debt consolidation might prove to be of help.