Like getting fit and drinking less, tidying up one's personal finances and shaking off debt is a popular new year's resolution for a reason.
Debt can cause enormous stress, and with households facing higher prices at the shops and rising interest rates, Australians are increasingly turning to credit to get by.
For 23-year-old chef Lara Clarke, it was easy to rack up thousands of dollars in debt buying things she needed but couldn't afford, such as a bed and Christmas gifts.
"I didn't have the money at the time, so I just put it all on my Zip Pay - but it's added up quickly," she told AAP.
While Ms Clarke lives with her parents, she still pays rent, and covers most of her own groceries that have ballooned in price.
As such, she's found herself in $5000 worth of buy now pay later debt that she hopes to chip away at over the course of 2023.
She plans to pay off the debt as quickly as possible and then delete her buy now pay later account for good.
"The quicker I get it paid off, the quicker I feel much better," she said.
Millions of Australians are struggling with buy now pay later and other forms of debt, a Finder survey has revealed.
Around eight per cent are in over their heads in buy now pay later debt, with one in 10 under pressure from credit card debt.
But while more people are falling into debt, the amount of debt people are carrying has actually shrunk.
Canstar estimates average debt levels dropped to $13,312 in 2022 from $46,020 in 2021, with credit card debt making up more than 40 per cent of all debt.
The comparison site put the subdued credit averages down to long waiting lists for new cars and risky post-pandemic travel, with borrowing for cars and overseas holidays the most common uses for credit in Australia.
But with more interest rate hikes expected and many mortgage holders due to come off their fixed rate loans onto much higher variable rates in 2023, Finder money expert Rebecca Pike said more Australians are likely to start borrowing again.
"Australians paid down billions in debt during the pandemic but the rising cost of living has seen credit applications surge again," she said.
"There is a lot of fear about what is to come and not knowing what to do."
Holiday periods and sales can also prompt irresponsible spending.
RateCity research director Sally Tindall said there would be some people going into the new year surrounded by Boxing Day debts.
"If you are planning to hit the shops, write out a list of things you need, set yourself an iron-clad budget and keep a running tally of how much you have spent," she recommended.
