April may have marked a turning in the credit card tide, but the BBA report also underlined a big rise in debt on personal loans and overdrafts.Clearly, our debt mountain isn't going to diminish anytime soon.A recent survey by the credit-reference agency Callcredit suggested that more than half of us have no idea of what we owe. Home repossessions and personal bankruptcies are rising - although not to levels anywhere near those of the early 1990s - and there are now over 73 million credit and store cards in the UK - almost two for each adult.Meanwhile, Barclaycard said last week that it had been forced to write off more in bad lending debts than expected.There has also been a particularly dark side to the credit spending boom, with stories of suicide because of over-indebtedness.It would be heartening to see more signs in the next few months of consumers reining in their spending.You could argue that a greater consciousness of being in the red has already begun to catch on, but don't hold your breath. Although Apacs found that the number clearing their credit card debt at the end of the month was fairly static (55 per cent), more borrowers were making inroads into their outstanding balances.And, in another suggestion that debt is being taken seriously, more first-time buyers are taking out mortgage loans with insurance protection in case disaster strikes and they're not able to meet their repayments, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.These rare flashes indicate that more of us are getting a grip on our debts, although the implications of a slowdown in our borrowing could have a wider, rather less welcome, impact on the health of the economy.Indeed, the high street has already begun to feel the pinch. Retailers including Boots, Marks & Spencer and WH Smith have all struggled as a result of shoppers' fading desire to spend, spend, spend. Economists warn that a shock such as a rise in interest rates or unemployment could have a big impact as consumers have become super sensitive to such changes.But the signs are at least evidence that the one-way debt traffic is no more. And this has come not a moment too soon.Warnings of debt overload have been sounding for nearly two years now, and as a nation, we owe more than £1,000bn (including mortgages). For the true face of debt, simply swap glamour for graft.The nature of the hard slog to repair our damaged finances is, it seems, finally hitting home in the UK.

For in the past 10 days, signs have begun to emerge that we are dealing with our debts.We actually tightened our belts last month, according to figures from trade body the British Bankers' Association. For the first time since May 1994, when Britain was struggling to claw its way back from recession, we repaid some of our outstanding credit card balance - £40m - instead of adding to it.Usually, by the end of each month, consumers have racked up more new debt on their plastic than is repaid.David Dooks, the director of statistics for the BBA, said this "change in sentiment" might also be reflected in rising cash deposits in banks during the past couple of months.Elsewhere, a report from the Association for Payment Clearing Services pointed to our developing a greater appetite for paying down our debts. Borrowing money didn't cause any long-term trouble for Tony Curtis in the comedy classic Some Like It Hot. While his character, Joe, failed miserably to manage his money and was always having to turn to the ladies for loans, he got to play the sax, dine on a yacht and seduce Marilyn Monroe. But the reality of being in hock and paying creditors back is starkly different. However, different funds will invest your cash in different ways - with some, for example, taking more risks in the pursuit of higher returns. So it is worth taking the time to look at various funds and see which appeals most to you.The place to start is , a website packed with information outlining all the different options available.If you need help from our consumer champion, write to Sindie at The Independent on Sunday, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS or email sindie independent.co.uk.

For Liverpool Victoria's stakeholder CTF, the annual charge is 1.45 per cent.Q: Like many others, it seems, I have absolutely no idea where to put our £250 voucher. But I understand that if I don't do anything, the taxman will invest it in a stakeholder for me anyway - where it will probably do better than it would in a cash fund.Or am I making a big mistake?JW, HampshireA: You're right that doing nothing will prompt action by the Revenue.From the date that a CTF voucher is issued, a clock begins to tick.If you don't invest it within a year, the taxman will pick a stakeholder fund for you entirely at random, and you'll simply be notified by letter.There is something to be said for letting the Revenue choose for you: as discussed above, its decision to pick a stakeholder CTF instead of a cash one is in line with the views of advisers. But when the money is invested in stock markets, there are share-dealing, management and administration charges - albeit capped at 1.5 per cent. But, having done so, we've changed our minds and now wish to move to a Liverpool Victoria stakeholder CTF investing in shares.Can we do so and is there a charge?BH, Forest of DeanA: As a rule, you can switch between providers without paying a fee.Just contact Liverpool Victoria and tell them you want to switch. It will then contact the building society on your behalf and the money you've invested in the CTF will be transfered electronically to Liverpool Victoria.Bear in mind that the switch to a stakeholder will mean you now pay a charge for the company to manage your money.Cash deposit CTFs don't levy a fee, as providers simply look after your money. This way, the gains made over the years won't be wiped out by a big drop in shares just when the fund is nearing maturity and there is no time to repair the damage.Q: My partner and I agreed to put our £250 CTF voucher into a Nationwide cash savings account. Nationwide reports that the 100,000 accounts so far set up with it are split 60:40 in favour of cash-deposit CTFs versus stakeholder funds that invest in the market.However, most independent financial advisers suggest that, since the cash is to be locked away for 18 years, it should go into a fund that exposes the money to the markets.There are two reasons for this.