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Celebrations and preparations for the festive season may leave many a person out-of-pocket.

This may lead to consumers considering taking out personal loans in order to ensure that financial restraints do not come in the way of merry-making.

However, people have been advised to shop around when looking for loans in order to make sure that they secure the best possible deal.

Taking time out to research what schemes are available on the market may even prevent people from making hasty commitments that they regret later on.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Many fail to plan for Christmas and end up carrying their funding problems into the New Year as they franticly chase ways to fund retrospectively.

"Taking action now, rather than leaving it to the last minute can help ease the financial pressure come December."

The importance of financial planning was further highlighted by research by Prudential which showed that women failing to do so were risking old age poverty.