With the price of fuel increasing several times over the course of this year, large numbers of Britons are concerned that the pressures that their finances are under are also going up.

In findings by moneysupermarket, it was shown that the cost of petrol has exceeded the one pound and ten pence per litre barrier. However, the price of oil was shown as hitting record levels as electricity and gas costs have gone up by 15 per cent since the beginning of 2008.

Research from the moneysupermarket show that two-thirds (66.9 per cent) of Britons surveyed report that they are "very concerned" about how they will be able to cope should energy expenses continue to increase. Meantime, it was reported that a little under 30 per cent will be a "little concerned" about how their ability to get to grips with finances should the price of fuel continue to go up.

On top of facing increases in this area of financial demand, it may happen that people develop additional problems with their money management. This could see them struggling to make repayments on loans, credit and store cards, mortgages, household bills and meet transport costs.

On the other hand, just 0.6 per cent of those questioned report that they are not bothered about the prospect of going up fuel prices. An estimated 3.4 per cent think that they will be able to cope should this financial burden get any worse, although they would prefer for this not to occur.

Tim Moss, head of debt for the price comparison site, said: "Brits are being stretched to breaking point as our poll of moneysupermarket users shows. Increasing fuel prices are a massive issue right now, in much the same way as they were during the fuel protests of eight years ago. Leading economists have been telling the government it can afford to drop the cost of petrol by nine pence per litre without having any effect on its bottom line. People are really starting to suffer and need help urgently."

He added that as the public is "powerless" to impose any control over the amount of tax that the government adds to fuel, it is important for consumers to get to grips with the areas of expenditure which they can control. Mr Moss asserted that it is imperative consumers take the time to arrange their finances properly and recognise what areas of expenditure that their money goes on. By doing this, he claimed that they should concentrate on contributions towards essential areas of current expenditure - household bills and mortgage or rent costs for instance - a priority. Meantime, lesser demands on current expenditure, such as magazine subscriptions, may have to be reduced.

Additionally, it was reported that those people who feel that they are unable to get to grips with their current expenditure by themselves should obtain independent guidance from the likes of the Buyer Credit Counselling Service and Citizens Advice.

Those Britons who are worried about their ability to cope in the face of increasing fuel costs, might wish to consider taking out a consolidation loan. In doing this, borrowers could find that they are able to merge numerous constraints on their current expenditure at once leaving them with low-cost monthly repayments. Such a loan could turn out to be particularly useful for a lot of after a study by uSwitch unveiled that some 4.5 million Britons are currently struggling to heat their properties.

Mark Dawson writes for the Loan Arrangers. Where visitors can compare low cost loans online, and apply for bad credit consolidation loans, and UK secured loans at the best rates.