The average Brit would not begin to become concerned about their financial situation until they had racked up nearly £10,000 in debt a new survey suggests.

A poll of 2,004 people carried out by Opinion Matters on behalf of moneysupermarket.com reveals that the average adult in the UK has racked up more than £8,400 of unsecured debt spread across credit cards, loans and overdrafts.

Despite this most people said they would not start worrying about the size of their debt until it reached £9,800 – just short of 10k. Perhaps most shockingly the majority of those surveyed said they would wait until this figure doubled to £19,478 before seeking out paid advice to help them stabilise their situation.

The survey also revealed financial discrepancies between the genders, with men owing significantly more than women – an average of £9,403 compared to a figure of £7,593 for the apparently thriftier fairer sex. Men are also revealed to be more optimistic about their financial situation, saying they would not worry until they had clocked up debts of over £12,000, with women becoming concerned far earlier around the £7,500 mark.

Despite all of these figures revealing some very worrying borrowing tendencies, almost half of those surveyed said they would never pay for debt advice.

Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at moneysupermarket.com, said: “’Recent changes in taxation limits, removal of certain benefits and the soaring cost of living has seen many people’s personal finances squeezed more than ever, and many people will be worrying about their financial situation.

“Making ends meet is hard enough without juggling debt repayments on top. However, there is no need to suffer in silence and there are many options to take steps in reducing personal debt, before it escalates out of control.”