From its status as the must-have financial product during the 'buy today, pay tomorrow' days of the 1990s, the credit card has suffered greatly as a result of the recent downturn in the world's economic markets.

Indeed, for most economic observers, cheap and easy credit and the financial irresponsibility this can engender is up there with sub-prime mortgage lending as the main cause of the current turbulence, with consumers now urged to stick to their means, even if this entails no more holidays to the sun or weekends on the high street funded by plastic.

And it seems that most UK consumers are taking heed of such advice.

Of those questioned by Sainsbury's Credit Cards, 20 per cent of people said that they expect to spend less than they did this time last year on their cards, with just eight per cent saying that they are likely to up their plastic spending.

Likewise, the UK payments association APACS has reported that now there are just 30.8 million credit cards out there, representing 62 per cent of the adult population, which, though it may seem a lot, nevertheless stands as a marked decrease from the peaks from the start of the millennium.

However, while it cannot be doubted that some of the products out there offer consumers a bad deal to say the least, with store cards in particular to be avoided at all costs, the basic advantages of credit cards remain.

That is, if they are seen as a short-term solution and a consumer has in place, or will have in place, the funds necessary to cover any purchases at a later date, using the plastic can free up some cash flow for immediate use.

As Donald MacLeod, head of cards at Sainsbury's Credit Cards, explains: "A credit card is, despite press comment to the contrary, an incredibly flexible and user-friendly way of managing your finances.

"For example, I could go away and buy something for £1000 this weekend and pay it off ten days later, and avoid any interest, if I had those funds available. So it gives me a line of credit and allows me to buy things and pay them off, and I can do that quite sensibly and avoid lots of user charges."

For the savvy consumer, credit cards can offer a number of additional benefits as lenders look to entice wary customers back with a host of offers.

This may mean cashback, free travel insurance, discounts at partner companies and even money off the weekly shopping.

The key of course, as it always has been, is moderation and responsibility.

Staying on top of lenders' policies, checking out the small print and meeting payment deadlines – all of which take a minimum amount of time – can ensure that, despite all the doom and gloom in the media, credit cards needn't bring financial ruin, but quite the opposite.