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How Brits Can Survive the Credit Crunch - [BACK] The British economy has seen a significant amount of turbulence in the last few months. Whether or not the credit crunch will have long term economic impacts remains to be seen, but there is a fear that our economy could fall into a recession. The stock market has dropped, property prices are flattening, and prices of family staples such as petrol and food are shooting up. What does this mean for the typical consumer? It really all depends. You might not notice it at all; you might lose your job. Either way we should all prepare ourselves economically for the possibility of a period of economic hardship. Here are some steps to prepare you for an extended economic decline: Build up Savings – Most financial advisors recommend that you retain 3 to 6 months of living expenses in a separate savings account for no other reason than paying for emergencies and covering the gap in the event that you lose your job. If you had 6 months of living expenses, you would be able to pay your bills just fine while looking for another job or trying to find a way to create an income to provide for your family. For a range of savings options and savings accounts with high AERs, take a look at Alliance and Leicester. Pay off Debt – Leveraging credit and using debt inherently adds some amount of risk to your financial life. Many people use debt to their advantage and don't have any problems, but some people have real trouble paying off debt. It's always a great idea to pay off outstanding consumer debt that you're facing. Instead of using any extra money at the end of the month to buy extra toys, use it to reduce your credit card debt or pay down your car loans. If you're in significant amounts of high cost debt, such as through expensive loans or credit cards, then you should probably consider cheap loan to pay off as much as debt as possible. For a comparison table on the cheapest loans available in the UK, Alliance and Lester cover this too. Keep Your Job Options Open – If you lose your job, what would you do? You should always be prepared to be on the job hunt. Keep your resume up to date, know how to search for job in the event that you need to, and network with people in your industry. In that case if you find yourself without a job, you'll have plenty of contacts and a way for you to get back on your feet as soon as possible. If you need to organise work and recruitment in the coming year, then Fish4 Jobs is a good place to start. Live a Simple Life – If you have expensive vehicles and purchases that you have financed, consider selling them and replacing with them with less expensive alternatives. For example if you have a £15,000 car that you owe £10,000 on, you might consider selling it, using the £5,000 that you earn from the sale of your car and purchase another £5,000 car. This will reduce the amount of debt you have and reduce the overall risk in your financial life. [BACK] |