by Shaheen Darr

Created on: September 04, 2008   Last Updated: May 08, 2009

The world economy is heading towards recession and there is a sense of apathy everywhere. Travelling is expensive because petrol has gone up, electricity and gas providers have hiked up their prices, and we cannot even get the price that we want for our house because no one wants to buy it at that price. How do we survive this state of affairs and still have a smile on our face?

If you have saved up from the times when the property market was booming and things seemed to be on the upward spiral, now is the perfect time to use that money and look for bargains on properties. Some people thrive in times of recession as they can get cheap properties and rent them out to keep on earning income for them. This is a fine scenario for those amongst us who have capital to invest, what do the rest of us do to cope?

Look for bargains wherever you shop. Look out for buy one get one free offers or sale items that have been reduced in price. Cut shopping trips so that less petrol is used, one shopping trip for the weeks shopping is a sensible idea. If you can share a car with a partner or get dropped and picked up from work you will save not only on petrol but also on insurance and car tax.

Cut out take away meals from your life as they are not only unhealthy, but also expensive. Start preparing healthy and economical meals at home and freeze what is left over to use another day. Do not buy lunches for work but prepare sandwiches and drinks from home. Having meals out has to be reduced and so is the cinema trip as this can soon add up. Why not prepare something at home and rent out a DVD if you are really yearning for a movie night.

Shopping sprees on credit cards and store cards is definitely out due to their high interest charges. Try changing over to a 0% APR credit card and pay off any existing balances to benefit from the nil interest charges. Get books to read from the library and gifts from eBay where you get a bargain if you hunt for one. Pay a visit to the charity shop for clothes; you will be surprised at the designer wear bargains you can spot if you look hard enough.

If you are businessmen cut back on staff and try to introduce lots of bargains in your store to keep the customers coming back for more. Increase sales and reduce costs if you want to survive the credit crunch.

The key is to tighten your belts, look for additional sources of income and save any extra income earned. Keep this money in a high interest bearing account and aim to keep your expenses low. Hopefully this will help you survive these difficult times.

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