Economic meltdown takes a hold...

News stories relating to our current economic climate are hitting the head-lines daily now. Reports on the stock-exchange, the collapse of financial institutions and the movements in the stock-exchange are filling up the news bulletins.
It is important to keep a realistic perspective on what is happening, and whilst it would be silly to ignore the looming economic chaos, it is not always as bad as it seems. Firstly we have to recognise, then when the newshounds scent blood, they change their agenda to concentrate on specific topics, and the economy is a topic that is currently setting their pulses racing. In a different news climate these stories would be pushed down the agenda and more or less ignored. There is always the danger of economic collapse as a self-fulfilling prophecy if everyone changes their economic activity based purely on what they hear on the news. It could have the same effect as if you announced a bread shortage - We all know how that goes... announce a bread shortage and within an hour there is one, whether there was one before the announcement or not.
It is also important to look at survival techniques for the recession. As a business it is important to be lean - don't overspend, keep the cash-flow going, look at where you can cut spending and be as competitive as possible, that way you could be the one that wins where your competition loses...
From a personal perspective, keep your debts as low as possible, make a budget and stick to it. Look at all your income and all your expediture and work out a realistic budget - include everything you are likley to spend and you may well find that you need to be more careful than you previously thought...
It's not all bad news, but on the other hand this situation needs to be treated seriously, ignore the credit crunch and the recession at your peril.

Popular Questions:
Will we all end up broke?
How long will the credit crunch last?
Sub-prime mortgages to blame?
Is this the new Great Depression?