Are things as bad as they say they are, or only as bad as you think they are?

Life is what you make of it I guess with scope for dissapointment

Eeek, I've been moaning about the weather recently, so I'm probably not the best person to respond! I think it's probably a combination of both - most people are aware that prices are increasing, and the constant media stories reinforce this message. I'm normally a reasonably optimistic person despite having the odd depressive episode, but I do sometimes feel that the media drags us down too and makes evything seem much worse.

Having said that, the weather really is dire - it's raining again?

Rain is cool.

I dont think its going to be as bad as the media are making out but then i am useless in the world of finance i dont think people are going to stop spending and i think a lot of it is scaremongering , i am hoping i will be ok anyway as i have virtually no motgage and if the worse comes to the worse with the business i can use the house to get me through until things settle again

i am definitly an optimist i am still wearing flip flops every day to work and i refuse to give in , well i have refused to give in until tomorrow if it doesnt stop raining then i am getting my boots and shoes out of hiding lol

its only rain and its not going to do us any harm and there is always ext summer to look forward too

Financially, things are really, really bad. Really bad. That's not doom mongering, that's the honest truth from someone who sees the coal face every single day. You're about to see substantial job losses in all areas of the economy - it's already started but the media don't tend to report 5 admin staff losing their jobs at a builders merchants in Runcorn when there are 1,500 jobs at risk at a bank in London. Companies everywhere have plans in place for redundancies and sadly many of us are going to find out soon that we're amongst them.

It's utterly depressing but I can't dismiss it as 'talking ourselves into a recession' or 'media scaremongering' because that's simply not true.

On the bright side, I'm having chilli for tea ?

Financially I think they are only just touching on how bad its going to be. All seems a bit sugar coated still.

The summers been rubbish though, I hate the rain.

So Baron, you think Darling's comments were along the right lines?

With respect that's the whole point of the credit crunch, you won't be able to use the house to raise money as nobody will lend against it.

The rain is fine, hell it rains everywhere, we need rain, some people.

I suppose underneath i'm a bit of an optomist (or i just bury my head in the sand) depends on your viewpoint really. I do see that the economy is going through a really tough time at the minute and i'm not questionning that, however I do take what i hear on the news/in the media with a large pinch of salt.

Only a month or two ago they were busy telling us that if you went out on the streets you were probably going to be stabbed (ok that's an exagerration but you catch my drift) now that 'hot potato' has passed it's not mentioned anymore and suddenly the ecomony is nosediving and we're all going to be unemployed, destitute and be bankrupt (again i'm exagerrating). Next month they'll move on to something else

I tend to think that whilst things are getting tighter and there is less money floating around and things will undoutedly get worse before they get better i'm not panickig about it just yet which may be foolish but it gets me by.

I do think to a certain extent we're insulated from it over here which probably affects my take on things too and i've no intentions of moving house anytime soon so i'm planning on riding out the storm..although prices do still seem to be rising here, slower than before but going up nonetheless.

Oh and don't have a problem with the rain - i quite like autumn and winter. Also the lack of summer this year means that for the first time in quite a few years i've escaped being infested with flying ants in my office at work and avoiding that in itself has just made my summer!

Dooby - we heard you the first time ?

I didn't notice the last time that things got bad economically, because I was working in the public sector. By which I mean that I knew things were going downhill, people were being made redundant but it wasn't the people I knew in my workplace.

This time, it's scary. My husband is a builder and even in the past month things have started to get really, really hairy. At the moment, there's work for him but they've only got one job on at a time, so there are days when he can't work which isn't usually the case. The problem with huge companies like Persimmon laying off loads of staff is that they're now out there putting in for the same jobs that FIL and H are doing, so prices are dropping stone-like. The big building projects near us are slowing down or stopping, and we've lost at least one job which just isn't going ahead now - H thinks that the finished house now won't cover the costs. So that's six weeks or so of work that my husband won't get, six weeks or so in which we're potentially not earning any money. [laughs hysterically]

People are being made redundant all over the place. For example, Oxford University (usually a big employer) is laying off porters, kitchen staff, museum staff like there's no tomorrow.

I don't know if this is worse or better than previous downturns, as I said, but this is the first one that has affected me personally and between you and me I'm fcuking terrified about what the next couple of years might hold.

I know, i'm sorry something went screwy with my computer - i've deleted most of them now ?

I work in housing/council tax benefits and our new claims have increased fourfold in the last 3-4mths. Some of these are because people have lost their jobs but majority are people on low pay just hoping that they might qualify for something.

Like princess layabout my husband is builder, he's been self employed since 1998 and last week is the first time in 10yrs that he had absolutely no work. He had been told the Tuesday before that the contract that he was woring on had enough work to keep him going for a year and on the Friday he was told the contract had been cancelled.

So based on the above but with very little knowledge of econimics i think things are as bad as they say they are

I think Darling had to come out and fuinally say something before Labour look like complete twits by constantly repeating things are OK and the UK can weather the storm when the average Joe knows different. I think basing an economy on inflated house prices is not a wise move and I can't believe they think by stimulating the housing market it will make things better. Given the average cost of a UK house I can't see the stamp duty stunt having the desired effect.

Prices are rising with everything, so what little spare cash people have will be used to cover these costs. I do think it's going to get much worse before it gets better.

On the plus side I do think this is overdue. I think if people can learn to make do and mend a bit more perhaps we can all be a little bit less commercialised and appreciate what we do have [steps off idealistic soapbox]

I think kind of the same as you Lumpy, esp re the economy, things are gloomy (in my job I advise on the kind of smaller redundancy situ referred to by Baron, every day, several times a day - certainly much more often than last year - so I know what is going on) but while I accept it is bad, there also seems to be an element that no-one really knows what is going to happen. There are conflicting reports every day in the media about how bad it's going to get. There was all the scaremongering that oil prices would rise to $200 dollars a barrel and £2 a litre for petrol but then the pices started to fall again. Of course it's a concern, but there's bugger all we can really do about it is there, so I don't really see the point in getting all stressed out about it. These things come and go in cycles, the economy has been really sh1t before, I think about what my parents must have gone through over all the years they've been working/paying a mortgage etc, and obviously there are casualties, but there can't be good times forever.

As for the weather - yes it's sh1t and it's a bit depressing, but again not much you can do about it so no point letting it get you down.

My patients are starting to suffer. I'm seeing a lot of redundancies, bankruptcies, repossessions, people moving back to their parents, marital stress. I don't know whether I'm just noticing it more, but I don't think so.

The weather isn't going to help matters either. This year's harvest is dreadful, especially for small farmers who do not have drying facilities so it is likely to put the price of flour up and therefore cereal/bread basics.

Tchoh.... Bloody economy. Sod it.

I'll just brew me own hooch.

Ok now i am scared i wish i hadnt come back into this thread

Not entirely no. I don't think this will be the worst recession for 60 years - the fundamentals are different. If you look at the housing market, several years of population growth have exacerbated the supply issues and I think cautiously at first, the banks will start lending again. That's not going to happen for another 12 months or so though. Consumer credit is still relatively easy to obtain for those on middle incomes - those who haven't previously resorted to put the family holiday on the credit card might do so this year. Where the main difference lies (imo) however is that companies are spooked far more easily by a downturn and are much more ruthless about cost cutting to maintain their profitability. There's very little sentimentality in the business world at the moment.

In reply to Shiny, on a positive side, my fil is a farmer on a small farm, it's been very wet so harvest has taken longer than hoped but it has apparently been a really bumper year, they're stressing that they don't know where to put it all and all the other local farmers are having the same (happy) trouble, so hopefully that side might be ok.

Sadly not the case for my dad - I think he has been unlucky when showers have been patchy they have hit him. He still has loads to get in and is having to pay out money for labour to get in what is now a poor and rapidly deteriorating crop. And obviously the more damp the corn the less they get for it.

I guess it depends on the local area though, round here they are struggling with no break in the weather in sight. I've never seen him this stressed before. They have just cancelled their holiday plans as they wont be done in time.

I'm afraid I have to agree that financially at least, things are going from bad to worse.

I'ma solicitor, I had been doing conveyancing, but seeing how bad the dept has been hit, I am now retraining in court, potentially employment. I'm terrified about losing my job, my old firm have just made about 40% of their workforce redundant (and had I stayed there, I would most likely have been one of them) I;ve gone from having about 20 settlements a week (last year) to a settlement every 2-3 weeks now. Thats a huge drop. Lots of local estate agents have had redundancies, as have local builders.

We decided to go for a meal out on saturday night, (we live in a small town) and every single local restaurant has closed down. At least 5 of them. Our town and the next one.

Mr P was laid off last week, he was in the building trade too. He so far hasn't found anything, and cant even get the supermarket he works part time in to increase his hours as they have been told to make massive cuts (1000 work hours a month)

Our petrol bill for my commute has gone up nearly £100 a month (trains not an option here) electricity is too expensive, we cant put the heating on, food bill is up nearly £20 a week, despite not buying any more. Our house is on the market (so we can cut down the petrol bill) and no viewers. Neighbours house has been on the market for a year now and not sold.

If I am honest, I really dont know how I will cope, I dont know if we will be able to pay the mortgage in a month or two if Mr P cant get another job. And we were careful with money, always budgeted, can pay bills off my wage alone, and have a comparitively small mortgage, but if our bills keep going up, esp petrol, we will be in trouble, as no petrol means I cant get to work. I;ve already told my boss if it gets much worse, me and MrP will be camping out on my office floor.

I'm generally feeling positive, just because personally I'm in a much better place (mentally and emotionally) that I was this time last year, and feel that hopefully we can ride this out. However, I'm now thinking taking a job where I'll be consulting to companies implementing new H&S policies, may not be the best idea at the moment <nervous laugh>.

Oh and I forsee local government having redundancies in the near future - budget cuts are happening everywhere (in part to pay for increased requirements in adult social care), ours has gone to very little, and the next step will be people - my contract will not be being renewed, despite there still being a need for what I do.

Personally, I don't think having bad weather helps with peoples moods. Remember when we had beautiful sun in May?

People were happy - people were smiling. People planned days out, and looked forward to sitting in the garden after work with a cold drink.

Now the weather is poo it doesn't give anyone excitment about going home, doing things at weekends with friends and families.

I think i suffer from that SAD syndrome, I feel sooo low at the moment, I am missing the sun and haven't had a proper holiday abroad this year. My body is missing it.

As for the economic breakdown, I have noticed it at work - all non-billable roles have been pulled, but luckilly all my roles are billable and I am as busy as ever - I have about 100 vacancies ?

I will struggle when I get my gas/electric/water bills through, I know I will. But luckilly I am now £240 per month better off as I have just finished paying a loan my ex H and I took out in 2002!

I am a bit of a head in the sand person I admit, I don't like doom and gloom ☹️

You could rent your spare room out sparks ?

Oh no, I couldn't share, it would be awful - I am far too noisy & a night owl ?

Hmph! ?.

Hmm, didn't need to know about the loud!

This thread has been a bit of an eye-opener as to how bad things are. Thankfully I'm not affected much personally although I am buying cheaper brands at the supermarket etc, just because. It is the weather that is affecting me more than the economy at the moment. It's soooo wet and miserable. I love the sunshine and the warmth and I think a decent summer makes everyone a bit happier generally.

Are you still going to be my once a week night guest? ?

Weather has been poor since the good week in July, where luckily my gliding week was, and i`ve sadly not had a weather window to fly again since going solo grrrr

Financially, surely there are always going to be people that need/want more money, try and live within your means and budget.

Thanks for the tip, O wise master ?

I don't really have any sense of how our life back in London will be. Peopel keep telling me how terrible things are and how expensive everything has become and I don't know how seriously to take it- when I compare prices here with those in Britain (on Ocado, say) they seem about the same. I don't know whether I need to prepare for a shock or not.

Hopefully H's job should be ok- he's built up a practice that doesn't rely on merger-related work. It will definitely affect my planned return to work though- I'm hoping to start looking for a job spring/summer 2009 and it's possible there won't be anything for me at all. I'm hoping to sell myself as a good value option- I'm planning to change specialism which means taking a big drop in seniority, but I'll have bags of transferable experience. But if there simply aren't any jobs, that's all a bit meaningless. Assuming our situation doesn't change massively it won't be a problem for us financially but it might be rather depressing for me.