Stick or Twist

Depending upon who you speak to this nation of ours is either rotating out of control down the pan or holding it's own and showing those, otherwise so pale as to invisible to the naked eye, green shoots of recovery.

If I come across a business contact or even a competitor I try to slip into the conversation, after the usual pleasantries and reminiscences of the good old days, the innocently phrased question of ' how are you finding things at the moment?'.

If the answer is in the range of 'pretty good' to 'not bad' I can expect to see an announcement of the liquidation of their company within a few short months.

Sounds a bit harsh but invariably it is true.

We have all done the self denial bit and been so convinced by our on desperate thoughts that we find ourselves maintaining this as the official stance to the rest of the family, friends, neighbours, casual acquaintances, the man in the post office queue, the bloke in the next street who walks his dog past your house every day, the disembodied voice on the phone trying to get you to file a PPI claim and everyone in between.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do however is not to outwardly display any signs of a troubling commercial and financial position. This can prove to be the hardest and most stressful aspect of the whole thing. There must be two or more newish cars on the driveway, season passes must be upheld at the football club and with accompanying clients wined and dined like it was the FA Cup Final on a frosty November Tuesday night. Perhaps the children attend an expensive pre-school, preparatory school or private fee paying school. There are longstanding memberships to the health club, golf club and beauty therapist. The timeshare villa and other exclusive benefits which require a monthly payment and so on.

A tea time telephone call from the bank, credit card or store card companies can be screened with an answering machine but only for so long. The table in the hallway begins to fill up with official looking envelopes as a follow up from the lack of success in making personal contact.

Each and every purchase with plastic involves a sharp intake of breathe between tapping in of the pin number and that welcome message on the display to show that the transaction is completed. Even the sound of the cashpoint actually sorting and then ejecting the requested amount of notes is sweet and comforting.

By now I am sure that each and every one of you will have identified with at least one of the key indicators of personal financial problems. Many of us will have the means to deal with the hiccup in cashflow and shortfall between expenditure and income and will, head down just continue to work as hard as possible.

Some do not and can fall prey to poor advice or suffer from those intent on making money through unscrupulous and downright unfair practices.

The prominence of short term loans in prime time media is an indictment of the extent to which a good proportion of the UK public are struggling with even day to day monetary requirements.

Belts can be tightened, economies can be made and the likes of Sainsbury and Waitrose can be dismissed in favour of Lidl, Aldi, The Co-Op and the special offers thrown at us by Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Why not give the local, independent shop a try?. You used to.

The recessionary conditions have been with us now for getting on 5 years and there are clear signs that we have accepted and embraced the need for austerity and frugality. This is not a political doctrine but an enforced necessity to make sure that we can meet our prioritised outgoings and forego the less so.

Small treats and luxuries are still a requirement, and are actually therapeutic if only for the sake of providing a tonic and relief from depression and loss of self confidence. These can be as simple as a cheap DVD from a charity shop, one bottle of budget wine per week and a box of Maltesers on a Saturday night.

We have all had to make lifestyle choices and I think that we do feel, generally, a lot better for it. There can be a purging type feeling, a justification of a more spiritual nature and the throwing off  of the shackles of materialism can be wholly liberating. It is an easy step after coming to this state of acceptance to then admit to others that you are having some difficulties.

Try it and you will be surprised how many of your close friends and associates are in the same situation. There is strength and encouragement to be had through such a shared experience and it may even last through the next boom, whenever that may eventually be, and we will be much better citizens for all that.