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Bachelors `forced to spend more` Finances `causing women sleepless nights` Christmas spending slowdown expected Christmas spending ‘will fall’ Credit cards: UK interest rates almost double US rates Recession ‘to last well into 2009’ Unemployment `on the up` AA urges public wholesale petrol prices Consumers ‘could expect to see full benefits’ of rate cuts Banks ‘increasing overdraft charges’ People in debt `should be helped to help themselves` Consumers `likely to be under pressure at Christmas` Britain "addicted to debt", politician states Consumers ‘repaying debt from last Christmas’ Brown: Banks must make loans available Workers `missing out on pension money` Christmas savings schemes `good way to stay debt free` `Many parents worry about children getting into debt` Falling inflation means interest rates could fall Petrol prices ‘could fall below 90p’

Fool.co.uk: Britons must prepare for recession

09/07/2008

Financial website Fool.co.uk has said people must "tighten their belts" to prepare for the recession predicted by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) this week.

The BCC`s Quarterly Economic Survey concluded the UK is now at a serious risk of recession, expected as soon as the end of the year.

Home sales and orders and employment expectations are now at their lowest since the recession of the early 1990s, the report said.

Fool`s head of personal finance, David Kuo, said people must cut back on big purchases, save as much money as possible and consider income protection.

"People need to go back and look at their finances now and don`t take on any more debt than they are already in at the moment," he urged.

When asked about the threat of job losses under a recession, Mr Kuo recommended trying to live off two thirds of current salaries to make it easier to live with a lower income later on.

"If you can tighten your belt now and learn to live on a lower salary then you will be better prepared when a job opportunity comes along," he said.

According to Fool, a recession is at least six months of declining business activity.

Bachelors `forced to spend more` 17/11/2008 - People who live by themselves find it more difficult to Bankruptcy `increases by 7%` 17/11/2008 - The number of consumers in England and Wales facing bankruptcy Finances `causing women sleepless nights` 14/11/2008 - Financial concerns, potentially including debt problems, are causing women sleepless Christmas spending slowdown expected 13/11/2008 - Christmas spending is expected to stagnate this year, as consumers