So, according to the BBC we are headed for a double dip recession....

[Becaroooo]

...I dont even know that means!!

We are moving house this week - larger mortgage, all the fees that go with it etc

Is it silly I am hyperventilating with anxiety about this?

[kenobi]

More economists think we're already in it despite what the 'official figures' say, so it's a bit late to hyperventilate

In it's purest form it basically means that every thing is going to get more expensive, the economy will contract and yet more people are going to lose their jobs. If your/your DH's job is secure it hopefully shouldn't mean anything at all to you personally.

[Becaroooo]

Its going to get really bad isnt it?

Hopefully dh's job is secure but you never know I guess...he has been there since he was 16 so it would cost them quite a lot to make him redundant!

He is moving roles in January as someone is retiring next year...fingers crossed.

I will be back in the job market in 18 months or so...its not looking good for me!

[virgiltracey]

It scary but only what has been predicted for months. I'm about to change jobs and very worried about it.

We are really battoning down the hatches in terms of spending, keeping cash available (rather than paying off the Mortgage) just in case and have renegotiated everything eg utilities, sky etc to make sure we're not spending more than we have to be.

[kenobi]

I think your DH is pretty damn safe then - his pay out would be in 5 figures even if he only got statutory! You getting a job will be more, erm, exciting, yes.

Batten down the hatches, don't book any holidays with holiday companies...

[virgiltracey]

Wihtout scaremongering I wouldn't bank on statutory redundancy getting anyone very far. I have been in my current role for over ten years but statutory redundancy would only get me £4k. That doesn't last long.

[kenobi]

Really virgil? I calculated mine the other day and was £3K for 4 years and I'm paid national average.

God I hope I didn't do it wrong.

[Becaroooo]

I think it will be a holiday to North Yorks again next year!

We have gone through all the utilities/insurances etc and have got the best deals we can on all of them.

We are having virgin media installed at the new house but its our only "vice" and we have got a good deal.

Ds2 gets 15 hours free pre school placement next year so thats one less thing to worry about paying for!

Def going to start thinking of re-training next year....

[virgiltracey]

You take complete years of service and then the weekly wage is set at a maximum of £400. Then there is an age multiplier.

so if you are below 41 and you have worked there for 4 years yours would be 400 x 4 x 1 = £1600

If your years of service are all over age 41 then the multiplier is 1.5 rather than 1 so it would be 400 x 4 x 1.5 so £2400

Disclaimer I am in bed with the flu and so the weekly wage might not be £400 anymore - google and check since my head is woolly!!

[kenobi]

Ok that's shit.

[Becaroooo]

Dh has been there for 24 years...his weekly wage is £600 (ish)

so what would that be?

[virgiltracey]

how old is he?

[virgiltracey]

oops sorry 40 right?

it would be 20 x 400 x 1 = £8k (capped at 20 years)

[mumblechum1]

I don't really know whether a double dip recession means that interest rates will go up - probably not, as they went down last time.
I guess a lot of people will just be extra careful not to get into debt, and not to buy things they don't really need, which is bad news if you're a retailer.

[virgiltracey]

sorry no, £7600 since there are some years below the age of 21 (so multiplier is 0.5 for those years)

[virgiltracey]

woolly flu head disclaimer

[Becaroooo]

oohhh....thats NOT good

Thanks for doing the maths tracey Hope you feel better soon x

[bigwombat]

Interest rates unlikely to go up, as the aim is to encourage growth by keeping loans cheaper for businesses. However, the downside is that interest rates are already so low that there's not much room to make things easier than they are now. That's why they are having to do this 'quantitative easing', although that isn't really noticeable to most people!! On the plus side, inflation is said to be going down next year, which may help a bit. But who knows what unpleasant measures George Osborne will announce tomorrow - programme of building investment funded by tax credit cuts??

[virgiltracey]

I'm stockpiling again just in case food costs rocket - mind you I love a good excuse to stockpile! Zombies, hyperinflation, any excuse will do!

[kenobi]

So sorry for getting your hopes up re stat beca - I just went and did the calc and VT is right, right, RIGHT.

I don't even have a wooly head excuse.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

All that a double-dip recession means is that the size of the economy has reduced for two consecutive quarters, several quarters apart. Basically, fewer things are being sold and made. The main impact is on jobs, usually. If order books are down, companies will cut costs and that usually means they need fewer employees.

However, it rather depends on what job you're in. A business like food retail, for example, tends to do quite well in a recession because, whether we're rich or poor, we all need food and the industry is very labour intensive. If your business sells furnishings, on the other hand, then you might struggle as cash-strapped customers decide to keep the old sofa rather than buy a new one. There's a trend at the moment for companies to try to retain experienced staff rather than get rid of them because it costs a lot to recruit and retrain when things pick up. Not such good news for school-leavers, of course.

So, rather than panicking out of hand, try to get yourself as bomb-proof as possible. Pay off any current debts, build up some rainy-day savings and have other options in mind should the worst happen. Having been through recessions in the seventies, eighties and nineties... it's never quite as bad as you think.

[virgiltracey]

To be fair lots of people get confused about statutory redundancy. Its partically because in the public sector they get MASSIVE redundancy payments (typically about 6-8 times what the rest of us in the poor old private sector get).

[HarrietJones]

I'm public sector. Loads( 2/3 people at my level) went thisyear. Stat pay. And most won't have even earnt£400 a week.

Just to point out the public sector varies and you can't lump us all together.

[Becaroooo]

Dh and I really thought long and hard about buying again in the current climate but its (hopefully) a house we will live in til the dc bugger off are grown (ds2 is 3) and I was starting to panic that we wouldnt be able to get a mortgage next year the ways things are going (we needed a 90% mortgage and had only 2 lenders to choose from!!)

Will be paying off CC early next year and we have no other debts apart from mortgage. Will also start saving more and spending less...not much more we can do tbh........

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

If you've got plans to save more and spend less then that's pretty good. Truth is that unless you're in some very privileged position or you've got an independent income of some kind, you are at the mercy of -as someone once said - 'events, dear boy, events'. i.e. things outside your control.

The last 15 years or so have been characterised by this bizarre party atmosphere that 'things would only get better', boom and bust were consigned to the past, and it was boring and old-fashioned to save up for stuff when we could borrow any amount of money we liked and enjoy the stuff now, etc. We're in a sort of correction phase at the moment which is very unsettling - the party is well and truly over and the host wants his money back. But I think the things you're describing... jobs a little less secure, living within our means, thinking hard before taking on debt or extra expense etc... is far more 'normal' and sustainable long-term.

[Becaroooo]

Yes, I do too cog

Reports are so contradictory, arent they? Esp for someone like me who isnt an economic whizz kid

One report saying we are headed for a double dip recession and then another report on the BBC website this morning saying house proces are better than expected and holding up!!! I dont get it!