How will it affect us?

seven-day-weekend

I don't really understand this recession business.

Although we live in Spain at the moment we will be living six months a year in the UK in 2009 or 2010.

We are early retired living on my husband's Teachers' Pension and in January 2010 I will get my full State Pension. In 2014 my husband will get his State Pension and I will have my small Local Government pension.

We have no mortgage or rent.

The only debt we have is £1500 on a 0% credit card which will be paid off in full from savings before the 0% runs out.

We have savings but not over the amount that is guaranteed.

How will the recession affect us?

neil324

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I don't really understand this recession business.

Although we live in Spain at the moment we will be living six months a year in the UK in 2009 or 2010.

We are early retired living on my husband's Teachers' Pension and in January 2010 I will get my full State Pension. In 2014 my husband will get his State Pension and I will have my small Local Government pension.

We have no mortgage or rent.

The only debt we have is £1500 on a 0% credit card which will be paid off in full from savings before the 0% runs out.

We have savings but not over the amount that is guaranteed.

How will the recession affect us?

Is this post for real? That was my first thought untill i looked at your post count :eek:
Anyway to answer your question by what you've stated i doubt any of the coming !!!! is going to stick on you or your hubby.

Ian_W

You'll have to wear sack cloth and ashes for 6 days of the week and be in the queue for the Soup Kitchen by 4pm each day!

To be honest no-one can say exactly, it really depends on how mild or severe or how short or long it is and even the experts can't agree on that. To you personally on fixed incomes the main danger I can see is high inflation which will erode both your income and savings, however inflation appears to be receding as a problem at least in the short to medium term. You might even benefit from lower prices as stores and suppliers cut margins to get sales and stay in business.

Your children may fare less well though as recession always increase unemployment to 10-12% from around 2 or 3% now.

You've lived through recessions in the 70's, 80's and early 90's how did they affect you? People under 30-35yrs of age [including lots of pundits and media folk] have never experienced it as part of the working population so the R word is an unknown which causes greater fear. Personally I found the worry of losing your job far more un-nerving than the reality of it actually happening. There again, perhaps I was just lucky in that respect!

seven-day-weekend

neil324 wrote: »

Is this post for real? That was my first thought untill i looked at your post count :eek:
Anyway to answer your question by what you've stated i doubt any of the coming !!!! is going to stick on you or your hubby.

Why shouldn't it be for real? And what has my post count got to do with anything?

I'm asking a genuine question (Martin says there is no such thing as a silly question!)

State Pensions and Benefits I understand a bit about, but not economixs!

Thanks for your answer anyway!

seven-day-weekend

Ian_W wrote: »

You'll have to wear sack cloth and ashes for 6 days of the week and be in the queue for the Soup Kitchen by 4pm each day!

To be honest no-one can say exactly, it really depends on how mild or severe or how short or long it is and even the experts can't agree on that. To you personally on fixed incomes the main danger I can see is high inflation which will erode both your income and savings, however inflation appears to be receding as a problem at least in the short to medium term. You might even benefit from lower prices as stores and suppliers cut margins to get sales and stay in business.

Your children may fare less well though as recession always increase unemployment to 10-12% from around 2 or 3% now.

You've lived through recessions in the 70's, 80's and early 90's how did they affect you? People under 30-35yrs of age [including lots of pundits and media folk] have never experienced it as part of the working population so the R word is an unknown which causes greater fear. Personally I found the worry of losing your job far more un-nerving than the reality of it actually happening. There again, perhaps I was just lucky in that respect!

I remember the three-day-week of the 70s (but I thought that was to do with the miners' strike) and the 15% mortgage interest rate whenever that was. I personally wasn't working full-time in the 80s and early 90s and my husband was a teacher so I suppose we were shielded from the worst of it.

Thanks for your reply.

One more question then, leading on from your reply : Our son works at just over minimum wage at a Clearance Matalan - I would have thought until recently that his job was relatively safe as people always want cheap clothes - then I remembered that they only lease the warehouses they are in and they might not renew the lease.

Would you say there are any sectors of employment that are safer than others?

Sorry to be dense.

a7man

Yes of course there are sectors of employment that are more risky than others - look at the banks at the moment, the construction industry.....

You cant worry about that sort of thing though, if it happens it happens. Hes on minimum wage - his next job can only get better!

EdInvestor

You'll be insulated from much of the effects ( which are anyway being overblown by the media.) as you are effectively retired with no jobs to lose or mortgages to get more expensive. It may all be over anyway by next year/2010.

Inflation is always the worst thing for pensionsers, but it has now peaked and will come down sharply in the next few months.The biggest impact has been on food prices ( but they were always pretty cheap in the UK anyway) and petrol/utility prices. If you are getting pensions you get free bus passes and a 250 quid annual fuel allowance, so you are cushioned against that.

The shops are in constant sale mode, so prices for most other goods, if anything, have come down The UK is currently an excellent place to shop. There are also many eating out bargains, as restaurants are doing cheap deals.

There's plenty of evidence of a switch to value - so lower costs shops (Lidl, Morrisons, Matalan,Primark)are doing well compared with more expensive outlets. Young people have not been hit too badly by the problems so far as they are not homeowners, so are still out there partying and spending.

Fundamentally, apart from media hype, the main impact has been on the property market, which has gone dead. Combined with the bank crisis and the crashing stockmarket, it tends to affect the "feelgood factor". You could say at the moment that for most people the recession is more psychological than real.

Of course the other big point is that you won't be affected by the shrinking pound.

seven-day-weekend

EdInvestor wrote: »

You'll be insulated from much of the effects ( which are anyway being overblown by the media.) as you are effectively retired with no jobs to lose or mortgages to get more expensive. It may all be over anyway by next year/2010.

Inflation is always the worst thing for pensionsers, but it has now peaked and will come down sharply in the next few months.The biggest impact has been on food prices ( but they were always pretty cheap in the UK anyway) and petrol/utility prices. If you are getting pensions you get free bus passes and a 250 quid annual fuel allowance, so you are cushioned against that.

The shops are in constant sale mode, so prices for most other goods, if anything, have come down The UK is currently an excellent place to shop. There are also many eating out bargains, as restaurants are doing cheap deals.

There's plenty of evidence of a switch to value - so lower costs shops (Lidl, Morrisons, Matalan,Primark)are doing well compared with more expensive outlets. Young people have not been hit too badly by the problems so far as they are not homeowners, so are still out there partying and spending.

Fundamentally, apart from media hype, the main impact has been on the property market, which has gone dead. Combined with the bank crisis and the crashing stockmarket, it tends to affect the "feelgood factor". You could say at the moment that for most people the recession is more psychological than real.

Of course the other big point is that you won't be affected by the shrinking pound.

Thanks Edinvestor

We are living in Spain at the moment and so are affected by the exchange rate (if that's what you mean by the shrinking pound) - we get paid in Sterling and so we get 30% less euros for our £ than we did four years ago when we first came here.

We don't get State Pensions yet - the earliest is mine in January 2010.

Thanks to everyone for your advice,.