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Build your own financial fortress for 2009
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Are you ready for the storms approaching in 2009? Use our guide to shore up your finances, and prepare for the worst
As the New Year approaches with no sign of the economic climate improving, starting 2009 in the best possible financial situation is essential.
For many that will mean ensuring they are protected, as far as is possible, against the turbulence that may lie ahead.
The advice follows a new report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which warns that at least 600,000 jobs could go in 2009, with the first three or four months of the year likely to be the worst period for job losses since 1991.
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Even those who keep their jobs could face pay freezes. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce found that 43 per cent of its members said they plan to freeze wages, while nearly 10 per cent plan to cut them.
Louise Cuming, head of mortgage and protection services at Moneysupermarket.com says, “There will be no respite from the financial turbulence seen in 2008 as we enter a new year. Unemployment continues to rise at a worrying rate, arrears and repossession figures are on the increase and lenders are still reluctant to lend to anyone other than the cream of applicants.
"However, there are definitely some positive steps you can take to cushion yourselves against the worst of the impending financial gloom.”
