50 tips to ride out a recession

With the economy teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown, it is time to prepare for the worst...

BEAT THE PROPERTY CRUNCH

1. Take a break from your mortgage
If you are struggling with your mortgage repayments many lenders will let you defer payments for a few months. Here is a guide explaining how to arrange a mortgage holiday

2. Negotiate cheaper rent
With first-time buyers unable to get on the property ladder, demand for rental properties is increasing. Here is a guide on how to negoiate the cheapest rent possible

3. Move to one of these counties
House prices may be falling but not everywhere. Here are the 10 most recession-proof counties in England

4. Rent a central London flat for just £60
With house sitting it is possible to live in luxury for a fraction of the usual cost

5. Remember: property is not as safe as houses
Don’t throw your money away like these people who made the 10 worst property investments ever

DRIVE DOWN THE COST OF MOTORING

6. Beat higher fuel prices
Petrol and diesel prices may be at record levels but there are ways to drive down costs. Here are ten tips to save on petrol

7. Appeal all parking tickets
Don’t let the parking profiteers unfairly take your hard earned cash. Here is a guide on how to appeal your parking tickets

8. Save on car insurance
With petrol prices at record levels you cannot afford to be paying too much for your car insurance. Here are ten tips on how to find cheap car insurance

9. Share your car journey
There are four empty seats in your car. Here is a guide on how to make use of them

DON'T BE TAXED BY TAX

10. Get a free financial makeover
Times Money’s experts are happy to help. Here’s how to apply

11. Maximise your profits
If you are making money there are ways to make sure you minimise the amount you have to share with the Government. Here is a guide on how to avoid capital gains tax

12. Claim a council tax rebate
Millions of homeowners could be owed rebates worth hundreds or thousands of pounds because their homes are in the wrong council tax band. Here is a guide on how to claim a council tax rebate

BEAT RISING DOMESTIC BILLS

13. Energy needn’t be expensive
Gas and electricity prices are expected to rise by up to 40 per cent but there are ways you can cut costs. Here are ten tips on how to save on gas and electricity bills

14. Don't pay for phone calls
Still paying for your phone calls? That is so 1990s! Here is a guide on how to make free calls over the web

15. Get the cheapest energy deal
With energy prices soaring there is simply no excuse not to be on the cheapest deal. Here is a guide on how to switch energy supplier

BOOST YOUR INCOME

16. Sell your childhood toys for profit
Those old Star Wars toys in your loft may be worth a fortune. Here are the 10 most collectable Star Wars toys

17. Reclaim your PPI
You may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance when you took out a loan. Here is a guide on how to claim a refund

18. Become a guinea pig
Make money on medical trials, shopping, or even going to the pub.

19. Become a film extra
Working as an extra is a fun way to earn extra cash – and a lot of bragging power. Discover how easy it is to find film extra work

20. Find treasure
If all else fails, why not go metal detecting? Here is a guide on how to find buried treasure

BEAT THE STOCK MARKET

21. The 20 golden rules
The stock market is no place for the faint hearted at the moment. But you can minimise the risks by following the 20 golden rules of investment

22. Get 7% on your savings
The credit crunch has been good news for savers as interest rates have soared. Here is a guide on the best savings rates

23. Profit from a falling market
Just because shares are losing value doesn’t mean you cannot make money. Here is a guide to absolute return funds.

24. Save without even noticing
When times are tough, saving isn’t easy so here are ten ways to squirrel away cash without even noticing

25. Six stocks to buy on the way down
He who dares wins. Here are six stocks with plenty of recovery potential

26. Have some perspective
The current stock market turmoil is just not that bad. Here are the 10 biggest stock market crashes of all time

LEARN SOME OLD FASHIONED THRIFT

27. The thrifty 50
There is no shame in a bit of economy in times of trouble. Here are 50 easy ways to save some cash

28. Perfectly prudent
Why cash is tight make sure you don’t waste a penny. Here are the UK’s ten best bargain retailers

29. The good old bad old days
There are ways you can save in the kitchen. Here are 20 thrifty recipes from the Times Archive

SHOP SMART

30. Get stuff free
From music to films, food to French lessons, here is 50 great things you can get free

31. Buy one of these
Petrol and food prices may be rising sharply but not everything is getting more expensive. Here are the 10 items that have fallen in price most this year

32. Why pay when it's smarter to barter?
Local exchange systems allow members to trade their skills cash-free

33. Fight for your rights
Don’t become a downtrodden consumer. If you have a problem with a company let Times Money’s Troubleshooter help you. Find out how here

34. Get paid to shop
If you are spending anyway, why not use a reward card? Here is a guide to the best reward cards on the market

35. Get your news for nothing
Get the best news and comment on the web free at www.timesonline.co.uk

36. Music to your ears
There is no point paying over the odds for internet downloads. Here is a guide on how to find the cheapest tunes online

37. Compare before you buy
By comparing different financial products before you buy you can save yourself hundreds of pounds. To compare the cost of anything from pet insurance to credit cards, visit The Times money shop.

38. Share a millionaire's lifestyle
You don’t have to be rich to be able to afford a luxury lifestyle. Here is a guide to fractional ownership

39. Learn to haggle
Even supermarkets may negotiate on price. Here is a guide on how to drive a harder bargain

40. Go on holiday for next to nothing
Going away can be cheap if you know how. Here is a guide on how to cut the cost of travel

BE FASTIDIOUS WITH YOUR FINANCES

41 Budget sensibly
It may be boring but budgeting a sensible way of managing your money. Here is a guide on how to draw up a workable budget

42. Don’t get sunk by debt
If you are in real financial difficulty, don’t panic. Here are ten ways to deal with debt

43. Get cheaper credit
Affordable credit is now much harder to come by so that’s why it is more important than ever to have a good credit history. Here is a guide on how to improve your credit rating

44. Consider the emotional strain
Money, or the lack of it, can prove a major strain on any relationship. Here is a guide on how to weather the emotional strain of an economic downturn

DON'T WORRY ABOUR WORK

45. Be positive
Losing your job need not be the end of the world; with a little help it could mean the beginning of a better way of life. Here is a guide on how to gain from redundancy

46. Know your rights
Should the worse happen and you lose your job there are laws that can help. Here is a guide outlining your rights if you're fired.

47. Smarten up
Wearing a tie may cut the chances of being made redundant, according to Moss Bros

IF ALL ELSE FAILS...

48. Leave the country
Fed up with the doom and gloom? Here is a guide on how to take a career break

49. Dance your way to happiness
Cheer yourself up, have a laugh at Matt

50. Have a rant
Let us know how fed up you are with Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and the entire Labour government. Get it off your chest by posting your comments below. You will feel better...

List compiled by Andrew Ellson

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Find out what age you should live to

The 10 most extravagant weddings ever

The 10 strangest will bequests ever

The 10 most infamous heists ever

50 reasons not to buy an iPhone

The 10 craziest parking tickets ever

The 10 most ridiculous fines of all time

The 10 most audacious swindles ever

Ten tips to survive a property downturn

The 50 wierdest terms of financial jargon - and what they actually mean

Comments

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[arma geddon]

Surely we are all Christmas Europeans now.

[Richard]

okay, this isn't gonne be believed. Open an account and deposit
£1500 and then you will get an additonal £100 for free. Didn´t we had some trouble with IceSave? but nice one to notice. Anyway i think i think its more save to leave als the money in house instead of saving it in a bank. i dont trust the banks anymore neither the economic. and its not only worse in the UK here in Holland its all the same problems :( the good days have past.

[Jimmy V]

Yeah that tip about investing in a Kaupthing account is a really good one ;-(

[Mr Taylor]

MR Ash, I must ask you a question. Do you have any idea how to spell or how to read the news?

1. The World economic crisis is rooted in bad debt derived from the U.S. Mortgage market which was bundled into sub-prime bonds and flooded into the world capital markets (Much more blame must go on Financial Institutions rather than heads of state).
2. So called "Easter Europeans" as you put it, provide far more income into the National chest through tax contributions than they use in services - do the research because you come across as a Daily Mail racist.
3. Labour "Ruined" the country?? If unemployment being at the lowest levels for 10 years and secondary education achievement being at the highest for 8 years qualifies as ruined then I guess you're right.

Mr Ash, try to make a point using facts, not conjecture and racist opinion.

[Hartlepool]

I thought we are suffering because of what's happening in the US and around the world.. I fail to see how any other prime minister could protect us from that?

Blame the head of the UK banks who have been lending cash to people who can't afford to pay it back, and then investing savers cash on unsafe US real estate.

[nathalie]

Why would becoming a guinea pig be a good solution to recession? I find this very insulting and not ethical

[tony sidhu]

I have been unemployed for four years, i cannot get a job, i can't even get an interview, help me please

[Pam Blackwell]

Hooray for us Easter Europeans

[Mike Collins]

Browns Britain, It hasnt been this bad since thatcher.

[Tony]

Ways to ride out a recession... move out of the country. Oh, thanks for that! Actually the biggest way to avoid a recession in the first place is for everyone to stop talking about one every day.

[Geoff Rawson]

Sleazebag Brown would be out of his depth in a car park puddle

[Brian Wilson]

I like No. 20 Find Treasure, now where did I put my spade ?

[Robert Lees]

A particularly high level of debate on this blog. Gordon Brown is a prat, oh no he is not, oh yes he is, oh no he is not. Enlightening...

[Jonathan Ash]

Well what can i say about Gordon Brown? Well all the fools out there who voted Labour in the last election are to blame! Unfortunately they did not look any further than there own personal circumstances, do not get me wrong i do not think The Tories are the answer to all our pray's but my god at the moment they are the only solution. This goverment has taxed us on just about every thing they can think of, knife crime is at epidemic proportions but they are weak and will not confront the issue. Also they have flooded the country with Easter europeans and tell us we need them! To be honest Labour has ruined the country and the majority of people seem unable to see this or just do not want to.
Where has the England gone i grew up in? This is a green and pleasant land which we should be proud of and cherish, instead it has become part of some european beaurocracy - basically we have been sold out!
Wake up people before it is to late.

[anton]

The best two views in England;
1. Blair leaving Downing Street
2. Brown leaving Downing Street

[Dectora]

J Rogers: so Gordon Brown is to blame for a WORLD economic crisis is he? What did they put in your head when they removed the brains?

[Michael in New Zealand]

Why wait for "all else to fail" before emigrating?

[Carol Smith]

Gordon Brown is not a prat- get a life.

[OMG]

Dare I say it... bring back Tony Blair, all is forgiven!

[Pity the Fool]

Gordon Brown is a prat. There, i have said it but I don't feel any better. I'll have to wait for an election for that...

[J Rogers]

What the hell is wrong with Calamity Brown? He just has no idea. One minute he is lecturing the nation on food waste then he is scoffing his fat chops at an international summit with a 15 course meal! If we are going to have a Scot in charge I'd prefer Alex Salmond...

[jane peters]

Try a voucher code website for discounts on the items you want to buy. For example if you want to buy a wii, search for it and the site will give you a list of all the discounts and voucher codes available for that product. It takes you through the manufacturers or retailers site so you can buy it directly from them using the code or discount.