So: What kind of recession are you having?

I knew something must be seriously out of kilter when I realised BBC business editor Robert Peston’s voice was more familiar than my mum’s. And that I know, at any given moment, the latest rise or fall of the Dow Jones index. Or that off the top of my head, I could quote you the UK’s current unemployment figures, the average percentage drop in house prices and the latest turn in Toyota’s redundancies avoidance strategy.

Recession mania
With the help of the media we are becoming a nation of news-hungry recession obsessives. We’ve gone economy mad. We can’t get enough of it. It’s like Diana-fever all over again, only without the flowers and crying. Frankly it’s not healthy and it’s got to stop. So, never mind what you’re reading about, what you’re watching on the TV or having streamed into your ears from the radio as you wake up in the morning; what sort of recession are you actually having?

Whose recession is it anyway?
Chances are you are feeling recession by proxy. Like many other businesses at the moment you may have to pull your belt in a couple of notches, but in reality, unless you’re in a particularly high price ticket or luxury end of the market, your business is unlikely to have to completely grind to a halt. Indeed, where one business finds its customer stream ebbing, somewhere along the line is another that has gained new customers, thanks to some competitive customer service or pricing strategy. Discussions with our clients in recent weeks show that their business is as likely to be the latter as the former; or, more likely, somewhere in between. They may be losing a few accounts, but with lessons learned, some hindsight and planning, they’re gaining a few too. Margins may be slightly tighter but ultimately our clients are weathering the storm.

The Undercover Economist
A recent piece by the FT’s Undercover Economist, Tim Harford, investigates the theme of the personal recession experience. He expounds a theory that unless you are a particularly high earner (in the top 10 per cent), you are unlikely to truly notice much flux in your personal standard of living during a recession. For the majority, in the remaining 90 per cent of earners, studies of previous recessions show there is little or no impact on personal standards of living.
Read the article in full and more, at Mr Harford's website: http://timharford.com/ or check out the Undercover Economist archive at the Financial Times website.

Take control
The fact is, not all people’s personal recession experience is or could possibly be as bad as the news would have us believe. At a personal level for the majority the impact is most likely to be a pay freeze, therefore far from immeasurably impacting your current standards of living. So, while keeping abreast of the news is healthy, don’t get swept away on a tidal wave of gloom. On the contrary, keep your eye on the ball, watch out for new opportunities and take control of your personal recession experience.

Please share!
As always we’d like to hear from you; and in particular if you’ve a recession experience of your own to share. Post your comments below or contact our team on 0845 075 1044.