Recessions come and recessions eventually go but you may not know what to expect or how to cope during a period of financial uncertainty. This guide gives a few pointers to surviving until the next boom comes around:

Stick to the essentials

Decide what’s essential and what’s not. Go through your bank and credit card statements and look back through your major bills. Identify where you can cut back, then set yourself a budget and stick to it.

Useful utilities

Use price comparison sites to make sure you’re getting the best deal on energy and telephones. If you’re not water metered, look at the pros and cons of installing one. Get into the habit of turning off lights, appliances and taps – it’s good for the planet and your wallet.

Know what you owe

It’s easy to overlook a credit card, loan or catalogue account, so take a look at your credit report, which lists your credit accounts and repayment record. It gives you a snapshot of your current position and helps you to identify which accounts are costing you more, which can be closed and which you should aim to pay off.

Understand interest

Make sure you understand interest rates – and know the rates you’re paying on your loans. A CreditExpert survey shows that two-thirds of us don’t know the interest rate on our credit cards and more than half of us have no idea what the APR is on our loans. Without these facts, you can’t decide if the loans you have are a good deal or whether you would be better off with a different source of finance. If you’ve got a mortgage and your payments have fallen, consider using any money you’ve saved to pay off higher interest debts first before paying off more of your home loan.

Polish up your credit status

If you need to borrow, it pays to polish up your credit status. Start with your credit report – lenders look at it when they decide whether to make you an offer and what interest to charge, so correct clerical errors, challenge misunderstandings, register to vote at your current address and ensure it’s up to date and accurately reflects your situation. As a CreditExpert member, you can order your Experian Credit Score. It won’t be the same as the credit rating calculated by a lender because everyone uses a different formula but it will give you an indication of your creditworthiness.

Don’t dig

If you do get into a financial hole, avoid borrowing to pay off existing debts. Instead, talk to your lenders to see if payments can be rescheduled and get free advice on how to manage – try Citizens Advice at www. adviceguide.org.uk, National Debtline at www.nationaldebtline.co.uk or the Consumer Credit Counselling Service at www.cccs.co.uk Surviving a recession means managing your resources effectively. You’ll not only feel more confident that you’ll get through the current economic turmoil but will also learn good habits that could help you to achieve your financial ambitions when the upswing comes. It will become second nature to keep a close eye on your budget, not to fritter your cash away and to check your credit report regularly, so you can afford the life you want without building up a mountain of debt.