Out Of Recession? Does That Help Self Employed Borrowers?

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It was recently revealed that we are officially out of the longest recession since the Second World War – but does this good news actually mean anything to self employed borrowers?

All we hear of is the recession, like a cloud over all of our heads, but now it is over. The Office of National Statistics says the economy grew by 0.1% over the last three months of 2009.

So will everything go back to the way it was six quarters ago? No, of course it will not – the end of a recession doesn't mean the end of tough financial times for may people who are self employed. They still have bills, debts and financial stresses to handle every day.

Mark Bolsom, head of the UK trading desk at Travelex, says: "Although the data and survey evidence does tell us that the UK exited recession in its four quarter, the figures are utterly intangible to the everyday UK consumer and business."

This is because 'output' and 'growth' are things that do not pay the bills. Your clients will not offer you more work and you will not receive a bigger contract just because the UK economy is 'officially' out of a recession – for may self employed people it is going to feel the same for some time to come.

Bolsom adds: "For our business customers, credit conditions remain extremely tight and the prospect of higher taxes and public spending cuts are not reassuring. Small businesses still have to make redundancies and slash budgets as their recovery remains sluggish. Also, we think that the chances of a double dip recession cannot be ruled out. Unfortunately, we forecast a bumpy couple of years for UK consumers and businesses."

So ignore the headlines, get on with managing your own finances. Talk to a self employed expert about taking on new credit lines, new loans and rearranging your assets so as to make the most of your money while things are still tough.

SOURCE: ONS, Travelex, 26/01/10

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