There is much in the news about Pensions and the cost of living these days, the cost of living is on the up; utility bills, council tax, fuel and the general cost of living are on the up no doubt. Wages have also been much covered in the press and media of late with wage rise demands in both private and public sectors which, generally are failing to meet the rise in inflation.In a recent survey carried out by the University of Newcastle it was suggested that the true cost of living for Pensioners has risen by over 200% over the past few years.The signs are all there, people are finding it harder and harder to get by and it does appear that a period of recession is upon us.As for Gordon Brown, I have been tempted to feel sorry for him upon occasion but it should be remembered that he was Chancellor of the Exchequer for most of the Blair years and, hence, is directly culpable for the mess that we may well discover ourselves in - I believe that the true extent is not yet apparent.

So, it looks like it will be a good year ahead for debt management companies and business insolvency practitioners, the credit crunch is making it more and more difficult to borrow money and traditional large lenders are being far more rigorous in their criteria before lending money.Under this climate many people are looking for ways in which they can release money from previously unfancied sources. There has been a surge in the claimant industry whereby you are encouraged to claim on bank charges, endowment compensation, childrens tax credit and personal injury by the thriving mass of companies offering to guide you through the paperwork for a small fee. Other avenues being explored are Pension Release for the Over 50’s, whereby one can unlock or release funds in a redundant pension scheme to which you no longer contribute. This is also in the same vein as the current malcontent regarding inheritance tax, we all need what we can get..The main issue in these times is to be a bit more frugal, don’t be easily fooled by get rich quick offers. What appears too good to be true generally is.

The Author, Alexis Svenn is a Financial Analyst and an article contributor to many online and offline media sources.

Article Lifted in verbatim from Business Times Online - because it is interesting and well written.

More evidence of the weakening housing market emerged yesterday when figures showed that house prices had fallen by 1 per cent in the three months to January.

Halifax said that the cost of an average home last month was, at £197,244, only £80 more than it had been in December, but the largest mortgage lender in Britain brushed off forecasts of a housing slump this year or next. Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: “We expect a more subdued market, but we don’t expect any falls in UK house prices on a national level. Some regions may experience slight falls, but these will be balanced by increases in the South of England and Scotland.”

Figures released last week by Nationwide, the second-biggest lender, indicated that house prices had fallen by 0.1 per cent in January, the third consecutive monthly decrease.

Worries over the housing market have spread to Central London, where prices for prime houses and flats in the £1 million to £2 million bracket were flat, Knight Frank, the estate agent, reported. Prices of Central London property worth up to £1 million rose by only 0.2 per cent in January, while homes priced in the £1 million to £5 million bracket rose by 0.7 per cent as demand fell among bankers with smaller bonuses to spend.

However, an unexpected surge in demand for homes worth £5 million or more in Mayfair, Chelsea, Belgravia and Knightsbridge pushed up prices for all of the prime Central London market by 1 per cent during January.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said that he expected London house-price inflation for 2008 in the £1 million to £2 million bracket “to be not much more than zero”, compared with 5 per cent growth in house prices in the £5 million to £10 million bracket and 8 per cent in the £10 million-plus bracket.

Howard Archer, of Global Insight, said: “The fact that house prices did not plunge in January reinforces belief that the Bank of England will limit a widely expected interest-rate cut on Thursday to 25 basis points from 5.50 per cent to 5.25 per cent.”

However, a KPMG survey also found that nearly one in four borrowers were struggling to meet their monthly loan payments.