The Credit Crunch: More than 75,000 homes in the UK could be repossessed...

Things could get a lot worse before they get better, in a market economy it is very difficult to predict because 'confidence' is a big factor and it is very difficult to inspire confidence in the market. It also requires spending to inflate the economy, and who is going to spend when they are struggling to meet mortgage payments or pay their food bill when wages are not rising?
Ultimately we could see some more financial institutions go to the wall, and although I don't want to spread doom and gloom, when these guys go belly-up ANYTHING could happen, the free market is based on rise and fall, when the rises and falls are 'controlled' by government intervention, the 'oversteer' can sometimes plunge you into big spending times and then deep recession.
The worse affected will be those that bought recently with 100% mortgages in a falling market AND then struggle to meet repayments - if you have sufficient income, then negative equity is not an issue.
The good news is that if you are careful you will come through unscathed, my advice is to budget and try to control your spending, reduce debt and become financially 'lean' - see: http://www.thecreditcruncher.com for more information and advice...

this is just my personal take on the issue. if we refrain from spending so much on things that we really do not need then things will start looking up. if we spend wisely then we don't have to borrow money or use up our resources to purchase some of our caprices .thus, saving enough for the necessities and at the same time, economically, prices of commodities won't go up that much since there are people spending less and this companies will have to sell lower to attract customers.i agree, not only in the U.K but all over the world that it will affect a lot of us in the near future.we just have to learn to be wise with our spending habits. it is time to go back to basics of saving and spending.

I wish people will stop being so gullible and not borrow more than they can afford to repay. The sums are really simple. You earn so much, you need so much to live on, your loan repayments cost this much...oops, no, that doesn't work, that's too much, we will have to borrow less.

I look at what people are saying here and the news Jemina and things are pretty bad. The price of fuel is on the rise, ditto groceries, everthing is costing more...home repairs and maitenance is so costly, you have to ask yourself if you can afford to fix things. I'm enemployed too so I'm in deep trouble.

In California, many people are losing their homes, as they paid to much for them and then have lost their job. I live in a very expensive state where most people live pay check to pay check. We have saved money, so if we don't earn enough will move and start over in another state.

Many of my friends are unemployed and have left their resumes at many places. The problem many places aren't hiring and when they do its from within the company when another position goes away.

I think its going to get worse. My local grocery store now has a lot of part time workers, so they don't get health insurance or any other benefits. The store no longer doubles high value coupons and the employees no longer get a discount on their groceries.

I have changed my spending and think everyone needs to spend wisely. I use my credit card to pay for online purchases and then pay the entire balance, so no fees to use the card.

That's too bad. People have been paying their houses for like a couple of years and now that money will just go wasted. At least they could consider they were just renting that house. But it's really bad. Not having a roof over your head for shelter is really a sorry state. I can feel this credit crunch biting hard on people. It seems like the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

The UK is having a challenging time at the moment with higher prices and people having difficulty affording these. The price of homes is decreasing so that is rather bad news. The cost of food and of fuel has gone up quite considerably. Mortgage rates have gone up since they were quite low two to three years ago. If a couple or a single person pays most of their salary on their mortgage then it is difficult them to keep up the reypayments on their home. If the mortgage goes even higher unless they earn more money their house might be repossessed. It is terrib;ly sad when a person, a couple or a family has their house repossessed. Most people are budgeting carefully and only going ahead with essential purchases.

I have just been on a trip to Latvia, Lithunaia and Estonia. It makes me realise nowhere in Europe is cheap anymore. Travel is Hungary in 1990 was a bargain and house prices in England were very low when I boyught my cotttage in 1991. The 1980s were a time of negative equity for some people. Then the early 1990s was the recession and many people were made redundant. So let us hope that brighter times are ahead of us in 2009 and 2010. We can only be sure of the past but we have hopes for a better future.

This has potential to be quite some recession/ depression. We have had boom times/ good times for a relatively long period now, which could mean quite a dip, coming now. A lot will depend on mass psychology. Looking at it in a positive light, it will be good for the environment, in that we won't be needing to exploit the earth for quite so much energy or for raw materials...

First of all, things aren't going to get better for a long time,so start getting smart iwith your money and your investments.

Secondly, I DO feel bad for the "credit crisis" and the folks having their homes foreclosed in the US. Some of them were legitimately duped, and lied to by loan sharks. Others, however, didn't do their homework. Now Pres Bush is trying to put together some sort of plan to help out the folks who can't pay their mortgage payments? Folks who signed on loans they couldn't handle are now going to get a hand out?

what about folks like me? I have NEVER once been late on a bill payment, in my LIFE. I was smart about getting a mortgage I could handle, one that did NOT have inflating rates over time. I pay my mortgage, I play by the rules.. and others are getting paid? Granted, I know some were taken advantage of (and should have the right to sue) but what about the people that are just plain stupid with money, ones who spend beyond their means? Why are they getting rewarded for their behavior with a hand out from the government?