According to the Lloyds TSB Business Unit the economy in Scotland is growing, albeit at a lower than hoped for rate.
Looking at the last three months almost 40 percent of businesses in Scotland reported that turnover was up, a third remained unchanged whilst 28 percent had seen a reduction. When combined these figures show a net gain of 11 percent – better than the quarter before but much less than the same time last year. A Lloyds TSB economist reported that Scottish businesses were expecting their figures to reduce in the next 6 months though their actual performance was better than the rest of the country.
Both manufacturing and service industries had enjoyed growth over the last quarter, which is a very healthy situation, though some business owners were telling the Lloyds TSB survey that they were beginning to notice the access to credit tightening up which could be a concern in the future.
A recent study carried out by the Abbey National has found that over 80 percent of people in the UK are changing their lifestyles to manage the effects of the credit crunch.
Looking at rising costs of living and less access to lending consumers in the UK are spending less, selling unwanted items to raise money and some are also taking on additional work to increase their income. With considered planning and the will to stick to it most people in the UK can feel a little better about how they will be able to manage in the future say the Abbey National.
Lifestyles do not have to change drastically in order to make a big change, rather it comes down to selecting the best options when spending money. It may be choosing an alternative provider to save money or perhaps cutting back a little on non-essential spending. As the Abbey National study also highlighted increasing income is another great way of balancing the personal balance sheet.
In 2007 approximately 18,000 unsecured personal loans were taken out to pay for school fees, with a total value of around GBP165 million according to Sainsburys Bank.
Looking at the historical data Sainsburys Bank also found that over GBP2 billion extra was spent on school fees in 2006 compared with just 2 years previously. This is a massive additional amount to cover and explains the increasing use of unsecured personal loans and other forms of borrowing to fund childrens educations.
Looking ahead Sainsburys Bank also expect the trend to continue. With a rising cost of living, more children enjoying private education and also the fact that school fees themselves rise at levels well above the rate of inflation they are predicting more borrowing.