Simeon Brody
I am not an economist or a businessman, and although many of my posts are partly about saving money, I'm certainly no expert on what's happening to the economy. To me, it looks like some peoples' greed has caught up with them at the same time as peak oil has started to bite and our unpredictable and changing climate has caused a string of poor crop years. And, although it's not 'our fault' as individuals, we do collectively share some of the responsibility for heavy resource use, high carbon emissions and purchasing homes with mortgages many times bigger than our income. So we're all feeling the impact of this 'credit crunch' or economic slowdown.
Social workers are likely to be at the sharp end of some of society's problems as people begin to suffer from stress, fuel poverty, house repossessions, homelessness or inability to move house, losing their job and other dark situations. Yet as social workers are themselves 'real people' having to cope with all the same range of difficulties, I imagine that some of your lives will be extremely stressful, as you may be hearing about similar difficulties at work as you're facing at home.
Taking the pressure off
So, I wanted to remind you, for yourselves and your clients, that there are other 'front line' services out there who may be able to help take the pressure off. Starting with CAB, the Citizens' Advice Bureau, who have loads of advice on personal, legal and money matters... including an online 'Frequently Asked Questions' advice guide as well as the local offices which you can go to and see an advisor face to face. I love the CAB as they were (and still are!) big supporters of the Credit Union that I founded in York, so that's my next 'frontline', your local Credit Union. These are savings and loans schemes, co-operatively run and owned by their members. Members are encouraged to save money regularly, and can borrow for competitive rates, compared to many 'High Street' credit or hire-purchase shops. All savings are covered by the FSA if the worst should happen, and many CUs are offering other financial products such as Christmas clubs and children's savings accounts. To find your local Credit Union, try ABCUL's online search facility. There are over 30 CUs in the Scottish League of Credit Unions and you can find a Welsh Credit Union or an Irish Credit Union.
Dangers of consolidation
If you or a client has a string of debts, it may be tempting to respond to one of the 'consolidate your debt' adverts which offer you 'just one payment' instead of many to different lenders. I strongly advise against this as a first step, I would suggest taking advice from the CAB and 'consolidating' with a Credit Union if there's one you are eligible to join. Many of the 'High Street' loans companies have exceedingly high Annual Percentage Rates... in fact there was a front page headline in our local Press last year about a woman paying back two loans, one with over 16 000 APR and the other with an APR of 2,6 million.... both perfectly legal although crippling and morally evil, in my opinion. There's also a National Debtline service offering sound advice to those suffering from debt, including pro-forma letters to send to creditors and budgeting advice.
If it all gets too much, there's the Samaritans who always have someone there to listen and may be able to help, and there's local offices too.
In the meantime, keep on being frugal at home and avoid wasting energy and food, even if it's to just keep costs down,
See if you can give yourself a bit of a break too, as this may help you 'recharge your batteries' to coin an appropriate phrase.... This needn't cost a lot of money, I'm just suggesting being good to yourself or at least not being too tough. I am having a short retreat over the next few days in order to crack on with my book... and I hope to come back refreshed.
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