Recession panic gripped local markets last week, with investors predicting yet another major slump and fearing the unimaginable this time round.

It’s not your salary that makes you rich, it’s your spending habits- Charles Jaffe

The world’s finances seem to be doomed, with warnings from the heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that Europe and the US risk “suffocating” the global economy if they do not take control of their economies.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick called for action last Thursday, saying “the world is in a danger zone”.

A new European Central Bank study also revealed that the success of the single European currency was being jeopardised by the eurozone crisis and persistent overspending by member states.

What will happen if the euro dies? Will we have to revert to our old currencies?

So far, already three eurozone countries – Greece, Ireland and Portugal – have needed to be bailed out by the EU and the IMF.

Governments together with the European Parliament and European Commision last Wednesday agreed to adopt much tougher rules to shield the bloc from future crises.

The world’s largest mobile phone maker Nokia said it would slash another 3,500 jobs in Romania, Germany and the US, a short while after announcing 4,000 job cuts that it said “would be the last for the foreseeable future”.

Spain abandoned a giant privatisation of its national lottery at the last minute because the expected market price was unacceptably low.

And as the world attempts to come to grips with this sad economical situation, we continue to experience on a day-to-day basis difficult times that render our lives stressful and impose extra burdens on us.

Saving has become an almost impossible, arduous task, with families barely making ends meet and trying hard to cope with the piles of bills waiting to be paid.

Money isn’t everything, but it certainly makes the world go round.

If you are trying to save, there are a few tips on offer in the supplement. If you love to cook and save money at the same time, there are useful ideas on how to make the most of what is in season on pages 8 and 9.

My little secret to saving, however, is to take care of the shillings… and the pence will take care of themselves.

Every little bit counts.

space@timesofmalta.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.