Bravado masks credit crunch worries

Alongside great sporting failures, binge drinking or excelling at queuing for hours at a time, the British are perhaps best known for their ability to out on a brave face no matter how dire the circumstances.

And, with the global credit crunch continuing to roll on, this Blitz Spirit is all too apparent, with millions of adults still jetting off for a summer break or hitting the high street at the weekend.

Indeed, in spite of all the doom and gloom being peddled by the media's economic observers, a sizeable proportion of people are largely at ease with all things money-related right now, and certainly no number of reports from experts about house prices, mortgage rates or the cost of oil will stop many heading down the pub at a weekend.

Research carried out by Prudential found that, of those consumers questioned 46 per cent said that they were concerned about the implications of the credit crunch.

While this is hardly an insignificant number, this still means that 54 per cent are yet to let the global economic slowdown affect their chirpy outlook.

Scratching a little deeper, however, and the real situation becomes more apparent.

The study also found that, when questioned about their views on real day-to-day costs, rather than vague economic sound bites, Britons do appear to be genuinely apprehensive about how their pockets are being hit.

Asked about gas and electricity prices, a massive 85 per cent confirmed that they are apprehensive about future rises, with many already struggling to cope with tariffs as they stand, while 75 per cent voiced their concerns over the ever-rising cost of filling up the family car at the pump.

Clearly, therefore, this bravado is rather misleading and behind the scenes millions are checking out new credit cards or overdrafts.

Commenting on the findings, Keith Haggart, director of lifetime mortgages at Prudential, said: "If you pose a question in a different way then you get a different story coming back.

"They say that it doesn't affect them but when you start talking about the prices, they are very worried about it.

"The vast majority said they were very concerned about the effects of rising fuel, petrol and food bills."

Of course, there is a lot of be said for the 'stiff upper lip' and 'mustn't grumble' attitude, but, when it comes to household finances, it often pays to be as pessimistic as possible and juggle money as if preparing for the worst.

Far better to be curmudgeonly and in the black than a happy shopper getting further and further in debt.