There is likely to be a decline in remortgaging activity in the near future, it has been suggested.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said it is not likely to see an improvement in the short-term at least, as people look to stay on the mortgage product they already have.

"A lot of them are choosing to stay on SVR [standard rate variable] because in many cases that is quite a cheap rate. I don’t see any rush to get on a fixed [rate]," Mr Boulger observed.

He predicted a "modest increase" in purchase activity, although expected those on loan-to-value (LTV) products to remain on them as finding a remortgaging deal "because most lenders are charging much higher rates once the LTV goes above 75 per cent".

The Council of Mortgage Lenders reported in May 2009 that 40,000 remortgages were taken out in March and the value of remortgage loans increased by four per cent compared to the previous month.

Furthermore, first-time buyers accounted for 40 per cent of all house purchase loans, up from 38 per cent in February.

More than a quarter of workers over 50 fear losing their jobs if their employer chooses to reduce staff numbers, new research shows.

Findings from Age Concern and Help the Aged reveal they are also uncertain over their retirement funds, as 47 per cent are less confident than they were six months ago that their savings would hold out.

"These figures paint an extremely bleak picture for millions of over 50s whose working lives are at risk of being cut short by the recession," commented Michelle Mitchell, charity director for Age Concern and Help the Aged.

She added that those who lose their jobs are likely to find it difficult to get back into work, which will also make them financially vulnerable.

Statistics also reveal that the rate of unemployment among those aged 50 and over has increased by around 50 per cent, making financial concerns a real problem for many.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics on health expectancy show that the population of Great Britain has been living longer over the past 23 years, but the extra years have not necessarily been in good health or free from illness or disability.

Britons are failing to spend prudently when they head off on holiday, despite the economic pressures they face, it has been suggested.

Findings from FairFX.com show 69 per cent of people believe every penny counts when it comes to buying foreign currency, although many do not put this theory into practice.

Stephen Heath, chief executive of FairFX.com, commented: "Will 2009 be the year that travellers wake up to the savings they can make by using a pre-paid card for all their holiday spending?

"Two-thirds of people might say every penny counts but then don’t actually ensure they have the right tools to make it happen"

The statistics show that just nine per cent of people use a price comparison site to check they are getting the best deal with their currency, while 16 per cent fail to do anything at all and opt to use the cards already in their wallets.

Over half of those questioned (58 per cent) said they look for a supplier which charges zero per cent commission on exchanges.

According to a press release from Which? Money, the cheapest currency provider on average for US dollars and euros was Eurochange – it charged £351 for $500 and £461 for €500.

Britons are throwing debt management caution to the wind when they holiday abroad, according to research by Abbey.

More than half of Britons (57 per cent) use a credit or debit card to pay for purchases abroad, with £73 million in unnecessary foreign exchange fees also paid out.

The Abbey Credit Card research also revealed that the average holiday spending budget is £274 per week.

Londoners appear to take the biggest risks with their debt management while abroad, expecting to spend an average of £332 per person per week on holiday.

Callum Gibson, head of credit cards at Abbey, warned that Britons need to "manage their finances more carefully".

He said: "Britons holidaying abroad this summer will pay out more than £73 million pounds in foreign exchange fees, a staggering and unnecessary sum."

The research also showed that more than two-thirds of Britons (69 per cent) like to keep their spending options open by taking a credit card with them abroad.

A survey by fairinvestment.co.uk in February found that one in 20 Brits have used between 91 per cent and 100 per cent of their savings since the credit crunch began to take its toll.

The last ten years has given rise to a debt culture, with many thinking that borrowing beyond their means is good.

This is according to Philip Stevenson, chartered financial planner for Ark Financial Planning, who stated that there has been a "definite trend away from saving".

"I think we are in a position now where people are more concerned with paying off debt rather than saving," he continued, adding that it could only ever be a good thing to see debt levels reduced.

Mr Stevenson refers to a situation where people are gaining just one per cent interest on their savings, while paying 18 per cent on their credit card bill, suggesting people must clear their debts first.

The latest Nationwide Savings Index released earlier this month found that just 56 per cent of consumers think saving is important, while less than half (47 per cent) of consumers save regularly.

In addition to this, 16 per cent of people think now is a good time to save and over half of consumers think government policy discourages them from saving.

British homeowners are in danger of severely overestimating the value of their properties, research has found.

Results from Abbey Mortgages suggest overestimations of as much as £35,000 could be made, with many failing to take into account falling house prices.

Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, Abbey director of mortgages, said accurate valuations are needed "to avoid problems or disappointment further down the line".

The statistics show that Britons, on average, believe the value of their home equates to £190,175, marking an increase of £37,280 on official figures from the Land Registry.

It also revealed that those living in the east and south-east are most optimistic over their property’s value, with some estimates exceeding £53,000.

Londoners, on the other hand, were nearest to their actual property’s value with their estimates, followed by homeowners in Wales and the south-east.

The latest Land Registry figures show that the average house sold for £152,895 in March, indicating a 0.4 per cent decrease compared to February and 16.2 per cent reduction compared to March 2008.

Property prices now stand at levels last seen in August 2004, it also found.

Despite liquidity returning to the market, not everyone will be able to secure themselves a mortgage, it has been warned.

Timothy Lambert, sales and marketing manager at Ducalian, said those with a good credit history will be able to secure a mortgage, although others may struggle.

"Only those who already have money can make money out of this recession and that is different to previous recessions where property and finance were not so drastically hit," he stated.

Mr Lambert stressed that mortgage rates vary depending on circumstances and loan amounts, which could encourage those struggling financially to get debt management advice.

The British Bankers’ Association reported last month that 26,097 new mortgages were approved in March 2009 – down from the previous month’s seasonally adjusted figure of 28,024.

The average number of new mortgages per month for the previous six months was 23,152, it found, while the average value of a new mortgage was £128,600 in March.

Furthermore, gross mortgage lending in March was £8.9 billion, while February seasonally adjusted figure was £9.2 billion.

People may be moving towards debit rather than credit cards as they enable people to spend what they actually have.

This is the opinion of Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs, who said that this is being favoured over borrowing.

"For a lot of people it’s provided a bit of a shock to concentrate on what you want to spend the money that you have, rather than money you think you might have in the future," she continued.

Those who can manage to stay in a job may find themselves financially better off at the moment, Ms Quinn suggested, with mortgage payment reductions a particular bonus.

Furthermore, people have the ability to pay off their debts, which may require them to enlist the services of a debt management agency.

In the first quarter of 2009, there were £94.2 billion-worth of purchases made on plastic cards, with cash withdrawals totalling 696 million.

In addition to this, the number of automated payments made equated to £18,455, with 60.1 Faster Payments instigated.

British savers are now putting less money to one side than they were in the previous quarter, new statistics reveal.

Figures from Abbey Savings show people are saving an average of £120 a month, which marks a £43 decrease on the average three months ago.

"This insight into the current state of British savings allows us to track the nations savings habits closely; we are certainly observing an overall decline which may not come [as] a huge surprise," said Reza Attar-Zadeh, director of savings and investments at Abbey.

He added that there "are some good intentions out there", while emphasising the need for sound financial planning.

The statistics reveal that men are typically putting away more money than women, saving an average of £155 a month compared to £86 a month for women.

Nationwide recently conducted a similar poll, which showed some optimism for the country’s savers when its index increased by two points.

However, it found that people are still reluctant to save due to uncertainties in the wider economy, with just over half of those questioned believing that saving is important.

Over a third of employers are considering making redundancies over the next six months, figures show.

Research from Pinsent Masons reveals that many businesses are unaware of the protocol when making redundancies, which could put the 37 per cent of companies considering them at risk.

"The half of respondents (48 per cent) who did not anticipate any complications with their potential redundancy programmes should probably think again as a redundancy exercise is rarely problem free," suggested employment partner Tom Flanagan.

Of those questioned by the law firm, 84 per cent of employers said they were unaware of the correct length of time needed to consult with employees before laying off staff.

Earlier this month, the Office for National Statistics revealed that the unemployment rate was on the increase, standing at 7.1 per cent in the three months leading up to March.

This marks a 0.8 per cent increase on the previous quarter and 1.8 per cent rise over the course of a year.

Furthermore, 286,000 redundancies were made in the first quarter, up by 27,000 on figures from the previous three months.