Credit crunch - a sudden reduction in the availability of loans.

Recession - a significant decline in economic activity. Normally visible in income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.

Inflation - a general rise in the price of goods and services.

Unless you've been living on Mars for the last few months you will have noticed constant reference to the state of our economy.

The same old words seem to be threatening us day in and day out. But do these words mean anything to us?

Do we even care about the threats that have already taken hold?

We decided to ask what you think.

LB - Comedienne, writer & mental health key worker - London

Obviously you cannot outright buy a property so some debt is understandable, but in general, my late dad programmed his three daughters to read CREDIT AS DEBT. This has manifested in me being pretty much sorted in terms of cash flow since I have a propensity to save money and have done so from the age of 19. I always pay myself first and take full advantage of free power saving light bulbs, insulation promotions, money off vouchers and the like.

Generally I'm an optimist and this attitude has helped me foster great all round money saving skills such as washing potato's really well prior to peeling so I can add a little salt and pepper to the skins to serve at tea time or other, or as roasted chips.

Credit crunch remains distant to me since I forward plan much of the time. I RESPECT my money.

Maybe if people quit taking electric and gas for granted they could rub the edge off the current money worries.

Caroline - Dementia nurse specialist - London

Life is one big struggle. Eight years as a single parent and earning above the average wage gets you absolutely nowhere in this world.

To add, we have ineffective organizations, services, structure and support networks.

Max - Coffee shop owner - London

I have a coffee business and just as all of our food costs have climbed, so have the cost of raw materials for my lattes and cups.

I have really noticed the cost of milk jump significantly. Items like flavoured syrups are truly seen as a luxury now. I provide a quality product but my business is not in central London. I therefore battle with a clientele that could get a good coffee at the other end of their journey.

I use a very distinctive cup, as did some of my competitors but most have switched to the bargain basement ones in the effort to still provide a quality bean.

These little ways of cutting corners aren't something I would ever have dreamed of in the past but I'm not sure I've ever been hit in the pocket from all angles before. But everybody I know is feeling it.

Rashmi - Inspirational speaker and healer - London

It's almost like the media is taking control of their minds, feelings and actions.

Hysteria can cause more of a knock on effect than the actual fluctuations in real costs. In the nineties we bought a flat that was then undervalued. As a result it took us longer to get it back up to value to be able to sell it but when we bought it we had no intention of selling it straight away anyway. It simply enabled us to be more grounded in one place for longer.

Negative equity is just an issue where people are buying and selling in short spaces of time. If you have a home and you intend to stay in it for a while there is no real concern because within five years you will be back on the up anyway. Enough said. I could go on but wont for now!

Alero - Student - Nottingham

I'm a student so my finances are always a bit of a joke really. I think it will affect me more once I try to fund my training to become a lawyer, but I've got nine months to sort that out. So, at the moment, it hasn't really affected me at all.