Old school recession busting tactics

With experts and laymen everywhere predicting that the financial crisis will hit us harder than any recession since the 1930s, the Sun has urged consumers to learn a few lessons from those that endured the Great Depression.

However, the UK paper warns that some of the tips offered in a leather-bound book found at a car boot sale on the Isle of Wight may seem a little outdated.

One of the contributors, Mrs Smith of Daleswide Road, Riddlesden, offers this little gem: “Do not throw away old felt hats – you can turn them into charming house slippers.”

Meanwhile, fellow pound-stretcher Mrs Erskine of the Isle of Wight also urges people not to be too hasty when throwing out old tennis rackets, reminding her readers that “they make most excellent carpet beaters, with or without the strings”.

It seems the Brits are growing increasingly keen on harking back to the cash-strapped 1930s, with the Independent reporting last month that auctioneer Coys is trying to tap into this sentimentality with the sale of 60 vintage cars from the era.