In the present economic climate students and recent graduates are having to fight to keep themselves within the limits of their overdraft.

Securing additional loans to help deal with debt is becoming more of a challenge, and rising inflation means that student loan repayments are only going to increase further. For students the outlook is bleak and is going to remain that way for at least the next year or so.

In the face of looming recession, graduates can’t expect the government to come to their aid. Affordable homes and high-paying jobs are going to be hard to come by. But there’s no need to despair.

Here’s a survival guide for the hard times ahead, which will allow you not just to battle your way through a recession, but even to find the odd reason for cheer amongst all the doom and gloom.