Apparently there was a recession in 1991. I can only vaguely remember it.

Financial commentators refer to the last recession as being beyond the memory of Generation Y (the “me” generation who have everything they want) and question their ability to cope.

They might be right about that. I’m not sure my generation have much to learn from the early 90s though either.

I was 24 in 1991. I had a secure job and no debts. I deposited money in the bank and remember getting 19 percent interest on three-month term deposits.

At the same time my parents were probably paying nearly 20 percent on their mortgage.

Yes, I had to adjust slightly. My application for a car loan was knocked back for no obvious reason.

And after I returned from a four-month overseas trip in 1992 I found my job redundant. However, my employer relocated me to Melbourne on an equivalent salary.

I paid $130 a week to rent a three-bedroom house in West Preston. That was the only year I have ever lived in a capital city.

To rent a similar house today would cost at least $300 a week. That’s an increase of 130 percent.

I estimate salaries have only risen about 50 percent in the same time.

I’m wary of the current recession, not because I fear the consequences for myself, but that I have responsibilities to others.

As an individual, if things got tight I would just move somewhere else.

As the father of four children aged 4-14 you have to weigh up a whole lot of other issues.

I’m not really worried about the economic situation. My job is secure and Mount Gambier is more resilient than other places because of the diversity of the local economy.

It’s something to think about though.