One beneficial aspect of the current economic troubles is that fiscal prudence has made a comeback, in the field of personal finance at least.

One part of the evidence for this is that homeowners repaid a record amount of their mortgages in the first three months of 2009, figures have shown.

An estimated £8.1bn was repaid, according to Bank of England statistics, taking the total to £23bn for the year to the end of March.

From early last year, falling house prices and strict mortgage rationing halted top-up borrowing on mortgages. Prior to that, home owners had borrowed more than £300bn extra against the rising value of their homes since 2000.

Analysts for the Royal Insitute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said that this development has not been a surprise given the fall in house prices over the period, and will have contributed in no small way to the weakness in High Street spending.

It is improbable that housing capital, in the near term, will be viewed as a source of wealth that can be drawn down by home owners to supplement their income.

The Bank of England has explained that the switch from mortgage equity withdrawal, to the expansion of equity held by homeowners, does not just reflect conscious decisions by homeowners to pay off some of their loans.

It also affects lenders requiring larger deposits when lending to people buying homes, thus producing a greater injection of equity into the property.

Homeowners now recognise that this is the time to batten down the hatches and reduce their debt rather than live on credit, like a payday loan or credit cards. After a decade of profligate borrowing and spending by consumers (and even the Government) and profligate lending by the banks, this new thrifty spirit will become quite a theme over the next few years.