Although it's hard to believe, there really is a bright side to the recession. It sounds crazy but for the average Brit there are loads of reasons the recession might be helping their finances.

Let's face it; this situation didn't happen overnight, so we'd be naive to think its going to go away any time soon. But it honestly isn't all doom and gloom. So why not cheer yourself up and find out just why things aren't as bad as they seem.

The recession has hit banks really hard. Although you probably have very little sympathy with that fact, it can actually be a huge advantage to us as consumers. OK so banks can't offer us the great rates of interest we've all got used to, but they still need our money so they've had to get inventive and think of new ways to entice customers.

And that means great deals for us! For instance, Alliance and Leicester is offering customers £100 just for switching to its Premier Current account. They'll also give you £25 if you refer a friend, and they've thrown free European travel insurance into the deal. As always, make sure you shop around for deals first and read the small print, but there are certainly deals to be had.

There are loads of high street sales

The other day I nipped to the shops after work and almost every store I went in had some kind of special offer running. Even though it's February, there were remnants of the January sales in most of the stores, and loads of them had a special 'one day only 20% discount across the store' or '£5 off a purchase of £35'.

So even if you haven't seen any sales advertised, always keep your eyes peeled for these special store offers – they're going to be around more and more.

You can afford to pay off more of your mortgage

The recession is great news if you've got a tracker mortgage – your payments should have dropped by about £50 a month or maybe even more in the last six months or so. Great news!

Not only are you paying less each month you're actually making a dent in the debt rather than just paying off the interest. And the same goes for loans, so you never know, you might be able to clear that debt faster than you thought.

If you wanted to, now would be a good time to overpay on your mortgage if you can afford it. Upping your payments could take years off your mortgage and make a huge long-term difference to your finances. Check your terms and conditions carefully and make sure you won't be charged to change your monthly payments first, or it might not be worth your while.

House prices are falling fast

The current climate is a perfect scenario for first time buyers – last year house prices in England and Wales fell by 13.5% according to the Land Registry. OK, it might be hard work to get a mortgage at the moment, but it is possible. After the last few years of ridiculous house prices and first time buyer hell, things are finally in our favour.

Next time you walk past an estate agent do what you hadn't dared before; have a look in the window. You just might surprise yourself, because if you shop around there are some real bargains to be had.

Socialising is so much cheaper

Everywhere you look there are vouchers for restaurants, deals on theatre tickets, discounts on theme park entry and more. So why not embrace these offers and have some fun?! Lastminute is probably the best place to find all kinds of deals like this, and Toptable is worth a look for restaurant offers.