Hundreds of thousands of the most credit-worthy homeowners coming to the end of fixed-rate deals next month will have to pay thousands of pounds a year extra for a similar deal, figures calculated for The Times show.

Borrowers with 25 per cent equity in their home who have a £150,000 two-year fixed-rate mortgage with Halifax will have to pay an additional £3,300 for a similar deal with the bank.

There was more bad news for consumers as the CBI said that the economic slowdown in Britain is likely to be more prolonged than expected and could feel like a recession. It said that the tightness in the credit markets would put the brakes on the economy well into next year, and would lead to a slowdown in consumer spending.

Few households will be immune. The credit crunch is already hurting the bank balance of many people and even those not yet affected have been hit by rising energy and food bills.

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Fuel prices have been climbing for months, with motorists paying 16 per cent more for petrol and 19 per cent more for diesel than in March last year, according to the AA.

Shoppers have also watched prices rise for staples such as bread and milk, although this is blamed on myriad factors, including the global shortage of wheat caused by increased demand from China.

Utility companies have increased gas and electricity prices by up to 40 per cent. It is no surprise, then, that people are worried about their health of their bank balance. But how worried should we be?

Anna Haggerson, 30, of Denmark Hill, southeast London, is a PR executive desperate to begin her climb up the housing ladder. She is lucky enough to have saved a sizeable sum, but still believes it will not be enough to buy the small two-bedroom house she desires.

David and Amanda Ward, who have two young children, have noticed that his salary isn’t stretching as far as it did, forcing his wife to consider rejoining the workforce after leaving her job to raise their five-year-old son.

Cheryl Asterley, 46, lives with her son, Rory, 13, in Merseyside. The repayments on her mortgage, which is fixed for five years, and a homeowner loan, account for the lion’s share of her salary, which is supplemented by child benefit and maintenance from Rory’s father. An earlier mix-up with child tax credit has left her wary of applying for it again.

Graham Smith and Candice Niven, of Newcastle upon Tyne, are both physiotherapists, although Mr Smith is self-employed and Ms Niven works for the NHS. Mr Smith is particularly worried about the impact of an economic downturn. The couple have a buy-to-let property in the centre of Newcastle that has failed to return an income equal to the investment they put in, and the couple are about to sell both this and their family home to move somewhere larger.

Frank and Dorothy Beevers , from Bexley in southeast London, are watching the rising cost of food and fuel take an ever-larger bite out of their pensions. Mr Beevers, 65, and his wife, 66, are keen caravanners and have been hit by the rising price of fuel.