Most of us have tightened our belts since the onset of the credit crunch, forgoing big-ticket luxuries.

The effect on the relevant industries is obvious. Travel companies such as XL have collapsed under the pressure, while new UK car registrations fell for the fifth consecutive month in September, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

So, if you do have a bit of money put aside, now is a great time to buy thanks to the discounts being offered by struggling retailers.

Cars: Registrations plunged 21% last month and dealers are being forced to make loss-leading sales just to get new vehicles out of their showrooms.

Simon Empson is the managing director of broadspeed.com , which brokers deals and offers details of the best discounts available throughout a network of 300 dealerships.

He said: “The discounts on offer have definitely become more attractive since the start of the credit crunch. Last week, we organised our first half-price sale on a Subaru Tribeca.

“Before the credit crunch, the average discount we could get on a German make such as a BMW was between 8% and 10%,” Empson said. “Now we can cut the recommended price by up to 30%.”

The changing world of car finance has also had an impact. Until recently, HBOS financed 75% of all car purchases in the UK. Its current position, combined with the problems being faced by business leasing company Fortis, means car finance is now much harder to obtain.

The manufacturers have come up with a way around this, however, by offering cheap deals whereby you borrow, rather than buy, a vehicle.

Electrical goods: The website electricaldiscountuk.co.uk is offering a 37-inch Samsung LCD flat screen television for £699.99 — a £400 saving on the high street price.

Meanwhile, qed-uk.com has a Hotpoint cooker with double oven available through its clearance section for just £362.98. Hotpoint’s own website has it at £449.99.

Property: House builders have been offering big discounts for some time now.

Vauxhall dealer Murketts, for example, has teamed up with an estate agent to offer a free Vauxhall Corsa worth £10,000 to buyers of apartments at a development in St Ives, Cornwall.

Tempting as that may sound, you can probably get a bigger discount than that on a property by haggling in the current market.

New research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that houses across the UK are currently selling at an average of 9% below the asking price, with sellers in some regions being forced to accept as much as 12.5% off the advertised price.

Those in the market for a new-build property can get even larger discounts. Barratt Developments recently offered any buyers willing to take five or more flats or houses off its hands an incredible 43% off the original price.