Wonga is all about fast cash, but even we were blown away by the speed of our four-legged friends at Wimbledon dog stadium this week! The team was there to celebrate our first full year of fast cash delivery and we even got to name the races. There was the Wonga Fast Cash Dash, the Wonga Speedy Cash Advance Derby, the Wonga Flexible Loan Cup… OK, OK, you get the picture.

Fun was had by all, although some were better at picking winners than others. But even the less gifted or unlucky members of staff enjoyed presenting the winning trainers and dogs with their prizes - a chance to meet someone else with a real appreciation of speed.

Yep, it’s perhaps one of the worst kept secrets since it was rumoured that Barack Obama might be the next president of the US, but the UK is officially now in recession. Here’s an extract from a Guardian article published this morning.

The UK economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 1.5% between October and December from the previous quarter, beating the quarterly declines seen during the 1990s recession, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed today. This followed a 0.6% slump in the third quarter. Two or more consecutive quarters of contraction are regarded as a recession.

The fall in fourth-quarter GDP was the biggest since the second quarter of 1980, the year of the Bristol riots, the Iranian embassy siege and British Leyland’s launch of the Metro.

Alan Clarke of BNP Paribas believes that the UK is not even half-way through the downturn yet, and predicted that GDP will continue to shrink through 2009.

“It’s a case of two quarters down, four to go,” Clarke said. “All the indications are that this recession is worse than the one of the early 1990s.”

It’s set to be a tough time with plenty of worry about job security and the cost of living, so make sure your finances are in the best possible order. The easiest thing you can do is maintain a budget. Check out our free budget calculator service. It doesn’t take long to get started and can really help put you in control of your wonga.

When you need fast cash there’s usually a good reason. Maybe a tyre’s blown when you really need to get somewhere, the boiler’s blown in the middle of a cold snap or a big bill’s landed out of nowhere. Whatever the crisis, traditional credit providers aren’t usually up to speed, or they will sting you with hefty penalty fees if you dip into the red without notice. So that’s where a fast cash advance from Wonga can help out.

Modern life seems to be all about speed - fast food, fast delivery, speed dating and quickie divorces. Not all these things are good for you, but fast cash can come in very handy if you’ve got a short term problem and need a short term solution there and then.

Fast cash from Wonga really is fast - application is completely online and takes only minutes, you’ll get an instant decision and, if you’re approved, we can transfer a cash advance into your bank account within minutes (no matter what time of day it is). You can even choose how long you need the money for and we’ll tell you exactly how much it will cost.

Unlike a bank loan, overdraft or credit card application there’s no hanging around, because we understand that speed is everything in a cash emergency! We’re the fastest cash slingers in the West, so next time you’re in a sticky situation and an urgent expense just can’t wait… Don’t worry, Wonga it!

January is often the hardest month financially, with many of us living large over Christmas and waking up with a nasty cash flow hangover. Short term loans can provide welcome relief if an urgent expense crops up a few days or weeks before your first payday of the New Year.

Short term loans are a good solution because you can access fast cash now and then settle the debt within weeks. With a Wonga cash advance you can even take a short term loan for a few days. You can also choose to repay a Wonga loan early without any penalty.

So if you have a cash emergency and urgently need some wonga to see you through, short term loans mean you can fix the problem and then repay the money quickly, rather than being tied to long term debt for the rest of the year.

While bank loans and credit cards might appear like cheaper options, they usually come with very rigid terms and only offer good value if used sensibly. Bank and card fees can soon add up and you won’t find a bank loan with a repayment term of less than a year. A short term loan from Wonga allows you to pick exactly how much cash you want to borrow and for how many days you need it - you aren’t encouraged or forced to borrow more than you need, or for longer than you need. There are no hidden catches and the cost is shown very clearly up front.

Make reducing your long term debt a priority in 2009. If you really need some cash and just can’t wait until payday, stick to short term loans. Always think carefully about whether you can afford the credit and always settle any loans on time. That way you can look forward to better financial health come next December.