It looks like the German economy is pretty much the only one in Europe that’s doing well. It has shown very strong growth in the second quarter of this year.

They’ve done it through increased exports and investment. This is what we should be doing – particularly the exporting side. Now is the time for us to go for production and foreign sales in a big way. We don’t have time to lose.

What we can also learn from the Germans is their personal money management skills. Germans are savers, not borrowers. They have been for decades. Even if you offered the average German money to borrow at 0% they would say no. Guess what, German consumers have a very low level of debt.

Not only that but they are not in the least obsessed with home ownership. A few buy property but many save up first in order to buy it without a mortgage. The majority rent their homes and are happy to do so all their lives.

Germans have regular holidays because they can afford them. They have a decent standard of living and quality clothing and products because they’re not bankrupted by their mortgages. They also have a far greener way of life. Recycling is just a way of life and has been for years. We’re still struggling to recycle the most basic of products. They’ve had communal bicycles (like the ones we finally have in London now) for years. They also have generally cheaper food because they refuse to buy the overpriced stuff.

Admittedly Germans are not as creative or inventive as we are. We have a great ability to think outside the box, take great mental leaps and refuse to go by the rules which has enabled us to come up with brilliant products and services over the centuries.

I couldn’t live in the regimented ‘by the book’ way that so many Germans do. But I would love to see us in Britain ‘grow up’ financially and manage our money in the sensible way that Germans do so effortlessly.

We’re not stupid. We are perfectly capable of doing it. We just need to change our thinking and change our habits. We need to save more, spend less, refuse to waste money on stupid things and get into regular investing habits. We can do it – and we can do it without turning into dull types who unthinkingly go by the rules all the time.

Let’s do it and be the nation we’re supposed to be.