by Caitlin Kenney

The New York Times had a great article Monday about Americans at all economic levels cutting back on spending. The Times says a decline in personal consumption would be the first since 1991, and it could send the economy into a recession.The article quoted a number of retail professionals and also some regular people.

Jinal Shah, 22, a college senior in New York, said she wanted to buy the popular Nintendo Wii video game system as a gift for herself this holiday season, but had second thoughts because of the $250 price tag. She ended up not purchasing it.
"You have to make choices," she said. "I get the Wii, or I go out more. I am just much more aware of the tradeoff now."

As I read this article, I realized that even though I don't have any major financial concerns- I've been cutting back too. I haven't been going out to eat as much and I've started buying some products in bulk at Costco. Anyone else feeling the squeeze?