by Laura Conaway

Economist Amir Sufi told us on the podcast yesterday that he's worried about the collapse in consumer spending, which he notes began in August — before the worst of the credit crunch.

Over on CNN, citizen journalists are talking about moving to smaller houses, taking their kids out of extracurricular classes and giving up their cars.

I have to say, I am so with them on this. We were saying in my house just last night that we've almost stopped buying things, whether it's workday lunch out or a new pair of shoes. Even if we have the money at the moment, we don't spend it.