To tighten our belts purely because of the grim economy.....

[Cocopopss]

We have a decent income good savings and investments, but lately have been really watching our spending! Reading about the state of our economy, job cuts, higher cost of living etc makes me nervous, more so now that we have 2 young dc! I'm finding the cost of everything so much higher now!

You're not alone. The rush of even wealthy people flocking to shops like Aldi has been enormous!! Packed lunches and home cooking has seen a resurgence. I think it's healthy if we've dropped the the credit-driven spend-spend-spend culture of the last 10 - 15 years and are being a little more thrifty.