Up until this month, I would have said that the economy was not affecting us at all. Unfortunately, just this week I have heard that my sister and friend are getting laid off from jobs they have had for almost 10 years. What's worse, my neighbor is getting laid off next month and her husband has been out of work since Sept. I don't know what they will do. My DH's company is laying off and mine is not filling any new positions and we can no longer travel out of state. I am worried about our college savings (529) and our 401K accounts continuing their downward spiral and for that reason, we are trying very hard to cut back, but we don't have alot of discretionary spending anyhow. My heart goes out to those who are really struggling.