However much I try, I cannot get my heart to sink when I hear the phrase ‘credit-crunch’.

Even ‘income squeeze’ doesn’t grip me with fear. And recession, I think, has a nice ring to it.

If it means we can say bye-bye to bling, say up-the-Joneses instead of keeping up with them, and reject rampant consumerism, surely that’s a good thing? Then we can find creative ways of cutting things like our utility bills. Edna Everage halved her electricity bill just by turning off her husband’s life support machine. Perhaps I’ll try low-energy light bulbs.