We came back from Tesco yesterday with our weekly groceries, with a $80 bill. We were quite surprised because a few months back, we would have got the same stuff for around $60.

The rising oil prices, the global credit crunch and the inflation make for a difficult time ahead. Even though the oil price has drpped down slightly compared to a few weeks ago, prices are still on the rise for groceries and food items.

In terms of small businesses, now is the time to be careful. Consumers are fairly tight with their purses and especially for service based industries such as design and software development, projects are hard to come by.

Online companies are better off drawing back slightly on their online marketing expenditure. Cash flow should be planned in detail.