Lukas Schmidt was staring at the alluring photos of white sandy beaches and palm trees on display in the shop window of a Berlin travel agents but sighed and turned away. "I actually wanted to take my girlfriend to Spain in December, but I think we'll probably end up staying here," said the 27-year-old mechanic. "I don't think prices have gone up, but with this credit crisis all over the media, it does make you wonder what's going to happen next."

施密特注視著柏林一家旅行社櫥窗展示的誘人照片，裡面有白色的沙灘和棕櫚樹。這位27歲的技工說：「我真的很想在12月帶女友到西班牙度假。我想價格並未上漲，但媒體全面報導這次信貸危機，使你不禁懷疑，接下來會發生什麼事。」

Like Schmidt, many Europeans say they are cutting down on non-essential spending on things like holidays, furniture, clothes and organic food, and trying to save by shopping at DIY and discount stores in the face of the fi-nancial turmoil.

一如施密特，很多歐洲人說，他們正在刪減沒必要的開支，像度假、買家具、買衣服和有機食物，同時在面對金融動盪之際，也想自己動手和到折價店購物。

But on the other hand, the crisis is creating novel busi-ness openings including "credit crunch" chocolate bars and "meltdown parties". And Spanish authorities are finding they can make ends meet by getting tougher on traffic of-fences.

但另一方面，這次危機也催生了全新開張的行業，包括「信用緊縮」巧克力棒和「崩盤派對」。西班牙當局還發現，他們只要嚴厲取締交通違規事件，就可以收支相抵。

"There are certain things which I have cut down on -- bottled water for example," said German student Sarah Klaus. "It's scary to think that this credit crisis stuff is now actually influencing the way I live. Occasionally, I used to shop in organic shops, but now I just think of it as a waste of money."

「有些東西，我已省吃減用，像瓶裝水，」德國學生莎拉‧克勞斯說。「想到這次信貸危機，如今竟然真的影響到我的生活方式就令人提心吊膽。我過去偶爾會上有機食品店，現在我認為這根本在浪費錢。」

In Spain, media reported many young people were moving back to their parents' homes for financial reasons. Some 60 percent of Germans believe the economic out-look will worsen, a recent opinion survey by pollster Forsa said. In France, a BVA poll showed 64 percent of voters had become more pessimistic over their financial situation in recent weeks.

在西班牙，媒體報導，很多年輕人因為財務問題搬回去和父母同住。德國Forsa民調機構最近一項民意調查發現，約60%德國人相信，經濟前景會變壞。法國BVA民調則顯示，64%選民最近幾周來對他們的財務狀況已經比較悲觀。

Businesses ranging from luxury retailers to department stores, hotels and charities have started to feel the effect. Karsten Schulz, director of German online luxury auction house Exklusivwaren, said rich people had already started to cut back on spending before the current crisis hit. "It's clear that luxury products don't sell as well as they used to," he said.

各行各業，從奢侈名品零售商到百貨公司、旅館和慈善業，都開始感受到經濟效應。德國線上奢侈品拍賣屋 Exklusivwaren負責人舒茲說，在遭逢這波危機衝擊前，有錢人已開始刪減開支。「顯然，奢侈品銷路不像過去那麼好賣了，」他說。

Women pass a window display of luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton on the shopping street Via Condotti in central Rome in this October 7, 2008 file photo.

在這張攝於今年10月7日的檔案照中，幾名婦女正走過羅馬市中心康多提大道路易威登名品店的櫥窗。