Ironically, the thing affecting me the most this year with the recession was not my own personal spending. I usually do most of my spending at the local card shows rather than eBay.
The thing that I pick up, besides Chippers for my collection, is usually tradebait to snag some nicer Chippers. I don't have the budget that some people have for cards. I also don't like to spend a lot on individual cards, so I try to trade for the nicer stuff when possible.
However, this year, the card shows in my area really took a hit as far as what the dealers were bringing to the shows, as well as what dealers were still able to put up the money to even be at the shows.
The shows that I usually did the best at for tradebait, I purchased next to nothing (if anything at all!). I even went to the National in Cleveland and didn't purchase that much. I maybe spent $50 there, including admission.
Another huge thing affecting my collecting habits is that Chipper was not included in as many sets this year, despite having a stellar 2008 season with the NL batting title. I don't see that picking up this year since his 2009 season was rather bad (according to his typical standards).
I'm also not pleased in the leat that Topps is the sole licensed MLB card company. They were my least favorite on all accounts. I'm not a fan of the base Topps sets and also don't like the Bowman line. The only products I like from Topps are Moments & Milestones, which they didn't do in 2009, and Triple Threads, which I can't afford.
And I'm going to stop babbling on now 'cause this post is going to be ridiculously long.