After the global economy suffered another bad year and recovery looks to be slow and protracted, we look back at some of the lighter moments of 2009.

Pundits were divided over what shape the global slump would take: a W i.e. double-dip downturn, or a saxophone-shaped recovery, anyone?

Gold parties are the new dinner parties. You turn up with your unwanted trinkets and leave with a large cheque.

The idea of getting rid of broken necklaces, single earrings, things you don't wear or even gold dental fillings is certainly attractive.

Sadly, there are some rogue gold party companies that give you far less than what the jewellery is actually worth. How do you avoid gold party scams?

Airlines have been making the headlines a lot recently.

First, there was the announcement of a proposed merger between stricken British Airways and struggling Spanish airline Iberia; you can read all about what the BA merger will mean for you here.

Then came the news that budget giant easyJet has seen its full-year profits fall by a whopping 50% in the face of rising fuel costs.

I've been known to have very uncharitable thoughts towards airlines, particularly when enduring long delays and an endless run of baggage charges. But I'm beginning to think that perhaps we all expect far too much from them...

Consumer confidence has risen to its highest level for 18 months, according to new research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The BRC's Consumer Confidence Index has just shown an increase, to 75. When you bear in mind that the all-time-low (reported in April) was 65 - it doesn't look all that rosy. Still, it's an indication that things are going in the right direction.

However, when you look at the actions we're taking, you realise just how cautious and careful many of us are still being. And rightly so...

Airports are notorious for fleecing us left, right, and centre.

Bottles of water are sold to you at hugely inflated prices and then taken away from you again... you have to pay for the trolleys to take your bags from A to B... and all the time the spectre of Michael O'Leary hangs over you, rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of enormous luggage and check-in fees.

Still, I thought I had the situation pretty much taped for this year's summer holiday. I'd brought a picnic, got all my currency exchanged online, and managed to avoid the temptation to get my luggage cling-wrapped for a princely sum.

But did I escape the rip-off monster? Did I heck. Here's the dastardly scam that caught me out...

It seems our furry, feathered and scaly friends are being hit very hard by the recession.

Animal rescue centres are reporting a sharp rise in abandoned pets, as people decide they simply can't (or don't want to have to) deal with the expense involved.

In fact, some centres are now at crisis point. Last month, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home announced it was facing a 'cat emergency', with 143 out of 145 of the shelter's cat pens full, and 174 cats waiting for places at the home.

So how can we make sure pets get a fair deal when economic conditions get tough?

The deluge of adverts on TV at the moment, offering services such as payday loans and cash for gold jewellery, makes me feel really uneasy.

To a less sceptical eye they may seem like quick-fix solutions to solve a cash flow problem. But on closer inspection, you could find yourself charged sky-high interest rates and fees, or offered paltry sums in exchange for your precious jewellery and heirlooms.

With tightened household budgets, it can feel like we're forever waiting until payday, but these are not the easy answer they seem.

We look at what's involved and find more sensible solutions to make your money last the month.

Each week I document my fight back against the recession in this post. If you've got tips for coping with the financial crisis, or credit crunch stories you want to share feel free to tell me about them in the comments.

This week I'd planned to meet up with one of my school friends who I haven't seen for ages. Trouble is we're both trying not to spend too much at the moment (I'm trying to save up a bit so I can have a last minute holiday). And so came the usual dilemma - if we meet in a bar we'll inevitably end up spending much more than we intended and if we go out for dinner, we'll use a voucher but then end up going for more drinks afterwards. So what are the alternatives?

One of the joys of being freelance is those occasional weeks when you feel quite flush. As you can imagine, it doesn't happen often, but when it does it's really quite exciting. The job I did for the last few weeks has given me just that feeling, and I'll be honest, I'm finding it hard not to get carried away.

Obviously I always put aside some of my earnings each month (I've set up a direct debit so that I'm forced into saving!) But with a considerable amount more left over this month than usual I find myself facing a moral dilemma. I know of course that I should just save the extra – to put towards my summer holiday, or add to my 'house deposit' savings fund, but even as a supposedly savvy financial journalist I'm struggling with the urge to spend it.

So what do I do?

The recession has forced many of us to re-evaluate our spending habits, leading in many cases to more 'sensible' behaviour: bringing sandwiches into work, taking the time to look for bargains and cutting down on luxuries are just a few of the good habits the the fear of abject poverty has instilled in us.

But one of the saddest reflections on our changing attitudes to spending is the impact it's having on generosity, according to a new survey by Moneysupermarket. We've already seen that tipping may soon be a thing of the past and it's easy to see why charities are suffering at the moment. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, as our fists are tightening in all sorts of situations.

Have you stopped 'giving generously'? Read on to find out how you compare with other cash-strapped consumers.