I

ndonesian middle class is busy tightening its collective belt to deal with the economic metldown.

From invoice-sorting secretaries to guitar-strumming musicians, the country's burgeoning middle class is bracing the coming of the crisis.

The financial doldrums that began in October last year have not left Indonesia unscathed, with the Jakarta's main bourse struggling to regain its feet and the rupiah sinking.

Prices continue to rise and the unemployment rate is on a steady increase, but many experts and industry players agree the worst of the financial crunch has yet to be felt, forcing families to start cutting short their nonessential expenditures.

"Our monthly budget of Rp 200,000 (US$18) for daily needs such as soap and shampoo can no longer sustain us," said Helda, a secretary at a foreign consumer goods company, whose husband works as an editor of a news website.

She added that certain items had to be crossed off from the couple's shopping list in the past two months.

"I don't buy imported snacks or frozen foods such as nuggets anymore," she said Saturday.

The couple has also refrained lately from going to the movies or dining out, replacing those luxuries with DVDs and simple home cooking. Adit, a musician who is married with three children, said family recreation was indispensable for him, but he was also forced to trim his shopping list.

"If there's something I need moderately but not urgently, such as mosquito repellent, I won't put it in the list right away. I will wait until the middle of the month and see if I still need it," he said.

Even single professionals are adapting themselves to a simpler kind of life these days. Indah, a fashion enthusiast working at an advertising company, said the crisis had affected her leisure and shopping choices.

Iqbal, a computer programmer, said he was lucky to have extra jobs to patch up his living during the crisis.

"If it wasn't for my freelance designing jobs, I would be in a very tough situation right now," he said.

Despite the extra income, he has had to tone down on life's pleasures, such as playing pool or getting a massage.