But their idea of cutting back is very different for the man on the street.
'These people will probably have to start curbing on some of the more lavish expenses,' Mr Matthew Miller, editor of Forbes magazine's list of the richest Americans, told Reuters.
He said: 'A US$20 ($28) martini might need to turn into a US$15 martini - it's all relative'
'There's probably a lot of millionaires who can't buy their girlfriends Prada bags this Christmas,' he added.
The fall of bank Lehman Brothers, the sale of its rival Merrill Lynch, and the struggles of insurer American International Group has only added to concerns as the Wall Street wealthy rein in their spending - their way.
Earlier this week, the children of a Wall Street executive planning his 65th birthday party contacted the firm to change the menu. They replaced the caviar and truffles with wagyu beef, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Many New Yorkers aren't cancelling events, but some are seeking to make them less ostentatious, Mr Bronson van Wyck, who runs New York event firm with his mother and sister, told the newspaper.
Another, a wealthy mother, initially wanted to postpone a nose job for her 16-year-old daughter.
She agreed only after her plastic surgeon said he could do the procedure in his office operating room for about US$2,500 less than if they went to a hospital, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Virginia Tech University marketing professor Joseph Sirgy told the The New York Times: 'They are cutting down.... It is happening in small increments. Expectations will ultimately have to fall. Psychologically, that is how we adapt.'
A New York mother of two young children exemplifies this.
She first asked Ms Carol Solomon, the owner of New York Nanny Centre, if she could find a good nanny willing to work for less than US$1,200 a week. Earlier, a candidate had asked for that amount.
'Based on everything that's been going on with the market,' the mother told Ms Solomon, 'I'm concerned about committing to that kind of salary.'
Ms Solomon suggested another nanny seeking a more modest salary of US$750 a week, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Another Wall Street mover and shaker decided his budget for his wife's anniversary present should be slashed to between US$20,000 and US$25,000 fromUS$50,000.
Storm's coming
Chicago interior designer and socialite Laura Barnett Sawchyn told Buffalo News earlier as the financial storm was just gathering its dark clouds: 'I'm not seeing anybody really doing without. It's really the superfluous stuff that is being cut back on.'
Ms Sari Brown, chief executive of Internet retailer and boutique store LuxCouture, agrees.
Her shop sells items priced up to US$5,000.
She told Reuters: 'People want to shop but even the wealthy people, they're buying differently.'
New York's millionaires may also be choosing more humble means of transportation. Ricky Sitomer, chief executive of Blue Star Jets, which arranges luxury chartered air travel, said his clients are changing the way they spend.
'People who are wealthy are still wealthy. They're being more prudent with their money, making wiser decisions,...people are looking for less-expensive alternatives to fly private.'
Mr Milton Pedraza, the head of the Luxury Institute, an organisation researching high-net worth consumers, said the wealthy were looking for alternative ways to maintain their lifestyles such as renting instead of owning assets.
'People on Wall Street are very worried and scared because they haven't seen this before,' Mr Pedraza said.
'It's not that people won't consume - it's that people don't need to own assets any more,' he said. 'They're gravitating more toward experience than assets and goods.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on September 23, 2008.
