Personally, I think that the weak pound has had more of an impact on RC racing than the "credit crunch".
As nearly all RC stuff is imported, we've seen fairly hefty price rises in the cost of RC equipment in the last six months. Up until then, the real costs had been decreasing for years. I think we'd become a bit spoilt.
Obvious example: Ultima RB5
As mentioned before, the cost of living has decreased recently with interest rate cuts & fuel costs... As long as you've still got a job!
Anyway, a great thing about RC racing - it's only as expensive as you want it to be
