What Do I Do Now? Five Financial Moves You Should Definitely Make -- and Five You Shouldn't

wsj ^ | Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | Dave Kansas 9Realted to Duncan Idaho?)

[BenLurkin]

1. Reduce Your Expensive Debt

Too many of us overextended ourselves during the past decade with credit cards and other debt. These bills now hang over people like the Sword of Damocles.

2. Get On a Budget

That means getting on a budget, measuring exactly what you spend and looking for ways to save money. Perhaps you are eating out more than you appreciate or spending too much on a cup of coffee. Budgeting is a lost discipline for many people and one that should be rediscovered.

3. Guard Against Inflation

Currently, inflation is a relative nonissue, and most commentators -- not to mention the Federal Reserve -- believe that it won't become a problem anytime soon.

Yet, many things are taking place that could raise the specter of inflation in rapid order.

4. Have a Stock-Market Strategy

Despite the recent sprint in share prices, investors remain leery of the stock market. It will take more than a four-week rally to soothe the pain caused by the stock market since it tumbled from its late-2007 highs. When so much doubt surrounds the stock market, it's usually a time to think about investing in equities. Despite the horrid pain most of us have suffered in the market during the past 18 months, stocks, like the economy, will not remain down forever.

5. Preserve What You Have

One of the lessons of the past few years is that the stock market and your home are not ATMs. They are assets that can rise and fall. Having a strategy to preserve your gains is prudent in these challenging times.

1. Don't Bury Your Money in the Backyard 2. Don't Chase Returns 3. Don't Abandon Diversification 4. Don't Stop Saving for Retirement 5. Don't Ignore Common Sense

[BenLurkin]

Will Rogers said "The problem with common snese is that it isn't very common."

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

7: Obtain your financial advice from popular publications.
8: Make sure you put your left shoe on your left foot, your right shoe on your right foot.

[JRandomFreeper]

The squirrel in the front yard doesn't always make it through the spring, but you can. Tips with twine #2.

/johnny

[ChildOfThe60s]

Good advice as far as it goes. But he is laboring under the assumption that this will remain a recession, albeit a severe one, and that when it is over things will go back to normal.

There are just too many horrible problems that were not in the mix in previous recessions. This time around it would be prudent to make some preparations for the scenarios that no one wants to admit are frighteningly possible.

[SVTCobra03]

I am investing with the assumption that the future holds at the least hyperinflation and possibly the complete collapse of the dollar. BLOAT.

[Newtoidaho]

4. Have a Stock-Market Strategy

Yes, I have a strategy, it’s called stay the hell away from it. Stocks have proven to be nothing more than a giant ponzi scheme.