the worlds? economies are being pushed rapidly downward. Reasons for the collapses vary. Some are obvious ? greed, mismanagement, poor regulation. Some reasons will become apparent only after the smoke clears.



Right now everyone is strapping on their seatbelt and getting ready for a high intensity roller-coaster ride, wondering how long it may last. While the future looks less than bright, we need to assess the present and make plans to endure whatever comes. With this in mind here are some tips on what will help you to come through the storm in as good a shape as possible.

Over the years my wife and I have invested in a few different markets, commodities, stock and real estate. The stock ventures had mixed results. The first experience was very profitable and returned 22% increase annually over a few years. We could see some rough weather ahead and pulled out about 6 months prior to the dot-com fiasco in the 90's.

A few years later we plunked down the proceeds from a business deal on an investment into alternative energy. The thought was that we really believed in the need for an alternative source of energy for America and we liked and respected the developer of the technology onto which our monies would be spent in hopes of a major breakthrough. He was good at what he did, but he was the entirety of his huge dream and when he died at an early age, his dreams and our investment went away. I do not have a grudge. I trusted him then and, if he were alive today, I would trust him still. Bottom

Line in the deal is that I still hold some hundred thousand shares of stock in a now defunct company. I will keep it as a reminder.

Secondly were the attempts to buy and sell on the commodities market. This business is not for amateurs. Trying to juggle all the daily knowledge required to keep ahead of the supply and demand is difficult for a full time seasoned pro trader. Trying to do it sitting on your bed at the end of a workday is like a one legged man in a decathlon. Even if the mental skills required are in hand, the physical hours needed were impossible.

Then came real estate. Real estate was more fun. Admittedly I made a few mistakes along the way, but by and large the results have been very good to excellent. Being in charge of how a property is bought, handled, renovated, maintained, leased, sold and other options of ownership has been a lot more enjoyable and profitable than it used to be, holding a piece of paper and watching the stock market reports go up and down based on Alan Greenspan's health.

A lot of people come to the conclusion that if the stock market crashes land will still be worth something, whereas stock may have its? only value in combustibility.

We as a nation need the stock market to work. We need the business world to have the necessary funds to produce the goods and services we require/want. And we need our businesses to grow and thrive. This allows us as a nation to live the kind of lives we desire. It makes us the strongest nation in the world because we can afford to do more, for ourselves and for our friends.

Economically, we are in the bottom of the 9th inning with nobody on, and 2 out. This is to say that it is kind of late in the game to be giving advice on how to invest. The good thing is that this is a double header. No matter what happens in this go round, we will have another game soon to follow. The information shared here is for planning for the next growth cycle.

Invest wisely and keep some liquidity (cash) available for tough times.