by Brady Rutgarr

Created on: October 23, 2009

The tickers are down and the unemployment rate is high. Welcome to the recession. But just because things are looking grim, it doesn't mean that you can't boost your savings and net worth during a down economy.

First, if you haven't done so already, take a look at your current spending. It is important during difficult economic times to be wary of the unnecessary expenses that bog down our budgets. The first on my list to go was extended television programming. This may or may not be something you are willing to give up, but every expenditure should be closely examined. Those that don't make the cut of absolutely necessary should be excluded from your recession budget. This will give you more money to invest each month and will reduce your expense footprint if you are faced with a job loss, which will be less of a drain on your liquid resources while you look for another.

The second piece of advice for managing your assets and investments during a recession is to keep a guarded approach to investing. While some investments will prove very profitable in the long run, you may stand to lose a significant amount of your worth if you are forced into taking a short position due to the loss of a job. A certain level of liquidity will help to balance the benefit to risk ratio and will help ward off premature selling of invested assets.

The standard position to wise investing during a recession is the long position, meaning that you hold on to your investments until the market turns from Bear to Bull. There is still money to be made from short positions, but therein lies more risk. Bear markets are much more prone to panic and you may find that your 'sure thing' got performance anxiety due to market sentiment. However, investments in essential products during down trends is generally a safer arena. But what do people consider essential?

When you looked at your budget and whittled away the excess, what did you cut? What did you keep? You're probably still paying your utilities, right? That's a safe place to start. Were there any vices you just couldn't bring yourself to cut? Maybe a pack of smokes or two a day? While not the most economically or health-consciously wise decision, most smokers don't cut the habit just because money is tight and prices are high. If this doesn't go against your moral code, investing in recession-proof vices or "sin stocks" is generally an economically sound principle.

What other options do you have for investing during a recession? What

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