The Bottom Line: Are you recession proofing your portfolio?

good article

Thanks for these valuable tips, Jennifer. I wouldn't have known there was anything I could do to "recession proof" my portfolio if I hadn't read your article!

My pleasure Audrey F.. And thank you donna h.

It's nice to be able to take some steps now to protect what we worked so hard to save. We always make sure to have a wide diversity in our retirement and college savings so I would say that at least 40% is already in bond/income funds. I haven't heard of leveraged inverse funds and I never feel comfortable investing in something I don't understand. It might be a good time to move some stocks that you don't believe will ever come back into cash if you will need the money soon - like for a child starting college or a down payment on a home. I hope that the recession is not a very bad one - we sure haven't had stable economic times for quite a while now.

I don't have a portfolio. We are working hard to get out of debt this year.

Thanks - for the first time I emailed an article to a friend. He was just asking about whether he could do this or not. He'll be glad to have an answer.

I am mostly in cash and having some great results position trading.

I am also getting very good results with a few ultrashort ETF. These were not available last time we had a market down turn. Its a great way to hedge in an investment account (like an IRA) where short selling is not permitted.

I am loving this volatilty. Its been easy to harvest a few hundred bucks a day just by being nimble.

I suspect that large cap stocks may do better than small caps in the next couple years, especially if the large caps are not totally dependent on consumer spending. Tricky thing is, it is hard to time the market. I am too nervous to do leveraged investments, what if they go sour and end up costing a bundle?
Hi Ms. Meacham, once again we are both featured. Whoo hooo!

My "back of the sock drawer" portfolio is holding up pretty good for the time being, but it could take a hit if Taco Bell brings back the Cheesy Gordita Crunch for an extended time. Those things are my kryptonite.

Funny stuff, Chris!

When the market drops like this it is a buying opportunity folks!

I'm psyched about it as I was able to max out my IRA contribs for me and my SO this year so now I've got some more $$ to invest. Since I manage both of our IRA stock accounts myself (I don't have any funds managed by someone else) I'm still holding a lot of my positions in the market as I invested way before this so I'm not doing too bad, even with losing almost 400 points in the Dow this week alone.

Currently I'm looking at stocks of companies that will do well once Bushco is gone. That means sectors like infrastructure, military vehicles & supplies (after all, our National Guard will have absolutely nothing when they return from Iraq), and new green technologies. I'm also looking at EU companies that have been investing R&D into green tech for quite a while now. In fact, I hear that Germany is a leader in solar now. I've just got to find the time to do my research before I lay down my $$. But of course, I've got my taxes staring at me just waiting for me to do 'em lol.

I'm hoping that after Bushco is gone someone in our government will wake up and realize that beginning a new WPA-like program is the only way to go to solve our country's problems. A WPA project would put many out-of-work people back on the job as well as improve our county's infrastructure. It's funny that these so-called conservatives never thought of such a thing. They only seem interested in allowing companies to move their ops off-shore AND then reward them by giving them tax breaks for the privilage of having f**ked up our country. Why is it considered "conservative" to allow our most successful companies to move their opps off-shore and give them tax breaks in thanks for taking the jobs away from Americans? Can someone explain that to me?

sorry 'bout the wee political rant, I couldn't help myself, after all, the Dow is dropping because of the financial mess we're in thanks to Bushco.

Thank you. The market news has me nervous and I appreciate your expertise.

After reading this, I'm definitely going to take a look at mine and tweak them :)

Like Digital Dog I'm looking for good bargains here and in overseas markets. I'm young and single so I can afford to take opportunities that others consider too risky.

What about just focusing on tax-free government bonds? Do you have any thoughts on that option?

I'm in for the long haul. When the dow drops my investment dollars buy more shares. I stay the course and try to avoid panic. I strive for a balance over time and type of investment.

Well, I'm not watching my bottom line by buying a Twoladoo even though it is supposed to save marriages, money and water. Check it out, latest article.

Popping back in to say thanks for the lovely comments today :)
You are my money maven for sure!

Oh, I forgot to tell you....in an interesting turn of events, HarperCollins has free books for the reading at their site, new ones, including one on the current political situatiion. Will this sell more books or not - that is the business quesiton. They'll find out. Good business move or not?

www.harpercollins.com

Interesting...great links filled with info. I got an education here!

What's a twoladoo? Thanks, Jennifer. Who are you voting for, or is that an unanswerable question for a journalist?

Yah J Corn, what is a twoladoo?

It is a loo for two, of course. Let's see, where did that link go...searching....
http://www.wiserep.com/productDetails.php?id=5769

Yes, you have to copy and paste, so sue me ;)
It is a toilet for two, kind of like those nifty Victorian loveseats where one person faced one way, the other sat at an opposite end and it was all cozy and romantic. Now you can have that experience in the bathroom, tv and channel changer and magazine rack optional. Now aren't you glad you asked?

Me? I just go 'EWWWWW!" There is a "modesty wall" but no odor guard.

Ms. Meacham has a wry sense of humor and excellent taste. We both like tortoise shell items, within reason. Mine aren't in the bathroom, however.

Ack, see what you have started. Folks, I say you should say "Toodle loo, to the Twodiloo"unless you have a burning desire to spent about $1400 on a toilet. Minimum order is something like twelve, which means you should have some number of kids that ends in "uplets" as in quintuplets, quadruplets, sextuplets, septuplets and so forth. If you have "uplets" you probably can't afford the Twodiloo and are half mad to boot. But that is just my take, even though raccoons sometimes have litters of kids too. We call them kits.

You ought to chime in on the home discussion, really fun one. Newest article and all that.

Will do J Corn. I'm heading over to your namespace now.

a href=Home article

Because I thought I'd save you the drive. ;)

Oh, pooh...
Trying again
a href=<"http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977268856">home article

Puffing out cheeks, trying again...
Home article

Whooping with joy!

Stanley, yes reverse funds are legit. I've included a link in the article above to the investopedia definition of what these funds are and how they operate. As far as your question on hedge funds, which incidentally have long been unregulated, I think regulation will go far in helping to protect investors in those funds. We'll see how that plays out in the coming months....

J Corn, sorry about not checking out your home article earlier. I got sidetracked! (No excuse ; ) Thanks for the link!

I am a beginner to the stock market, but it seems to me that one should be going foreign or heavily diversifying.