That said, it sure would be nice if those with better historical (hysterical??) sense would weigh in with specific recommendations.

Well, I’m not claiming to have any more historical sense than the next guy, but as I’ve been planning for this since ’05 I’ll share some of my experiences.

First off, think of the basics. How do you make your money? Is your job recession-resistant? Does it depend on consumer spending? Is it at all related to real-estate?

In my case, I decided to work in higher education. About as recession-resistant a gig as they come *and* its one of the few things we are still competitive in on a global scale.

If you have debt, consolidate it then get rid of it. If you have any dollar denominated assets or real estate, sell them. Get in gold, hard currencies or foreign bonds. If you want to speculate, short the RE and financial sectors.

If you need to commute, consider renting near enough work to bike or take public transit. Thats what I do. The savings are huge, plus if I have problems with my car, I can wait till the weekend or a telecommute day to fix them. I don’t have to waste money on a rental.

In general, much of what we are going through is due to an extended national period of over-consumption. And for better or worse, many Americans are going to be forced into a starvation diet. Get ahead of the game and practice under-consumption.

Some things I do:

30% of income to either debt reduction or saving/investment.
Skip one meal a day
Strict weekly budget
Nothing on credit, cash only
Eat vegan a few days a week
Drink water only
Have a ‘simple year’, no big purchases and focus on de-cluttering for a full 12 months

I’m reasonably sure that a few years from now, the used goods market will as big or bigger than retail. Prepare now and enjoy the deflation while you can!