1. Minimize Debt
   Most of us are overstretched ourselves with credit cards and other debt. These bills now haunt us every day. One hast to reduce this expensive debt, even before saving for retirement or investing in the stock market. One smart strategy is to take advantage of much lower gasoline prices. One year ago, gas cost more than $4 a gallon in much of the country. Today, it's less than half that. You should devote the money you save to eliminating your credit-card debt.

2. Set a Budget
   Plan and set a budget, measuring exactly what you spend and looking for ways to save money. Most of us 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. If you are just getting started on developing budgeting discipline, talking with others who are doing the same can help make it easier.

3. Inflation
   Currently, inflation is a relative non-issue, and most commentators -- not to mention the Federal Reserve -- believe that it won't become a problem anytime soon. For that reason, it's smart to have a portion of your fixed-income investments in Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS. These bonds are backed by the U.S. government, like normal Treasury's, but also have built-in protections that boost returns to account for inflation.

4. Stock-Market
   In Recent times, investing in stock market has been a roller coaster. Outside of your retirement account, be sure to maintain a diversified approach among stocks, bonds and cash. A good rule of thumb is to use your age as the percentage of assets you should have in safer bond investments. Thus, if you are 50, you would be split 50-50 between stocks and bonds. If you want to be more conservative, you'd carve back some of the stock exposure and leave it in cash. Even with the recent run-up in stocks, you still might have a larger-than-usual chunk of your assets in bonds these days, because bonds did well last year and have remained solid this year. If that's the case, rebalancing toward stocks makes sense, especially with their prices so low.

5. Protect 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 protect your gains is prudent in these challenging times. Along with diversification of assets -- stocks, bonds, cash -- maintain diversification in the stock market, as well. Buy broad, low-fee index funds, rather than individual stocks, to lower your exposure to risk. And maintain a rainy-day fund in safer places, such as TIPS, certificates of deposit or highly rated municipal or corporate bonds. A good rule of thumb is to have a reserve of six months' earnings in case of a job loss.

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They can help you save money during this tough economic crisis. Call 1-516-442-1977 for help!