5 Ways To Survive and ThriveDuring the Recession

Nothing’s been resolved. That’s the thing. After all the suffering we’ve been through, you'd think we would have at least resolved some economic issues by now. But the truth is we’ve only been postponing debt trouble and not actually passing through it, putting it behind us.

A recovery just can't seem to find any traction

. After all, the economy has been in the dumps some 36 months now (this all began in Dec 2007). That compares, unfortunately, to the start of the Great Depression. The Dow had dropped from a high of 381

in September of 1929

to just 41

in June of 1932, three years after the Dow’s high

, concluding a breathtaking 89 percent collapse in value.

Most of us were counting on this recession/depression being over by now.

But if the recession still has a long way to go, is there anything we can do to help ourselves survive and thrive in the days ahead? Here are five ideas.

1/

Follow the Media…Just Don’t It Follow Too Closely.

By that, I mean, don’t take what the media says as the gospel truth. The media isn't quite as objective as it wants you to believe. It may be motivated to paint the economy in the prettiest colors possible. Why? Because that would tend to attract advertisers and sponsors who might otherwise hold back until the downturn is obviously over. Remember, ultimately, no advertising, no media. Listen to a variety of news sources.

2/ Be careful what assumptions you make about the stock market.

Assumptions? You know...the market’s been down so long there just has to be a bull rally right around the corner. As far as assumptions go, this could be a real whopper. Nothing says the Dow has to go up after a prolonged recession. Consider this: The Dow finally revisited the September 1929 market high 25 years later in November 1954! So...

“Anyone who bought stocks in mid-1929 and held onto them saw most of his or her adult life pass by before getting back to even,

” observed analyst R. Salsman. As if that’s not bad enough, that doesn’t take into account the massive inflation that occurred over those 25 intervening years, seriously diluting an investor’s initial purchasing power. So buying low (at least at what we think is low) is not the panacea we assume it to be. What’s more, retiring baby boomers means investors will start staying away from the stock market in droves in the years ahead.

3 Don’t invent new solutions to the recession.

There's no need. You don’t have to come up with whacky remedies for your personal finances, especially when good tried-and-true methods seem to be working so well. Like gold and silver. Gold's recessionary track record is speaking for itself. You don’t have to come up with something as obscure as strategic metals from Timbukto or mutual funds that focus on tulip bulbs.

4 History isn’t the only template.

It’s not the only example to go by. What happened in the Great Depression isn’t necessarily what we have in store for us here and now (and that goes doubly for me and my Great Depression examples). Conversely, it would be pretty naïve to think that we'll face none of what the people back then had to endure. This recession of ours has its own fingerprints.

5 Hunker down (at least a bit). What this means is that it may be smart to keep some necessities on hand. Like food. Doing so doesn't mean you have to admit to yourself that you really do harbor deep suspicions over the otherwise reliable food distribution system we've enjoyed all of our lives. But if you suddenly do encounter a bout of unemployment, it may make things go a bit easier for you and your family.

Also, you might get in the habit of not spending every single dollar you earn each month. This isn't a time for fun and games. Let's face it, recessions are serious business.

So where do we go from here? Including gold and silver coins in

your financial gameplan in

the event economic times get out-of-hand could be a really smart move, even if gold and silver investors have already enjoyed a tremendous run.

Don't worry about their good fortune. There's still plenty of upward potential for precious metals. After all, the one thing we have learned, over this time of great uncertainty, is that gold has shown itself to be a proven antidote to the current economic ills.