Recession Reality Check

The collapse of major financial institutions and historic drop in the stock market have left many wondering if the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Though no one knows which direction the market will swing from one day to the next, Suze is sure of one thing—honesty is the answer.

"If the other corporations, the other banks, the other brokerage firms are just willing to be honest with what's behind the curtain, this will end sooner than later," she says. "If everybody is still trying to rob Peter to pay Paul and wants to continue to live a life of deceit and lies, this will get worse before it gets better, and it will continue."

From this moment forward, Suze says every penny you spend should be a penny you can afford. "If you can live an individually honest life, change can happen from the bottom up," she says.

Though the financial future may look bleak for some, Suze says this is the opportunity of a lifetime for people with cash to spend. "A fortune is going to be made over the next few years from all these stocks that went from 100 to 10, 90 to 0," she says. "But you can't take advantage of it unless you have cash, and you don't have cash if you have credit card debt and a house that you can't afford."

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