Recovering from Recession

With soaring gas prices, plummeting home prices and a stock market on a roller coaster ride, millions of Americans fear their jobs, homes and savings are in jeopardy. The word recession is making headlines, leaving many people panicked about their financial futures.

Money expert Suze Orman says recessions are a natural part of economic life. "People should be concerned more than worried," she says. "This is not the first time that we have had a recession. A recession is nothing more than a contraction. I'd like you to think about it like your breath. You breathe, you expand. And then you have to contract in order to have breath, in order to have life. Money is the same way. It has to expand and it has to contract for the economy to have life."

Suze says recessions will come and go—so it is important to be prepared. "People think, 'The economy did this to me. When is the economy going to change?' As if the economy is going to save them. And what have I always said? Only you can save yourself. Nobody can ever save you."