The year 2008 saw the onset of a drastic economic slowdown, which the experts define as the ‘second greatest depression’ after the worst recession of the early 20^th century. The world is facing bankruptcy, unemployment, credit crutches and deflation. During these difficult times, investing your hard earned money is a challenging act, but if smartly done will be the best investment of your life.

The banks have slashed the interest rates to cope up with the hard economic times and to encourage people to spend more and save less. Instead of keeping your liquid cash in the form of savings account in banks, it would be better to do solid investments.

The stock markets have slumped to the record lowest. This is in-fact the best time to buy shares which you intend to sell only after a long duration. Investing in renewable energy is the smartest option, as it is the most sought after modern source of energy.

For many people, investing in metals like gold and silver during recession is not a bad idea either. Gold is a reliable currency.

The real estate has too been hit very hard. The value of land, houses and apartments have gone down. So, if it had been your dream of possessing a land or house, this is the best time to bargain. The price of the building materials has too decreased and so are the labour costs. If you intend to renovate your home, never be late to take advantage of recession times.

According to experts, recession is the best time to start a business. Many big businesses started at the time of recession such as Microsoft and Disney. Choosing the type of business is the most important factor and then how you carry on with it during recession. For example, in Europe it has been found that wine, chocolate, tobacco and health care industries have their profits doubled during these recession times.

With careful planning and prudence, one can start any business which involves less initial expense or capital. Make sure you have the sufficient money for the start up.

If you can make profit during these hard times, you surely can soar high once the economy revives.

Your business can also be an agency to help unemployed people get jobs or a small consultancy or auditing firm or any part time jobs. The most important part is the client satisfaction.

Turning to farming is also not bad when the world is facing severe food scarcity.

Recession is also the right time to possess an automobile, especially when the Tata Motors made the news headlines a few weeks back by launching the world’s cheapest car Nano in India. In spite of the bad economic condition, people rushed to the Tata booking centers to possess their dream car. This is because people need to be mobile even during recession. Thus Nano has become a household name particularly among the middle class Indian families; for many it would be their first owned car; their dream comes true. It is indeed a perfect car for recession.

Tata motors thus showed to the world that human aspirations will not be curtailed by recession, if commodities are available at cheap prices. People prefer small, cheap, affordable and attractive family cars rather than big, expensive ones with less mileage. This has resulted in the bankruptcy of three major automobile industries in the US.

Tata’s effective cost cutting methods, using low cost metals and parts, will carry a big message of business success during the difficult economic times to the Western world. Big is no more Sexy during recession says the experts.

Don’t crib at the bad phase of the economy; instead hope it would only last for 2 to 3 years. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Never be scared of recession. Take the risk to take an advantage of the situation and act smartly. Be patient and play safely.

Finally, it is one’s personal choice as to what sort of investment he or she has to make. But remember: if there is a fall, there will be a rise again. This is true in the case of global economies also