365 Prescriptions for Dealing With the Bear Market: Two Books for Dealing with Economic Stress

The current economic crisis is causing widespread pain and stress. No surprise there. But what can be done about it? I can think of two different things. First, to learn as much as possible about what is going on. The book "The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets" is a good place to start. The second approach is to do your best to find calm in the storm for your mind and soul. This is the topic of "365 Prescriptions for the Soul: Daily Words for Healing Body, Mind and Spirit."

"Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets" by Peter D. Schiff is a presciently titled book that explains the author's point of view for how we find ourselves in this global financial mess. Along the way it teaches about monetary policy, inflation, decoupling, and other related concepts. It's not a feel good book since so much of the subject matter is out and out depressing. But denial of such important matters isn't necessarily a good thing, which is probably why the book is doing so well. The basic premise is that the downturn is a direct consequence of the American consumer culture outpacing the country's ability to produce and then outsourcing that role to foreign countries. Low interest rates produced not just the real estate bubble but many other bubbles as well. The resulting picture, according to Schiff, is not pretty nor something that Obama will be able to correct with fiscal spending--in fact he notes that will make it much, much worse.

Once you've educated yourself on the bear market you will most certainly be in need of Dr. Bernie Siegel's "365 Prescriptions for the Soul." Its mission is to use daily doses of inspiration to help you release your worries and trouble. As the title implies, the book contains a year's worth of pick-me-ups, among them:

#14 Laughter: "... not only produces pleasant feelings ... but also alters body chemistry."

#17 Petherapy: "God grant that we will one day be as kind to animals as they are to us."

#23 Have No Regrets: "Let there be no 'if only's' or 'I wish I had's' in your life.

The book is aimed to be used daily and until our economy settles down I'll be giving it a lot of use.

Amazon Links:

The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down (Little Books. Big Profits)

365 Prescriptions for the Soul: Daily Messages of Inspiration, Hope, and Love