If you have the good fortune of remaining unscathed by the recession, perhaps you should turn aggressive and try to take advantage of it instead.

First, make sure you have set aside enough money to cover 1 year's worth of your family expenses, just in case.

Then invest the rest. Take advantage of the recession.

Now is the time to buy. If you buy now, you are buying low. (See also past articles on buy low sell high and buy low sell high 2.)

The stock market is now hovering at a level that is lower than 50% from its peak. Consider buying blue chip shares. All of them have fallen drastically in value though many of these businesses are still extremely sound and well capitalized. Examples of such shares can be found here. And if you don't have your own online trading account, what's stopping you? Just ask around to get started.

Yes, buy blue chips and hold for the medium term. I would hold until the next stock market euphoria, whenever it might be.

The property market is also in the middle of a crash. If you have a few hundred grand (or more) in your "opportunity" fund, I recommend you also start looking around for a second or even third property. If you do not have such spare money, you can also consider upgrading from your current HDB to a condo - try to get one in a good location and I personally prefer freehold condos to leasehold ones.

The value of your properties will go up when the economy recovers.

Suppose you paid $200k and borrowed $800k to buy a $1m house, and managed to rent it out to cover interests and expenses. If the house is sold at $1.4m a few years later, you would have tripled your initial $200k investment!

Good luck!

Remember: if you buy now, you're buying near the bottom.

http://www.salary.sg/2009/exploit-the-recession/