2009 is going to be a difficult year. It may not be as bad as 2008, but still it’s going to be a challenging year. We witnessed sub-prime crisis, financial meltdown, Lehman brothers’ failure, Freddie and Fannie scandals, $700 billion bailout and Bear Stearns scandal – all in one year.

This year may bring more bad news for economy. One more bank may fail. There may be one more stimulus package. On the bright side, Obama administration may take bold steps to regulate the financial sector. Obama’s plans to create more jobs for Americans would work out well.

Individual investors like us should re-evaluate our goals. If retirement is your goal, you may have to work longer before retiring. If your 401k is just 40.1k, you have to re-think about your risk tolerance and portfolio allocation. We may not get much from fixed income portfolio this year because of near-zero interest rates.

If you are a short-term trader, keep your stop losses tighter. If you are a long-term investor, this may be the ideal time to invest in good stocks. Volatility will continue in 2009 also, so short-term traders should be aware of exit point before they enter any trade.

If you are a business owner, re-connect with your customers to make sure that their needs are fulfilled. You should also re-connect with your employees so that their goals are aligned with your goals.

Good Luck in making some money this year. Whether you are going to make money or not, try not losing your hard-earned money. Because money saved is money earned!

Related Link: Turn the page into 2009