10 ways to survive without a bailout

By Rick Newman, U.S. News & World Report

If you haven't qualified for a bailout by now, your chances are sinking fast. Washington has spent just about all the money it can stomach for a while and done its best to give something to everybody. If you're not in line for a tax cut or housing rebate or mortgage modification or green-energy job, you may have little choice but to wait for the next financial meltdown.

But who says the whole solution has to be about jobs and money? There are plenty of ways to while away a recession and maybe even bail yourself out in the process. Such as:

1. Fix something

Look around your house. There are probably plenty of things that don't work right. Maybe it's something old and mechanical, like a blender or the bike you haven't ridden in years. Or maybe it's something new and digital, like a camera or a laptop with a virus. You used to pay somebody else to fix things like this or just trash the offending gizmo and buy another one.

But now you're cutting back on extravagances. So find the manual, or download it, and tackle the job yourself. And when you start to feel comfortable with your new repair skills, come over to my house and help with my pile of projects.

2. Learn how we got into this mess

For people who don't work in the financial industry or the news media, the financial crisis is hard to comprehend. But new resources are emerging that do a good job of demystifying esoteric stuff like subprime lending, mortgage-backed securities, credit-default swaps and all the other things that helped cause the recession.

The nonprofit Milken Institute has published a dry-sounding report -- "The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets" (.pdf file) -- that's actually a concise, readable explanation of how the housing boom and bust produced the worst recession in at least a generation. A new book by Dave Kansas, "The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street as We Know It," tracks the crisis back to its roots in the savings-and-loan debacle of the 1980s -- in merciful plain English.

Other useful primers are sure to materialize soon. A better understanding of what happened won't end the recession, but it will make you a lot smarter about your financial life and other decisions in the future.

3. Have more sex

Consumer confidence is dismal, and we need something to feel good about. Why not sex? Europeans have charged for years that Americans are overworked and undersexed. Let's prove them wrong. If done right, it will take your mind off your dwindling retirement fund or your precarious job prospects.

Another bonus: If you have a partner, it ought to be free. And if you don't have a partner, well, you didn't get this advice from me.

4. Start a blog

Feel like adding your voice to the growing national rant? This is how. A lot of hosting sites, such as Blogger.com, are free, while others, like WordPress.com, charge a few bucks a month and give you more control.

If your friends like what you have to say, your blog will gain popularity. If they don't, then it's better that you channel your vituperations into cyberspace anyway. And there's a good chance you'll discover other bloggers who feel the same way you do.

5. Solve a problem

We've all become experts at complaining about the problems that ail America. How about solving one? Start small. Mediate a family spat or help a struggling student raise his grade a notch.

When you get bogged down, pretend you're Tim Geithner or Ben Bernanke trying to solve the foreclosure epidemic: Sure, you could dither forever trying to figure out the fairest outcome for everybody. But you might die of old age first. So do a little something now instead of waiting for a universal solution to materialize later.

Continued: Make a movie

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