Seven ways you can financially prepare for a recession

This is an updated column from Michelle Singletary’s archives. It originally ran on June 15, 2022.

High inflation, rising interest rates, a spike in gas prices and a volatile stock market have taken consumers and investors on a roller-coaster ride in 2022.

Even if you can’t bear to look at your retirement account, you know its value is down. The S&P 500 — a key gauge of market performance — has lost nearly a fifth of its value. Economic mayhem booted thousands of 401(k) participants out of the millionaire’s club. Several cryptocurrency companies crashed, not surprisingly, erasing billions of dollars of investments made by regular people, pension funds and others.