You should know that more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than in any other era in U.S. history. Do you want to know how they did it so you can cash in on the current economic situation?

I did a lot of research work to find the actual information, not just the historical information we are spoon-fed by the media about how tough the depression was on the masses and how hard the Presidents worked to turn the economy around. It takes digging through piles of documents including the patent and copyright office files and the Library of Congress to find much of the information. But, there is a lot of information available on the internet if you dig deep enough.

There's one pure gold nugget in this history lesson that can enable you to make tons of money when our country is in a recession (like right now) because a recession is exactly the same thing as a depression except it doesn't last as long and the economic damage is not as severe. So bear with me while I give you a short history lesson that contains the golden nugget.

It is important to know that the Great Depression really began a few years in advance of the 1929 stock market crash and lasted until World War II brought the country out of the Depression.

In the years prior to 1929, as more and more credit was extended to businesses and individuals the economy was tipping over the edge from available cash to excessive amounts of credit debt. When the amount of credit debt reached a critical level, and businesses could no longer pay the credit bills, the companies crashed (the 1929 stock market crash.) Because workers lost their jobs they could not pay their credit debts and the housing market and banking industries crashed.

The many business enterprises that changed hands during the depression by people with liquid cash are too numerous to mention, but due to the war effort, those with liquid cash who purchased homes, land, companies, and purchased the stocks of the companies that made products demanded by the U.S. government for the war effort made millions. These industries included products like:

1. Iron, steel, aluminum and copper 2. Communications: radios and parts 3. Tanks, boats, aircraft, vehicles and parts for these 4. Armaments: Guns and munitions 5 - Tents, cots, blankets, backpacks, boots, clothing, helmets, belts (and the materials to make these) 6 - Containers 7 - Shipping, truck and railway transportation 8 - Oil and petroleum and the stocks in iol wells (the Texas oil boom was a biggie!)

A few of the well known companies that changed hands during that time were: Douglas Aircraft, Reynolds Metals, John Deere, Ericsson, and even the Goudy Gum Company ( gum company to give away baseball cards with gum.)

Some of the oppressive laws that our government passed during the 1930s in an effort to take money from the large number of people who had liquid cash and were using it to buy property, companies and stocks in companies. Our government wanted to take it away from the people who had been smart enough to stash away liquid cash and not get into credit debt, and use it to fund the war effort as well as re-distribute it to the destitute families.

These laws were later ruled unconstitutional, but the point is that those with liquid cash were spending it in ways that reaped millions, especially in industries necessary to the war effort. Yes, the stock market crashed, but the stocks could still be purchased at undervalued prices and people with cash invested at the bottom of the market.

The lesson to be learned from this era is a simple one. It is one I teach business owners who are learning how to manage their money the right way. Just in case you read right by it, here is THE GOLDEN NUGGET: When it comes to money, the only thing you have to fear is having no liquid cash to get you through an economic crisis.

There are many people who have the majority of their money invested in non-liquid investments (such as real estate investment rental properties) who are worth lots of money on paper, but can't pay their bills. Then there are some who have an excessive amount of their money invested in semi-liquid investments and the stock market, and yet could not get their hands on any liquid cash to handle an immediate emergency.

The frightening shape our current economy is in today has the same indicators that forecasted The Great Depression of the 1930's. Too much credit debt, not enough cash savings, bank failures and bail-outs (WAMU was the first at a $5 billion bail out in April) and the mortgage crisis / real estate crash.

My clients are paying off their credit debt and stashing liquid cash with a vengeance. They sleep better at night and can survive whatever comes. Are you doing anything to prepare for the economic crisis that is now underway?

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions has years of experience helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. Claim your FREE REPORT "7 Fatal Money Management Mistakes Business Owners Make"