[joejerryronnie]

The last paragraph of your article is the most important. Positioning yourself well financially (i.e. limited debt, access to liquid capital) will allow you to really build wealth during the next downturn. 2008 - 2010 were windfall years for me. A little luck and bold, aggressive moves played a big part but if I was not financially positioned to take advantage of the underpriced assets, I would have been stuck on the sidelines.

You are correct that right now is the time to start getting your financial house in order. But, if you're considering investing (rather than paying down debt), I don't believe you should sit in cash. It would be better to invest in a solidly performing asset today than a cheaper asset 3-5 years from now. If the investment is solid, this will just add to your balance sheet during the downturn.