"Families need to employ some anticipatory management," said Allen Martin, a professor of Family Environmental Sciences and director of CSUN's Consumer Resource Center. "We need to start preparing, just in case something unfortunate happens, like the loss of a job."

Martin suggested establishing an emergency fund that covers two- or three-months' worth of fixed expenses such as rent or mortgage and car and credit card payments.

"A lot of experts say you need to set aside up to six months, but it's been my experience that you don't need quite that much if you have good credit that you can use in the case of an emergency," Martin said.

This also is a good time to start reducing your expenses and living within your means, he said.

"One of the basic things is to reassess your goals," Martin said. "Decide what is important to you, and make your financial decisions and spending priorities match those goals. If you think you are in an industry that is likely to be hit hard by an economic downturn, go out and get some job training and broaden your skills. Catch up on the latest technology so you are employable if something were to happen."

William Jennings, chair of CSUN's Department of Finance, Real Estate and Insurance, said that regardless of the state of the economy, families should get into the habit of examining their short-term budget and financial plans as well as their long-term financial goals.

"They need to see how the two balance," Jennings said. "If people just got into the habit, every three months or so, of taking a look at their short-term financial plans for about three to six months, and then looking further down the road at their plans for five, 10 and 20 years from now, they are less likely to make mistakes and be caught off guard when the economy changes."

Getting into the habit of making a regular examination of your finances can be hard, Jennings admitted, but added that it was worth it.

"When people make mistakes it generally is because they neglected one or another of those times," he said. "By regularly examining where they stand financially, families are more aware of what is going on in their lives. The questions asked naturally when they are doing this, such as how things are going at work, give them the answers that help them prepare for the unexpected."

California State University, Northridge has more than 30,000 full- and part-time students and offers 63 bachelor's and 51 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."