Consumers who are struggling with personal debt and other financial issues can take advantage of various ways to "recession proof" their lives.

Writing in Yahoo's personal finance section, blogger Amy Fontinelle offers seven tips for avoiding economic headaches.

Among her tips are to have an emergency cash fund and to always live within your means. She points out that by having access to cash, you can avoid having to resort to other means such as tapping a home equity line of credit.

"Debt begets more debt when you can't pay it off right away," she writes.

Fontinelle also advises consumers to have more than one source of income. Many people feel that their jobs could be on shaky ground, and this would help protect against any sudden layoffs or other situations. She points out that a second income can consist of anything from consulting work to selling items on eBay.

Finally, she advises people to "have a long-term mindset with investments" and to "be honest" about their risk tolerance. This is important in the current economic climate, where the temptation to sell out of retirement funds may be heightened by the year's double-digit losses.

"Investments are supposed to provide you with a sense of financial security, not a sense of panic," writes Fontinelle.

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