Primerica Presents Four Tips for Weathering a Recession

Duluth, GA, March 11, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The current economic downturn has many families worried about losing their job, struggling to keep up with bills and worried about the future. The outlook seems bleak – 11.6 million Americans are unemployed1, third quarter 2008 foreclosures jumped 71% over the same time period the previous year2 and the personal savings rate remains in negative territory.3

Primerica, an industry leader, presents four tips to help families’ finances weather a recession.

1. Stay focused on goals. Historically, clients who invest consistently, whether the market is bullish or bearish, reach their long term goals. The best way to ride out the ups and downs of the stock market is to maximize the power of dollar cost averaging – investing a certain fixed amount consistently regardless of market fluctuations. While dollar cost averaging does not ensure a profit or protect against loss, history shows that investors make up 80% of bear market losses within the first year of the recovery.4 Investors should consider their ability to invest in a declining market.5

2. Slash and burn bills wherever possible. An easy place to start: auto and homeowner’s insurance. “Some insurers give long time customers up to a 10% discount, but that can pale in comparison with the savings from switching insurers. At least once every two years, get a quote from another insurer.”6

3. Keep good credit. To keep that all important credit score attractive, clients should pay their bills on time, limit the number of credit cards they have and avoid financing more than one big ticket item at once.

4. Boost income. Start a part time business or work a few hours a week at a second job to get through a crunch. Business opportunities, such as Primerica’s part or full time opportunity, are great ways to do something enjoyable while earning extra money each month.7 More information is available here: www.PrimericaBusinessOpportunity.com.

Times are tough, but following these simple tips can go a long way to helping families come out on the other side of the recession with their long term financial goals still intact.

1Kansas City Star, www.kansascity.com, February 6, 2009
2www.CNNMoney.com, October 23, 2008
3Newsweek, www.newsweek.com, February 1, 2008
4Money, November 2008
5Investments offered by: PFS Investments, Inc., 3120 Breckinridge Blvd., Duluth, GA 30099 0001, 770 381 1000
6Money, November 2008
7In Canada, the part time option is not available in all jurisdictions and, where it is available, is subject to certain restrictions.

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Primerica Financial Services, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, is the largest financial services marketing organization in North America, with more than 100,000 licensed independent representatives. The company provides its 6 million clients with quality financial products and services, including term life insurance, mutual funds, variable annuities, loans, auto and homeowners insurance and long-term care insurance. Primerica conducts business in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico; the company also operates in Spain as Citisoluciones.

Primerica and its affiliate companies are subsidiaries of Citi (NYSE:C), the leading global financial services company with some 200 million-customer accounts in approximately 100 countries. Along with Primerica, other major brand names under Citi’s trademark include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Smith Barney, and Banamex.

Additional information about Primerica and Citigroup is available on their respective web sites: (http://www.primerica.com) and (http://www.citigroup.com).