I am no financial genius, and I have not made money out of betting on the arrival of the GFC but I too saw it coming. As did anyone with half a brain! It really does not take much expertise to realise that a financial system built on unsecured credit, that is money that does not exist, will eventually come to grief. Growth cannot grow
unchecked forever, and dealing with debt by creating more debt does not ultimately work. It's basic common sense.
Sometimes old ideas are good because they survive, and saving money, or trying to live within one's means is a very old idea, and now I think, one which is proving again to be sensible. Spending non-existent money works neither for the individual, businesses or even governments.
The problem now is going to be the assumption of so many people of their entitlement to fulfil their desires without thought or plan. A want is not the same as a need, no matter what the advertisements say, and spending our way out of this mess is going to be a very risky solution. However is there another one?