An unprecedented number of Americans have received unprecedented incomes and accumulated unprecedented net worth in recent years. Sure, the gains are tempered by the reality that while the top tier is gaining, the income shares of the rest are falling. Many Americans have seen no purchasing power gains in decades, and they've only recently advanced because of the big fall in energy prices. But lack of income didn't deter spending. In aggregate terms, spending has risen a half percentage point per year faster than after-tax incomes for 25 years, pushing the saving rate from 12% in the early 1980s to -1% today.

Many financed their excess spending growth by tapping stock appreciation during the long 1982 to 2000 rally and, more recently, their house appreciation. Don't believe the Bull Market bull. Get your portfolio in shape to survive tumultuous times.