“The type of man she hated… was the type she wanted.”

That’s a tagline from the 1946 classic film noir movie The Big Sleep, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

As a former film student at school, the movie popped into my head while I was on my way to the office this morning, as I was thinking of metaphors to sum up the stubborn bear market we’ve found ourselves in. And since the title of the film is a euphemism for “death,” it seems appropriate, given that the recent wild fluctuations have put many investors’ portfolios to sleep - and outright killed many others.

I’m going to use a little poetic license here and apply that tagline to investing instead: “The type of market investors hated… was the type they wanted.”

Yes, that’s right. Far from joining the masses in a frenzy of fear and panic, let’s take a “smarter” approach to this situation and actually use the bear market for us, not against us. There are a few quick and simple strategies you can employ in order to fight back against this meltdown…

This Bear Market Is Bringing Back The Dreaded “R” Word

We’re not the only ones worrying about where the current bear market is dragging our already mauled portfolios and economies.

“The market is very worried about a severe international economic downturn.” That’s the verdict of commodity strategist David Moore at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

He was speaking the day after the Dow endured its second-worst one-day slump in history (733 points), with stocks losing a staggering $1.1 trillion in value. The index has recorded triple-digit movement on 20 of the past 23 days and posted just one positive day this month. The Associated Press says investors have lost $8.3 trillion from 401(k) plans, pension funds, college savings accounts, and other investments.

Sure, September’s consumer price inflation reading came in flat, compared with August. But it doesn’t disguise the fact that U.S. employers are shedding jobs en masse, while retail sales dropped 1.2% in September. On the bright side, though, this has led to oil prices dropping by more than 50% since July’s $147 record high. The black goo currently trades at a 14-month low around $70 a barrel amid speculation that consumption will drop as consumers cut back and a global economic recession takes hold.

While there’s nothing you or I can do about a recession, there are steps we can take to combat the stock market’s nosedive. Let me take you back to my colleague Marc Lichtenfeld’s 5-Point Bear Market Plan that he published here back in August 2007.