CNBC emotional index shows a graph of the great depression and those of us, like Russell Simmons who are bubbly in spite of the bad news, talks of bail out pork barrel spending, etc.

Thought I would weigh in and give a few ideas to ease the depression so you can keep calm, sane in spite of it all and keep laughing:

1. drink lemon grass tea twice a day (morning and evening) - good for relaxation and keep you calm.

2. take a cooking class, if you cannot cook 'cause starting yesterday you need to stop eating fast food - you simply cannot afford it.

3. buy a good natural guide to cooking and eating unprocessed food so you can prepare simple food from scratch - this guide http://www.click2loseweight.com/?cheap-food will help you and keep you emotionally healthy as well.

4. take the kids for walks, let them learn to play basketball and soccer or baseball - all sports that require little gear and less equipment.

5. buy meal corn and make corn meal pap for breakfast - it's a simple, cheap and healthy food for kids.