In light of the recent economic volatility, a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen next. No one can see the future, but I want to paint a broad picture of what could likely happen, and how it will affect you in 2009.

Consumer prices. We've already seen a large drop in gas prices since last summer, but for the first time since the records began 61 years ago, the United States saw consumer prices drop by 1%. Companies can't keep raising prices in the current economic environment.

Car prices. Cars are less expensive compared to recent years because of the formerly-high gas prices, the economy, unemployment and a myriad of other factors. Large vehicles in particular are selling for much less now.

Home prices. Trying to time the market is rarely a good idea, but sometime within the next year or two could be a good time to buy a house. Real estate prices declined throughout 2007 and 2008, creating a buyer's market. However, lending requirements are changing to require higher down payments, higher credit scores and less debt to your name in order to qualify, because…

The financial industry as a whole took a bath in the mortgage meltdown. That means they aren't lending out as much money. In general, it's going to be more difficult to get most types of loans, including student loans, mortgages, and business loans--even credit card limits are being lowered.

With the recent decline in the stock market, the U.S. economy has lost trillions of dollars. Many of those dollars have come from retirement accounts. We should feel very lucky that this happened to us at a young age--we can rebound. However, the baby boomer generation may have to delay retirement and work longer to make up for their losses.

When you consider that unemployment is anticipated to reach the highest levels in the past several decades, more people are looking for jobs, and more retirement-aged workers will be staying around, it's going to make a very competitive job market. So if you are looking for a job, give yourself time, submit plenty of applications, try to make money on the side, and if you do get a job offer, be thankful.

When outside economic factors are out of our control, all we can do is focus on our own financial habits. Start cutting costs as much as possible, paying down debt and saving money. There are going to be some great deals and opportunities, but they will go to those that have cash and have been diligent through the hard times.

Best of luck! Here's to a better 2009.

Bryan Sims, CEO

Sources: biz.yahoo.com; bloomberg.com; moneycentral.msn.com; bankrate.com; usnews.com; realestate.msn.com; smartmoney.com; nytimes.com; fool.com; time.com; money.cnn.com