Many people are not sure where to invest money during a recession. Normally, they would put money into their retirement account or brokerage accounts, but when they keep seeing the numbers go down, it seems pointless to keep throwing money at those accounts. I won’t speak to the legitimacy of these fears. There is plenty of commentary out there about how it’s good for you and it’s good for everybody if you keep investing. I’m not going to debate that here, but what I will do is show you 5 Surprisingly Safe Investments during the Recession.

1. Term Life & Disability Insurance 
As long as you are working with a company that is conservative in their investments and has not been terribly affected by the recession, you lose nothing by buying new policies now. Every parent needs life insurance. You must make sure your loved ones are going to be taken care of, even if you’re not here. Every financial expert from the frugal-minded (Dave Ramsey & Suze Orman) to the entrepreneurial (Alexis Martin Neely) agrees on this one point. While everyone agrees that we need life insurance, the odds that you’ll be disabled prematurely are about 4 times higher than the odds that you’ll die prematurely. You should be looking into disability insurance at the same time you’re looking into life insurance.

2. Financial Planning 
As everyone realizes the need for unbiased financial advice, the fees for financial planners are only going to go up! The value of getting your financial act together and getting a clear direction of where your family is headed financially is never going to be lost. And acting now could save you thousands in the long run and get you headed to financial wealth a lot sooner than if you meander through life without a plan to guide you. A financial planner will tell you what your retirement situation will look like and whether you are paying for any financial products that are unnecessary. They can also develop clear plans to help you see what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

3. Estate Planning 
A lot of smart people are investing in a relationship with an attorney for their family who will be there for their families when they can’t be. At the same time, they are having their attorney develop plans that will protect their families if something happens to them. An estate plan that is done right and properly updated by the family’s attorney is never going to lose its value. It is an extremely popular time to do estate planning right now, since low real estate and investment values bring certain planning advantages, and so you can expect that attorneys’ rates will only increase. Don’t wait!

4. Your Physical Well-Being 
Now is a great time to invest in your physical well-being. Take advantage of special offers by gyms and weight-loss centers. Getting healthy now could mean saving money later, by avoiding the health crises that often come as a result of not taking care of one’s self. It’s also a great time to make that dentist appointment and get that check-up. People don’t often think about their health as something to invest in, but you’ll be doing your family a huge favor by seeing it that way.

5. Your Emotional and Mental Well-Being 
It’s also a great time to invest in your emotional and mental well-being! You could be a busy and overwhelmed Mom who needs a sitter once a week to make it to a much-needed meditation class or knitting circle. You could be an overworked business owner who needs to invest in a coach to help bring the business to the next level. Maybe you need to take a parenting class. Maybe you need to see a therapist to finally rid yourself of baggage from childhood. Now is the time to invest your emotional and mental well-being.

I think the idea behind each of these 5 investments is that they are not traditionally seen as investments, when that’s exactly what they are. You put a little bit of time and money into these areas today, and you save a whole lot later on in life.