Young people in their 20s and 30s are poised to take advantage of plummeting prices on housing, cars, investments and more.

Take the housing market, for example. Houses traditionally appreciated at the rate of inflation plus maybe another point per year…and that's it. But then beginning around 1998, home values could have stepped up as much per month as they historically did in a year. Now the housing boom has gone bust and the runaway prices are beginning to get under control. Suddenly, that starter home may be affordable again.

You can see the same thing in investing. All kinds of holdings are available at distress sale prices at the moment. And the younger you are, the more time you have to let your money grow.

In the '90s, people thought the market would just continually rise at a rate of 20% or more forever. That's just human nature -- we look at a trend and think it will remain constant. So today, the challenge for young people is to overcome their impulse to run away from the sinking housing and stock markets.

On the question of college expenses, Clark says you can forget about any projections you may have seen about the skyrocketing cost of college 18 years from now. Colleges will have to learn the discipline of controlling costs. Right now, so little of every dollar goes to real educational expenses.

That will change as we get away from research-based institutions and bulk up on our teaching colleges. That's precisely why Clark loves community colleges; they typically focus on teaching, not research.