5 ways to survive a market plunge

The signs are remarkably clear: A bear market in stocks is on its way, and it's time to bear-proof your portfolio as much as you can.

There are five things you must do sooner rather than later -- call them five rules for dodging the worst of the bear -- to protect your portfolio before the bear claws an additional 20% out of your stocks.

We won't be in an official bear market until stocks drop 20% or more from their October 2007 highs. That would mean a decline to the 11,250 level for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU), to 1,275 for the the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) to 2,250 or so for the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) 18.2%.