The Dow Jones' drop below 9,000 points is nearly as steep as it was in 1929, but economists say the consequences won't be as severe.

While G-7 finance ministers met in Washington on Friday to find an answer to the global credit crisis, experts advised consumers to leave their funds just where they're at.

Associate professor of economics at University of Pittsburgh Johnstown Dr. Tom McGahagan said the Dow could drop as much as 10 percent more on Friday, but the downward spiral could be reversed.

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McGahagan said the current situation is not another Great Depression and said it's not even a long-term credit crisis. He said the U.S. economy is absolutely not worth as little as the current numbers indicate.

Moreover, he said what we have now that we didn't have in 1929 are safety nets, so folks should be thinking for the future. To that end, he advised that people should not pull their money from the stock market or banks.

He said neither he nor government officials could have predicted the current situation, but believes it will not be tough for our economy to bounce back like it was in 1929 because officials and consumers have learned too many lessons since then.