Give your personal finances a makeover -- in one day

Whether you're one of the many employed Americans sticking around the home front during your vacation, or whether you shake the printer awake every morning to crank out a fresh pile of resumes, this New York Times article offers a great, point-by-point suggestion of a weekday project everyone should carve out time to do: take a fiscal health day.

You're familiar with the concept of a "mental health day," right? Whether you scoot off to a neighborhood spa or just stick your toes in the kiddie pool while nursing a cold one, the idea is to recharge and reset your mind to what lies ahead. A fiscal health day is very similar (although we don't recommend mixing either footbaths or brewskis).

First of all, it's crucial to do this on a regular, non-holiday weekday, when help desks and call centers are staffed. The Times' writer offers a list of common financial logjams and details of what he did on his self-imposed fiscal health day.