Ask the Expert: Celebrating Your Personal Finance Successes

In addition to chasing down answers to our readers' questions, we love to hear your firsthand experiences. It's striking to see how resourceful our readers are in making ends meet and weathering economic storms. When we asked "Will you be better off next year?" , at least one reader weighed in with a resounding "Yes!" Here's hoping we have more and more successes to share. Keep 'em coming!

Annie: We are actually going to be better off because my husband finally got a decent job in his field after two years of underemployment and one year of unemployment. Things are looking up! Also, if we hadn't always lived within our means and not had credit card or home equity loans, we would have lost everything. Now, we can just start building up again. Hallelujah!!

Regina: Nice going, Annie. Glad to hear. Good luck & keep us posted on your progress. Best, - Regina