That should make the folks at Lowe's and Home Depot happy. And it should make people like me happy, too, even though we will be shelling out our hard-earned money on things like paint and lighting and hardware.

"Improving your home — whether you do it with your own two hands or hire professionals — can be an extremely challenging and rewarding experience," Helmstetter said. "It's a very creative process, always involves learning, and results in happiness and other tangible benefits that will surround you every day for years to come. All in all, putting money, hard work and love into your home is not only good for the home, it's good for the family and good for the soul."

Maybe. I'm not very good company while attempting home-improvement projects, since I don't know what I'm doing and things often go badly. So maybe it will be sunshine and roses in the long-term, but my wife and children are probably wise to stay clear of me while work is in progress.

And speaking of work, the share of resolutions dealing with careers fell from 15 percent for 2006 to 12 percent for 2007, so I guess most of us are satisfied with our jobs.

Or maybe we all figure we need to work hard and make sure those paychecks keep coming every week or two. After all, home improvements don't come cheap!

Back to answering your financial questions next week. Send them to gkratz@desnews.com or to the Deseret Morning News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.

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E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com