With the pomp and circumstance of another year passing it is only natural that one's thoughts turn to the upcoming year and how it can be better. With equal parts reflection and projection, we think about the previous year's successes and failures as well as looking ahead to the new year's possibilities.

For me, 2009 brings an extra degree of soul-searching as it marks the year that I will have spent 30 years on this earth. It is hard, at the end of a decade, not to devote a sizable (some might say, unhealthy) amount of your attention to where you've been, where you are and where you are going.

Of course, the New Year's resolution is not a new concept and many of you will, like me, make the beginning of 2009 a chance to redirect your efforts to make the new year a more successful one than the last.

I narrowed my list down to three areas that I want to improve this year. As I have looked into ways to attack them, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that they won't require quite the financial investment that I originally thought. Here are the areas I'm going to focus on this year.

Reduce my debt: Like any good American, I have managed to accrue a bit of credit card debt and this year is the year I've designated to get this under control.
CreditCards.com is a great Web site for finding and comparing credit card offers. Instead of waiting for a "0 percent APR on Balance Transfers" offer to come in the mail, using this can help you get a jump and get the best information out there.

Lose Weight and Get in Shape: OK, so I don't get any points for originality here, but like the man said, "Clichés are clichés for a reason." I definitely need to find a way to lose some weight and work some exercise into my schedule.

Then comes the decision of whether to go the diet route, get a gym membership, or, perhaps, both. Fortunately, both options become more affordable if you do some digging.
Weight Watchers is almost always running specials online or there are coupons available which can, at the very least, ease your financial investment as you introduce yourself to portion control.

Similarly, gyms such as 24-hour Fitness have coupons for free two-week guest passes as well as dollar off 90-day membership coupons.
Even if you are staying out of the gym but are planning on doing something like running, a new pair of running shoes (which can run you close to $100) are a great buy this time of year as stores try to liquidate their remaining holiday inventory.

It's never going to be cheap to get yourself in shape, but you can lessen the impact to your wallet while you are starting out so that, by the time you are starting to see results, you won't mind paying a little bit more to keep it going.

Get More Organized: I always envied the people in high school and college who made diligent use of their calendars and organizers while I was left searching for a syllabus in my backpack which looked like I'd emptied a waste basket into it.

As such, time management and organization are skills I never really mastered. Now that I'm 30 and can no longer deny that adulthood has found me (no matter how hard I tried to hide), keeping myself organized is much more important.

BlackBerrys which are synced up to Outlook and organizers from stores such as Franklin Covey are getting much cheaper these days. Office supplies are getting the end of year treatment as well.
Here's wishing everyone a happy new year and success in keeping your resolutions, whatever they may be!