In case you haven't noticed, we're at the end of the decade. It just snuck right up there, didn't it? The start of a whole new 10 years is a great opportunity to take stock of your life. Maybe you're trapped in a financial hole, throwing fistfuls of dollars at a mountain of bills that never seems to go away. Maybe your waistline keeps growing and growing, and despite your best intentions that treadmill in the corner gets about as much use as the expired health food in the back of the refrigerator. Maybe you're stuck in the same monotonous, soul-crushing job that you never wanted in the first place, but don't have the time or energy to make your dream career a reality.

Ultimately you've got two choices. You can either keep doing what you're doing, and wake up on January 1, 2020 and discover that your debt, cholesterol level, and job resentment have only gotten bigger over the intervening 10 years. Or you can take the opportunity of a new decade to motivate yourself to make some significant changes in your life. For our annual Resolutions issue we reached out to three experts - a credit counselor, a fitness trainer, and a career coach - and all of them agree that if you put in the effort, you can absolutely change your life in the next 10 years. Since everyone's case is different, you won't find all the answers here. But the experts did share some general secrets to success that are applicable to just about everyone.

MONEY: YES, you can get out of debt in the next 10 years.

So says Linda Howland, executive director of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester. Consumer Credit is a non-profit organization that offers various services, from debt consolidation to classes on how to effectively use credit to bankruptcy counseling. Howland says that the economic recession of the past two years has led to a surge in new clients for CCCS; since the fall she's seen a 25 percent increase in caseloads.

Howland has seen all kinds of financial disaster stories, from low-income families fighting to keep their basic utilities to affluent clients six figures in debt due to an over-reliance on credit cards. There's a recourse for any financial situation, some more dire than others (bankruptcy is not fun, Howland assures), but there are also some general guidelines everyone can use to help themselves get out of debt as quickly as possible.

Set a budget: Howland says you'd be surprised how many people can't budget properly. It's more than just listing your income and your expenses. You also have to factor in emergencies, unexpected expenses that always happen when you can least afford them. If you don't have enough to pay all your bills and put away for a rainy-day fund, consider how you can be more frugal. There's nothing wrong with clipping coupons, and you'd be surprised how much you'll save by fixing your own meals instead of eating out. And that's just for starters.

Pay your bills on time: Another obvious one, but very important. Not only will paying all your bills on time improve your credit rating, which will help you when you need to borrow for big-ticket items like cars or homes, but avoiding late fees will give you more money to play with.

Check your credit report annually: There are so many horror stories about people having their identities stolen, with thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges in their name. Howland says you should be aware about what's on your credit report, and federal law requires that every American has access to a free report per year. She suggests going to annualcreditreport.com.

Use credit wisely: Credit cards are not bad, Howland says. In fact, they're practically required for modern living - try renting a car or booking a flight without one. But if you carry large balances on your cards, you're putting yourself at a serious financial disadvantage, especially now that banks and credit-card companies are implementing extreme interest-rate hikes (she says that a 24.99 percent interest rate is no longer uncommon). Think about what you're using credit cards for. Howland points out that if you're throwing incidental purchases like groceries and gas on them, those charges can add up quickly, leaving a bill that might be difficult to pay.

Should you end up falling behind on your balance and the interest is piling up, organizations like Consumer Credit Counseling have debt management plans that can help you consolidate bills and pay them off faster. Howland just cautions that if you do seek financial guidance, look for organizations that are properly accredited by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or other watchdog agencies, as there are unscrupulous get-out-of-debt-fast organizations that could leave you in worse shape than before.

FITNESS: YES, you can transform your body in the next 10 years.

Actually, you can do it a lot quicker than that. Brian Quinn, a fitness trainer at the Downtown Fitness Club and the creator of Every Day in May, says he's seen major physical transformations in as little as one year, although two to three is more realistic. It all depends on body size, goals, and motivation, but the basics come down to the obvious: eat better and stay active.

That's the main idea behind Quinn's Every Day in May program, which he started in 2005 when he wanted to get into better shape for summer. He committed to doing something active every day in the month of May, utilizing a variety of workouts, and ended up losing 12 pounds. The next year he opened up the program to other people, and has continued to expand it since, launching a nationwide EDIM tour in 2009. By the end of its fifth year, more than 2000 people were involved.

Quinn says that the most common problem people run into with weight loss is a lack of focus. It's easy, since there is so much conflicting information about nutrition and exercise out there, between fad diets, trendy fitness regiments, and countless how-to books offering radically different approaches. While everyone has different fitness needs, here are some general tips to get you started on a healthier path.

Set a goal: And not something nebulous, like "I want to look hot." Pick something very specific - I want to lose XX lbs., or I want to drop XX inches from my waist measurement - and make sure that the goal is realistic. Quinn suggests that if you want to see results, see your goal. Write it down, and put it in a place you'll notice it every day, whether it's at your desk at work, stuck to your car dashboard, or taped to your bathroom mirror. The more you see it, the more likely you are to stick to it.

Just do it: If you're really serious about getting into shape, don't wait until the "right" moment or until you find the "right" method. Just start, now. There are lots of things you can do immediately, from making better food choices to walking more and sitting around less. Quinn adds that you don't need to join a gym or fitness club. Those can certainly help, since they provide you with all kinds of equipment and can put you in touch with fitness professionals. But if there's a time or financial limitation, there are plenty of health-encouraging activities you can do on your own, right now, that don't cost a penny.

Stick with it: Accountability is the key to a fitness regiment, Quinn says, and it does take effort. Having a partner in this endeavor can really pay off, as Quinn says he regularly sees better results when people have friends who are working out and eating well alongside them. Beyond that, preparation is huge. You need to plan ahead to make sure you can fit your workouts in and eat the way you should be, and little cheats can make all the difference. Quinn suggests packing your gym bag the night before, or fixing your next day's lunch before you go to bed. Those extra minutes you just bought may mean the difference between heading home exhausted after work or sticking with your plan to go for a run.

Recognize plateaus: If you're doing a hardcore body transformation, at some point you're likely to notice that the same amount of effort that used to net big results is now getting next to nothing. This is when it's time to change tactics, whether that's a shift in your weight-lifting routine or a totally different approach to cardio. Quinn suggests consulting with a fitness expert or trainer, or barring that, reaching out to someone who has had success with weight loss. People who have struggled with body issues and conquered them are typically happy to share their success stories, Quinn says, and they may have helpful tips.

But the most important thing is to recognize when you're plateauing, because it's easy to miss and could lead to burnout or frustration when you stop seeing results. Since scales can be unreliable for all sorts of reasons, Quinn recommends doing body measurements every few months. If you're putting in serious effort, those numbers should be shifting.

Note that once you've achieved your fitness goals, the work doesn't stop. If anything, it can be harder to maintain a level of fitness over an extended period of time. That's when you have to get really creative in your workout, and setting specific goals becomes even more important.

CAREER: YES, you can get your dream job in the next 10 years.

The economy may be tough, but people are hiring. It may be more difficult now than it was 10 years ago, but people get jobs every day. The trick is that you need to know where to look, how to market yourself, and most importantly, what you're looking for. That's according to Marge McGee, the president and owner of Career Architect Consulting Services. McGee coaches all kinds of cases: people transitioning from one job to the next, people re-entering the workforce after years off, retirees looking for a second career. A career coach works with clients to assess their career goals, help build job search skills, guide them through the interviewing and job acceptance processes, and more. The situation is different for everyone, but here are some general pointers to keep in mind.

Know what you want: This is crucial, McGee says, and a lot harder than it sounds. McGee says that any job search should first start with an assessment, figuring out what you really want to do, based on skills, goals, etc. McGee puts clients through a series of assessments that that helps open career paths that may better suit a person. Although she says that a major career shift is rare, one of her greatest successes was a ceramic engineer who unexpectedly discovered her true passion was working as a high-school guidance counselor. The important thing is to find out what you're really looking for in a job or career, and how well that industry suits your needs. McGee points out that what you may think of as your "dream job" might not actually be a great fit for you. Do some research into the everyday activities of a profession before you set your heart to it. The fun stuff may be 1 percent of a job, McGee says. What makes up the other 99 percent?

Market yourself properly: Once you've figured out what you want to do, McGee says, it's important to make sure you're presenting a consistent image to potential employers. Do your cover letter, resume, and personal presentation match up? McGee also discourages people from hiring third parties to craft their resumes - that one sheet distills what you can bring to a company; why would you trust it in anyone else's hands - and specifically advises against embellishing a resume. Don't sell a potential employer a false bill of goods. They'll figure it out eventually.

The importance of networking: You need to know the people who know about jobs. In a tough economy like this one, McGee says, many employers may not even publicly post highly coveted jobs, since they'll be swamped with applicants that can be hard to choose from. Instead, they'll network and get specific recommendations from trusted sources. She refers to this as the "hidden job market," and says that the only way to crack it is to get out into the local business scene and get noticed. Career Architects holds weekly networking meetings for clients and alumni, and there are a variety of business-networking groups in the Rochester area to check out as well.