Little changes can add up. But sometimes they don't add up to enough.
You can trim expenses, sell excess stuff and work a second job. But if you're still not where you want to be, perhaps a much larger change is needed.
Maybe you need to get out of a dead-end job. Perhaps your whole industry is dying and you should consider a new career. Or maybe you're living in the wrong place to get ahead or have a decent quality of life.
One thing you can be sure of: Your finances won't change for the better on their own.
Taking big leaps can be uncomfortable and even scary. I know. I've made several, moving first to a job in Anchorage, Alaska, and then to another in Southern California, then going to night school to study financial planning. Each change was difficult and wrenching at times, but each one left me far better off, financially and personally.
The same is true for people I interviewed for this column. A few made counterintuitive choices. One person switched to a less lucrative career; one couple moved from an economically vital area to one that was more depressed. Each person left a comfort zone, dealing with fears and uncertainty, but all are ultimately glad they did.
If you've been contemplating a big leap this year, maybe you'll find some inspiration here.
Leaving worries behind
Let's start with Alan and Claudette Ganger.The Southern California natives lived in Montclair, a suburb of Los Angeles, when their first child was born. Claudette quit her job as a benefits administrator to stay home with the baby, and the Gangers were just able to manage on Alan's salary as an accountant and controller for a local company.
The Gangers didn't want to leave their extended families, particularly Claudette's mother and sisters, who lived nearby. But they soon realized that moving to a less expensive area would allow them to live the life they wanted at a price they could afford.
They searched for areas that had affordable housing, good schools and a reasonably robust job market for Alan. Eventually they chose Spokane, Wash. They sold their California home near the peak of the real-estate market in 2006, paid cash for a modest home in their new city and paid off their other debts, including credit card bills and car loans.
"We purposely bought only as much house as we needed," Alan said. "Our rewards, in addition to no mortgage, are no car loans and no more credit card balances. And much more flexibility financially. A $10-$12-per-hour job will pay our bills in a pinch."
The Gangers' new, lower-cost lifestyle allowed them to accumulate savings, which helped them survive four months of unemployment when Alan lost his job last year. Having that emergency fund made the wait for a new job less stressful, Alan said, and allowed him to spend "some serious quality time" with his now-5-year-old son and 20-month-old daughter.
The move required some big trade-offs. The Gangers' budget doesn't allow for much travel, so to get together with relatives, the relatives have to come see them. So far, they have, Alan said. Also, the Gangers realize it's unlikely they could ever afford to move back to Southern California, because the difference between the two regions' home prices is so great.
"That was a tough part of it," Alan said, "especially for my wife, who's really close to her family."
Three years later, though, they still believe they've made the right choices. Identifying what was most important to them -- their family -- made the rest of the decisions easier, Alan said.
"This has truly been a life-changing decision for the better," he said.
More from MSN Money
Continued: Living better on less