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Gallup’s annual “Mood of the Nation” poll sampled 1,018 adults from across the United States earlier this year, and the results show that more Americans say they are worse off financially right now than they were a year ago. 42 percent of the respondents consider themselves to be worse off, 35 percent say they are better off, and 22 percent claim to be in the same financial position.

This sentiment is surprising considering the economy has been continuing to improve and the stock market (measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average) was up 26.5 percent in 2013, the biggest annual increase in 18 years. Also, the official unemployment rate for December 2013 was 6.7 percent, the lowest rate of unemployment since October 2008, the last month before the economy began seeing the effects of the Great Recession.

In Naked With Cash, seven anonymous Consumerism Commentary readers publicly track and analyze their finances on a monthly basis. For almost a decade, I tracked my own finances on Consumerism Commentary; now I’m sharing the benefits of public accountability with the participants. I’ve partnered with financial planners who will offer some guidance along the way. Read this introduction to learn more about the series.

J.W. is thirty-one years old and a father of two. He works in retail and is underemployed, and his wife and kids are on state medical plans. Their household income is supplemented by SNAP (food stamps). Read his bio for more information about his family’s situation.

It’s easy for me to look back in time and analyze the faults of my twenty-two year-old self. If only I had started saving and investing sooner, I’d be in a better financial situation. My younger self would assume I had forgotten what it was like for me during that time period, when I had barely enough money to make rent, I was still looking for the perfect job, and I managed to avoid many bills for at least a short period of time before borrowing more money from somewhere.

It’s time to get naked! (Again!)

Last year, we started Naked With Cash, a series and feature at Consumerism Commentary. Last year’s introduction can provide you with the in-depth look at the purpose of the series. This year, I’m joined by Miranda Marquit to help organize the series. She, I, and the financial experts you’ll meet below, have selected four Consumerism Commentary readers who will work with those experts as they publicly track their finances throughout the year.

This year, we have four participants who will share their financial reports, exposing the results of their financial choices. Each participant is paired with one of our Certified Financial Planners (CFPs). The experts will provide insight and guidance that will, hopefully, help our participants take their finances to the next level by the end of 2014.