Whew, I'm so glad that's over.

When the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 10,000 points on Oct. 14 - for the first time in over a year - I knew I could let out a huge sigh of relief. The Great Recession had finally come to an end.

Last fall, when our economy was on the verge of a complete meltdown, I vowed to reconsider the things I usually took for granted.

Frightened by widespread job losses, I held tight to my job and thanked my lucky stars that I still had a paycheck. I worked hard every day. I saved for the future and wondered how I'd fare if I were laid off the next day. Truly, nothing makes you appreciate what you have quite like the real possibility of losing it.

I made a strict monthly budget and scoured my credit card statements looking for ways to save money. I cut down on eating out, I turned off lights when I didn't need them, and I stole groceries out of my neighbor's fridge. I made monthly deposits into a savings account that would serve as my emergency fund if I lost my job. I borrowed pizza money from a friend and "forgot" to pay it back. I kept track of my income and expenses down to the penny. I was the most fiscally responsible I had ever been in my entire life. Unless you count infancy, when I had no idea yet how much fun it would be to spend my disposable income on imported beer, DVDs, Greek cuisine, and a bigger television. Did we learn any lessons from the nerve-wracking experiences of the past year? Of course we did. We learned how to tighten our belts during the tough times and save for a rainy day and plan for the worst while hoping for the best. We learned about what's really important in life and what stuff we thought we needed but really didn't. We buckled down to get through the hard times. I will carry these lessons with me forever.

So it's with a great sense of relief that I'm gladly putting an end to my penny-pinching ways. My stock portfolio is on its way to the stratosphere again. If I know anything at all about the cyclical nature of the economy, I can tell you with absolute certainty that what goes up never comes down again. It's science, dummy.

Now that we've seen the market push past an arbitrary benchmark that really means nothing at all, it only makes sense that after all this stress and worry we should let loose and have some fun. I'm going to delve into that emergency fund that I scrimped and saved so hard for and buy myself an emergency Xbox 360. And I think I'll book that vacation to Tahiti I've been dreaming of. I can't really afford it, but I'll be raking in the dough for years to come, and my paycheck is sure to come every week just like clockwork - why on earth wouldn't it? I might even leave my kitchen light on overnight, just because I can.

The good times are here to stay, people! There's nothing more to worry about. Ever.

BILL ZUCK is sure he will never face financial ruin. You can reach him for investment tips at wcz78@yahoo.com.