It's no secret that world markets have taken a tumble in the past months.
From Wall Street to Main Street, company closures to job losses, the crumbling economy has hit your wallet hard.
The effects have also gone global, and to combat the current crisis - and to avoid a similar meltdown in the future - the G20 leaders traveled to Washington to discuss how to fix the financial mess.
Late Saturday, they appeared to have come up with a solution. Leaders promised to cooperate on several endeavours, including a more transparent financial system. They also agreed to changes in international financial institutions, bringing reforms to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
It's the largest leaders' summit on the economy in more than 10 years.
It began with a frank dinner Friday where both $300 bottles of wine and the plummeting economy were on the menu.
President George W Bush warned that it was not the time to turn inward, and that protectionism is not in the cards. The leaders are expected to discuss ways to keep the markets more open and the possibility of implementing an early warning system that would detect advance signs of problems like the US housing bubble.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed that each country present at the summit would submit its financial regulations to peer review, an idea he admitted was "contentious."
Before the meeting began Saturday, Harper told reporters that it's "no secret" the troubles started in the United States.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not get into specifics, but he did acknowledge that a global agreement on financial institution reforms would be had within months. Those plans would be reevaluated at another meeting in a year's time.
It's believed that the plan would force global financial systems to be more open and accountable to both investors and regulators.
President Bush greets Prime Minister Harper on the North Portico of the White House, November 14, 2008. Photo credit Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.