Forget Diet and Exercise-

This new year, let's resolve TOGETHER to get our finances in order!

Our family has been working on getting a good grasp on our finances for about a year now but we still have a long way to go and much, much more to learn.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I had my mom watch our kids for a couple hours while we went out to have a financial meeting.

True, we went to a bar and had a beer, but we also came out with a concrete list of financial goals for our family. Some are short term- things we want to accomplish in 2009, others more long term- 5 years from now, 10, 20, so on.

While it might seem odd to actually have a meeting, it worked for us. Rather than shouting bits of information at each other as we come and go, it gave us time to think about, discuss, and plan for our goals.

Here are a few of ours for 2009. They are challenging, but attainable.
- Open 529 Savings accounts for our kids
- Create a Will and Trust
- Establish an emergency fund of 4 months of living expenses
- Take a small family vacation

What is on your list? Is getting out of debt important? Buying a home? Beefing up savings? Unless it is a concrete goal put in writing, it is very difficult to achieve. By sharing goals with a partner, or checking in with a close friend or family member, accountability is built in.

So, today:
1. Think about what financial goals are on your list for 2009.
2. Make them challenging, but doable.
3. Commit them to paper.
4. Share them with an accountability partner.

So who's with me?
Sign the comments section if you're ready to commit to financial change in 2009- you don't have to list your goals or anything- just make a commitment that something is going to change. :)