We spent July “Conquering The Clutter.” In August, we focused on getting some extra “Face Time With The Kids.” (If you’re new to Happy To Be At Home, you can click here to find out what our six-month “End 08 Great Challenge” is all about.)

But this month, we are challenging all of us to get our financial lives in order. If you’re like me, this is something you always think about doing, but never fully commit to because it just seems too overwhelming. Well, during September, that’s all going to change! Together we can encourage and inspire each other to keep at it and get those finances fixed! We hope you’ll join us in this “Fixin’ Our Finances” challenge for the month of September.

Now let’s get to those finances!

First of all, if you are married we encourage you to work closely with your spouse on this challenge. Why not use it as an excuse to fit in some extra quality time for the two of you as well?

Since this is our last week to fix our finances, I want to talk about something that really helped our family get into financial shape. Accountability, being accountable was crucial to our becoming debt free. For our family accountability meant two things.

First, my husband and I were accountable to each other. Since we both wanted the same thing, freedom from debt, we agreed to hold each other accountable for our spending. Every week we sat down and went over our weekly spending. When one of us was weak, the other one could stay strong. There would be nights when I would have preferred to pick up dinner, but my husband would gently remind me that take out did not fit into our financial goals. It was a short term pleasure and a long term loss. If my husband wanted to purchase something we would discuss it first and then make a decision. This accountability helped us stay on track.

We also had accountability with another family. We went as far as having someone else look over our budget. This was great, because it gave our budget a fresh pair of eyes. My friend pointed out to me that our clothing allowance was ridiculously high because I do most of my shopping at yard sales, consignment stores, and thrift stores. I was then able to use that extra money to put towards our debt. Our friends also asked us how we were doing all the time. Since they knew we were trying to pay down our debt we could get together and play games or eat at each other’s houses. The did not ask us to do things that were expensive or that would throw our budget off track.

These friends were essential to our getting out of debt. We also told other friends and family members our goals. This was important because we wanted them to know why we were making certain choices. We didn’t want our friends to think we didn’t want to do certain things with them, but rather that we were making certain choices. We always welcomed our friends to come over and hang out, play games, or go the beach, but the other more expensive options were no longer options for our family.

For the most part our friends understood and a few of them started to reconsider their budgets. I would encourage you to find an accountability partner for your finances. It might be a your spouse, a family member or a friend, just make sure they understand your goals so that they can help you achieve them.

The time is now to start Fixin’ those Finances. There are three months left in 2008 for us to end the year on the right foot. We hope that this series has helped you to focus on what is important, to do what is necessary, and feel in control of your life.

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