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?

This week let’s get lean and mean and start trimming our budgets. The easiest way to do this is to create a wants and needs list. I have a rather lengthy post on my own blog if you are interested in reading more about this list. Basically you list all the things in your budget that are needs; food, clothing, shelter, and transportation and then everything else is a want. This might be difficult because we have come to see many luxuries in our lives as needs, when truly they are wants.

Once you have your list, decide which of the wants you are willing to cut out of your budget. It might be dining out, expensive cell phone plans, or an extra vehicle. You will be surprised at how the wants make up a large portion of your budget. If you are able to cut out even a few wants you will be able to start chipping away at your debt or adding to your savings.

For our family, when we were getting out of debt, we cut out dining out, grocery costs, and extra trips to Target. By just cutting these three areas we saved about $1000 a month. Your families cuts might be different from ours, but there are always ways to trim the budget.

What wants do you want to cut from your budget? What luxuries are weighing you down in debt or creating a road block to your savings goals?

• If you own a blog, write a post on your blog. Use Mr. Linky to link your Fixin’ Your Finances.
• Leave us a comment telling us about your challenge.
• Email us about what you’re doing for the challenge

Then we’ll share your plans and ideas (and a link to your post if applicable) in another post on Happy to be at Home.

There are four 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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