OK, so the old year is behind us and we are now looking down the barrel of a new and adventurous year!   Let us get our financial house in order.

First things first, we will put together a spending plan, I have outlined this before.  You can do this anyway you want to, but you need to be brutally honest with yourself in doing this.

What is our household income, what are our expenditures minus any debt, then what are our expenditures with the debt?  Are we saving any money each month?  Saving is important, very important.

What is out total amount of debt?  Are we comfortable with this figure?  If yes, then great, if not, we must do something about it.

What about bills from Christmas and the holiday season?  Add those to the mix as well.  They have not come in yet, they will soon enough; let’s try and get an idea of what the amounts may be, contact the card issuers, review receipts, etc.

What about our employment situation?  Is it solid?  I have heard from a lot of people recently who stated they were in fear of being made redundant after the first of the year.  There never is a good time for this, but many employers make changes in the beginning of the New Year.

What about any assets we may have, property, etc?  Will our mortgage payments increase, what is our equity position?

Are we anticipating any increases in our living expenditures, such as utilities?  I ask this as it has started out as a colder than usual winter and gas and electric costs have gone up.  I hear they are to drop this year, 2009, but let’s wait and see.

It is just a good time to take stock of matters and outline a plan for the year.  I know it does not sound like fun or like planning a holiday, but it is a necessary part of our lives.

Speaking/writing about holidays, more people this time of year are thinking about a warm holiday, more so than their finances, yet the holiday is a large part of their annual financial plans.

My point with all this to get you to think, think and plan for the upcoming year.  It has been written about and discussed ad nauseam as to what can be done and what options are open to you in getting assistance in handling debt issues and other financial matters.

So let’s get out there and make 2009 the best year financially we can!