(Mom2KG is TMW’s first regular guest columnist. Thanks Mom2KG. She has volunteered to write periodically on her household’s 2008 resolution to become better with money and investing. Here is her tale. I hope, if your resolution is the same, her thoughts echo some of your own. I hope you can all give her some suggestions).

Thanks to Thicken My Wallet for giving me a chance to share my financial resolutions of 2008. Actually, there’s just one resolution: get better at the money stuff.

My husband and I make what most people would be considered to be good money. Now, we do have two small kids, employ a full-time nanny, live in the most expensive city in Canada, and run a large house. We make our RESP and RRSP contributions, and are paying the mortgage down somewhat aggressively, but, other than that, we don’t do any financial planning. We were shaken to find we’d saved only 5% of our net income last year as cash. As a result, we’ve forced ourselves to make some real commitments to finding achievable financial solutions.

Learn more. I’m getting through Smart Couples Finish Rich. It hammers a few points that have motivated me. First, couples have to plan as a couple. Second, Bach encourages his readers to list the values they want in their lives, such as security, or health, or power, and then consider how money will help achieve those values, as opposed to things. (I think Bach has seen Fight Club several times.) My husband is reading Good Debt, Bad Debt because we are becoming more interested in investing. He’s particularly riveted by The Millionaire Next Door. The author emphasizes frugality, which echoes Bach’s Latte Factor theory of nickel and diming yourself out of significant savings opportunities.

Plan More. We’re committing to one meeting a week about money. Think of us next Sunday, at 1pm EST, when our kids take their afternoon naps. We’ll be sitting down to discuss past spending, goals, a weekly to-do list, and, eventually, the budget. Cross your fingers we don’t kill each other. By the end of January, we’ll have spent more time discussing money together than in all of last year.

Invest more. We’ve been talking about real estate investing for a number of years. Our first choices are student rentals or single family starter rental homes, and eventually build up to flipping. Also in this category is spending more effort on the basic investment vehicles, like RESP’s, RRSP’s, and insurance.

Spend less, save more. I manage the household, so I’m doing all the buying. When we continually go over budget, I feel it’s my fault, yet I’m hard put to see where I could have spent less. We don’t live hand to mouth, but we don’t take three vacations a year, or drive a Hummer, either. This will take some real teamwork, but we’re hoping the spending can get under better control, or at least within a reasonable expectation.

Like most New Year’s Resolutioners, we’re very motivated and excited right now. The weekly meetings should help, as should concrete rewards for meeting goals. Anyone out there have any suggestions for us? I’m especially interested in how to spend less.