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Think for a minute: How much time do you spend watching TV every week? Or shopping? Or playing video games (for the husbands out there)?

OK, now how much time do you spend working on your finances? Do you take five minutes a week to balance your checkbook and that’s about it?

I suggest it takes more time and energy – and thought – than you think to keep your finances in good order. Me, I’ve got OCD, so I probably spend at least a few hours a week. I balance the checkbook nightly, check the stock market and my mutual funds daily, read Money magazine weekly, and work on tweaking our budget at least once a month. I also spend a lot of time planning future expenditures. For example … we have the kids’ birthdays coming up in June and July, back-to-school shopping in early August, and Christmas – yes, Christmas! – is not THAT far off. Life is expensive and I like to have it all planned out as much as I can.

You don’t need to be so maniacal about your finances. In fact, it’s probably not all that healthy for me. But I suggest you could do more to keep on top of your finances. How is your budget looking for this month? Did you have unexpected expenses, and where is that money coming from? How are your investments doing? If you’ve gotten a pay cut (like many of us have), where are you trimming your budget? If you’ve gotten a raise (lucky you), what are you going to do with the extra money?

I suggest you simply take an hour a week and devote it to working on your financial life. Read a book or check out some blogs. Work on your budget. Study your investments and make adjustments if necessary. Listen to Dave Ramsey or watch Suze Orman. Gather for a family meeting and talk about your plans for the future.

Just one hour a week could get your financial house in order. And considering how much bad TV we all watch, you know there’s some time to spare.