Preventative financial evaluation and counseling helps consumers arrest and/or avoid improper money management and credit use through individualized counseling and education. The focus of this service is development or refinement of one’s budget. Clients learn to reconcile income and expenses by allocating funds monthly for both regular and periodic expenses. Counseling may include analysis of short-term, intermediate and long-term financial goals; prioritizing monthly spending based upon take-home income; developing a realistic spending plan by recording monthly expenditures and keeping a written budget and accurate records; establishing a savings plan/emergency reserve; shopping wisely; and evaluating net income allocated to debt repayment.

Basic budgeting sessions generally last 1.25-1.5 hours and include time for questions and answers. These one-on-one sessions may be conducted either face-to-face with a counselor or via telephone. To help defray costs, CCCS charges a $20 analysis fee for this service; however, under limited circumstances the fee may be waived. Systematic follow-up may be provided as needed.