It's Take Charge Thursday and this week we're talking about the difference a little planning can make.

Experts say most people don't have a budget, and end up spending their money in ways that hurt their financial health.

Meantime, there's some free help out there if people want to make their own spending plan.

There are many government-funded agencies in our area that offer free counseling and budgeting classes to anyone that's interested.

Those counselors say that without fail, people are always surprised to see how they've been spending their money, and how a few easy adjustments can make a difference.

Michelle McQueen and her husband have a lot to think about these days.

“School is stressful, having a little girl is stressful, and it will be nice when this is one less thing to have to stress about,” McQueen said.

She turned to the Purdue Extension in South Bend for help setting up her budget.

One of the first steps is to figure out how you're spending your money now; by tracking your spending for at least a month.

“We would write down on the cards how much I’m spending here, how much I’m spending there. To actually go through that and write it down to look at the total it's like, ‘oh my gosh,” McQueen said.

“I never tell anyone that they’re spending their money poorly. My goal is to help them see where their money is going, and then for them to decide if that’s the best place for their money to go for their family,” said

It's the same process used at Green Path in South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart. They too offer free counseling by appointment, and say in these tough times the essentials need to be at the top of the list.

“Is maintaining your cable, internet, and the Netflix as important as your mortgage payment? The answer is probably no,” said Alicia Bolen with Green Path in Mishawaka.

Other counselors say getting the whole family on board is key.

“If they're not involved in the process it won't work. You have to have the whole family join the process and understand this is a family venture together and to be successful you have to work at it together,” said Debbie Fath with La Casa in Goshen.

“We're a young couple, so this whole planning and working together thing is new. It’s nice to have something to base it off of and know that we're making good decision; to have someone say yes those are the steps you need to take,” McQueen said.

The experts also say what kind of adjustments you can make definitely vary case-by-case, and recommend you contact them for help.

They also say you can try to do some of this yourself. Just tracking your expenses for even a month can open your eyes as to some of the cuts you can make.

They say it does take some work, but it can make a big difference.

Meantime, follow the links below to the websites of the experts we spoke to, who offer free counseling by appointment, or offer budgeting courses.