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Article courtesy of GreenPath(TM), a partner of ECU, offering ECU members access to free and confidential financial wellness counselors and resources.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GREENPATH
Reducing Expenses to Achieve Your Goals
Achieving your financial goals sometimes requires you to make adjustments to your family budget. Quite often, making changes to the expense side of the budget can generate the biggest results in the shortest period of time. Remember, it’s not how much you earn in your lifetime, but how much you spend that can keep you from achieving your goals.
If you have a financial goal in your life, take a look at your spending as a way to save the money to achieve that goal. The exercise below can help.
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Can Your Family:
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Yes
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No
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Reduce grocery expenses
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Cut down on meals out
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Cut back on cable or telephone services
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Perform regular home maintenance
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Find less expensive housing
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Do your own repair jobs
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Eliminate hired help inside the home
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Use utilities and household supplies more carefully
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Avoid buying new home furnishings unless needed
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Consider used furniture
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Select easy-care household fabrics and appliances
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Spend less for clothing and personal care
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Cut down on trips to beauty shop or barber shop
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Purchase a more economical car
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Cut down on vacation travel
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Use public transportation
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Cut down on expensive hobbies or activities
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Take advantage of free activities
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Make use of the public library instead of subscriptions and purchased books
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Use public recreational facilities
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Reduce contributions or make them proportionate to income
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Give fewer gifts or spend less on gifts
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Cut back on face value of life insurance to lower your monthly premium
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Adjust tax withholdings to get more out of each paycheck
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List some of your own ideas for cutting expenses
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Need help with your financial goals? As a member of ECU, you can take advantage of the GreenPath Financial Wellness program, a free financial education and counseling program. GreenPath counselors are available Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (EST), Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. To use this service, simply call 1-877-337-3399 or visit them on the web at www.greenpath.com.
