Ralph: We've journeyed together for 30 incredible episodes in this series.
We've built powerful financial habits.
We've found contentment, and again, we've anchored our confidence in Christ.
But now you might be asking Ralph, what do we do now that this series has ended?
Well, I've got another series coming along, but you might
be asking a deeper question.
Is financial peace a destination you just reach?
I talked about this a little bit yesterday.
Or is it really a lifelong journey of growth and faithfulness?
Well, I want you to stick with me today 'cause we're gonna embrace
the path forward and actually handle some listener questions
Hey there, and welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and it's great to be with you again today as we close out this series
that we've been working through, dealing with the Stress of Money Worries, and
this is the conclusion to that journey that we've been walking together.
And as always, this show helps you answer that really brash and bold question.
How can I become a financially confident Christian?
And over the past five weeks, we covered so many vital topics.
I can't even list them all.
All along that path to financial peace and to confidence.
And today I just wanted to take a few minutes and really recap those episodes.
I want to answer some questions that you've sent in, and I really
appreciate you sending those in.
And I also wanna end with a sneak peek of what's coming next.
So I'm gonna encourage you right now, grab a warm drink or whatever
you wanna do, get comfortable, and let's dive into this weekly recap.
week focused on sustaining progress, and we truly talked about pivoting
to that long-term financial piece.
So at the beginning of the week we talked about, I bought the house and now what?
I think it was a great episode.
We talked about budgeting for ongoing costs.
We talked about those property taxes, insurance and maintenance, and we
really talked about, well, what do I do now that I've cut the keys?
We talked about how to build a plan for maintaining and preserving that
most valuable asset that now you're maybe on the hook for 30 years.
Well, on Tuesday we pivoted to how can spending rules give me more freedom.
Yes.
Spending rules and get me freedom.
You're probably like, Ralph, wait.
If you missed it, I'm gonna encourage you to go check it out.
That was episode 1 75 and we've really talked about creating personal
boundaries for spending and how those personal rules and boundaries actually
led to long-term financial freedom.
Now, by the middle of the week, we had pivoted again to con
generosity, reduce my stress.
Yeah.
I talked about the contradiction, if you will, of so, so many people don't get it.
How faith-based giving is really a tool for peace and trust.
We really got into the, into the weeds there and talked about how that, that
sense of scarcity can really be, can be challenged with being generous.
Then we moved on to the next episode, which was how do I
make financial habits stick?
We talked about building routines and embracing imperfection.
Hey, we gotta embrace that imperfection 'cause guess what?
We are all imperfect.
We talked about how to use accountability and then we the week
with how do I keep financial peace?
A really powerful, powerful episode because we talked about peace
being a journey rooted in God's provision and faithful stewardship.
And see these episodes really spark some fantastic questions and I wanted
to get into those today and just take a couple minutes to sort of debrief
and answer some of the most beautiful questions that you folks sent in.
So the first one was, this one came to us from Chris.
Chris, he was talking about that first episode, episode 1 74, and he said, Ralph,
how much should I save for home repairs?
And I thought that was a really good question 'cause a lot of people
don't have any concept of that.
I got this new house, but I don't really know what to do
with this, Ralph, what do I do?
Well, here's the thing I mentioned in the episode, and
I'm gonna reinforce that today.
General guideline is, say between one to 2% of your home's
value annually for repairs.
So as I talked about in this show, if you've got a $200,000 home budget, 2000
to $4,000 a year for repairs, and you're thinking, Ralph, that means $400 a month.
Yes.
You gotta preserve that asset.
So start with what you have and then build that over time.
I really thought that was a great question, Chris, because so many people,
they buy the house, they get the keys, they unpack the boxes, and then all
of a sudden stuff starts to happen, the roof starts to leak, or maybe
the seals around the bathtub go bad.
These are all things that you've gotta plan for because if you
don't plan, you will fail.
But if you've gotta plan and those emergencies happen, listen, I've been a
homeowner for many years, stuff happens.
So start with which you can, but build that over time.
And look at the book of Proverbs chapter 24, verses three and four.
It reminds us of the wisdom and preparation.
So if you haven't read that verse, I'm encourage you to go do that again.
That's Proverbs chapter 24 verses three and four.
Well, our next question came from Maria and she was talking about
episode 1 75 and she asked this very, very pointed question.
She said that.
She says, I break my spending rules when stressed and I feel guilty.
Yeah, Maria, guess what?
That's very normal.
You're probably listening to this right now.
You're going rap.
Yep.
I do that all the time.
It's normal.
And if you hear nothing else I talk about on the show, know that
you're going to be imperfect.
You're going to make mistakes.
You're going to trip and fall, but the key is to getting back up.
Look at the book of Galatians chapter six, verse nine.
It talks all about don't giving up.
I'm gonna encourage you to go back and read that and practice
Grace Maria, practice Grace.
But as you're, as you're getting past that breaking of that spend
rule, here's one of the things that I think you really need to focus on.
It's real easy to say, well, you know, I'm gonna forgive myself.
Eh, things happen.
One of the big pieces of learning and, and the piece of moving forward
is to review why it happened.
Why did this happen?
What, what did I do?
What was the mistake I made?
Was my budget wrong?
Did I, did I make some kind of fatal error in, in the creation of this schedule
or this plan of how I'm doing things?
Then you gotta restart with intention.
So don't wait until the next week.
Don't wait till the next paycheck.
But right away, as soon as you realize you've made an
error, you've made a mistake.
you feel that stress, you feel guilty.
That actually is a good thing.
That feeling of stress and that feeling of guilty means that you have a
conscience and you know something is off.
So restart again with intention.
This is another place where I encourage you to go to that accountability
partner we talked about in episode 1 46 and really ask them for assistance
on, Hey, I'm struggling right now.
Can we have coffee?
Can we get together and just talk about what's going on?
So Maria, thank you so much for that question.
Well, our third question comes to us from James, and he says this, he says,
Can I give if my finances are tight?
Yes you can.
And I talked about that in episode 1 76.
So if you miss it, I'm gonna encourage you to go check it out.
You absolutely can.
In fact, as I talked about in that show, the very act of giving in my personal
view, and I think in a religious Christian view, is that that little bit will
actually break that feeling of scarcity.
And from a real perspective, from a practical perspective,
you gotta start small.
Have that intention.
Be cheerful about it.
Look at the widows might talks about that in the Bible.
It's not the amount.
See, so many people get hung up on, well, Ralph, you know,
you said I gotta give 10%.
That's what the Bible said.
First of all, Ralph didn't say that.
That's what the Bible says to tie this.
But listen, maybe you can't start there.
It all comes down to your heart.
See, it's the heart that counts.
It's not how much.
It's the heart that counts.
And see generosity, as I talked about in that show, is about worship.
It's not the amount that you give.
Being generous is about worship.
It's not about, oh, I give 10%, I give this.
That's not what it's about.
And the challenge I mentioned, I'm gonna reinforce that today.
'cause really the challenge is to give what stretch your faith.
Without neglecting your needs.
Listen, I'm not telling you not to eat, not to feed your kids, not
to pay your bills so that you can, that you can be generous and give.
I'm not saying that if you're hearing that you're not hearing me
correctly, give what stretches your faith without neglecting your needs.
So to answer your question, James.
Can I give if my finances are tight?
Yes.
Look at your budget.
Find some margin in there.
maybe you're gonna plan a date night with your wife to go out to the movie.
Well, maybe you do a date night at home and you take that money and you donate
or use that for a church donation.
You can find something in your budget.
Well, let's look at our fourth question.
This one came to David.
David wrote this, and this is in reference to episode 1 77.
He says, How do I make these financial habits stick?
Big takeaway, David and I said this in the episode, is schedule them.
See when we treat things like appointments, when we put them on the
schedule, we're more likely to do them.
So schedule them.
And then the other thing I mentioned in that show was embrace imperfection.
You've probably heard that 10 times already today.
'cause guess what?
We are all imperfect.
So embrace that perfection, use that accountability, and go back to that book
of Galatians, chapter six, verse nine.
The big takeaway from that verse, and I'm gonna encourage you, maybe
you post this on your phone or put it up near your computer, but
don't become weary in doing good.
So I just wanna thank you again for that question, David.
What a great one.
How do I make these financial habits stick?
Schedule them, treat them like appointments, embrace imperfection,
use accountability, and don't become weary in doing good.
It's about that journey.
We got another great question from Michael, and this was
in reference to episode 1 78.
Michael said, How do I maintain peace long term?
Well, Michael, guess what?
That was the goal of that show.
The goal of my daily show every day is how do we become, you know,
financially confident Christians?
What that means is how do we become peace filled Christians?
And I mentioned this in the show, I'm gonna encourage you to do this, right?
Continue your core habits, those things we talked about all along
this series and all in this show.
Maybe for you, it's building that emergency fund.
Maybe that's something you really feel convicted about.
You know, I, I really feel like I gotta do that, Ralph.
So make that your long-term peace goal.
'cause if you think about it, that emergency fund can be a savior in times
when something we talked about, you know, the previous week about buying that house.
We talked this past week, the beginning, about when things happen in your house.
Well, if you've got that emergency fund to go to, it's gonna take
away that stress and it's really gonna give you peace guard.
Well, you know what?
I really don't wanna have to replace my roof, but guess what?
I've got the money to do it.
And as always, stay prayerful.
I end every show with a prayer because I know the power of prayer.
I know the power of anchoring your peace in God and not in circumstances.
And I just wanna encourage you with this.
Remember John chapter 14, verse 27, and go back and read that today in
Philippians chapter four, verse seven.
'cause what does it promise there?
It promises peace from him.
Transcends all.
So thank you so much for your questions.
If you've got questions for the show, you can go to financially
confident christian.com and just click there and send us the question.
Well, let's pray together.
Father God, we just thank you for guiding us over this past 30 episodes, and we
just thank you for your wisdom, Lord, and your grace and your faithfulness,
things that we really don't deserve.
Lord, now I just ask you to bless every listener, including Chris and
Maria and James, David and Michael.
I just want you to really strengthen them, Lord, and strengthen us as we
go and try to win over these habits.
And just grant us peace, Lord, grant us trust and grant us enduring stewardship.
May our finances be used for your glory, and we ask this in confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
I just wanna tell you, congratulations on completing this part of your journey.
You've taken meaningful steps and you are taking meaningful
steps towards financial peace.
But this is just the beginning.
As I talked about on yesterday's show.
This is the time to just start.
This is the time to keep growing, keep applying, and keep trusting in the Lord.
And I'm gonna encourage you right now, share this series if it bless you.
There are many people out there hurting right now.
They're feeling that shame of, of being stuck in that financial
cycle of just guilt and shame.
This series and this show can really be impactful to them.
So I just encourage you to share this show with them, share this
episode specifically with them.
Maybe it'll be something that will really impact their life.
And you can find all of our episodes in resources@financiallyconfidentchristian.com.
And I'm gonna encourage you one more time to go and get my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's free by going to financially confident christian.com/master.
You can get the book for free there.
When I promised you I'd talk about what's next, you know we're gonna
start a new series tomorrow, and that series is gonna be called this.
It's gonna be called Beyond the Budget.
We're Moving Beyond the Budget.
We're gonna Find Financial Freedom through what I'll call Intentional Living.
So beyond the budget, finding financial freedom through intentional living.
We're gonna dive into purpose-driven money management and talk about
aligning your finances with your values and your calling.
So we're gonna start that tomorrow.
I'm gonna encourage you, don't miss it.
If you know somebody else that'd like to get in at the ground level, tell
them, Hey, Ralph's starting a new series tomorrow, so don't miss it.
And let's go out there today and be financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I believe in you.
Believe in yourself.
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and you have a great day today.