1 00:00:00,279 --> 00:00:02,649 Ralph: Moving into a new home, what a feeling that can be. 2 00:00:03,519 --> 00:00:07,539 But once those boxes are in packed, then the reality of other cost of 3 00:00:07,539 --> 00:00:11,769 home ownership start to sink in things like property taxes, insurance, 4 00:00:11,769 --> 00:00:13,959 and those unexpected repairs, 5 00:00:14,529 --> 00:00:16,959 You start to ask, how do I budget for all of it? 6 00:00:16,959 --> 00:00:20,169 So your dream doesn't become a source of financial stress. 7 00:00:20,169 --> 00:00:23,859 Well, stick with me because I've got the answers for you on today's show. 8 00:00:38,287 --> 00:00:38,707 Hey there. 9 00:00:38,707 --> 00:00:41,487 Welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian. 10 00:00:41,737 --> 00:00:44,917 I'm Ralph, and it's so great that you chose to join me again as we 11 00:00:44,917 --> 00:00:47,077 continue to answer that big question. 12 00:00:47,467 --> 00:00:50,827 How can I become a financially confident Christian? 13 00:00:50,827 --> 00:00:54,817 And we're continuing our series through dealing with the stress of money worries. 14 00:00:55,057 --> 00:00:59,407 Now, yesterday we talked all about navigating the financial waters of home 15 00:00:59,407 --> 00:01:02,767 buying, and the last few days we talked about how to figure out how much you 16 00:01:02,767 --> 00:01:07,237 can afford and get that mortgage and all that process and closing costs. 17 00:01:07,645 --> 00:01:10,435 Today we're gonna move beyond that purchase itself and we're gonna talk 18 00:01:10,435 --> 00:01:12,745 about what happens after you get the keys. 19 00:01:12,745 --> 00:01:12,895 Yeah. 20 00:01:12,895 --> 00:01:18,383 After they hand you the keys and you ask yourself this Ralph, I bought the house. 21 00:01:18,743 --> 00:01:21,473 Now how do I budget for everything else that comes with it? 22 00:01:22,538 --> 00:01:23,468 Listen, I get it. 23 00:01:23,468 --> 00:01:26,588 Focusing on finding a house, man, that is a fun process. 24 00:01:26,768 --> 00:01:27,728 That's a tough process. 25 00:01:27,728 --> 00:01:30,338 You probably felt like, oh, I thought I would never get to this. 26 00:01:30,338 --> 00:01:33,578 Then you got to the mortgage process and you made your way through that 27 00:01:33,578 --> 00:01:37,178 process and went through underwriting, and then went to settlement, and 28 00:01:37,178 --> 00:01:39,158 you came up with the closing costs. 29 00:01:40,028 --> 00:01:42,668 Then you get moved in, you get all the boxes unpacked, or hopefully 30 00:01:42,668 --> 00:01:44,288 you got most of your boxes unpacked. 31 00:01:44,948 --> 00:01:48,488 And then to open up the bills and, and then comes a property tax bill and that 32 00:01:48,608 --> 00:01:52,418 that bill's larger than you expected or maybe larger than your escrow. 33 00:01:53,798 --> 00:01:55,928 And the next thing happens, your homeowner's insurance 34 00:01:55,928 --> 00:01:57,878 costs more than you expected. 35 00:01:59,228 --> 00:02:02,858 And then one Saturday afternoon, you and your wife and kids are, are sitting 36 00:02:02,858 --> 00:02:04,838 there enjoying some afternoon television. 37 00:02:04,838 --> 00:02:07,478 All of a sudden you hear a drip, drip, drip and the roof starts 38 00:02:07,478 --> 00:02:11,678 leaking or maybe the furnace breaks down or some other repairs. 39 00:02:12,578 --> 00:02:14,408 You're starting to feel the stress, aren't you? 40 00:02:15,135 --> 00:02:17,288 And these things can cost thousands of dollars. 41 00:02:17,288 --> 00:02:19,868 It was hard enough to even get the house in the first place. 42 00:02:19,958 --> 00:02:23,618 You've drained all your savings and now you're feeling that financial strain 43 00:02:23,618 --> 00:02:26,858 and you're thinking about, Ralph, do I charge up my credit cards again? 44 00:02:27,818 --> 00:02:30,992 'cause honestly, I've completely used up my, emergency fund. 45 00:02:31,895 --> 00:02:34,115 But here's the thing I want you to understand today, and 46 00:02:34,115 --> 00:02:35,285 I'm talking to you directly. 47 00:02:36,245 --> 00:02:36,965 Don't forget. 48 00:02:37,715 --> 00:02:39,725 Home ownership is a true blessing. 49 00:02:39,965 --> 00:02:40,535 It just is. 50 00:02:40,535 --> 00:02:44,375 It's a beautiful thing, but you've got to remember, it's your largest asset 51 00:02:44,375 --> 00:02:46,535 that you will probably ever purchase. 52 00:02:47,195 --> 00:02:50,315 and as such, it does require some ongoing stewardship. 53 00:02:51,095 --> 00:02:53,255 The same as you would maintain all of your possessions. 54 00:02:53,255 --> 00:02:56,435 Your car, your, your, your house is just one of those things. 55 00:02:57,575 --> 00:03:00,515 The Bible speaks the importance of maintaining what you have. 56 00:03:00,575 --> 00:03:04,715 I wanna share with you Proverbs chapter 24, verses three and four today. 57 00:03:04,805 --> 00:03:05,465 That's what it says. 58 00:03:05,465 --> 00:03:12,215 It says, by wisdom, a house is built and through understanding it is established 59 00:03:12,815 --> 00:03:16,805 through knowledge, it's rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. 60 00:03:18,155 --> 00:03:19,325 Well, you've done that part. 61 00:03:20,345 --> 00:03:21,485 You filled the rooms. 62 00:03:21,485 --> 00:03:23,495 You understand how the house was built. 63 00:03:23,495 --> 00:03:25,175 You got through that process. 64 00:03:25,890 --> 00:03:29,010 But now you've gotta prepare for the upkeep, sort of 65 00:03:29,010 --> 00:03:30,330 like the walls of Jerusalem. 66 00:03:30,330 --> 00:03:31,500 In the book of Nehemiah. 67 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,060 They had to have an ongoing effort to repair and maintain those walls. 68 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:38,850 When you own a home, it's the same kind of thing. 69 00:03:38,850 --> 00:03:41,790 You've got planning, you've got budgeting, you've gotta have wise 70 00:03:41,790 --> 00:03:44,070 foresight, and you gotta have diligence. 71 00:03:44,970 --> 00:03:49,050 You gotta have these things because you gotta protect that investment because 72 00:03:49,050 --> 00:03:53,310 this investment is gonna help ensure your financial stability for the next 30 years. 73 00:03:53,310 --> 00:03:55,020 Maybe you got a 30 year mortgage, you're like, Ralph, this 74 00:03:55,020 --> 00:03:56,790 thing needs to last, 30 years. 75 00:03:58,050 --> 00:04:01,440 But right now, I want you to just pause for a second and think about 76 00:04:01,470 --> 00:04:04,890 all you've gone through to get this house that saving, putting 77 00:04:04,890 --> 00:04:07,890 aside the money, and scrimping and saving, doing all those things. 78 00:04:09,057 --> 00:04:10,287 I just want you to take a second. 79 00:04:10,287 --> 00:04:13,407 Just trust God for provision and trust him for wisdom. 80 00:04:13,407 --> 00:04:15,027 Now let's move into what we can do. 81 00:04:15,417 --> 00:04:18,417 Here's one of the things that I think you absolutely must do, and I'm gonna 82 00:04:18,417 --> 00:04:20,127 encourage this today on the show. 83 00:04:20,607 --> 00:04:22,917 Establish a consistent savings plan. 84 00:04:23,937 --> 00:04:26,877 That way you have money set aside for future maintenance and 85 00:04:26,877 --> 00:04:28,917 repairs, and it's a proactive way. 86 00:04:29,427 --> 00:04:33,027 Because then it's being predictable and you get to be prepared for 87 00:04:33,027 --> 00:04:34,915 those unpredictable expenses. 88 00:04:34,915 --> 00:04:37,135 So here's your one item action for today. 89 00:04:37,555 --> 00:04:39,115 I want you to go look at your budget. 90 00:04:39,955 --> 00:04:40,825 I hope you have a budget. 91 00:04:40,825 --> 00:04:42,925 If you don't have one, it's a great time to really do one. 92 00:04:43,825 --> 00:04:47,455 I want you to add some budget lines to your, to your budget, some what 93 00:04:47,455 --> 00:04:49,585 I call dedicated budget categories. 94 00:04:49,825 --> 00:04:51,805 We definitely wanna add property taxes. 95 00:04:51,955 --> 00:04:53,545 We wanna add homeowners insurance. 96 00:04:53,605 --> 00:04:57,235 Hey, maybe you've got a house where you pay HOA fees and 97 00:04:57,235 --> 00:04:58,285 plan for when they're due. 98 00:04:58,285 --> 00:05:02,365 Put those right into your budget because oftentimes they're not just monthly. 99 00:05:02,365 --> 00:05:05,755 They may be once a year, twice a year, maybe once a quarter. 100 00:05:06,565 --> 00:05:08,485 You can create funds to handle those. 101 00:05:08,725 --> 00:05:09,685 So that's the first step. 102 00:05:09,685 --> 00:05:12,565 Add these things to your budget, these categories. 103 00:05:12,715 --> 00:05:15,535 Second thing I want you to do, I want you to create a home 104 00:05:15,535 --> 00:05:16,975 maintenance and repair fund. 105 00:05:17,305 --> 00:05:20,065 This is separate from your general emergency fund. 106 00:05:20,065 --> 00:05:22,735 This is a separate savings account, what I'll call a sinking fund. 107 00:05:22,735 --> 00:05:26,065 Now, a lot of people say to me, Ralph, how much should I be setting aside? 108 00:05:26,065 --> 00:05:26,935 You ready for this one? 109 00:05:27,295 --> 00:05:29,545 When I did research for this show, this is what I found. 110 00:05:30,025 --> 00:05:34,255 You wanna plan for about one to 2% of your home's value annually. 111 00:05:34,255 --> 00:05:35,485 So here's a simple example. 112 00:05:35,755 --> 00:05:40,825 If you've got a $200,000 home, you better be planning for 2000 to $4,000 113 00:05:40,825 --> 00:05:42,745 a year in repairs and maintenance. 114 00:05:42,745 --> 00:05:47,635 Yes, if you're doing the math, it's almost $400 a month, but create 115 00:05:47,635 --> 00:05:49,435 that fund and be prepared for that. 116 00:05:49,855 --> 00:05:53,935 Another I wanna really encourage you to do is research typical maintenance costs. 117 00:05:53,935 --> 00:05:55,165 That way you're not surprised. 118 00:05:55,570 --> 00:06:01,000 Understand the life expectancy of that HVAC system or that, or that water heater. 119 00:06:01,900 --> 00:06:02,860 'cause it's gonna do two things. 120 00:06:02,860 --> 00:06:05,500 It's gonna provide you motivation to save and it might give you some 121 00:06:05,500 --> 00:06:08,080 ideas of how to make them last longer. 122 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,700 And finally, last but not least, you gotta review and adjust, especially as 123 00:06:12,700 --> 00:06:17,320 your house gets older, be prepared to adjust that you're gonna spend more. 124 00:06:17,710 --> 00:06:19,930 This may be a time, and I don't have time to talk about it on today's 125 00:06:19,930 --> 00:06:21,970 show, but consider a home warranty. 126 00:06:22,660 --> 00:06:25,030 Now you might be saying, great, Ralph, I think this is going to help. 127 00:06:25,030 --> 00:06:26,410 Well, let's talk about why it helps. 128 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,460 It helps because it fights that struggle of those unexpected expenses, 129 00:06:30,460 --> 00:06:31,840 and all of us are gonna have those. 130 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,810 I remember when I bought my first townhouse, I was about 21 years old. 131 00:06:34,990 --> 00:06:38,110 I was in there about two weeks, and the HVAC system blew up. 132 00:06:38,710 --> 00:06:40,120 I need to replace the whole thing. 133 00:06:40,510 --> 00:06:42,760 So it's gonna fight that struggle of the unexpected. 134 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,370 It's gonna ensure you've got the money and you don't have to 135 00:06:45,370 --> 00:06:47,320 go charge up your credit cards. 136 00:06:47,845 --> 00:06:50,952 Another thing I think it does is it protects your emergency fund it 137 00:06:50,952 --> 00:06:52,932 preserves your asset, that house. 138 00:06:54,072 --> 00:06:58,302 And last, but certainly not least, it gives you peace of knowing that you are 139 00:06:58,302 --> 00:07:00,642 prepared for whatever comes your way. 140 00:07:01,102 --> 00:07:02,152 Well, let's pray together now. 141 00:07:02,338 --> 00:07:05,122 Father God, thank you for the blessing of a home. 142 00:07:05,672 --> 00:07:08,587 We're so grateful of what you've given us, Lord, and we confess that the 143 00:07:08,587 --> 00:07:13,057 ongoing cost of ownership, especially those unexpected repairs, Lord, 144 00:07:13,207 --> 00:07:15,067 they can certainly bring us stress. 145 00:07:15,937 --> 00:07:19,357 So we just ask that you would grant us wisdom, Lord, and grant us discipline 146 00:07:19,357 --> 00:07:23,557 again to budget faithfully for those property taxes and for those insurance 147 00:07:23,557 --> 00:07:25,747 and those maintenance and repair costs. 148 00:07:26,347 --> 00:07:29,437 Lord, we ask that you would help us consistently set aside funds 149 00:07:29,437 --> 00:07:32,947 in that repair account, trusting that you'll help us, Lord, you'll 150 00:07:32,947 --> 00:07:34,987 help us maintain our home wisely. 151 00:07:35,692 --> 00:07:37,942 And we just ask that you, Lord, protect our home from those 152 00:07:38,062 --> 00:07:39,892 major unexpected issues, Lord. 153 00:07:39,892 --> 00:07:43,832 But help us to be prepared financially when they do come up, Lord. 154 00:07:43,832 --> 00:07:47,965 And may our homes be a place of peace and not a source of 155 00:07:47,965 --> 00:07:49,225 overwhelming financial burden. 156 00:07:49,225 --> 00:07:51,415 And we just, ask this in confidence. 157 00:07:51,835 --> 00:07:54,085 In Jesus' name, Amen. 158 00:07:54,545 --> 00:07:56,885 So today, here's your task. 159 00:07:57,570 --> 00:08:00,770 You've got to start budgeting for all the costs of home ownership. 160 00:08:00,970 --> 00:08:06,230 It's an act of wise stewardship, it helps protect your investment, and it 161 00:08:06,230 --> 00:08:07,940 brings you greater financial peace. 162 00:08:07,980 --> 00:08:09,200 And Isn't that what we all want? 163 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:10,280 Greater financial peace. 164 00:08:10,370 --> 00:08:15,200 Don't just budget for the mortgage, budget for the home and budget for your life. 165 00:08:16,325 --> 00:08:19,415 And I'm just gonna encourage you today to share this episode with someone else. 166 00:08:19,715 --> 00:08:22,865 You know, you may know somebody that is just bought a home, or maybe they had a 167 00:08:22,865 --> 00:08:25,565 house for a while and you think, you know what, they could really benefit from this. 168 00:08:25,565 --> 00:08:27,995 I'm gonna encourage you to share this episode and you can 169 00:08:27,995 --> 00:08:31,025 find resources and connect with the show right at our website. 170 00:08:31,835 --> 00:08:34,445 I. Financially confident christian.com. 171 00:08:34,445 --> 00:08:37,325 And while you're there, I've got a special gift for you on your journey. 172 00:08:37,325 --> 00:08:39,365 Hey, this is another homeowner's gift. 173 00:08:39,725 --> 00:08:43,685 If you go to financially confident christian.com/master, I'm gonna 174 00:08:43,685 --> 00:08:45,035 give you a free copy of my book. 175 00:08:45,035 --> 00:08:46,895 It's called Mastering Your Finances. 176 00:08:47,210 --> 00:08:47,720 It's quick. 177 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,540 It's a powerful read, designed as a starting point to help you 178 00:08:50,750 --> 00:08:54,680 break that cycle of financial shame and really step into confidence. 179 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:59,420 And again, you can go to financially confident christian.com/master 180 00:08:59,540 --> 00:09:01,010 to get you a free copy today. 181 00:09:01,550 --> 00:09:05,300 Now, tomorrow we're gonna be moving away from this whole home buying and mortgage 182 00:09:05,300 --> 00:09:08,810 process, and we're gonna be talking about how to become more proactive and 183 00:09:08,810 --> 00:09:13,280 intentional with your spending and your savings decision, and do that overall. 184 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,340 And we're gonna talk about creating some personal spending rules. 185 00:09:16,670 --> 00:09:18,920 Now these aren't the restrictive kind of rules, but trust me on 186 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,830 this, we're gonna reduce some stress tomorrow, so you don't wanna miss it. 187 00:09:21,830 --> 00:09:23,450 So make sure you join me now. 188 00:09:23,450 --> 00:09:27,080 Let's all go out there and be financially confident. 189 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,090 Christians, you can do this. 190 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:30,770 I have confidence in you. 191 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,580 Have confidence in yourself, and I just encourage you to stay financially savvy. 192 00:09:34,820 --> 00:09:37,040 God bless you and you have a great day today.