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Hey, let me ask you something today.

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Does the word budget make
you wanna run for the hills?

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Does it sound restrictive?

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Does it sound complicated or just no fun?

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What if I told you a budget is
actually your plan for freedom?

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Well, let's tackle that today.

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Nice and easy.

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Hey there.

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Welcome back to your Daily.

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Ask Ralph.

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I'm Ralph and I'm so glad you're joining
me as we continue our journey, the joy of

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living below your means, where I'm helping
you break that cycle of financial shame.

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And do it with confidence.

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Now, yesterday we zeroed in on
identifying financial leaks, and today

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we're gonna take the next logical step.

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Okay.

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Let's talk about budgeting.

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Now, for a lot of us, just
hearing that word brings up

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all kinds of negative feelings.

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Maybe it sounds like a financial
straight jacket, all about

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deprivation and telling yourself no.

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Or perhaps it just seems incredibly
complicated and time consuming.

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Something only super organized
people can do or, or choose to do.

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Maybe you avoid it because you're honestly
a little afraid of what you'll Find out

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if you put all the numbers down on paper.

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I. Well, lemme just tell you that feeling
of fear, that feeling of resistance, that

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feeling of overwhelmed associated with
the very idea of making a spending plan,

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that avoidance, that's the single pain
point we're addressing on today's show.

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Here's the truth.

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It keeps us stuck reacting to our
money instead of directing it.

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Here's the thing, a budget
isn't meant to be a punishment.

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Think of it less like a restriction
and more like a plan or what I'll

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call a roadmap for your money.

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A friend of mine calls it an intentional
spending plan, and I love that.

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Proverbs 21 5 says, and I love this
verse of the Bible, the plans of the

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diligent lead surely to abundance.

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But everyone who is hasty
comes only to poverty.

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See, having a plan is wise stewardship.

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It's about being intentional and instead
of wondering where your money went, at

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the end of the month, you tell your money.

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Here's where you're gonna be going,
and you do it at the beginning.

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And listen, it's all about being
in complete control, even when

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you may really feel like all
your things are out of control.

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It's about aligning your spending with
your values and your priorities, like

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making sure for you, maybe giving needs
to come first or that you're working

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towards a specific savings goal.

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It is actually a true tool for
empowerment, not restriction.

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So how do we overcome that fear
and resistance to budgeting?

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How do we make it feel less intimidating?

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Well, the single solution is to create
your first very simple budget, and

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I just want you to focus on the big
picture, not about tiny details.

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Forget about all kinds of
complicated software or, or tracking

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every single penny perfectly.

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Right now we're aiming for a basic
sketch, just a, a simple starting

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point, and the goal is to simply assign.

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Every single dollar of your income to a
job, even if those jobs are at this point.

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Just big, broad categories, sort of
like being the coach of your money.

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simple plan gives you four great things,
and I wanna talk about those now.

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The first thing it brings you is clarity.

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You see where your money should be going.

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It gives you control.

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You're making.

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Conscious decisions about spending,
and you're doing it upfront.

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It gives you purpose.

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You can intentionally allocate
funds towards your goals.

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Maybe that's savings.

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Maybe that's debt payoff.

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Maybe that's generosity for you.

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And it gives you peace, peace,
knowing that you have a plan.

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It reduces financial
anxiety significantly.

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Well, I don't know about you, but the idea
of clarity, control, purpose, and peace,

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that sounds pretty good to me, especially
if you're feeling that financial

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shame that so many people are feeling.

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And again, the solution is a simple plan.

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I just want you to create a basic budget.

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So are you ready for
your action step today?

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Here's what I want you to do.

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I want you to set aside
about 20 to 30 minutes.

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I want you to grab a piece of paper,
maybe a notebook, or even if you want,

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you can even go into a simple spreadsheet.

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I'm gonna share a link later where
you can download a simple budget

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template that I put together again.

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I want you to keep it very simple.

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So the first thing I want you to
do, real simple, I want you to write

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down your income at the very top.

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Write down your total take home pay.

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That's what you get after your deductions.

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Second thing, I want you to just
list your big categories, list these

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broad categories, things like giving.

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Savings, housing, you know, rent,
mortgage, utilities, list food.

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That's groceries or restaurants,
list your transportation costs,

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gas, car payments, bus fare.

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Then I want you to list your debt
payments, if you have any, and

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then your personal spending and
what I'll call miscellaneous.

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Those are the things like clothes.

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Entertainment and any other major
ones that are specific to you.

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So that's the first two steps.

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And the third thing I want you to
do is I just want you to assign

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those dollars to each of those
categories and be realistic about it.

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And, you know, make sure you're putting
a dollar amount into each category.

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And then I want you to go back and look at
your tracking data from the last few days.

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If you have it, check your past bank
statements or just make your best

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estimate for now of how much to assign
to each of those dollars because

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here's the goal, I want you to try
to make your income minus all of

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your planned expenses, equal to zero.

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I just want you to do what
we call a zero base budget.

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Just try to make it equal zero.

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If it's positive, hey, that's savings.

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But what you're really doing
is you're making sure that.

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Every dollar has a job, and I
wanna remind you, this is a draft.

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We're not looking for
perfection the first time.

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Just a basic plan down on paper today.

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Now you're probably asking Ralph, why
are you asking me to take this step?

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And here's why.

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Because it directly fights that
pain of fear or avoiding budgeting.

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And by keeping it simple and
focusing on the big picture,

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you can make it manageable.

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It really demystifies the process and
gives you a tangible plan, which truly

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replaces that vague anxiety with concrete
direction and a sense of control.

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Well, let's pray together.

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Father God, thank you for your
wisdom and guidance available to us.

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Lord, budgeting can feel scary.

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It can feel overwhelming, and I pray
for my friend listening right now.

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Lord, give them courage and peace as
they take this step today to create

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a simple plan for their finances.

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Lord, free them from any fear
or or feelings of judgment.

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Lord, grant them wisdom as they
allocate those resources, as they assign

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those dollars to those categories.

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Lord, help them to see this budget, not
as a restriction, but as a tool that you

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can use to help them bring order, help
them bring peace and help them bring

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freedom to their lives, enabling them
to be better stewards, Lord, and align

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their spending with your priorities.

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Lord, we just ask this in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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Alright, let me just tell
you, you can do this.

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I am cheering for you.

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So take that 20 or 30 minutes today and
just sketch out your first simple budget.

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Don't stress about it.

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It's not about perfection.

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I just want you to get started and to
start develop that habit and listen.

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This is a huge step towards that financial
peace that you've been searching for.

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Now, having a plan is one thing,
sticking to it is another.

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So be sure to join me back
here tomorrow on as graph.

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'cause we're gonna talk about a very
practical, hands-on technique to

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help you stay on track, especially
in those spending categories

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that tend to get away from you.

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We're gonna dive into.

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Action item number seven, and
we'll talk about how to start

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living on a simple budget.

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And listen, I've got a simple
solution for you, so be sure that

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you don't miss tomorrow's show.

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And listen, like I said at the
beginning, I would love to share

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a simple budget plan with you.

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Here's what you gotta do.

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Just go to ask ralph podcast.com/budget
and I'll share a simple budget plan, and

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it's something you can use right away.

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So until tomorrow, be diligent with your
planning and keep seeking him first.

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Stay financially savvy and God
bless you and I encourage you.

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Have a great day today.