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Ralph: Let me ask you something personal.

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Have you pulled out your card or
your wallet today and just felt

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that tiny knot in your stomach?

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You swipe, you tap and and
somewhere inside you'll wonder,

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where's all my money even going?

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I. The thought of tracking every
dollar, every coffee, every fill

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up, every click on Amazon tracking.

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It might feel like punishment, but
what if I told you it could actually

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be the start of your financial piece?

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Today, we're getting real about
tracking your spending and why it

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doesn't have to feel depressing.

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Hey friend.

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Welcome back.

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I'm Ralph and it's always an honor to
spend a few minutes with you today here

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on Financially Confident Christian.

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The show where we break the cycle of
financial shame and take bold faith-filled

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steps towards confidence with money.

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Now, right now we're in a series
about dealing with the stress of

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money worries, and maybe that's
exactly where you are today.

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Are you stressed?

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Are you overwhelmed, maybe even
ashamed about your finances?

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I. Well, if so, let me just start
by telling you you're not alone and

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I've been right there where you are.

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I've been there too.

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And listen, I can remember seasons
when I avoided looking at my bank

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account where I didn't even wanna
know what the numbers said, I guess,

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because I felt like if I didn't see
it, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much.

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But I've learned that I learned this
the hard way that clarity brings peace.

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Today, I want to help you start getting
that clarity gently and without judgment.

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Now, you might be thinking, Ralph,
tracking my spending That just sounds

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exhausting, maybe even sounds depressing.

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And listen, maybe you've tried
it before, you downloaded an

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app or you started a spreadsheet
and it lasted all a three days.

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Or maybe like me, it didn't even last
a few hours, then life just got messy.

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A few emotional purchases,
a few unexpected bills,

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and then you just stopped.

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Or maybe like many of us, you never
even started because the idea of

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seeing where your money really
goes feels like it would open up a

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floodgate of guilt and, and overwhelm.

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So maybe it just feels better
to just continue to ignore it.

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We, you pretend like it will fix itself.

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But here's the truth, and I
want you to hear this today.

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You are not lazy, you are not broken,
and you are absolutely not irresponsible.

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Hear me on that?

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You're just overwhelmed.

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And here's the truth.

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Overwhelm.

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People don't need shame.

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What they need is help.

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And that's what I'm gonna give you today.

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See, tracking your spending
isn't about judgment.

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It's just not in the end,
it's really all about freedom.

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Think of it like this, like turn
it on The lights in a dark room.

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Tracking your spending is
not done to punish yourself.

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You, you do it so you can see clearly
and avoid stubbing your toe Again,

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let's look at Luke chapter 16, verse 10.

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And Jesus said this so beautifully.

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He said, whoever can be trusted with very
little can also be trusted with much.

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Just think about that for a second.

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Whoever can be trusted with
very little can also be trusted

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with much and see tracking.

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What may feel like.

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Those little things like Jesus talked
about, those coffees, the impulse

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buys, the subscriptions you forgot
about in the end friend, it's actually

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a holy act of stewardship 'cause
you're not just managing money.

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You are truly managing what
God has entrusted to you.

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And let me just tell you right now,
this isn't about being perfect.

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It's about being present and
it's about being intentional.

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You know, I talk about
intentionality all the time.

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That's why I don't even
like the word budget.

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like I talked about on the show
yesterday, I prefer to call it your

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in intentional spending plan, because
that's what this is really all about.

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It's all about being deliberate
with the blessing you've been given.

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So now you're asking Ralph,
how do we make this manageable?

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Well, I've got a simple way to do it.

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I want you to pick a tracking
method that fits your life.

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Not someone else's, not someone,
something that someone else has done.

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You can use a small notebook.

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You can use a notes app right on
your phone, or even if you want,

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you can use a basic spreadsheet.

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It doesn't have to be fancy.

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Then I just want you to commit
to just one week of tracking

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every single thing you spend.

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No judgment.

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It's not about judging, just observation.

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The goal isn't to make yourself feel
bad, but it is to finally see what's

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going on so you can take back control.

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Here's your action step for today.

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Just one thing, I want you to
track everything you spend for

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the next seven days, and I'm gonna
tell you exactly how to do that.

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Start by choosing a simple method.

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Decide first how you're gonna track.

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You can use, like we talked about, a
small notebook dedicated to just expenses.

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Maybe a simple note on your
phone, a basic spreadsheet.

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There are some user friendly
budgeting apps, but I want you to

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just pick one method that seems
easiest for you that you're gonna

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stick with when you're on the go.

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The next thing I want you to
do is I want you to make a

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commitment to do it for one week.

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Make that commitment right now to
record every single dollar you spend

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starting today for the next seven days.

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And this is just an
experiment to gain awareness.

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Again, no judgment, and like I
said, I just want you to record it.

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I don't want you to judge yet.

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We may do that later.

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When you spend money, simply
write down the amount and a

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brief note about what it was for.

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So here's some examples.

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$5 for coffee.

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$60 for groceries, $35 for gas.

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Don't worry about whether it
fits in your budget right now.

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I just want you to record it faithfully.

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And then finally, I'm gonna
give you a little encouragement.

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I want you to set a daily reminder.

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You can put a recurring reminder
on your phone maybe for the end of

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the day to just quickly record any
expenses you forgot, because here's

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the deal, consistency here is the key.

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Now you're thinking, Ralph,
does this really help?

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You know, this is just another
task in my already busy day.

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Well, the answer is yes, and here's
why It helps, because this single

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action directly fights that struggle
of not knowing where your money goes.

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You're, you're working in the dark.

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And it also fights that stress
of unintentional spending.

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It replaces guesswork with real data
about what your habits truly are, and

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it provides the information you need
to see if you are spending aligns with

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that intentional spending plan from
yesterday, but bigger than all of that.

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And I think this is the key.

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It empowers you.

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It empowers you to make
informed adjustments later.

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As we continue this journey together, I
want to give you something to help you.

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So for the first a hundred listeners
who visit financially confident

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christian.com/master, I'm gonna
give you a free copy of my book.

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That book is called
Mastering Your Finances.

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Now it's just 47 pages, but it is
powerful, it's practical, it's faith

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filled, and it's a great place to start.

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if you're serious about breaking
that cycle of financial stress.

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And again, that's financially
confident christian.com/master.

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I want you to grab your free
copy while it's still available

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because this is the truth.

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I truly believe it may be the very
tool that you need right now to break

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that cycle of financial shame and step
into your next season of confidence.

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Well, how about we pray together?

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Father God, you've entrusted
each of us with resources.

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Vast resources at that, and sometimes
we struggle to handle them wisely.

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Lord, we just ask that you would give us
courage today to track, not out of fear,

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not out of guilt, but just out of a desire
to grow in wisdom and grow in stewardship.

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Lord, help us to see clearly where
our money goes and help us to do it

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with grace, with honesty, and Lord,
most importantly with hope, and we ask

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this in the powerful name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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Friend, you can do this.

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You're not alone on this journey.

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I'm here to help you, but I want
you to start tracking today, not to

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punish yourself, but to free yourself.

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And tomorrow I'm gonna walk with you
again as we talk about what to do with

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all that tracking data and how to turn
it into powerful financial insight.

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So until then, let's all go out
there and be financially confident.

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Christians, you can do this.

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I have confidence in you.

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Have confidence in yourself.

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Stay financially savvy.

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God bless you, and you
have a great day today.