Ralph: Do you ever feel like your finances are out of control?
What if you could take back the reins and steward your money in a way that honors God.
That's the goal of today's show.
So stay tuned.
Welcome to our motivational Monday show.
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I'm coming to you this morning from the Estep Farm at the Saggio Accounting studio.
And like I say, I'm going to put my podcaster hat on, put down those overalls and push that, adding machine to the side and let's get into some financial wisdom.
From a Christian perspective.
Today, we're diving into the idea of stewarding your Benjamins.
In other words, taking intentional control of your finances as a faithful manager of what God has given you.
The truth is I know from talking to many of you that it's easy to feel enslaved to debt.
Anxious about retirement.
Or just overwhelmed by expenses.
Trust me, I've been there.
But God has so much more for you.
As his children were called the steward, the resources he blesses us with not become slaves to money.
So let's talk about how we can do that today.
Now don't forget to subscribe to the show and join our email list.
You do that at askralphpodcast.com . So you don't miss tomorrow's show.
Tomorrow's technology Tuesday and we're going to be discussing how to create an online account.
With the IRS using their new ID me method.
It's something I definitely recommend you should do.
Our scripture today comes from Matthew chapter six, verse 24 Jesus says this.
No one can serve two masters.
Either you'll hate the one and love the other.
Or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You can't serve both God and money.
When we let money and possessions rule us.
It gets in the way of living for God.
So today we're going to explore some practical ways you can go from being managed by your money.
To managing it wisely as the steward God made you to be.
And he's given you the tools.
So get ready to give those Benjamin some tough love this morning.
The first thing you've got to ultimately do is assess where you stand right now.
You got to take an honest look at your full financial picture.
You've got to look at your income, your expenses, your savings, your debt, your giving, and your investments.
Whenever I meet with clients.
This is where I start.
This helps you see where adjustments need to be made.
For me personally, this meant tracking every penny spent for a month to see where my money was actually going.
I wasn't a latte person, but there was a lot of habits that I had to control.
And that's one of the reasons I wrote my book and I don't like to push it too much, but I will push you in that direction.
Right now.
I wrote a book called mastering your finances.
You can find that at askralphpodcast.com/store.
So once you assess where you are, the next thing you've got to do, folks.
Is create a budget.
A, budget aligns your spending with your priorities and values.
If you don't have one, you're going to struggle.
It gives every dollar a purpose.
Now, truth is there are great apps out there that make it easy, whether it be a simple spreadsheet or written budget, either one works.
And this is where you're going to identify your needs versus your wants and cut where it's necessary, but it really starts with an assessment of where you are and then creating that budget to get to where you want to be.
And one of the things we have to absolutely build into this is an emergency savings fund.
What am I talking about?
Well, here's what I'm talking about.
You've got to have three to six months of expenses saved.
It prevents you from running up that credit card debt when emergencies strike listen folks, even $25 a month.
will start to build your rainy day fund when extra cash comes in, save it before, spending it on wants, focus on those needs.
And trust me, I've been here.
I remember when my kids were young.
They're 23 and 26.
Now I didn't have that emergency fund.
And my wife and I really struggled when we had big expenses coming in.
Which leads me to the next thing you've got to.
Absolutely do.
If you're going to steward your Benjamin's well, and it's tackle toxic debt.
Things like car loans, student loans, credit cards, this toxic debt keeps you stuck in the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
I know so many people that are there.
Only way to break out of that is you've got to make a debt payoff plan.
I've talked about this in many episodes.
One of the ways you can do that is the debt snowball method I've used that personally and you relentlessly chip away at balances with focused payments.
Now, one of the things you don't want to overlook is giving generously and yes, you heard me, right?
You might be thinking, wait a minute, Ralph, you just said, you need to measure where your money goes.
You need to track where it is.
You need to have a budget.
That's right.
But you also have to give generously, this is what God's calling us to do a stewards.
We should joyfully give a percentage of income, to kingdom work.
To our local church to missions or non-profits.
God will bless this generosity.
I have seen it happen in my own life.
When I've increased my giving, even when finances were tight and God provided in absolutely amazing ways.
So one of the ways that you can find money to do that is to limit new debt.
Scripture says the borrower is slave to the lender.
You've probably heard that a million times on my show, but it is so true.
I see so many people stuck in that cycle of debt.
They become a slave to the lender.
Yet debt is easy to tap into, especially with credit cards.
It is so easy to get that new credit card to call them and get that increase in the credit limit.
So you've got to commit to avoiding new debt.
Except for plan purchases like a home.
If you have to cut up your credit cards.
Another thing I really want you to do to.
Manage your Benjamin's better or to steward your Benjamin's better is invest intentionally.
Letting money sit and low interest accounts loses value to inflation, especially in these times, things are going up in price every day.
Investing helps it grow and you don't have to be a multimillion dollar investor.
You can start small with an S and P index fund.
Take the time and learn about asset allocation.
I would highly recommend you seek advisors for guidance.
And don't invest out of greed.
Now here's one of the main things I want to talk about.
If you want to steward your Benjamins, you got to work diligently.
Scripture upholds diligent work.
See your work as a calling, not a paycheck.
Allow it to provide meaning.
I mentioned this to clients all the time.
Your job should be your calling.
You should put as much effort in as you can.
You got to work diligently.
God rewards, diligence and prudent effort.
And these wise decisions produce fruit that enables generosity.
Now if you're like me.
You not going to do this on your own.
So the next thing I'm going to say is you got to seek accountability, have spouse or trusted friends, keep you accountable in your financial goals and stewardship.
This is a great place where a husband and wife can strongly build their relationship, have these accountability discussions about where the money is going.
I know one of the things I did when I was paying off debt.
My small group kept me motivated on track week to week.
We'd actually talk about how is it going, Ralph?
How are things going with your debt repayment plan?
And here's the thing, folks.
Ultimately, you've got to trust God's provision.
God promises to provide everything we need.
And the truth is folks.
He owns it all anyway.
Despite worries, his provision has never failed.
He is faithful when we walk in his ways.
I know when I first started my business back in 2004, I literally started at my dining room table.
And it was tough at first we wondered where was the money going to come from?
How are we going to pay these bills?
I was jumping out on my own.
But God did it.
God promised me that he would do it and he, did it.
Did I work hard?
Yes.
Did I have a plan?
Yes.
Did I do all the things to be.
A good steward.
Absolutely.
And here's one of the things you absolutely must do as well.
You've got to review and adjust.
Stewardship is not a set it and forget it thing.
It's an ongoing process.
You've got to review your budget often and adjust based on life changes.
Maybe you switch jobs.
You gotta look at your budget and your financial goals and don't get discouraged by setbacks.
Budgets aren't meant to be created and cast in stone.
You may need to make adjustments as you go through the process.
So here's what I say in summary stewarding your finances is about aligning your priority with God's generously giving.
Avoiding debt working diligently, trusting his provision.
It leads to incredible freedom.
You can break away from that bondage.
That's holding you back in your financial life.
And of course, this looks different for everyone.
Maybe you need to reign in spending first.
or focus on wiping out debt, perhaps investing is your next step towards better stewardship.
You've got to seek God for the specifics actions he is calling you to do.
Even small steps of obedience, make a big impact over time.
Now, before we wrap up, I want to remind all of our listeners to visit our podcast page.
You do that at askralphpodcast.com . There you can leave us a review, share your thoughts, or even send a message with questions for future episodes.
As you know, I've mentioned the last few days, we are building out our after tax season calendar.
And I want to know what you'd like me to talk about on the show.
While you're there.
Join our email list so we can send you our daily email with what's going on on the show.
You can also schedule consultation with me to discuss your specific circumstances.
And here's a special ask.
If you know, someone who needs guidance in stewarding their resources.
Please share this program and share this episode with them.
My goal is to share this with as many people as I can so that I can impact people's ability to make themselves feel better about their financial lives.
So share the program with them, send them specific episodes that you think that would help them.
Well, friends that gives you a blueprint for taking control of your finances and stewarding those Benjamins wisely.
I hope these practical steps encourage you to assess your situation.
And more importantly, make needed changes without action.
This isn't going to do much.
So again, visit askralphpodcast.com to find more resources on biblical financial stewardship.
And remember this.
God cares deeply about this area of our lives.
He wants us to thrive financially so we can fully serve his purposes.
Let him transform how you view and manage the resources he has given you.
It changed everything for me when I let go and let him do it.
I'm praying Proverbs three, nine over you today.
And it says this.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all you produce.
So stay financially savvy, my friends and key pursuing God's best.
And God bless you Have a great day.