Let's face it.

You've been doing amazing work.

You've been managing your spending, you've been tackling debt, and

you've been building that savings.

But maybe just maybe deep down, you feel like the real problem is simply

that you don't earn enough money.

You're thinking maybe, hey, that's the issue.

Does that feel weigh on you making other financial steps feel less impactful?

Well, stick with me because we're getting into exactly how

to address that on today's show.

Hey there.

Welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.

I'm Ralph and it's incredible to walk alongside you.

This show is all about how to help you answer that question, how can I become

a financially confident Christian?

And today we're continuing our series, on dealing with the stress of money worries.

And a lot of people have stress about money and this.

Series is all about how to break that down, and we've covered

a great deal of ground on the spending side of your finances.

We talked about budgeting.

We've discussed tracking.

We've given you ideas for saving and tackling debt and

actually managing your credit.

And listen, these are fundamental steps to gaining control and finding

that peace that you're looking for.

But today we're gonna shift our focus.

We're gonna get to the other side of the equation.

We're gonna talk about income.

We're gonna look at the top of the model.

'cause we've gotta look at both sides.

'cause here's the truth, many people, that feeling that their

income is too low or just too unstable is a major source of stress.

It can feel like no amount of budgeting can actually fix it.

So let's ask this question today.

Is my income the real reason I'm stressed about money?

And here's the more important part, and this is the part I really wanna

share today, is what can I do about it?

Well, maybe you look at your budget and you realize, Ralph, listen

dude, even if I cut back everywhere.

Everywhere I possibly can.

Wow.

There just isn't enough money to go around to cover my needs, to pay off my

debt quickly, like you talk about, or to save for my goals and listen, I'm putting

my best efforts into this budgeting, or perhaps the stress comes from income

that's unstable or unpredictable.

We're actually gonna talk about that on tomorrow's show, so that's

a little preview of tomorrow, how to handle your income when it fluctuates.

That feeling of income inadequacy or that feeling of income instability.

I hear you.

That's a major stressor, and it leads to these deep feelings of

being trapped or just this absolute fear of being unable to get ahead.

But here's the thing I want you to hear today.

Income is definitely a factor in financial health.

It just is.

And stress often comes from how income is managed, as well as the amount.

Here's the truth, and I need you to hear this today and maybe something you're

not ready to hear, or not something you're really actually ready to accept.

Two people with the same income, the same income, one person A, person B, have the

same income, can have vastly different levels of financial stress and financial

stability based on their spending, and here's the key to it, based on their

spending and their savings habits.

That said, honestly, assessing your income and seeking to be a good steward

of it is absolutely a biblical concept.

So this is something that we need to be aware of if we're going to really be

those financially confident Christians.

And I wanna share this with you because I don't know if you hear this everywhere.

I know very wealthy people who are always stressed about money and some

of the poorest folks that I know.

By normal, what we call money standards are some of the most content and

happy people that you will ever meet.

So we need to remember that well before we even get into this discussion,

God is the ultimate provider and he often provides to us through our work.

he provides for us and he gives us opportunities.

The Bible encourages us to be diligent in our labor and wise handling its fruit.

Look at the book of Proverbs, chapter 14, verse 23.

I love this one.

It says this.

It says, all hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

See if we're just gonna talk about something, where are we gonna end up?

You're gonna end up in poverty.

It's work that brings a profit.

And look at Proverbs chapter 13, verse 11.

It highlights that steady, that diligent effort.

This is what it says, and I've used this on the show many times.

Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money

little by little, makes it grow.

There's profit in that.

Think about that dishonest money.

If you make it dishonestly, it's gonna dwindle away.

But what does the Bible say?

But whoever gathers money, little by little, little by little, one step

at a time, your daily show here, little by little, makes it grow.

So that needs to be our focus.

See, God calls us to be diligent in our work, and He trusts us.

He trusts us.

Think about this.

The Lord of the universe trusts us to manage the income that he provides us,

and he wants us to manage it wisely.

And I truly believe this with all of my being.

Stress comes from not being a good steward of the income that we do have.

And I know you didn't want to hear that.

Or maybe from the lack of faith in seeking opportunities while

we're working diligently, but now let's change the focus.

Let's talk about, what can we do.

When you feel stressed about your income, how do you move from feeling trapped by

it to actually proactively addressing it in a way that reduces that stress?

Well, I've got a solution and I'm gonna call it my most critical solution, and

it starts with prayer And then I want you to diligently assess your current

income and wisely listen to me wisely.

Explore realistic, ethical opportunities to manage it better,

or potentially increase it.

But then I want you to do one more thing.

I talked about this a minute ago, trusting God to guide your efforts,

and I want you to hear me clear.

This isn't about chasing riches.

That can take you to a really dark place.

It is about being a faithful steward of your God given capacity

to earn and manage resources.

So let me give you your one action step for today.

Here's your one vital action step that I want you to take today,

and it's specifically focused on proactively addressing your income.

The first thing you've gotta do is honestly assess your income.

Look at where your income is right at this moment.

We've done this with our budget.

We've done this with the, the financial snapshot that we

talked about a week or two ago.

You got to get a clear understanding of how much money is coming in each month.

Now, I want you to start thinking about that in terms of after

taxes, because that's the money that you can actually spend.

It's gonna be the money after taxes, after your deductions for health

insurance and all those kind of things.

And if your income fluctuates.

And we'll talk about that more in tomorrow's show.

I don't have time to handle it today.

But I need you to create a realistic average or use the lowest

predictable amount for planning.

So start by understanding what your income is.

Then I want you to take like 15 or 20 minutes to just open the door to

brainstorming ways that you could realistically and ethically manage your

income more effectively, or maybe look at other opportunities to make more income.

We were out with my, my youngest son yesterday, and he

was talking about the stress.

He wants to buy a new home and listen, a lot of us have been there.

I. I said to him, I said, well, where are you spending your money?

Now?

Of course, he didn't wanna go down that conversation road, so

we didn't really push it too much.

But I said, you know, the other thing you can do is look at

adding more income to the, to, to your, to your what's coming in.

See, you can do either one.

So if you're in this brainstorming series, one of the things you

might wanna consider is look at the average salaries for your job.

Maybe you're being underpaid and you need to have that difficult conversation

with your boss and say, listen.

I'm being underpaid.

If you look at what everyone else is doing, I'm being underpaid.

Maybe there's a new skill that you could develop.

Maybe that seal could lead you to advancement or to another side hustle,

like I talked about with my son.

You can make some extra money.

maybe you can take your existing skills, your hobbies, and actually put

those into work to make some money.

One of the things I talk about on the show routinely is maybe selling

items that you don't need any longer.

Or maybe we gotta get back to that expense side.

Maybe you need to refine your budget further to free up some cash.

So once you've done that brainstorming, I don't wanna overwhelm you.

I just want you to pick one specific small actionable step that you're gonna take

this week related to that income side.

Again, that might be research and average salaries for your role.

Looking for a specific side hustle idea, or like I said, identifying one skill

to develop or list three items to sell.

Then I want you to just close out with prayer and just say to God, God, listen,

I really wanna make things better.

What?

What can you show me on my income side or my work side?

And just ask God for wisdom.

Ask him for guidance and ask him to open the right doors according

to his will for your provision.

And I'm gonna tell you right now, If you do this, it's going to shift

your focus from this passive worry.

You're gonna move away from that passivity, and you're gonna be

proactive and you're gonna look for faith-based exploration.

it might even open up the door to managing your existing income better, or you

might find a way to make more money.

And in the end, this is one of the biggest benefits of this.

It's going to align your work and your financial efforts with

principles of diligent stewardship.

Well, let's pray together now.

Father God, we just thank you for being our ultimate provider.

And for the ability you've given us to work.

And Lord, we just confess that stress, the stress that we feel

often arises from feeling like our income is insufficient or unstable.

And Lord, we ask you to help us be diligent and help us to be wise in how

we manage the income that you provide us.

And Lord, we just ask you to grant us clarity as we

assess our current situation.

Give us wisdom, give us discernment as we explore potential opportunities

to manage or increase our income.

And Lord, we just ask that you would guide our steps and open up doors

according to your perfect will.

And we ask that you would help us to trust you for our

provision as we work faithfully.

And we just ask this with confidence.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Listen, your income is a resource from God to be stewarded wisely.

And if you're proactive in assessing it and exploring

opportunities, it's not a chase.

It's not that you're chasing more money.

It's about faithful management of the talents and abilities

that God has given you.

So I'm gonna encourage you again, take one action, step today.

Take one action step this week.

And if addressing your income feels like a necessary part of dealing with your

money, stress, I'm gonna encourage you, share this episode with someone else

who might be right where you are, who's going through this same type of stress.

this show could be a real godsend for them.

You can find resources and connect with their show at our website

that's at financially confident christian.com, and I've got a great

free gift for you today for the first 100 listeners who go to financially

confident christian.com/master.

I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.

It's called Mastering Your Finances Now.

It's not some big long read.

It's quick, but it's powerful and it's designed to give you that starting

point to help you break that cycle of financial shame and step into confidence.

Again, go to financially confident christian.com/master

and get your free copy today.

Now, as I talked about.

Tomorrow we'll be talking about a specific income challenge, and that's

how to manage your money effectively.

When your income isn't predictable or consistent,

that's one you don't wanna miss.

So make sure you join me now.

Let's all go out there and be financially confident.

Christians, you can do this.

I have confidence in you.

Have confidence in yourself.

I encourage you today to stay financially savvy.

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