Hey, we've been talking about tons of practical steps on the show, budgeting,

saving, cutting cost, and tackling debt.

But why are we doing all this without a clear target, it's easy to lose steam.

Today, let's define your next specific financial goal.

Hey there, and welcome back to Your Daily Ask Ralph.

I'm Ralph.

It's great to be with you as we continue this series of ours, the Joy of Living

Below your means, still pursuing our plan to break that cycle of financial

shame and do it with confidence.

We've covered a lot of ground on the how to.

Today we're gonna focus on the what for.

So maybe you're diligently implementing some of the things we've talked about.

Maybe for you it's tracking or making coffee at home, packing lunch.

Maybe you even started that baby emergency fund or made an extra debt payment.

That's fantastic.

That's progress, and that's worth celebrating.

But sometimes even when doing the right actions, sometimes we just feel a bit

adrift, like you're just going through the motions Without a clear destination

in mind, I. Then when things get tedious or sacrifice feels hard, maybe

you start to wonder what's the point?

Or maybe you find your motivation waning.

Well, that feeling of lacking clear direction or purpose for your

financial efforts, making it hard to stay motivated for the long haul.

Well, that's the single difficulty we're hitting today and hear me on

this aimless effort rarely leads to significant results, just doesn't.

Let's focus our aim today.

Here's the thing, the Bible tells us this, where there is

no vision, the people perish.

That's right from the book of Proverbs, chapter 29, verse 18, having a clear

vision, a specific goal, those things give our actions, meaning and direction.

Back to the Bible.

The Book of Habakkuk, chapter two even says this, write the vision, make it plain

on tablets, so he may run who reads it?

Now, I'm gonna tell you right now, that's profitable scripture.

And the truth is, a well-defined goal acts like a compass.

It guides our daily financial decisions and providing the

why behind the sacrifice.

It turns those vague hopes into something like getting better with money.

It turns those into concrete targets, those concrete targets

that we can actually aim for and measure progress against.

So you might be sitting there wondering, Ralph, what can we do?

How do we inject that needed purpose and that motivation

into our financial journey?

How do we give direction to all these practical steps

that you're given every day?

Well, let me just tell you, the single vital solution is to define

one specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound financial goal.

We'll call those smart goals, and I'll talk about that in a few minutes, but

that's what we're gonna be working towards right now instead of just

generally trying to quote, do better.

I want you to get specific.

Ask yourself what's your priority right now based on where you are right now.

Maybe our previous episodes could guide you, but what's the most

important next thing maybe for you, it's finishing in that $500 emergency

fund, or maybe it's paying off that first debt on the snowball list.

Maybe for you it's saving for a specific upcoming need, maybe like car repairs.

But here's the deal.

You gotta make it smart.

So let's chat for a moment about what that smart means, and I'm

gonna break it down for you.

Letter by letter starts with specific.

You gotta know exactly what you want to achieve, not just

save money, but save $500.

The M is for measurable.

How will you know when you've reached it?

And our example of that, $500 in the account.

That's the measurable goal.

A is for achievable.

You gotta ask yourself, is this realistic?

Given your current situation, maybe $500 is achievable in two

months, but this is where you've gotta be honest with yourself.

Can I really achieve this?

The R stands for relevant.

You gotta ask yourself, does this goal actually matter to

you and align with your values?

And then finally, the T time bound.

By when do you aim to achieve this goal?

So let's say, for example, we say we're gonna save that $500 in a

specific account by July 31st.

So let's review those things.

Again, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

And here's the truth, having one clear written down goal will

provide you with incredible focus.

And let's face it, at times we can all use a little focus.

The solution is focused purpose.

You gotta define one smart goal.

Okay?

This requires a little thought.

So here's your one action step for today, or perhaps take some quiet time tonight

or this weekend for this reflective task.

I want you to start by reflecting on your priority based on everything we've

discussed, whether that's the debt list.

Or maybe the emergency fund.

You get the idea what is the single most important financial task

that you need to accomplish next?

And then I want you to define your smart goal.

Take 15 minutes with pen and paper or use your phone and write down

the priority as that smart goal.

And you got to be specific.

I'll give you a couple examples.

For example, save $500 cash in my baby emergency fund by

July 31st by saving $65 a week.

That is a smart decision.

Or this one, pay off X store credit card.

Maybe that's your smallest debt.

Completely by September 30th by making minimum payments plus X number of

dollars extra payment each month.

Again, a very smart goal, or let me give you this one as well.

Maybe it saves $300 for upcoming car registration or car repairs

by August 15th by automating that savings at $50 a paycheck.

So once you've got that figured out in your mind, next you wanna

write it down and be clear about it.

Make sure it's written somewhere where you can see it regularly.

I would, I would dare say, see it every day, because as I always

say, what gets measured gets done.

And now you're probably asking Ralph, well, what's the point?

Why define this one goal?

Well, here's why.

It directly fights that challenge of aimless effort and that fading

motivation we talked about today.

It gives all those daily actions purpose, you know, things like packing lunch,

skipping coffee, tracking expenses.

It, it really defines that clear purpose.

It provides a target to shoot for, a milestone to celebrate,

and a powerful reason to stay disciplined when temptation arises.

Well, let's pray together.

Father God, you are a God of purpose and a God of order.

Lord, help my friend listening right now as they seek to define

their next specific financial goal.

Lord, grant them wisdom to identify the right priority for this season.

Lord, give them clarity as they make it specific and measurable.

We ask you to bless this goal, Lord, and and bless their

efforts towards achieving it.

May this defined vision provide for them, focus and motivation and a deeper

sense of partnership with you in managing their finances, and we just thank you so

much for guiding us step by step in our lives, and we ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.

Alright, well take that moment for reflection and write down your

smart goal today, because the truth is, like I said, having a clear

target makes all the difference in staying motivated on this journey.

And it's a journey.

You're not just saving money, you're working towards something

specific and important.

Now listen, having a specific goal is crucial.

But understanding the deeper why behind the goal can provide

even more powerful motivation.

So be sure to join me back here tomorrow on Ask Ralph as we ask beyond the goal.

What's your deeper why?

That's gonna be the focus of tomorrow's show.

I. And if this episode helped you focus your efforts, I wanna encourage you, share

it with somebody, share it with somebody else who might need to focus as well.

And I'll also ask you to consider supporting this show.

You can do that by going to our new website that's financially

confident christian.com/support.

So until tomorrow, define your target.

Aim true and always keep seeking him first.

And let's keep building momentum in our quest to be financially confident

Christians stay financially savvy.

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