How Can I Budget for Fall Fun Without Overspending?

Ralph00:00:01

Hey, As I was preparing today, I was thinking to myself, I can't believe this, but think about this for a second. Cooler weather, pumpkin spice, fall festivals and football games.Yes, the autumn season offers so many tempting activities, but does the thought of all that spontaneous spending make your budget shiver like a nice cold fall night? What if you could enjoy every festive moment without the financial stress or more importantly, without overspending?Well, I'm going to encourage you to stick with me today on the show because I'm going to share with you exactly how to make that happen.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence. Hey there and welcome back to your daily Financially Confident Christian.I am so happy that you've chosen to give me just a little bit of your time today. I'm Ralph and we're on the show asking this big question and that's how can I become a financially confident Christian?And we're in our series Smart Money for Back to school and beyond equipping your family for a thriving calendar year.Well, yesterday, if you missed the show, we talked about boosting your income with some savvy fall hustles to help you with that holiday prep and to help you go into that holiday season without all that financial stress and anxiety. So if you missed it, I'm I encourage you to check it out.You can catch all of our shows@financially confidentchristian.com now today we're going to build on that and we're going to ensure that you can truly enjoy all of those unique experiences. Fall offers.We're going to talk about today on the show how to budget for fall fun like those festivals and those sporting events and those affordable entertainment things without overspending and without going into debt. So today's question is this. How can I budget for fall fun without overspending? Hey, listen, if you're like me, you love the fall season.It's my wife's favorite time of year. So fall arrives. It brings a flurry of appealing activities. You know, local harvest festivals.Hey, those pumpkin patches, maybe that, that pumpkin spice coffee. Talk about that another day.How about apple picking and high school football games and those haunted houses, those corn mazes that you can't ever seem to get out of. And maybe for you, just that autumn decorations. That's my wife's favorite. She loves to decorate for the fall. And here's the problem.If you approach these things spontaneously, if you don't think about the cost for those tickets, the cost of those fees, the parking, the food, the souvenirs, hey, all those things quickly pile up. And the struggle is this. You want to enjoy the season's unique experiences, but you don't want to feel overwhelmed by the financial impact.Because if you don't plan ahead, the spontaneous spending makes you go over your budget. Maybe you'll accumulate debt, all to keep in that, that seasonal entertainment. And for many of us, and hey, I'm, I'm guilty of this too.It's a huge source of stress. It turns that enjoyable time of year, those enjoyable activities into a source of financial regret.So, hey, listen, we don't want to regret these things. So here's the thing. Fall fund doesn't have to break the bank. Hear me on that. It just doesn't.But it does need to be intentional planning and prioritizing. Listen, we all want to enjoy God's creation thoughtfully. And by doing that, we're really living in wise stewardship.So let's talk about a few biblical principles related to today's topic. The first one is this. Diligent plans lead to profit. I used this on this show just yesterday.But it's so important that you understand the Bible is constantly reinforcing. Proverbs 21:5. The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. It's all about planning. You can have fun in the fall.You can do all those festivals and football games. And listen, I'm a University of Delaware season ticket holder. I'm just looking forward to that.But you got to plan for those things and you got to plan proactively so that you can profit from these things through the savings that you're going to do by doing that plan. And let's look at the second biblical principle, and that's enjoying God's gifts wisely. That's the other side of this.Let's look at the book of Ecclesiastes. Don't often use that on the show, but Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses 19 and 20.Now, I'm just going to quote chapter 19 because it just nails it says this.Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil, this is a gift of God. Listen to that. It's a gift of God. So we want to enjoy those things. God has given us all these bountiful things for us to enjoy.And we can do it if we're intentional and we do it the right way and think about it. You can have an experience that's joyful, seasonal activities. But you just have to live within your means.Because if you're like me, you want to reduce stress, you want to foster gratitude for those simple pleasures and really enjoy God's abundant creation. So now you're saying, ralph, okay, I get it. How can we do it? It seems like you're talking good things, Ralph, but how do we get there?And the question is this. How to transform fall fund from a budget buster? Hey, listen, fall can be a budget buster for a lot of people.There's a lot of things going on, back to school, holiday planning. So how do we transform that fall fund from that budget buster into peace, into enjoyment, and hey, even into some savvy stewardship?Well, as you know, on this show, I've always got a solution. And today's solution is this. I'm going to encourage you to intentionally create a fall fund budget. Yes, we're going to talk about budgets.We can call it intentional spending. But I really want you to think about this.You know, I want you to spend some time and just prioritize those key experiences, those things that you just absolutely must do. And then I want to encourage you to research some free or low cost options.It all starts with setting some clear spending limits for specific activities. And the benefit of this, if you choose to do this, will be proactive enjoyment and conscious allocation. So here's your one action step for today.And it's, it's really pretty simple. The goal is to budget for fall fun. Because, hey, as I say on the show all the time, what gets measured gets done. So let's budget for these things.First step, brainstorm those fall activities. Just really get a piece of paper and a pen out and list all those fall activities events that you'd ideally like to do this season.You know, those things festivals just go through and say, you know, we really want to do this festival. Or maybe there's some games you want to go to. Maybe you want to go pick some pumpkins. Maybe you want to go to the haunted houses.Hey, maybe you're like my wife and you just want to decorate for fall. But just brainstorm those activities, list them out so that you know that you can be prepared for those.Second step, once you've made that list, is research the cost. And hey, look at the alternatives at the same time. Right next to those things, put a cost estimate for what each is going to cost.And for those expensive items, maybe think about some free or low cost alternatives. Maybe you want to Go travel and see the fall leaves. Well, hey, maybe traveling's not in your budget right now.Maybe you'd like to go on the east coast. We like to travel up north and watch the trees turn. Well, hey, maybe for you, you don't have that in your budget this year.Well, maybe the local park, you'll be able to see some fall leaves.And maybe there's some free community fairs that you can get involved in instead of those pricey things like those pricey haunted houses that cost you a mint. So that's the second thing. Third thing, I'm going to encourage you to just set a fall fund budget and then prioritize those things.So you made the list of the things you want to do. Now you've listed what they're going to cost.Well, now it's time to really kind of narrow that down and allocate some specific realistic amount that you're going to be able to spend for these and put it in what I'm going to call your fall fun fund. 3, 3 words that run together there. But your fall fun fund. Now you can't do everything. There's scarcity of our resources, right?So just prioritize maybe one, two of those things that are going to cost you some money. Hey, and fill in with the free stuff at the end. So really prioritize those things so that you can, you can enjoy those things.And here's one more pro tip. I'm going to encourage you to do this. Use cash or a specific card for these activities. You know, commit to using only cash.Maybe you set aside an envelope. Here's our fall fun fund.Or maybe you go get a preloaded gift card because you want to create a physical barrier so you can help avoid that overspending because you want to fight that struggle and that stress of that spontaneous, uncontrolled false spending. And it's so easy to fall. Literally sounds funny I'm going to say this, but it's so easy to fall into that.And by putting this budget together, by really laying out your ideas, the things that you want to do, it transforms those vague desires. You know, those things that aren't there. Yeah, yeah, they really kind of do that. But it puts it into a concrete, budget friendly plan.And at the same time it's going to encourage some creativity. And here's the best part. I just finished a 30 day series on this.It's going to create some intentionality in your activities, all leading to enjoying that, the enjoyments of fall, those experiences. And here's the Best part, guilt free. As I always say on this show, within your means. Well, let's pray together now.Father God, we just thank you for the beauty of the autumn season and the joy of these unique activities that fall brings.And Lord, we confess that planning for fall often brings financial temptation and overspending opportunities, Lord, So we just ask that you would grant us wisdom in our planning, Lord, and discernment in our choices. We really need help with making the best choices.And Lord, we ask that you would help us to be intentional in allocating our resources so that we can enjoy the season and enjoy it without guilt and enjoy it without racking up that debt, Lord, so we just ask that you would guide us to find joy and experiences that truly reflect your blessings. All the beautiful things that you've provided for us, Lord, and we ask this in confidence in Jesus name, Amen.Listen, intentional budgeting for fall fun frees you to enjoy the season and enjoy it without stress. So I'm going to encourage you again take that step today to create that fall fun budget.Three more times I say that I'll cut it down and prioritize those experiences because you're moving towards true freedom. And if this episode resonated with you, I'm going to ask you to share it with somebody else who, who might need to hear it.There's a lot of people out there who have this anxiety or maybe they're just battling their finances.And you can send them to our website, that's@financiallyconfidentchristian.com hey, send a text, send an email, say, listen, I really learned a lot from Ralph. I'm really trying to become that financially confident Christian. And I'm going to encourage you to listen as well.Now, tomorrow we're going to talk about another annual financial touchpoint and that's this. How to prepare for the biggest spending season of the year. Yes, it's not too far away.So I'm gonna talk about how to start your debt free holiday prep early so you don't wanna miss it. So make sure you join me on tomorrow's show. Now let's all go out there today and be financially confident Christians. You can do this.I have confidence in you, have confidence in yourself, stay financially savvy, God bless you and you have a great day today.