Why Do I Always Freeze Up When I Start Budgeting?

Speaker A00:00:37

Does pay to ever feel heavy to you? You know that feeling that money hits your account and instead of relief, you feel pressure. You tell yourself, this is the paycheck.I'm going to finally do it right. But then you freeze. You avoid looking. You spend a little here and you spend a little there, and by the time you breathe again, it's gone.If budgeting feels overwhelming and shame filled instead of empowering, today we're going to make it simple. Not perfect, but simple. Hello, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here. Welcome to Financially Confident Christian.If you're new to the show, this is the daily show where we try to break that cycle of financial shame and help you find confidence. And today's topic is how to start budgeting. Not some big pie in the sky deal, but how to get started.Well, let's get right into today's listener question. We always do listener questions on the show.And this listener question says this, Ralph, I keep promising myself I'll start next paycheck, but it comes and I freeze because I didn't even know where to begin. I'm embarrassed that something so basic feels so overwhelming. I want a plan that doesn't make me feel worse about myself than I already do.What's one small, non judgmental step that I can take this week? To start getting control, I need something that feels doable and not shameful. See, that's what I'm talking about today. It can feel overwhelming.Yes, you know what you're supposed to do. But hey, our lives are full of things we know we're supposed to do. But it doesn't make it any easier, does it? And today you don't need a full budget.You just need a first category because here's my take on this. I've been doing this for a long time, over 30 years. Freezing happens because you're trying to manage everything at once.So today I want to just narrow the focus a little bit. And here's the way we start that. We start it by stopping something. Stop calling it a budget for now. Don't even use that word.If you catch me using it, say, Ralph, you said you weren't going to use that. Friend of mine coined this phrase, and I love this one called an intentional spending plan. Intentional spending plan.And it's a plan for this paycheck only just this week. Not a month, not a year, just this deposit this week. Because when we do that, we reduce the emotional weight by shrinking the scope of this.We can narrow it down. Here's the next thing we've got to do. We've got to choose one protection category.Before you do anything else with your paycheck, choose one category to protect. Here's some great examples. You got to protect your rent or mortgage. Got to have a place to live, right? Maybe protect your electric bill or groceries.Hey, we got to eat something, right? Protect your car payment. You got to be able to get to and from work and protect your credit by making those minimum debt payments.And see here, what I'm talking about is picking one, not five of them. When you pick five, it does feel overwhelming. Just pick one, because protection builds safety. And here's how you do it. Move that money first.As soon as the paycheck hits, transfer it to a bills account or put it in an envelope. I talked on the show before how my grandparents used to have the envelope system. There's no shame in that.Or rename a portion of it in your banking app. Just physically move it. Because in my view, movement creates clarity. If you can't see what's protected, your brain relaxes when you can see it.If you can see it, it's a good thing. Here's what I encourage you to do with the rest of the money. Give the rest. Only two labels, not 10 categories.You're probably thinking, ralph, this is a pretty simple budget plan. Exactly. Just label exactly what remains as spending and buffer. That's it. Think of it like this. Spending is for normal life.Buffer, that's your margin. That's your set aside. And this keeps the system simple because enough that you won't freeze when you're in the middle of it. Here's the best part.You can repeat this next paycheck. It's not about mastering money in one week. That's not what we're talking about here. It's about building a rhythm.I talk about rhythms on the show all the time. Rhythms are what you'll do. So each paycheck, protect one thing first. Label the rest. Simply what we talked about.That small structure reduces big shame. Here's a big line of encouragement for today. Simple beats perfect every single time. So here's your win for today.When your next paycheck hits, protect one of those bills immediately. Move that money first, because that's a win for you and that's your starting. Let's jump right into our Bible verse today.It comes to us from the book of Psalms, chapter 103, verses 13 and 14. And it says this. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows how we are formed.He remembers that we are dust. Friend, God understands your overwhelm and he responds with compassion, never criticism. Let's pray together.Lord, you know how easily we feel overwhelmed. You know how quickly shame rises up in us. So thank you so much for your compassion for us.And Lord, I just ask that you would help my friend take one small, steady step this week. Calm those racing thoughts and quiet the inner critic.Give them courage to protect just one bill, to move one category, to build just one small habit. And let's let budget become peaceful, not punishing. And we ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Friend, listen to me. You're not bad at money.You're just building a new habit. And habits take time. And if you've got a question for this show, I would absolutely love to answer your question on the show. That's what fuels me.That's what fuels the show. If you've got a question, you can go to Financially Confident Christian.Now, we'll put a link in the show notes, but I'm gonna give it to you again in case you want to write it down. It's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question thank you so much for joining me today. As I always say, stay financially savvy out there.May God bless you and you have a truly great day today.