Is My Income the Real Reason I'm Stressed About Money?

Ralph:00:00:00

Let's face it.

Ralph:00:00:00

You've been doing amazing work.

Ralph:00:00:02

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

Ralph:00:00:05

you've been building that savings.

Ralph:00:00:08

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

Ralph:00:00:12

that you don't earn enough money.

Ralph:00:00:15

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

Ralph:00:00:18

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

Ralph:00:00:22

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

Ralph:00:00:25

to address that on today's show.

Ralph:00:00:41

Hey there.

Ralph:00:00:41

Welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.

Ralph:00:00:44

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

Ralph:00:00:48

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

Ralph:00:00:53

a financially confident Christian?

Ralph:00:00:55

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

Ralph:00:01:00

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

Ralph:00:01:03

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

Ralph:00:01:06

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

Ralph:00:01:10

We talked about budgeting.

Ralph:00:01:11

We've discussed tracking.

Ralph:00:01:13

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

Ralph:00:01:16

actually managing your credit.

Ralph:00:01:19

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

Ralph:00:01:23

that peace that you're looking for.

Ralph:00:01:25

But today we're gonna shift our focus.

Ralph:00:01:27

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

Ralph:00:01:29

We're gonna talk about income.

Ralph:00:01:30

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

Ralph:00:01:33

'cause we've gotta look at both sides.

Ralph:00:01:35

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

Ralph:00:01:38

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

Ralph:00:01:44

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

Ralph:00:01:49

So let's ask this question today.

Ralph:00:01:50

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

Ralph:00:01:54

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

Ralph:00:01:57

share today, is what can I do about it?

Ralph:00:02:00

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

Ralph:00:02:03

dude, even if I cut back everywhere.

Ralph:00:02:06

Everywhere I possibly can.

Ralph:00:02:07

Wow.

Ralph:00:02:08

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

Ralph:00:02:13

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

Ralph:00:02:17

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

Ralph:00:02:23

that's unstable or unpredictable.

Ralph:00:02:25

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

Ralph:00:02:27

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

Ralph:00:02:32

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

Ralph:00:02:37

I hear you.

Ralph:00:02:38

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

Ralph:00:02:42

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

Ralph:00:02:49

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

Ralph:00:02:51

Income is definitely a factor in financial health.

Ralph:00:02:55

It just is.

Ralph:00:02:56

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

Ralph:00:03:01

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

Ralph:00:03:04

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

Ralph:00:03:09

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

Ralph:00:03:14

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

Ralph:00:03:20

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

Ralph:00:03:23

spending and their savings habits.

Ralph:00:03:27

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

Ralph:00:03:30

of it is absolutely a biblical concept.

Ralph:00:03:34

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

Ralph:00:03:38

those financially confident Christians.

Ralph:00:03:42

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

Ralph:00:03:45

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

Ralph:00:03:49

of the poorest folks that I know.

Ralph:00:03:51

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

Ralph:00:03:55

happy people that you will ever meet.

Ralph:00:03:58

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

Ralph:00:04:02

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

Ralph:00:04:07

he provides for us and he gives us opportunities.

Ralph:00:04:12

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

Ralph:00:04:17

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

Ralph:00:04:20

I love this one.

Ralph:00:04:21

It says this.

Ralph:00:04:22

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

Ralph:00:04:28

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

Ralph:00:04:31

You're gonna end up in poverty.

Ralph:00:04:33

It's work that brings a profit.

Ralph:00:04:35

And look at Proverbs chapter 13, verse 11.

Ralph:00:04:38

It highlights that steady, that diligent effort.

Ralph:00:04:41

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

Ralph:00:04:44

Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money

Ralph:00:04:48

little by little, makes it grow.

Ralph:00:04:52

There's profit in that.

Ralph:00:04:53

Think about that dishonest money.

Ralph:00:04:55

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

Ralph:00:04:59

But what does the Bible say?

Ralph:00:05:00

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

Ralph:00:05:04

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

Ralph:00:05:08

So that needs to be our focus.

Ralph:00:05:09

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

Ralph:00:05:13

He trusts us.

Ralph:00:05:14

Think about this.

Ralph:00:05:14

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

Ralph:00:05:20

and he wants us to manage it wisely.

Ralph:00:05:22

And I truly believe this with all of my being.

Ralph:00:05:25

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

Ralph:00:05:30

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

Ralph:00:05:32

Or maybe from the lack of faith in seeking opportunities while

Ralph:00:05:35

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

Ralph:00:05:38

Let's talk about, what can we do.

Ralph:00:05:41

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

Ralph:00:05:45

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

Ralph:00:05:49

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

Ralph:00:05:54

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

Ralph:00:05:58

income and wisely listen to me wisely.

Ralph:00:06:02

Explore realistic, ethical opportunities to manage it better,

Ralph:00:06:06

or potentially increase it.

Ralph:00:06:08

But then I want you to do one more thing.

Ralph:00:06:10

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

Ralph:00:06:15

and I want you to hear me clear.

Ralph:00:06:16

This isn't about chasing riches.

Ralph:00:06:18

That can take you to a really dark place.

Ralph:00:06:21

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

Ralph:00:06:24

to earn and manage resources.

Ralph:00:06:27

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

Ralph:00:06:30

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

Ralph:00:06:33

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

Ralph:00:06:37

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

Ralph:00:06:41

Look at where your income is right at this moment.

Ralph:00:06:44

We've done this with our budget.

Ralph:00:06:45

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

Ralph:00:06:47

talked about a week or two ago.

Ralph:00:06:49

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

Ralph:00:06:53

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

Ralph:00:06:56

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

Ralph:00:06:59

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

Ralph:00:07:02

insurance and all those kind of things.

Ralph:00:07:04

And if your income fluctuates.

Ralph:00:07:06

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

Ralph:00:07:07

I don't have time to handle it today.

Ralph:00:07:09

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

Ralph:00:07:12

predictable amount for planning.

Ralph:00:07:14

So start by understanding what your income is.

Ralph:00:07:17

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

Ralph:00:07:21

brainstorming ways that you could realistically and ethically manage your

Ralph:00:07:26

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

Ralph:00:07:31

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

Ralph:00:07:34

was talking about the stress.

Ralph:00:07:35

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

Ralph:00:07:38

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

Ralph:00:07:41

Now?

Ralph:00:07:41

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

Ralph:00:07:44

we didn't really push it too much.

Ralph:00:07:45

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

Ralph:00:07:47

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

Ralph:00:07:51

See, you can do either one.

Ralph:00:07:54

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

Ralph:00:07:57

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

Ralph:00:08:00

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

Ralph:00:08:04

with your boss and say, listen.

Ralph:00:08:05

I'm being underpaid.

Ralph:00:08:07

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

Ralph:00:08:10

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

Ralph:00:08:12

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

Ralph:00:08:16

like I talked about with my son.

Ralph:00:08:17

You can make some extra money.

Ralph:00:08:19

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

Ralph:00:08:22

those into work to make some money.

Ralph:00:08:24

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

Ralph:00:08:27

items that you don't need any longer.

Ralph:00:08:30

Or maybe we gotta get back to that expense side.

Ralph:00:08:32

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

Ralph:00:08:36

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

Ralph:00:08:39

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

Ralph:00:08:44

this week related to that income side.

Ralph:00:08:46

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

Ralph:00:08:49

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

Ralph:00:08:54

to develop or list three items to sell.

Ralph:00:08:57

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

Ralph:00:09:01

I really wanna make things better.

Ralph:00:09:04

What?

Ralph:00:09:04

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

Ralph:00:09:07

And just ask God for wisdom.

Ralph:00:09:09

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

Ralph:00:09:13

to his will for your provision.

Ralph:00:09:15

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

Ralph:00:09:18

your focus from this passive worry.

Ralph:00:09:21

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

Ralph:00:09:24

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

Ralph:00:09:27

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

Ralph:00:09:31

might find a way to make more money.

Ralph:00:09:33

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

Ralph:00:09:37

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

Ralph:00:09:40

principles of diligent stewardship.

Ralph:00:09:44

Well, let's pray together now.

Ralph:00:09:46

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

Ralph:00:09:49

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

Ralph:00:09:51

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

Ralph:00:09:55

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

Ralph:00:09:59

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

Ralph:00:10:03

we manage the income that you provide us.

Ralph:00:10:06

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

Ralph:00:10:09

assess our current situation.

Ralph:00:10:11

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

Ralph:00:10:15

to manage or increase our income.

Ralph:00:10:17

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

Ralph:00:10:21

according to your perfect will.

Ralph:00:10:23

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

Ralph:00:10:26

provision as we work faithfully.

Ralph:00:10:28

And we just ask this with confidence.

Ralph:00:10:30

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Ralph:00:10:34

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

Ralph:00:10:39

And if you're proactive in assessing it and exploring

Ralph:00:10:41

opportunities, it's not a chase.

Ralph:00:10:44

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

Ralph:00:10:46

It's about faithful management of the talents and abilities

Ralph:00:10:50

that God has given you.

Ralph:00:10:51

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

Ralph:00:10:54

Take one action step this week.

Ralph:00:10:56

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

Ralph:00:11:00

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

Ralph:00:11:03

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

Ralph:00:11:08

this show could be a real godsend for them.

Ralph:00:11:11

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

Ralph:00:11:14

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

Ralph:00:11:18

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

Ralph:00:11:23

confident christian.com/master.

Ralph:00:11:26

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

Ralph:00:11:27

It's called Mastering Your Finances Now.

Ralph:00:11:30

It's not some big long read.

Ralph:00:11:31

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

Ralph:00:11:35

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

Ralph:00:11:40

Again, go to financially confident christian.com/master

Ralph:00:11:45

and get your free copy today.

Ralph:00:11:46

Now, as I talked about.

Ralph:00:11:47

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

Ralph:00:11:51

how to manage your money effectively.

Ralph:00:11:53

When your income isn't predictable or consistent,

Ralph:00:11:56

that's one you don't wanna miss.

Ralph:00:11:57

So make sure you join me now.

Ralph:00:11:59

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

Ralph:00:12:02

Christians, you can do this.

Ralph:00:12:05

I have confidence in you.

Ralph:00:12:07

Have confidence in yourself.

Ralph:00:12:08

I encourage you today to stay financially savvy.

Ralph:00:12:11

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