How Can I Make the Most of My Summer Job Income?

Speaker A00:00:00

Summer jobs mean extra cash, right? But let me ask you something.Does that money seem to disappear as fast as you earn it, leaving you with little to show for your hard work when fall arrives? What if you could harness that summer income to powerfully boost your financial goals and set yourself up for future success?Well, stick with me today because that's exactly what I'm going to share on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial financial shame with confidence. Hey there. Welcome back to your daily Financially Confident Christian.I'm Ralph and this is the show where we answer that big question, how can I become a financially confident Christian? And we're in our Smart Money for Back to School and Beyond series. I hope you're really enjoying it.Now yesterday we talked about reviewing your insurance needs to make sure you're adequately protected. Hey everybody, everybody needs to be protected because you never know what's coming around the corner.If you missed the show yesterday, I'm going to encourage you to check it out.You can do that at financiallyconfidentchristian.com and hey, while you're there, follow the show and it'll be right there for you waiting every day when you go to listen to your shows. But today we're going to talk about something completely different. It's summertime.Right now we're getting towards the end of summer, but today we're going to talk about how to make the most of your summer job income. I can still remember way back in the day when I had my first summer job, I worked at a place called Roy Roger.It's sort of a fast food joint and man, I was so excited to have my own job. But let me just be blunt with you, seems like by the time I got my paycheck, there was very much, very little left of it.So today's question is, how can I make the most of my summer job income?Maybe you're a student home for the summer or maybe you're a seasonal worker and you're earning some extra cash by doing some extra work over the summer. But like most of us, you know the big problem? Money quickly disappears on those fun activities.Those impulse buys are, hey, listen, here's the real brutal truth. Or sometimes it just disappears because you don't have a plan.And see, there's a tendency to see summer income as fleeting or hey, that's my fun money. I'm just, I'm just going to go live my life without a Clear purpose.But the problem with that is then come the fall, we start to regret some lost opportunities to save money. Maybe this would have been a great opportunity to pay down some debt. Or hey, even better, prepare for some future expenses.I know a lot of college kids are doing those summer jobs because that money's got to last them throughout the school season. So today I really want to focus on how we can make that, even when it's temporary income, a resource for intentional stewardship.So let's get right into the Bible. I've got a couple of great verses I found in the Bible that really address this. And the first biblical principle I want to talk about today is this.Hard work brings profit. I bet you've heard that somewhere before. Well, guess what? It's right in the book of Proverbs. This is chapter 14, verse 23. And it says this.All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk only leads to poverty. Hey, I can hear my grandfather still. Oh, you do a lot of talking, but get to work, get to hard work.My grandfather was a hard working guy, always kept a garden. He was an electrician. But what is the Bible saying here?And this is a beautiful piece of scripture that really addresses what we're talking about today. Again, Proverbs 14, verse 23. All. All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk only leads to poverty. So what's our first life's lesson?Do more than talk. Let's look at our second biblical principle, and that's faithfulness in stewardship.Hey, if you want to encapsulate this whole show, you know, this whole show is about becoming that financially confident Christian. Well, part of that financial confidence is living in stewardship of what the Lord has given you. So let's look at another verse from the Bible.This one is First Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 2. And it reminds us this. It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Think about that for a second.All of the things that you have, and I get in trouble when I say this sometimes, they're not yours. One of the fundamental principles that I live my life by is the things that I have aren't mine. They're mine to steward. I'm a good manager.Well, that's exactly what you should be doing with your summer income, with all your income, for that matter. But today I'm really focused on summer income. What does the Bible say? First Corinthians, chapter four, verse two. It is required. It's not a.Hey, if you want to. The Bible is very Clear about this. It is required that those who have been given a trust.Hey, that trust to steward, to manage what the Lord has given, you must prove faithful. So, hey, we want to be faithful, right? So now you're asking, what can we do, Ralph? How do we. How do we make this happen?How do we transform that summer job income from that fleeting cash? It goes in one pocket and it goes out as soon as you get it. And into a powerful tool for really accelerating our goals? Well, here's the truth.It's all about intentionality. This is the time to create a clear allocation plan for your summer job income before you even earn it.Now, I guess, listen, we're in August right now, so you've kind of jumped the gun here a little bit. But there's still time to turn this around. We've got to think about a plan, even if it's just right now.Let's plan to allocate the rest of what's left. Let's talk about savings. Let's talk about debt reduction, or let's talk about setting aside for those fall expenses.So as I do every day, I want to give you just one action item to really help you get to this. This is my goal today. The goal that you want, that I want you to take on, is to make the most of your summer job income.So the first thing you've got to do. We talked about this a second ago. What's the intentionality? Let's talk about one or two of those summer income goals. What are the.Some meaningful goals that you want to set for this money with just a little bit of summer left. But be clear and specific about it. Here's a great one. Maybe you want to fully fund that emergency savings fund.You hear me talk about it on the show all the time. You're like, Ralph. Yes, I hear you. Let's do this. Well, that could be a great goal for that summer income. And hey, maybe you're not a student.Maybe you're just doing some extra work over the summer. You picked up some side gigs or some. Some side hustles, as they call them, just to kind of build some savings. Well, this is a great thing to do.Fund that emergency savings. Hey, another great thing you can do is get yourself out from some of that credit card debt.Listen, in our culture, there are so many people that are burdened with this complete harness of credit card debt. This is a great thing to do. Or maybe. Let's talk about this.Maybe you went to school for the summer or you went to work for the summer because you want to put aside some money for tuition or for books for the fall. Hey, all those things are great things, but that's where we need to start. So step one is identify one or two of those summer income goals.The second thing I want you to do is actually put those goals into an action plan, a really simple action plan. And I'm going to give you a little bit of a headspace here to really kind of get you started with this.This is the thing I think you should really do. Give first. I talk about that on the program all the time. If you're working and you're making money, what's the, what's the Bible say all the time?The first thing is to give your first fruits.I'm going to start there, create that simple plan, but give first and then start those goals, whether it's that emergency savings fund, maybe you're paying off that credit card debt, or may, maybe you just put money aside for fall or for the books or for those. And, you know, maybe it's even holiday savings at this point. But give first, make your goal second, and then listen, you can have some fun with this.I'm not telling you you can't have any fun, but make that the last. And I want you to write this plan down and then I want you to put it up somewhere where you can see it. So that's the second goal.Create that summer income allocation plan. Third thing, I talk about this on the show all the time.If you can automate this or listen, as soon as you get paid, put that money into those goal plans. Maybe you set up an envelope system for yourself. Maybe you set up some separate sinking funds on your online bank account.But as soon as you get paid and automate it if you can, hey, grab that money right away because you want to get rid of that urge to go spend that. Which leads me to the fourth step. You got to stop thinking about this as bonus spending.So many people see those summer job or those extra jobs as, hey, this is extra spending money. I can go do what I want with it. Problem with that is then you won't get to your goals.You won't meet those things that you really found in the first step today of those one or two things that are so important to you. This is a time to really stick to your allocation plan. Because here's the thing. Big takeaway today.You don't want that income disappearing without purpose. I remember, like I said, my first job at Roy Rogers, I've got to be Honest with you, I might made it work 30 hours a week or something like that.But the truth is by the time I got listen, I was about 14 or 15 years old, but the time I got to the the arcade, hey, that money was gone. There was no intentionality. And the thing is, if we use this as these temporary earnings, they can make powerful progress to those goals.That emergency savings fund, that credit card. And it's all about building that discipline and that intentionality with money management. Hey, what did I talk about in the scripture?It's all about being faithful, being a wise steward. And this hard work. We started that with that verse from the Bible about hard work.This hard work of making sure you're being intentional and allocating these monies sets you up for future success. And hey, in the end, financial peace. And that's what we're all looking for. How about we pray together now?Father God, we just thank you for the opportunities to work for the income that you provide. Yes, Lord, you provided to us.And we confess that sometimes we treat temporary income carelessly, Lord, missing opportunities for growth and to really be good stewards of it. So we would ask that you would grant us wisdom, Lord, in managing our summer job earnings.Help us to be intentional, Lord, in allocating these resources towards your purpose and our financial goals. Guide us in building lasting habits of savings, Lord, and help us to build lasting habits of diligence.And Lord, in the end, may our work glorify you and may our summer income bring us peace and progress. And we ask this in confidence in Jesus name. Amen. Listen, Intentional spending.An intentional spending plan can make your summer job income incredibly powerful for your financial future. So I'm going to encourage you, take that step today. Set out that plan and start doing it.And listen, if this show is resonating with you, I would really encourage you to share it with somebody else who might need to hear it. Maybe you've got some friends or doing summer work or maybe share it with your children or your grandchildren.Just say, hey, I listened to this guy Ralph. He does a great mini show every day. He really hits home with some great topics and he really hit a home run today on summer Income.But share with them, you can point them right to our website. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com hey, there's a ton of resources there. Catch all of our old shows. You can watch me on video.Hey, I even write a daily blog post. So again, just point them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com now tomorrow we're going to talk about establishing goals.But hey, these goals are going to be bigger. These are going to be goals for the rest of the year. Help you be develop a clear roadmap for intentional progress. So make sure you join me tomorrow.Now, today, here's your charge. Let's all go out there and be those 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.