Is Panic Your Financial Advisor?

Speaker A00:00:37

Have you ever spent money just to feel safe? Not because you needed it, not because it aligned with your goals, but because panic was loud. Fear said, what if this gets worse? What if I run out?What if I'm not prepared? And before you even think, you swipe that card.So today, if your spending has been driven more by anxiety than alignment, today I'm going to show you how to slow that down. Because the truth is, panic is a terrible financial advisor. Hello, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where every day we're breaking that cycle of financial shame and trying to find true confidence. And today we're talking about panic. Specifically, we're going to talk about what to do when panic drives your spending instead of your values.Let's get right into today's listener question. Listener writes this. Ralph, my money decisions are driven by fear. Fear of not having enough, fear of the future, fear of everything.I want to align my spending with my values and make choices from a place of faith. But I keep reacting. It's wearing me down. How do I stop letting panic control me and start making intentional decisions?I need a way to shift from fear to fate. But I feel stuck in this pattern. This is a pattern so many people get themselves stuck in. So here's the big idea for today.Fear reacts, but faith plans. That's what we're really going to talk about today. We're going to move away from reaction and into planning.But now you're saying, Ralph, how does that happen? I'm still living in fear. Well, here's the first thing you've got to do. You've got to identify your panic triggers.Truth is, spending is rarely about the purchase. That panic isn't about that. It's usually about a feeling. When you go to feel like you're going to spend, ask yourself this, what just happened?Did you see something? Was it a comparison? Was it a news headline? Was it a low bank balance? Maybe a conversation, a memory that you have.You can't change what you don't name. So you got to start there by naming it, understanding that, what does that trigger? Because panic thrives in vagueness in the dark.But clarity weakens it. Here's one thing you can do to start to break that cycle. I love this one and I recommend this all the time.If you've listened to me like Ralph, yes, I've heard this, but I'm going to reinforce it again today. Insert a 24 hour pause rule when you're feeling fear. When fear spikes, put a pause button. Put a Delay now, I'm not talking about delaying forever.I'm just talking about 24 hours. Honestly, for you it might be 36 or 48, or for you it might be a week. Whatever makes you move away from that fear.Create a personal rule that says something like this. I don't make emotional purchases. By the way, this is a great way to get off the phone with a telemarketer.Just say to them, listen, I don't buy stuff emotionally. I've got to think about it. I want to examine it. This pause is not punishment. It's actually protecting you. Because what I have found in my own life.And listen, I'm feeling the same thing as you're feeling when that panic fades, when time enters the room, when you put time into the equation. 24, 48 hours. I don't know how many times I put stuff in my Amazon cart. I went back a day or two later and I'm like, why did I even put that in there?What do I need that for? I already have one of those. But build in that pause. Here's another thing I'm encouraged you to do. Write your values down. So many people have values.But if you don't define your values, fear will define them. For you. Write three money values. Maybe for you it's security. You want to have security. You want to make sure things are going to be okay.Maybe for you it's all about generosity. You want to be generous to others. That's a value to you. Maybe for you, a value of stability.Maybe you had a time in your life when things weren't stable and you don't ever want to go back there again. Maybe for you it's freedom.Maybe you've been in a tough relationship and you felt trapped, and now you've got your own finances, you've got your own things in order. Like, freedom is important to me, Ralph. Or maybe it's that biblical thought of stewardship.Whatever those values are for you, like I said, I've given you a couple Security, generosity, stability, freedom, stewardship. But choose yours. I don't define those for you. And then when you have those values and listen, I'm truly telling you, write them down.And then before you spend anything, ask yourself, does this move me toward my values or does it move me away from them? Because values will anchor you. Panic just makes you feel like drifting. Here's another thing is a practical encouragement. Strengthen your margin.What I have found is fear often spikes because margin is super thin. Even a small margin will build that emotional safety net. How do you do it? Start with a starter emergency fund.I'm not talking three, six months of earnings. I'm talking about with a hundred bucks or 250 bucks. Build that spending buffer. We've talked about that on the show many times.And look at your budget and have some clearer, cleaner categories. A lot of people say, well, Rob, I'm just going to be faithful. It's going to all fix it. Listen, faith does not ignore preparation.Faith prepares without obsessing about it. I truly believe the Lord wants you to be in stewardship. The Lord wants you to plan, The Lord wants you to prepare.You're not ignoring your faith by doing that.But I think it helps move you away from that fear and that panic and that obsession which leads me to this Replace that fear talk that all of us feel in our minds at times with truth talk. We've got to become interpreters of our own internal language.As if there's not enough to figure out, you got to start figuring out what you're saying about yourself. Like you said in your question today, fear makes statements like, you're behind, you're not safe. You're never going to catch up.Think about the fear statements you say to yourself every day, I'm not good with money. Oh, I'll never be able to save. I'm never going to be able to put away for retirement. Those are all things that you're seeing out of fear.That self talk is holding you back. But truth says something else. Truth says, you know what? I am building something. Truth says, God is with me even in the depths of that despair.And truth says, you are learning because what I have found is what you repeat becomes your direction. Here's my encouragement for you right now. It's okay to slow down. It's okay to take your time at this. It's okay to battle against that fear.So here's the one win for today. One thing I want you to do today, if you do nothing else, write down three money values.Put them in your wallet, put them on your notes app, maybe put them on your desk. And then every time, here's a great idea. Put them around your credit card. Take a sticky note and put your values around your credit card.And before you swipe anything, before you buy a thing, read those out loud and let those values speak louder than to panic. Well, let's get right to our Bible verse today. It comes to us from the book of Isaiah, chapter 41, verse 10. So do not fear, for I am with you.Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.Friend, I don't know how much more assuring God can be than in that. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Lean into that today.Because fear shrinks when we remember we are upheld and we're not alone. How about we pray together? Father God, you see the anxiety that rises in these quiet moments. You see the fear behind the spending.So right now remind my friend today that you are near to them. Come calm their nervous system, Lord. Strengthen their result. Help them choose intention over impulse.Teach them to build margin without panic, to prepare without obsession and to trust without avoidance. Place fear with steady faith. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend. Panic may shout, but peace can lead you home.And if you've got a money question you want us to talk about, or maybe you want to share a story of what you've overcome, or maybe some struggle you have, I would love to hear from you. You can leave us a voicemail by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail. It is really simple.You go to that website, just click the button, it'll record your voice. We may even feature it on the show. We'll put it in the show notes. But again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.Com/Voicemail.I would love to hear from you. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. As I always say, stay financially savvy. May God bless you and you have a great day today.