Can a Budget Really Reduce My Stress?

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Hey friend, can I speak right to your heart today?

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Have you ever opened up your bank app?

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You've taken that deep breath and felt that wave of stress hit

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before the numbers are even loaded.

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Like your money just vanishes each month and at the end you're

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not even sure where it went.

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I. Well, you're not alone in that feeling, and if you've been carrying

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that kind of anxiety day after day, then today's show is just for you.

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Welcome back to Financially Confident Christian.

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I'm Ralph and I'm so glad you're here.

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This isn't just another show about numbers.

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It's about breaking free from that cycle of financial shame

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and stepping into a new season of clarity, a new season of confidence,

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and yes, a new season of peace.

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All with God at the center.

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We're continuing our new series on dealing with the stress of money worries, and

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today we're talking about the foundation of financial peace, what I call your

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intentional spending plan or budget, as most people call it now, maybe when I

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say budget, your gut reaction is, ugh, not that word again, Ralph and I get it.

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See, for years I thought of a budget as this huge restriction, kind of

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like a diet, like putting my money and my freedom on some strong leash.

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But here's what's changed everything for me.

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One day I stopped calling it a budget and I started calling it what it really is.

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And what it really is, is an intentional spending plan.

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And you might be thinking, Ralph, you've lost it.

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Why?

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Why is that?

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Why is it an intentional spending plan?

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That's exactly what it is.

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It's not about deprivation, it's about direction.

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It's not about what you can't do.

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It's about being intentional with what God has given you so that every

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dollar that you have has a purpose.

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It's a plan that tells your money where to go on purpose instead of

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constantly wondering where it went.

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And see when you live with that kind of clarity, your stress

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just starts to fade away.

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You move from chaos, You move from chaos to confidence.

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Let's just look at scripture for a moment.

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The Book of Proverbs, chapter 16, verse nine, says this in their

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hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

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See, this is stewardship.

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This is trust in action.

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Let me just tell you something.

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When you make an intentional spending plan, you're saying this boldly to God.

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You're saying, God, I trust you've given me enough and I'm

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gonna choose to be wise with it.

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Now, I'm gonna share today's action step in just a few moments, but first, as we

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continue in this series together today, I wanna give you something to help you.

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So for the first hundred listeners that go to the website, financially

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confident christian.com/master, I'm giving away a free copy of my book.

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Now that book is called Mastering Your Finances.

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It's not some huge elaborate plan.

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It's just 47 pages, but it's packed with practical steps to help you

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finally take control of your money, and maybe more importantly, your mindset.

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See this isn't just a giveaway.

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It might be the very tool that you need right now in the season that you're in to

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break that cycle of financial shame and step into your next season of confidence.

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So please do this.

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Don't wait.

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Head to financially confident christian.com/master and grab your copy

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today because I really wanna share this resource with you 'cause I've walked

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this path before and I do know what it feels like to finally breathe again.

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Out.

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Here's today's one small step.

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I want you to do your own intentional spending plan.

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I want you to start by writing your monthly income at the top of the page,

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that snapshot we took the other day.

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Use that.

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Then I want you to list your most important categories first,

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those things like housing.

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And food and transportation, and then utilities.

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Then I want you to add a line for giving and saving, and then a couple

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fun money things, but I want you to be sure to give every dollar a job.

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This is what we call in the trade zero based budgeting.

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Income minus expenses should equal zero.

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That way no money is drifting on its own without a mission.

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Finally, I want you to remember, keep it simple.

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You don't need a fancy spreadsheet.

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You just need seven or 10 items.

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A pen and paper works just fine.

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What really matters the most is that you start, that you do it.

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So go do that today.

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Well, how about we pray together?

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Father, we thank you for being our ultimate provider.

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And Lord, we just confess that often we've lived without a plan.

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We've reacted instead of stewarding.

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But today, Lord, we wanna live intentionally.

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Lord, we ask that you would help us to see this not as a

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burden, but truly as a blessing.

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Lord, give us peace in the process.

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Strength to stay the course Lord, and wisdom to walk in your truth.

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And Lord, we just ask this in confidence.

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In Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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Friend, you don't have to live in stress and shame anymore.

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You can create your own intentional spending plan.

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You can begin today to break that stress.

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You can do it right now because listen to me, you can do this.

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I have confidence in you.

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So have confidence in yourself.

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Now, tomorrow we'll be talking about the real work of budgeting.

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We're gonna be tracking your spending with purpose and not guilt.

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You don't wanna miss it.

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So make sure you join me tomorrow and let's go out there today

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and be financially confident.

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Christians stay financially savvy.

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