Why Should I Track My Spending (Isn't it Depressing?)?

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Let me ask you something personal.

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Have you pulled out your card or your wallet today and just felt

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that tiny knot in your stomach?

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You swipe, you tap and and somewhere inside you'll wonder,

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where's all my money even going?

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I. The thought of tracking every dollar, every coffee, every fill

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up, every click on Amazon tracking.

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It might feel like punishment, but what if I told you it could actually

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be the start of your financial piece?

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Today, we're getting real about tracking your spending and why it

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doesn't have to feel depressing.

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Hey friend.

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Welcome back.

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I'm Ralph and it's always an honor to spend a few minutes with you today here

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on Financially Confident Christian.

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The show where we break the cycle of financial shame and take bold faith-filled

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steps towards confidence with money.

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Now, right now we're in a series about dealing with the stress of

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money worries, and maybe that's exactly where you are today.

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Are you stressed?

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Are you overwhelmed, maybe even ashamed about your finances?

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I. Well, if so, let me just start by telling you you're not alone and

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I've been right there where you are.

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I've been there too.

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And listen, I can remember seasons when I avoided looking at my bank

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account where I didn't even wanna know what the numbers said, I guess,

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because I felt like if I didn't see it, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much.

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But I've learned that I learned this the hard way that clarity brings peace.

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Today, I want to help you start getting that clarity gently and without judgment.

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Now, you might be thinking, Ralph, tracking my spending That just sounds

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exhausting, maybe even sounds depressing.

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And listen, maybe you've tried it before, you downloaded an

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app or you started a spreadsheet and it lasted all a three days.

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Or maybe like me, it didn't even last a few hours, then life just got messy.

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A few emotional purchases, a few unexpected bills,

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and then you just stopped.

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Or maybe like many of us, you never even started because the idea of

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seeing where your money really goes feels like it would open up a

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floodgate of guilt and, and overwhelm.

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So maybe it just feels better to just continue to ignore it.

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We, you pretend like it will fix itself.

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But here's the truth, and I want you to hear this today.

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You are not lazy, you are not broken, and you are absolutely not irresponsible.

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Hear me on that?

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You're just overwhelmed.

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And here's the truth.

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Overwhelm.

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People don't need shame.

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What they need is help.

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And that's what I'm gonna give you today.

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See, tracking your spending isn't about judgment.

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It's just not in the end, it's really all about freedom.

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Think of it like this, like turn it on The lights in a dark room.

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Tracking your spending is not done to punish yourself.

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You, you do it so you can see clearly and avoid stubbing your toe Again,

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let's look at Luke chapter 16, verse 10.

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And Jesus said this so beautifully.

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He said, whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.

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Just think about that for a second.

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Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted

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with much and see tracking.

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What may feel like.

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Those little things like Jesus talked about, those coffees, the impulse

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buys, the subscriptions you forgot about in the end friend, it's actually

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a holy act of stewardship 'cause you're not just managing money.

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You are truly managing what God has entrusted to you.

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And let me just tell you right now, this isn't about being perfect.

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It's about being present and it's about being intentional.

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You know, I talk about intentionality all the time.

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That's why I don't even like the word budget.

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like I talked about on the show yesterday, I prefer to call it your

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in intentional spending plan, because that's what this is really all about.

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It's all about being deliberate with the blessing you've been given.

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So now you're asking Ralph, how do we make this manageable?

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Well, I've got a simple way to do it.

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I want you to pick a tracking method that fits your life.

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Not someone else's, not someone, something that someone else has done.

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You can use a small notebook.

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You can use a notes app right on your phone, or even if you want,

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you can use a basic spreadsheet.

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It doesn't have to be fancy.

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Then I just want you to commit to just one week of tracking

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every single thing you spend.

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No judgment.

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It's not about judging, just observation.

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The goal isn't to make yourself feel bad, but it is to finally see what's

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going on so you can take back control.

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Here's your action step for today.

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Just one thing, I want you to track everything you spend for

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the next seven days, and I'm gonna tell you exactly how to do that.

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Start by choosing a simple method.

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Decide first how you're gonna track.

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You can use, like we talked about, a small notebook dedicated to just expenses.

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Maybe a simple note on your phone, a basic spreadsheet.

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There are some user friendly budgeting apps, but I want you to

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just pick one method that seems easiest for you that you're gonna

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stick with when you're on the go.

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The next thing I want you to do is I want you to make a

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commitment to do it for one week.

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Make that commitment right now to record every single dollar you spend

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starting today for the next seven days.

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And this is just an experiment to gain awareness.

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Again, no judgment, and like I said, I just want you to record it.

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I don't want you to judge yet.

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We may do that later.

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When you spend money, simply write down the amount and a

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brief note about what it was for.

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So here's some examples.

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$5 for coffee.

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$60 for groceries, $35 for gas.

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Don't worry about whether it fits in your budget right now.

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I just want you to record it faithfully.

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And then finally, I'm gonna give you a little encouragement.

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I want you to set a daily reminder.

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You can put a recurring reminder on your phone maybe for the end of

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the day to just quickly record any expenses you forgot, because here's

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the deal, consistency here is the key.

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Now you're thinking, Ralph, does this really help?

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You know, this is just another task in my already busy day.

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Well, the answer is yes, and here's why It helps, because this single

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action directly fights that struggle of not knowing where your money goes.

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You're, you're working in the dark.

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And it also fights that stress of unintentional spending.

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It replaces guesswork with real data about what your habits truly are, and

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it provides the information you need to see if you are spending aligns with

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that intentional spending plan from yesterday, but bigger than all of that.

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And I think this is the key.

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It empowers you.

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It empowers you to make informed adjustments later.

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As we continue this journey together, I want to give you something to help you.

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So for the first a hundred listeners who visit financially confident

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christian.com/master, I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.

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That book is called Mastering Your Finances.

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Now it's just 47 pages, but it is powerful, it's practical, it's faith

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filled, and it's a great place to start.

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if you're serious about breaking that cycle of financial stress.

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And again, that's financially confident christian.com/master.

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I want you to grab your free copy while it's still available

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because this is the truth.

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I truly believe it may be the very tool that you need right now to break

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

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Well, how about we pray together?

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Father God, you've entrusted each of us with resources.

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Vast resources at that, and sometimes we struggle to handle them wisely.

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Lord, we just ask that you would give us courage today to track, not out of fear,

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not out of guilt, but just out of a desire to grow in wisdom and grow in stewardship.

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Lord, help us to see clearly where our money goes and help us to do it

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with grace, with honesty, and Lord, most importantly with hope, and we ask

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this in the powerful name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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Friend, you can do this.

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You're not alone on this journey.

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I'm here to help you, but I want you to start tracking today, not to

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punish yourself, but to free yourself.

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And tomorrow I'm gonna walk with you again as we talk about what to do with

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all that tracking data and how to turn it into powerful financial insight.

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So until then, let's all go out there and be financially confident.

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Christians, you can do this.

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I have confidence in you.

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Have confidence in yourself.

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Stay financially savvy.

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