Feeling Stalled? Which New Money Skill Will Grow You Next Year?

I thought we'd start today's show with a question. Ralph, I want to grow next year. Which financial skill should I learn first? And I really like that question, and it really led me to this.Only about 27% of US adults feel confident creating a solid investment plan to build wealth. Yes, Americans feel confident Checking their credit report. Studies found 75% do. But only 59% set up a budget.And only 56% feel confident saving regularly, paying down debt 57%. What is this telling us? You're not unmotivated, you're just unsure where to start. For so many of us, we want progress, but the options feel endless.And growth isn't luck. It's learned. See, I want you to hear this loud and clear right now. Growth doesn't just happen. You don't magically drift in the financial wisdom.You develop it. You got to choose one skill, go deep, and let it compound, because that's what practice multiplies.So on today's show, I want to build some skills to help you do just that as we approach the new year. Hello and welcome to the show. Thank you for joining me. My name is Ralph. You've reached a financially confident Christian.This is a daily show to help you break that cycle of financial shame and do it with confidence. My goal on the show is to teach you paths and skills to help you see fruit within 90 days.And I will tell you personally, my own breakthroughs didn't come from doing more. They came from focusing deeper, like a laser focus on this. And that's what I really want to cover today, One skill at a time.Because when you pick one skill at a time, that's how transformation compounds. That's how transformation happens. And we had a listener share that. She chose one focus for the first quarter of 2026.And she said, ralph, I'm going to really work on this. And for her, it's budget mastery. She wants to really budget this. And she's already got it planned out.She's going to practice weekly so that she can forecast every single dollar by the time she gets to march. And her goal is to save $300 a month because that's the vision she sees. She wants to get to March and say, I can see my money clearly now.But I love what she's proposing to do. One skill just for one quarter, just 90 days. And I can already see it's going to lead to massive peace.So let's get back to our main question for today. What would happen if you picked just one financial skill to Master next year. But bigger than that, what if you actually finished it?So let's talk about why this is so important. Number one thing, it's important to pick one skill because there's clarity. Beats dabbling.If you kind of try to do everything, if you try to chase five things halfway, guess what happens. You're not going to do it, but you can master one fully. I always liken this to people who try to do too many things at once.If you're trying to do too many things, you're not going to master that one thing. So right now ask yourself, which skill would change my stress the fastest? What would be the best bang for the buck, as they say?Is it budgeting for you? Is it understanding basic investing? How about tax planning? Great time to talk about tax planning because guess what? Tax time is not too far away.Or maybe for you, you really need to bring some money. And maybe it's that side hustle setup.Just pick your lane, pick that one thing and just focus on it because depth in that one thing will produce huge dividends. Second step, once you pick that one thing, create a 90 day plan.Because you don't want to say, well, all next year I'm going to focus on this one thing because guess what's going to happen? You're going to lose your motivation. I truly believe that short cycles create quick wins. Don't think year long.Think this is my first quarter mission. This is my January, February, March mission. It's more manageable when you do that.Maybe you choose a course, some online course, maybe you pick a book, or maybe you actually find a mentor and just commit to 90 days every week. I'm going to work on this particular financial skill. Because what you're going to find is you're going to get some quick wins.When you get those quick wins, it fuels that long term faith. It fuels that long term growth. You don't need endless time, you just need focused seasons.And what that means is you're going to have to practice weekly because those reps build results. I was in the gym this morning, I get to the gym three days a week to do weight training. Trainer said, don't do it every day.I want to do it every day. Because I was like, I get bigger results that way. But no, he said, you can't do that.But what he did tell me is he said, ralph, those repetitions, don't we call reps. They build results. See, a lot of people think that learning is just listening to something.You can listen to all the podcasts you can listen to all the gurus online telling you how to save money, how to budget, how to pay down debt. All that listening isn't going to get you anywhere. It's actually doing it. It's when you use real numbers, when you use real accounts.Hey, when you use your real life. Because faith grows stronger when it's practiced in motion.Because when you can feel that progress, when you can touch, creates confidence that you can trust. And one big takeaway for today. And remember, learning this in college, share what you learn.Because when you teach somebody else, it's a great way to master that skill yourself. I remember in college we would have study groups, and each of us would pick a particular topic.Maybe there was an exam coming up, and this person would study this part, and this person would study that part. Well, then when they came back to the group, it was a way to master it.So tell your spouse about your goals, tell your kids, tell a friend, tell them what you're learning. Because when you can. When you can verbalize that, when you share those things, it solidifies that understanding.Because the one thing I've learned, the best teachers are the best students. And what you give away grows in you. Well, let's get to our Bible verse today. It comes to us from the book of Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 15.It says, the heart of the discerning acquires knowledge. The ears of the wise seek it out. Now, be real easy to say, well, that's all about intelligence, Ralph. I'm not the brightest guy.I'm not the smartest person in the world. It's not what it's saying at all. It's all about your heart. It's all about that intentionality. See, I truly believe this.In life, the smartest people aren't always the best achievers. It's the people with the biggest heart. And that's what the verse is telling us today. Be wise, the wise seek. They don't just wait.How about we pray together right now, Lord, we come to you right now. We want to be wise. We want to fill our hearts with discernment.So guide us in finding that one skill that will stretch and strengthen me as the new year approaches. Lord, give me discipline to stay the course and just stay in that lane and just focus on that one thing. Teach me the value of learning as worship.Because, yes, Lord, it's worship. Teach me to see that as worship. And at the same time, Lord, keep my heart humble and hungry for growth. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.Okay, here's your one action item for today. I want you to just write one financial skill that you're going to master in 2026.Once you figure what that is, write three resources of how you're going to get there. Maybe it's a course, maybe it's a book, maybe it's a mentor. And then set a start date in January. This is when I'm going to start this.Put it on the calendar and then give yourself accountability 90 days later. Write it down, pray about it. Ask God for wisdom into that. Surround yourself with resources and people that can help you and then commit to it.Set your goal on that, put your heart on that. Because when you do that, guess what? You will find success in that.And while I'm talking about finding success, I would love for you to come and join our financially confident Christian community. This is a great place to come and join other believers who are working just like you.It'll be a great place to share what you plan to focus on in 2026. You can get to that real simple by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join now.There's not a lot of people that have signed up yet because we just launched this a couple weeks ago, but you can be one of the trailblazers. It doesn't cost you a dime. You can buy a higher level if you want to support the show.But we're going to fill that with prayer, we're going to fill that with coaching and really help you through your 90 day journey.One of the things that I envision is everybody coming together and sharing what's going on in their journey because that's a place where we're not just going to talk about money. We're going to learn how to manage it and we're going to learn how to manage it. God way so much different than the secular world.So again, I would encourage you to go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join. So do that today. And as I close today, set that focus first. You can build the breadth of that knowledge later.Because skills today become freedom tomorrow. You want freedom tomorrow. Build those skills today. Set a goal for that. Learn it, live it, and then best of all, share it.Go out there today and be a financially confident Christian. I encourage you stay financially savvy because listen, you can do this. I've got confidence in you. Bigger than that.The Lord is going to help you in your journey. God bless you and I hope to see you again next show.