How Do I Stop Overdrafting My Account?

Do you ever feel that little spike of panic when you swipe your card and you're just not sure if it's going to go through? And even if it does, you're already bracing yourself for the aftermath because you've been here before.$35 overdraft fee, the shame of it being declined. And that feeling of, how did I do this again, Friend, overdrafts don't just take your money, they take your peace.But today I'm going to give you a way to stop the cycle. Not with willpower, with a simple system you can set up this very week. Hello, friend Ralph Estep Jr. here.This is Financially Confident Christian, where we break the cycle of financial shame and help you find financial confidence. And today's topic is very practical. We're going to talk about a system to prevent overdrafts this very week.Let's get right into our listener question. Listener wrote this, Ralph. Overdrafts keep hitting me and I hate it. The fees, the embarrassment.And that awful moment when I realize I've done it again. I am sick of feeling this way every time I check my account or swipe my card.What's a practical system I can put in place this week to finally stop this?I need something to actually prevent it from happening because I'm done with this constant sinking feeling, you know, As I was reading this question today, it reminded me of the beginning of my book. I wrote a book called Becoming a Financially Confident Christian. We'll put a link to that in the show notes.But I talk about in the book how I was at the checkout at the grocery and I swiped my card and it got declined. I never forget the feeling of shame I had and that feeling like, oh, here we go again. And I remember walking out to the car and just sobbing.My son was young at the time. He said, daddy, what's wrong? I couldn't burden him with that. But maybe you felt that sometimes.And overdrafts stop when you build a buffer and run your spending through a safe to spend system. So today I want to give you a system to help you not have those moments like I've had way too many times. And it starts with this.And this is going to sound like a very unusual place to start. Turn off the overdraft trap today. Call your bank or login right now and ask about these settings.Opt out of overdraft coverage for a debit card you purchase there. It declines instead of charging a fee. It's really that simple. If you try to make a charge it will just tell you you've been declined. Yes.Is that embarrassing? Yes, it is. But you're going to save that $35. I saw one the other day. It was a $60 overdraft fee. That just makes the problem worse.Another thing you can do is turn on low balance alerts. I love these. Set a text to yourself, send an email. Most banking apps have these. Set a minimum for yourself.If my minimum balance is this, I get an alert. Turn on transactions alerts with every purchase, every withdrawal. Yes, I get it. A decline card is frustrating, but an overdraft is punishment.It's punishment over and over again. We gotta start by choosing prevention. Here's one of the ways you can prevent that. Create a bills account and a spending account.I really like this plan. It's just two accounts and two jobs.Your bills account is for your rent, your mortgage, your utilities, your insurance, those debt payments, subscriptions. You're keeping anything that drifts automatically, that automatically goes into the bills account.If you think about it, that keeps you from going overdrafted because you know you have enough in there to cover that. The other account is your spending account. That's where you pay for groceries, gas, coffee, everyday life.And I really believe this works because overdrafts usually happen when bills and spending use the same pool of money and you lose track of what's committed. And when you have two accounts put pretty much brings clarity pretty fast.But now, to even make it stronger, I'm going to encourage you to do a 10 minute bills map and automate the basics this week. List each bill, the due date, the average amount of that bill, and when it drifts automatically. And then prepare yourself for that.Set one payday transfer ahead of time. One payday move. The bill's money moves into the bills account first, not after you spend it first. So if you only do one thing this week, do that.Pay yourself peace first. Another way you can build Peace is at $100. No overdraft buffer. And I know this sounds small, but the goal is not to be rich overnight.The goal is to stop the bleeding. And listen, even if you put $25 in a week, if that's all you can do, build that buffer. That buffer is your safety net.It's the space between you and chaos. And once you get to 100, maybe work up to 250. Buffers are good for you. And here's my final piece of advice, and I use this one myself.Use a safe to spend number every morning. Here's a simple habit you can do every day, every morning. Check one number. What is my safe to spend today number? It's pretty easy.To find it, go to your spending account balance minus what you still need for the week. Now, if you hate math. Now, I'm an accounting guy, I don't hate math. But here's a shortcut.Divide what's in your spending account by the number of days until your next payday. That's your daily limit. That's what you can spend today. Let's just say, for example, your day limit is $18. Well, you can't spend 32.And it's not because you're punishing yourself, you're protecting yourself. Know what your daily limit is, and you have some clarity in this because I said at the beginning, a system gives you peace where willpower will fail.It's all about the systems. So here's your win for today. Simple today win. Set up one bank alert and one payday transfer. Just one alert. One transfer.And that single move can stop the next overdrive before it even happens. Let's get right to our Bible verse. Today comes us from the book of Proverbs, chapter 27, verse 23.And as a cattle rancher, yes, I raise cows here on the farm. I love this verse, Proverbs 27, 23. Be sure to know the condition of your flocks. Give careful attention to your herds.You're thinking, ralph, man, this is a stretch today. But it's not financial. Peace starts when you pay attention to what you have.And when you do that, you can steward it wisely instead of reacting in panic. That's really what we're talking about today. It's planning, reacting, not in panic. Let's pray for some guidance from God.Lord, right now I lift up my friend who feels exhausted and ashamed. You see the anxiety they carry every time they check their balance. And you see the fear and you see the frustration.And honestly, you see the embarrassment too. Lord, Lord, replace that shame with wisdom. Replace that panic with peace. And give them clarity to build a system, simple system this week.Help them take that one step today, just one alert, one transfer, one buffer so the bleeding stops. But bigger than all those things, Lord, remind all of us we're not a failure. We're learning, we're growing. And you are with us all on this journey.And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Friend, you don't need more pressure. There's plenty of pressure to go around on all of us. You need a plan.And I've given you a plan that you can start this very week. So why don't you do that? And if you've got a question for this show, I've said this so many times. Your questions actually fuel the show.We answer questions every day. I want to hear your question. You can give us a question by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/questionwe'll put a link right in the show notes Again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question thank you so much for joining me today. Stay financially savvy. May God bless you. And you have a wonderful day today.