Who’s on Your Financial Dream Team?

Hey, are you carrying your entire financial life alone? The budgeting, the taxes, the investing, those are big decisions all on your own shoulders. Let me tell you something important.You are never meant to carry your financial life solo. The right voices don't just give advice. They save you time, they save you money, and hey, they save you a lot of stress. You don't need a big team.You just need the right team. Because you grow faster when you're surrounded by wise counsel. Welcome back. I'm Raph. And if you're new here, welcome home.This is financially Confident Christian, where faith shapes decisions, where wisdom guides stewardship and community, gives you the strength for the journey. And hey, we all need some strength on this journey. And today we're talking about something most people completely overlook.And that's your financial dream team. I'm talking about the people who guide you, the people who support you, and the people to help you avoid unnecessary mistakes.Because you weren't meant to walk alone. Not financially, not spiritually, and not in the decisions that shape your future. A listener wrote, ralph, I'm handling everything alone.Budgeting, taxes, investing decisions. Who should actually be on my financial team? Ralph, I don't want to keep guessing, friend.That's a wise question, because clarity comes through counsel. So let's name what this really feels like. Carrying everything yourself. Trying to manage every financial decision alone is exhausting.It's isolating it honestly. It's completely unnecessary. The right voices bring clarity long before confusion shows up and peace long before the storms hit.You're not weak for needing support. You're wise for seeking it. Let's look at the research and scripture because both point us in the same direction.Studies consistently show that people who have trusted advisors and accountability experience fewer mistakes. They have better follow through. They've got faster progress, and hey, they've got lower stress. And Scripture says the exact same thing.Look at Proverbs 11:14. Victory is won through many advisors. Successes in solo success is supported. Well, let me share what I've seen.Personally, this is something I watch unfold almost every day of my life. For decades, I've helped people build financial teams that actually fit their season of life. We'll talk about seasons today.And here's what I've seen again and again. The wrong voices will drain you. I'm talking about seriously drain you.They'll drain you emotionally, they'll drain you spiritually, and unfortunately, they will drain you financially. But the right voices, and I'm going to tell you how to find those today, they bring clarity. They Bring peace and they bring momentum.And wisdom compounds when it's shared. Let me give you a real example. This story captures it perfectly. A couple came to me completely overwhelmed. I'm talking about they were overwhelmed.They added just three things to their lives. A tax professional, a seasoned mentor, and regular financial check ins. Just those things. Just three things.And within six months, their stress dropped, their books were clean and their direction was clear. Just one or two new voices created a brand new level of clarity in their lives. You don't need a big team, you just need the right team.So now you're asking Ralph, who belongs on that financial dream team? Let's walk through this together. Number one thing you've got to do is identify the core roles. These don't have to be huge and fancy.They just need to be faithful. Now here's the ones that I recommend. A tax professional. Someone that will give you clarity, compliance and planning.You want to stay out of hot water with the irs. Second person I'm going to recommend is a financial advisor. So someone who has a keen understanding of long term investing and retirement direction.Another thing I'm going to encourage you to have is a mentor. Someone who's walked further than you. Somebody who's been down that road and maybe stubbed their toe, made those tough decisions.And finally, an accountability partner. Someone to encourage you and to keep you on that path of follow through.So again, tax professional, financial advisor, mentor and accountability partner. Just a small wise team. Because that small wise team is more powerful than a large scattered one.Here's another thing I'm going to encourage you to do. Maybe you've already got a team. Well, it's time to audit your current team. Not everyone who helped you last year is the best fit for next year.Let me say the best fit for the next season. And an upgrade doesn't mean more expensive. A lot of people think, well, I'm going to upgrade, Ralph, what you're saying is I got to pay more.No, that's not what I'm saying at all. It means more aligned. Ask yourself this, does this person fit the season I'm in?Maybe when you first started, you were easy to go to one of the big tax houses and somebody simple because you had a simple tax return. But now your season is different than that. Maybe you're a small business owner. Maybe you've got investments or rental properties.Does this person fit my season? Do they bring clarity?One of the things I hear a lot of my clients say is, Ralph, I came to you because you lay it out in terms that I can understand. Which leads me to this. Do they communicate well? If they can't communicate well, find somebody new.Choose somebody based on their clarity, based on their character, and based on their ability to communicate. Yes, credentials matter. You'll never hear me say credentials don't matter. But let me just tell you something right now. Character matters more.The ability to communicate matters more. But a healthy team needs clarity. You've got to ask yourself, what is each person responsible for? How often will they contact me?How often will I connect with them? What decision should they help me with? Because a strong advisor gives kind truth, not comfortable silence.That's one of the things I hear from a lot of my tax and business clients is Ralph. I never heard from my accountant, but, man, I hear from you. That's because I want to give them truth, not just silence.And finally, one big takeaway for today is review that team annually. Because as I said a few minutes ago, seasons of life change. What was important to you now may have completely changed.Your supporters got to change as well. Put a team review on your calendar right now. Look for any gaps. Maybe for you, it's tax planning.Maybe taxes are good, but you need some budgeting help. Maybe you need that investment advisor. Need some investment clarity. Or maybe for you, you just need some spiritual mentorship.Build that team now before you're in crisis. Before the storm hits, not after the storm hits. Well, let's ground this in scripture.This is all about scripture today because God often guides us through people. Look at the book of Proverbs, chapter 15:22. I use this on this show all the time because it is so very vital.Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed. In my life, I have seen God often provides wisdom through relationships, not just moments. Who are those important people to you?What are those relationships? How about we pray together? Lord, give me discernment as I choose the right people. Give me humility to be taught.Lord, give our team honesty and unity and wisdom as we make strong decisions in your will. Lord, we ask this in the confidence in Jesus name. Amen. All right, here's your action item for today.I want you to list your current financial team and then identify one gap you need to fill in 2026. It's a great time to do it. And take that one step today. Book a call, ask a mentor. Interview a professional.Because one step builds a team, and that team will build your future. And I want to invite you also to come and join our group, the financially confident Christian community. Will help you identify those gaps.We offer accountability partners. We share wisdom, we pray for you and we walk with you along that journey and hey you can even ask questions of me and I will be happy to mentor you.You can get to that by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join again. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/Join because you never meant to navigate finances alone.Come and join our community and let me help you friend. Don't walk alone again in this new year. God uses people to sharpen us. He uses them to guide us and he uses them to strengthen us.And what I have learned in my own life is the right voices bring peace. They bring clarity but but most of all they bring confidence long before the storms come and I've said on the show many times the storms will come.So go out there today and be a financially confident Christian. You can do this. Stay financially savvy. God bless you and you have a great day today.