Why Can't I Ever Seem to Stick to My Budget?

You've sat down, you've done the work. You created a budget that makes sense, one you truly believe you can follow. But then, like most of us, life hits. You know what I'm talking about.A busy week and extra coffee. Run a bill you swear wasn't in the mail pile just last month and before you know it, a budget that you were so proud of. Yeah.It's in shambles and you're left thinking, why do I even bother? Listen, what if I told you sticking to your budget isn't about being perfect?And what if the real breakthrough is learning how to get back on track when life knocks you off? Well, stick with me today because we're going to unpack that on today's show.

This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence.

Hey there. Welcome back to your daily Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph.

I'm here to walk with you. I'm here to encourage you. And yes, I'm here to help you break the chains of money stress. And we're continuing our series Breaking Financial Chains.Now, if you missed yesterday's show, we talked about shifting budgeting from a picture of restriction. You know that thing like you can't do this and you can't do that. We threw that out the door and we shifted it to a path towards real freedom.So if you missed the show, I'm going to encourage you to check it out. You can find all of our episodes at Financially Confident christian dot com.Well, today we're going to dig into that frustration that so many of us feel if we're being honest with ourself. That moment when you throw your hands in the air and say, forget it, I can't stick to this thing anyway. Sound familiar to you?Let me just tell you, I've been there and only. Oh, have I been there. Years ago, I thought I had the perfect budget. I'm talking about color coded, neatly organized. I was really proud of this thing.But two weeks into it, bam. My car needed new tires. Now, looking at my budget, I didn't have a car repairs line item in my budget. So I did what most of us do.I stole the money from that grocery line in the budget. But here's the thing. The minute I broke that plan once, it was so much easier to do it again and again and again.Yes, that budget I had planned so hard and built and color coded was just a ghost. It was a shell of its former self.Maybe Right now, as you're listening, you're nodding along right now because you've done the same thing, maybe even told yourself, I'm just not good at this, Ralph. Budgeting isn't for me, Ralph. But here's the truth, and I want you to hear this today. It's not about you being good or bad at it.It's not at all about that. It's about having a rhythm that works for real life. Hey, we live in real life with real surprises.And here's the thing, giving yourself grace when things go sideways, because here's a truism of life, things are going to go sideways. And let me just say this. If you failed at a budget before, you are in good company. I've been right there with you.Hey, I get paid to do this is what I been doing for 30 years. So today, I'm not here to shame you. I'm here to help you stop beating yourself up and start planning a plan that's actually livable.Because here's the thing I want you to hear, and I want you to hear this loud and clear. A budget isn't a prison. It's a tool. And here's the thing about a tool. Anybody in the trades will tell you this.A tool doesn't work unless you pick it up regularly, not just on the first of the month. Well, let's get right into the Bible. Let's get some reassurance from the Bible today. And let's go right to Galatians, chapter 6, verse 9.It says this. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest in if we do not give up. See, that's budgeting in a nutshell.That is the encapsulation of what budgeting is. It's about showing up again and again and not giving up when you miss a step. Because here's a truth, you're going to miss a step.Let's look at the book of Luke. Chapter 16 reminds us this. This is Luke, chapter 16, verse 10. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.See, budgeting is almost like this. Every small daily choice counts to that budget goal. And you may not feel it in that moment, but God sees your faithfulness.See, in the end, it's all about consistency. It's about consistency even more than perfection. And when you do this, it leads to peace.So I got to tell you, here's the breakthrough moment that I want you to hear loud and clear. Your goal is not to have a flawless Month. If expecting that, you're going to be disappointed. It's not about flawlessness. But here's your true goal.Your goal is to bounce back fast when life throws you off. Because here's the truth. You will overspend. Sometimes you will forget to track an expense, and you will have unexpected expenses.That's just a fact of life. But that doesn't make you a failure. It doesn't mean that you've broken your budget. What that does is it makes you human.So here's what I want you to do this week. I want you to really go and find a way to get past this. I want you to pick a weekly budget check and just find 15 minutes in your calendar.I'm going to recommend that you do it the same day, the same time every week. Just write it down. Set that reminder. That is a appointment you do not miss. And here's another thing I want you to do.I want you to aim for 80%, not 100%. I don't. It's not about perfection. You heard me. Stop aiming to be perfect. Because here's what perfect does. Perfect makes you quit.But 80%, hey, that'll keep you in the game. And here's a big secret. You gotta find your drift triggers. Ask yourself this. When do I usually blow my budget?This is the thing that will really help you get past this feeling like you can't stay on it. Ask yourself, is it stress? Is it the stress of the day? And I'm just gonna go and order that takeout or I'm gonna go do some impulse shopping.For so many of us, it's boredom. I'm just bored. I'm looking for something to do, so I get into that scrolling. Or maybe it's that invite to dinner.Well, here's what I want you to do for this week. Just plan ahead. For just one of these triggers this week, plan ahead.If you feel stress, if you feel that boredom, or if you get that invite to dinner, you're going to know how to respond to it. And here's another big thing that you got to do, and that's track daily. Just make it simple. You don't have to go crazy with this.Maybe an app, a notebook, a spreadsheet. Doesn't matter. Pick one you'll actually use and start writing down where your money's going. Because all these things will keep you moving.And it'll teach you that one bad week isn't the end. It's just a bump in the road. And over time, you're going to Build a rhythm that will build your confidence and take the fear out of managing money.Why about we pray together, Father? God, I just thank you for the grace when we mess up. And Lord, we know we are going to mess up.You see our effort, Lord, even when we don't see our own progress. Help us to show up again and again after those slips, Lord. Help us to build habits that last.Help us to trust that you're shaping us into faithful stewards of all you've given. And we ask this in true confidence. In Jesus name, Amen. Listen friend, don't quit just because it's hard. You're not failing. I want to say that again.Don't quit just because it's hard. You're not failing. You're learning. So today, go schedule that check in and just take one small step that that can change everything.And don't forget this. I want to give you a free copy of my book. It's called how to Become a Financially Confident Christian. I'm going to give it to you for free.Just go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com becoming again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com Becoming. And you can get a free copy of my book, how to Become a Financially Confident Christian. I encourage you to do that.Now, tomorrow on the show, we're going to be talking about impulse buys. Yeah, one of the things that breaks a lot of people's budgets are those impulse buys.So tomorrow we're going to talk about that Buy now, regret later cycle, cycle. So today, here's my encouragement for you. Let's all go out there and be financially confident Christians. I truly believe in you. Believe in yourself.God bless you. And you have a great day today.