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How I Went From Overdrafting Every Month to $12,000 in Savings · Becoming Financially Confident

• 0:37
  Now, look, before I say anything today, before the music, before the normal intro, before I even tell you my name, I want to read you something.
• 0:45
  This came from a listener.
• 0:47
  I'm not going to set it up.
• 0:48
  I'm just going to read it to you word for word, and then we'll talk about it.
• 0:52
  Here's the letter.
• 0:53
  It said, hi, Ralph.
• 0:54
  I'm including this because six months ago, I was drowning.
• 0:58
  I was in constant overdraft cycle my entire life.
• 1:02
  I didn't have any savings.
• 1:03
  I.
• 1:04
  I was always spending money I didn't have just to panic about bills.
• 1:07
  Right after, I had zero healthy financial habits and no real foundation.
• 1:13
  But something clicked.
• 1:15
  I committed to actually changing it.
• 1:17
  I made a plan.
• 1:19
  I wrote it all out and I stuck to it.
• 1:22
  In six months, I've paid off $6,000 in credit card debt, and I've saved $12,000 in a high yield savings account.
• 1:31
  I got my monthly bills down from 2,500 to 1200 by cutting everything unnecessary.
• 1:37
  I worked 60 plus hours a week.
• 1:39
  I canceled subscriptions.
• 1:41
  I skimped on groceries.
• 1:42
  I did all those things.
• 1:44
  And now I don't worry about my credit card declining.
• 1:47
  I don't have debt collectors calling me anymore.
• 1:50
  And I can say yes to a coffee or lunch or buy someone a special birthday gift without spending money I don't have.
• 1:57
  The thing that gets me is this.
• 2:00
  Why didn't I start this sooner?
• 2:02
  And I know I'm not the only one stuck in that overdraft cycle.
• 2:06
  I'm proud of what I did, Ralph.
• 2:08
  But I'm wondering if you can help me understand what actually changed.
• 2:12
  And more importantly, how do I make sure it never slips back?
• 2:16
  Thank you.
• 2:18
  And I just want to pause for a second, and I just want to congratulate you for what you've done.
• 2:23
  Six months ago, you were the person that was overdrafting every single month like clockwork.
• 2:29
  Today, you've paid off $6,000 in debt, which is a great thing, but you've also saved $12,000.
• 2:36
  And I wanted you to hear that in their words.
• 2:39
  First, let's talk about why I'm doing this way today.
• 2:42
  Usually at the show, I hook you in, I introduce the show, and then I read the letter.
• 2:48
  But today's letter is the hook.
• 2:50
  It's real, and it's better than anything that I could write.
• 2:54
  So let's talk about what we're going to do in today's episode.
• 2:57
  We're not going to solve a problem today.
• 2:58
  We're going to celebrate someone who solved one.
• 3:01
  And we're going to answer their actual question.
• 3:04
  I'm going to answer what changed and how do they make it permanent?
• 3:08
  Today we're going to talk about what happens when someone decides they're done with chaos and actually does the hard work.
• 3:25
  Hello and welcome to Financially Confident Christian.
• 3:27
  I'm Ralph.
• 3:28
  Now, you already heard today's letter, so you know, today's a little different.
• 3:32
  Today we had a listener who went from overdrafting constantly to $12,000 in savings, and he's willing to tell us exactly how he did it.
• 3:42
  So right now, if you're listening to this, if you're stuck in that cycle wondering if change is even possible, I want you to stay with me because today's episode is for you.
• 3:51
  Now, maybe you've got a success story that you'd like to share.
• 3:54
  I would love to hear it.
• 3:55
  You can send it to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question Again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question.
• 4:05
  We'll put a link in the show notes.
• 4:08
  But today's big idea is this.
• 4:11
  The math doesn't change what matters.
• 4:14
  What changes is that decision to actually count the cost.
• 4:17
  That's what this listener did.
• 4:19
  He actually counted the cost, and he made a commitment to stick with it when it gets hard.
• 4:26
  But now let's unwind how this played out, because that's what he asked me.
• 4:29
  He said, ralph, how did this actually play out?
• 4:32
  The first thing he did was he named the cycle instead of ignoring it.
• 4:37
  Most people in the cycle never look.
• 4:40
  They just live it.
• 4:41
  They just get on that rabbit wheel.
• 4:42
  They keep going every day.
• 4:44
  But you did something different here.
• 4:46
  And this is what I'm going to encourage all the listeners to do.
• 4:48
  He wrote it down.
• 4:50
  He looked at his actual numbers.
• 4:53
  He looked at the numbers of overdraft fees.
• 4:56
  He no doubt looked at his credit card interest, and he looked at the real monthly bills before he cut anything.
• 5:03
  Now, that might sound scary to you.
• 5:05
  Well, like Ralph, if I write it all down, man, I don't know if I want to want to see that.
• 5:09
  But when you write it down, you can't pretend anymore.
• 5:13
  And that's not about willpower.
• 5:14
  That's clarity.
• 5:15
  See, the truth is, you can't fix what you won't face.
• 5:19
  And then he did something else.
• 5:21
  He made a decision that was bigger than budgeting.
• 5:25
  This wasn't cutting $50 here or there.
• 5:28
  Hear what he said?
• 5:29
  He cut $1,300 a month from his spending.
• 5:34
  That's massive.
• 5:36
  That doesn't happen by accident.
• 5:37
  That's a real tuned in decision, he decided the old ways is done.
• 5:43
  He didn't say, I'm going to try to change.
• 5:45
  What did he say?
• 5:46
  He's very clear.
• 5:46
  He said, I'm done.
• 5:49
  And then he made a plan that matched that decision.
• 5:53
  Most people skip that part.
• 5:55
  They just budget it because, well, somebody told them they needed a budget, but they didn't decide why that was important.
• 5:59
  They didn't make that decision.
• 6:02
  And if you make a decision without a plan, it's never going to stick.
• 6:06
  But a decision with the plan, hear me on this, is unstoppable.
• 6:12
  But he paid the real cost up front.
• 6:15
  Look back to what he said.
• 6:16
  What did it cost him?
• 6:17
  He said it very clearly.
• 6:18
  60 hours a week.
• 6:20
  That's a lot of hours.
• 6:22
  That's a decision to work harder.
• 6:24
  That's a decision to earn more.
• 6:26
  What else did he say?
• 6:27
  He said I skimped on groceries.
• 6:29
  He ate some ramen noodles.
• 6:31
  He made a tough time.
• 6:33
  But he.
• 6:33
  Look what he did.
• 6:34
  He said no social spending, no buffer.
• 6:37
  That's not easy.
• 6:39
  That's hard work.
• 6:41
  And that's the part that most people don't want to hear.
• 6:44
  But he did it anyway.
• 6:46
  And he wasn't some superhuman.
• 6:48
  He just did it.
• 6:50
  He paid that cost for six months and it bought him a completely different life.
• 6:55
  That cost was real.
• 6:56
  That cost hurt.
• 6:57
  I'm sure there were situations where his friends wanted him to go do something or he wanted to buy something.
• 7:03
  Maybe he wanted to step out to go eat.
• 7:05
  But he said, no, I can't stay in this cycle anymore.
• 7:08
  It was costing him more and more that short term sacrifice was cheaper than the long term trap.
• 7:17
  But what else did he do?
• 7:19
  He built a new story about himself.
• 7:22
  And you asked me what's going to keep me from sliding back.
• 7:25
  That is the very answer to that.
• 7:28
  That's what's going to keep you from sliding back.
• 7:31
  You said to yourself, six months ago, you were someone who overdrafted.
• 7:35
  You were someone who panicked.
• 7:37
  You were someone who couldn't control money.
• 7:39
  But that's not you anymore.
• 7:42
  Now you're someone who says yes to coffee without feeling guilty.
• 7:45
  You trust yourself.
• 7:48
  That story shift is what makes this stick.
• 7:51
  And you're going to still feel temptations.
• 7:54
  You're going to feel temptations to slip.
• 7:57
  You're not just fighting habits at that point.
• 7:59
  You're protecting what you've become.
• 8:01
  And you remember that cycle that you lived in before.
• 8:04
  You remember that panic, Remember being declined at the checkout.
• 8:08
  You said it.
• 8:09
  I don't worry about my car getting declined anymore.
• 8:11
  I've been There.
• 8:11
  That is super embarrassing.
• 8:14
  And you remember what six months of hard work bought you.
• 8:18
  That memory is your insurance policy.
• 8:21
  You didn't say to yourself, I can't ever spend on myself again.
• 8:25
  You said, I know what it costs.
• 8:28
  You learn the value of your time.
• 8:30
  You learn the value of your dollar.
• 8:32
  And that's not something you unlearned.
• 8:33
  Your whole world has changed.
• 8:36
  You're not going to go back to that overdraft cycle because you know who you are now.
• 8:42
  And remember that question from the letter at the top of the very show.
• 8:46
  The thing I want to dig into now is they ask a very interesting part.
• 8:49
  They said, why didn't I start this sooner?
• 8:53
  And I read that there's sadness in that question.
• 8:56
  There's also grace.
• 8:59
  The thing about grace that doesn't get talked about enough is it's not just forgiveness for what you did wrong.
• 9:05
  It's a second chance you didn't earn.
• 9:07
  That's the beauty of grace.
• 9:08
  You didn't earn it.
• 9:09
  But you still have that second chance.
• 9:13
  If I look back six months ago, that dude didn't have to change.
• 9:16
  He could have just kept overdrafting.
• 9:18
  He could have kept pretending.
• 9:19
  He could have lived in panic until he couldn't do it anymore.
• 9:23
  Instead, something inside of him woke up and he decided to change.
• 9:29
  And the beautiful part?
• 9:30
  It wasn't because he had to.
• 9:32
  It's because he finally understood that he could see.
• 9:36
  That's grace working.
• 9:38
  It's not punishment for being stuck.
• 9:40
  It's the gift of a moment to see a different way and choose it.
• 9:45
  So, yes, I wish I had chosen it sooner.
• 9:48
  I'm sure you do feel that way.
• 9:50
  But you gotta be grateful for it happening at all.
• 9:54
  Because now you know who you are and you decided to fight for yourself.
• 9:59
  Just think about this.
• 10:01
  The person you doubted six months ago, you just proved that you're stronger now than the circumstances that had trapped you.
• 10:09
  Remember that.
• 10:11
  So here's today's win.
• 10:12
  I want you to write down the number you've come from and the number you're at now.
• 10:17
  This isn't some humble brag.
• 10:19
  It's just to remember.
• 10:21
  It's the evidence.
• 10:23
  You saved $1300 a month in bill reductions.
• 10:28
  That price you paid and what it bought you.
• 10:30
  You got $12,000 in savings.
• 10:33
  That's security you didn't have six months ago.
• 10:35
  You were drowned in debt before.
• 10:38
  And this isn't about pride.
• 10:39
  It's about evidence of what's changed and what your future looks like.
• 10:44
  And when you feel that urge to slip, you can go look at what you did.
• 10:49
  And that proof is your new way.
• 10:51
  And that new way of life is real.
• 10:53
  Let's get to our Bible verse today.
• 10:55
  It comes to us from 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17.
• 10:59
  It says this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
• 11:03
  The old life has gone, a new life has become.
• 11:08
  You didn't just change your budget, you changed who you are.
• 11:13
  Just think about it.
• 11:13
  Six months ago you were trapped in this cycle of debt and cost and fees.
• 11:20
  But today you're someone who broke out of it.
• 11:23
  That's not small.
• 11:24
  That's resurrection from the inside out.
• 11:27
  In a lot of ways, you died to the old ways.
• 11:30
  You're not spending money you don't have anymore.
• 11:32
  You're not living in panic.
• 11:34
  You were born into a new way.
• 11:37
  You count the costs, you make the plans and you keep your promises to yourself.
• 11:43
  See, that's Paul's whole point in this scripture.
• 11:46
  It's not some surface change.
• 11:49
  It's a complete overhaul of who you are.
• 11:52
  And you did the hard work.
• 11:54
  Let's pray together.
• 11:55
  Heavenly Father, I'm praying for someone today who just proved to themselves what they're capable of.
• 12:02
  Someone who's trapped in a cycle, who decided to finally fight their way out.
• 12:07
  Someone who paid a real cost for six months and now lives in freedom that had bought.
• 12:13
  So, Lord, right now I want you to protect that victory.
• 12:16
  Keep them from that voice that says, oh, it was too hard and maybe I can just go back to the old way, just a little.
• 12:23
  Remind them what's real.
• 12:25
  Show them that peace they have.
• 12:28
  Show them they can trust themselves and show them that security and that money they saved.
• 12:34
  And above all things, Lord, help them to stay grateful for the grace that finally woke them up.
• 12:39
  And help them know it wasn't luck or some accident, Lord, it was courage.
• 12:43
  And it was you working in their lives.
• 12:44
  And I just encourage you to work in all of our lives.
• 12:46
  And if anybody else is going through this same cycle, Lord, I just ask that you would grab ahold of them and show them that grace and give them the courage, courage to move forward.
• 12:55
  And I ask this in Jesus name.
• 12:58
  Amen, friend.
• 13:01
  This is what it looks like when someone decides they're done and does the work you did.
• 13:04
  The work.
• 13:06
  That overdraft cycle isn't a character flaw.
• 13:09
  It's a system you're trapped in until you break out of it.
• 13:13
  And breaking out of it costs.
• 13:15
  It cost you 60 hour weeks, deep cuts and staying committed when it's hard.
• 13:21
  But I know you know this now.
• 13:23
  Staying in that cycle cost you more than that.
• 13:26
  And you prove that with your own numbers.
• 13:28
  That new identity you have isn't fragile.
• 13:31
  It's built on hard work.
• 13:32
  It's built on keeping promises to yourself.
• 13:36
  And that memory of who you were is the best protection against becoming that again.
• 13:41
  And if you've got a question or maybe you've got a tribe that you'd like to share, let me hear from you.
• 13:46
  You can do that at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail we'll put a link in the show notes, but again, it's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail thank you so much for joining me today.
• 13:59
  Thank you so much for this triumph story.
• 14:01
  I love to get these.
• 14:03
  I want to encourage you.
• 14:04
  Always stay financially savvy.
• 14:06
  May God bless you.
• 14:08
  And you have a truly great day.
• 14:18
  We ride.