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Can Delayed Gratification Really Be a Financial Superpower? · Becoming Financially Confident

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  Ralph: You see it, you want it, and your brain just shells now.
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  But what if resisting that urge?
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  Is the superpower that unlocks your financial freedom.
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  I want you to stick with me 'cause I'm gonna show you how
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  to use it on today's show.
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  Hey there.
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  Welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian.
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  I'm Ralph and it's great to be with you again today.
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  I really appreciate you giving me just a little bit of your time every day.
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  We continue our question answering that big question, how can I become
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  a financially confident Christian?
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  And we're continuing in our series beyond the Budget, literally
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  looking to find financial freedom through intentional living.
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  And if you've been keeping up with the show yesterday, we
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  define what is your enough.
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  If you miss it, I'm gonna encourage you to go check it out 'cause we're,
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  today we're gonna take it a step further and today we're gonna talk
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  about can delayed gratification.
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  Really become a financial superpower.
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  Yes.
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  I'm gonna teach you a superpower that you didn't even know that you had.
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  And I can already hear you grumbling right now.
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  As you're listening, you're thinking, delays, Ralph, come on.
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  I don't need another delay.
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  But here's the thing, you gotta understand.
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  You've got goals.
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  You've created goals, you have savings goals, you've got a
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  goal maybe to pay off debt.
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  You've got financial goals you're trying to hit.
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  Then all along comes that surge and that sale, that new release, that social event,
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  and you say to yourself, I want it now.
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  I need it now.
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  I gotta have it now.
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  The problem with that impulse, it derails budgets, it wrecks them
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  because it takes away that planning.
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  A lot of times it adds debt because guess what?
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  You weren't budging for it.
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  You weren't planning for it.
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  So how you gonna pay for it?
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  Well, I'm gonna put that credit card down, Ralph, and unfortunately, in the end, it
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  truly does steal your progress because you've broken away from those goals.
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  Now listen, I'm not gonna tell you that instant gratification doesn't feel good.
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  It sure does.
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  Been there, done that.
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  I talked about that with the watch.
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  There's a lot of things that.
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  I've talked about on the show that, or that instant gratification,
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  that quick dopamine hit.
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  But if you really think about it, it feels good.
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  Yes, but it feels good briefly.
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  But after that feel good goes away.
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  You're just left with this long-term frustration.
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  You're right back in that cycle that you've been working so hard
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  to break free from, and it becomes just a major financial roadblock.
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  As I said, it's like that story I shared the other day about that luxury watch.
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  I wanted that instant gratification.
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  I wanted to be seen with that watch, but where did it leave me?
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  See, here's the thing.
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  You gotta understand something about our culture.
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  We live in a culture that says Buy now, pay later.
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  It's all around us from car lots.
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  Buy here, pay here.
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  You know, anytime you go shopping for a major appliance, hey, you don't
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  have to pay for that for a year.
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  Zero interest, put it on your credit card.
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  We take all kinds of payments.
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  That's the culture that we live in, and we've gotta be hypersensitive to that.
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  We've gotta develop this superpower that I'm talking about today.
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  God's word calls us in a completely different direction.
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  God calls us to self-control and God calls us to diligence.
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  Just look at the word.
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  Look at the book of Proverbs, chapter 21.
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  Verse 20 says this, I use this on the show all the time because it's so
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  appropriate for intentional living.
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  It says this and the house of the wise are stores, but the foolish, the vows all he
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  gets, what's the word telling us there?
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  the house of the wise, those people who are smart, they're storing up,
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  they're making provision for the future.
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  But the foolish, and I don't like calling anybody a fool, but what does
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  it say here in the, in the scripture, but the foolish devours all he gets.
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  So that speaks directly to that.
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  Im pulsation that that desire to go get more and more that buy now, pay later.
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  Take it one step further.
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  Let's move on to Proverbs chapter 13, verse four.
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  It says this, the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
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  Think about that.
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  Would you like to have your desires fully satisfied?
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  Well, what does the scripture tell us?
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  We need to be diligent.
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  See the thing this superpower, this idea of delayed gratification.
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  It really builds three main things.
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  It builds discipline.
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  It makes you have discipline.
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  You think about where your money's going, you're making intentional decisions.
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  It builds wealth because you're looking at what you're storing, like the, like
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  the scripture talked about the why store.
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  And in the end, with that discipline and that wealth, it's building peace.
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  And isn't that what we're all searching for?
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  Because it's faith in action.
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  It's trusting God's timing over those impulses.
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  So now you're probably thinking, oh, great, Ralph, I agree with you.
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  How do I harness this superpower?
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  What can I do?
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  How do we make this superpower work for me?
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  Well, I've got the solution, and it's really kind of simple.
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  I'm just gonna encourage you to create what I call a deliberate pause
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  between the want and the purchase.
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  Redirect that urge, those urges.
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  I'm gonna tell you about how to do it here in a second.
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  I'm gonna share some examples with you, but redirect that urge towards
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  those long-term goals that you work so hard to set up and maybe you're
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  working so hard to get to every day.
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  It's gonna be a four step process.
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  I'm gonna tell you the steps and we'll talk about some examples.
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  Step one is to identify one want.
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  These aren't needs.
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  I'm not talking about things that you need.
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  I need food, clothing, and shelter.
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  These are wants, I want you to identify just one need, or excuse me, one want.
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  Then delay it.
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  I want you to delay it by step two.
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  Setting a waiting period, whether it's two days, you know, 24 hours,
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  36 hours, 48 hours, whatever that is, you set that waiting period.
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  We talked a little bit about that yesterday, but then the next
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  step is really the crucial part.
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  And that's when you, when you're feeling that urge, when you're fighting
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  that urge, the way you battle that your superpower, that cape that
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  you put around you like Superman.
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  You visualize that bigger goal that you're working towards, what does
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  that goal look like for you to have peace, to have savings, to put away
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  for retirement, have that emergency fund set aside for that vacation.
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  And the problem is those impulse sps are just getting in the way of that.
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  And so once you've done those three things, you've identified that one want,
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  you wanna delay, you set the waiting period, you visualize the bigger goal.
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  You just turn it around, your superpower redirects that urge to something else.
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  Lemme give you an example.
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  So let's say for example, you saw this $75 designer hoodie online,
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  heavy influencer's wearing it and you don't really need it, but, oh, I, I
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  gotta have this, I really want it.
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  So again, we've already determined it's not a need, it's a want determined.
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  One thing, I want you to write it down, designer hoodie, $75.
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  Real simple.
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  I, I have this, I have this stronger draft.
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  I have a desire to go get this thing.
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  And I'm gonna encourage you.
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  Now, put a waiting time of seven days on that.
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  You can live without it for seven days.
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  So say, Hey look, I'm gonna put this on my calendar, designer
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  hoodie, $75 and I'm gonna put it seven days out on my calendar.
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  I know you might think I'm being silly, but just trust me on
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  this waiting time, seven days.
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  And then for the l little bit, you're gonna be fighting that urge.
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  You're like, oh, you know, do I really need to wait?
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  I've got the money.
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  You know, I, I could take money from here to do this.
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  But then you're visualizing that bigger goal.
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  And that bigger goal for you is building that three month emergency fund so you
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  can stop living paycheck to paycheck.
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  You, just a minute ago, you were thinking about how you gonna pay your bills next
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  week because the paycheck's kind of tight.
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  So visualize, take the moment and and visualize that full savings
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  account and no more financial anxiety.
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  And then the last part, that redirection, take that $75 that you wrote down.
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  Hey, that you were gonna spend on that designer hoodie.
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  Put it right into that emergency fund, and then I want you to just celebrate.
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  Celebrate skipping that hoodie as a step towards security.
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  Here's another great example.
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  A lot of us fall into this trap.
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  Maybe you're thinking, Ralph, I'm tempted to order takeout dinner for 38
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  bucks, even though I have food at home.
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  Say how many people can relate with that?
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  So again, write it down.
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  Friday night takeout 38 bucks.
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  Now in this case, I don't think waiting seven days, let's just
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  say I'm gonna wait 24 hours.
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  'cause we can always do takeout on Saturday night, revisit it tomorrow,
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  I'm gonna put it away till tomorrow.
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  And then you start to think, okay, what was my bigger goal?
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  Well, I'm trying to stick to my grocery budget and I'm trying to
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  save $200 a month by eating at home.
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  Well if, if I'm taking $38 and ordering out, guess what?
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  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.
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  It's gonna cost you a lot less to go to the grocery store and get that stuff.
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  So you visualize those grocery seats under that budget, less stress
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  by months end, and then you just redirect that urge 'cause you're
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  still feeling that you redirect that urge and you make a fun meal from the
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  pantry ingredients you already have.
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  And then take that 38 bucks and put it in a savings jar for a planned
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  treat later on, maybe a date with your wife or something like that.
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  I got one more example I want to share because this one really hit home
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  close to home to me and that's why I wanted to put it in today's show.
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  A lot of people are sucked into this, this, this, this technological thing.
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  So here's, here's, here's Ralph talking.
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  I'm speaking for myself.
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  I wanna upgrade my phone, even though mine works fine.
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  That new one costs $999.
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  Now listen, if you're doing the iPhone, it's a little bit
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  more than that these days.
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  But anyway, write it down.
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  Smartphone upgrade $999.
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  Now this one, I'm gonna push out a little farther.
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  30 days, I mean, gimme a month, write it down.
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  Maybe it's not even even available for purchase yet.
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  Write it down.
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  Then I start to visualize what I'm trying to accomplish.
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  So maybe you've got a student loan, your goal, Hey, I really want to
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  get that student loan paid off.
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  I got $2,300 left to pay on that student loan.
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  And you start to visualize what it feels like when that loan is paid
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  off and you don't have that monthly student loan payment and that interest.
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  And then since you didn't buy the phone, you take $250 that you would've
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  paid up front towards that phone and send it to your student loan.
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  And guess what you just did?
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  You've just knocked $250 off of that $2,300 left to go, and you're
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  getting closer to meeting your goal.
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  And I'm just gonna encourage you right now, write a sticky
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  note, freedom features, and stick it to your current phone.
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  The freedom is greater than the features.
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  Now, you might be saying, Ralph, well, how does this help?
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  Well, here's the big thing that it does, and this is why it's such a superpower.
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  It interrupts that impulse.
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  It interrupts it right away because you say, look, I have a rule.
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  I listened to Ralph.
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  He said, gotta have rule in these things.
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  If it's a wine, what's my rule?
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  And by doing that, it builds strength and it builds focus because we
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  talked about what is your bigger issues, what are your bigger plans?
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  You're really building strength.
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  I can do this again and focus in on the long term.
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  And it turns those little desires that you have floating all around
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  you into true momentum because you're working towards your goals.
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  Let's pray together.
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  Father God, we just thank you for the wisdom and discipline that
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  you put into our lives, Lord.
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  And we confess, Lord, that we battle with this sense of instant gratification.
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  So we just ask that you would help us to pause, Lord, and help us to refocus.
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  But most of all, Lord, we ask that you would help us to trust in your provision.
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  You give us all we need.
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  So, Lord, strengthen our self-control and strengthen our vision to really see what
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  is important and let our spending reflect your priorities in our lives, Lord.
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  And we ask this with confidence.
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  In Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Listen, I said at the beginning, delayed gratification is your superpower.
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  So just think of these three things.
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  Pause, visualize, and redirect.
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  In the end, choose freedom over those fleeting pressures.
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  You can do this.
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  Now, listen, if today's episode has been impactful to you, or if this show is
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  helping you break that cycle of financial shame and really become that financially
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  confident Christian, I wanna encourage you to share the show with other people.
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  We've seen people coming to the show, and we need to have more
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  people out there listening to the show so that we can direct them
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  and we can help them and listen.
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  You can be a catalyst for that.
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  Just send them a text and say, Hey, I listened to this show.
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  You can check it out@financiallyconfidentchristian.com
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  or send them an email and say, Hey, you really want a new superpower.
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  I heard this guy Ralph.
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  He's talking about superpowers today.
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  Also, I wanna give you a copy of my book.
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  It's called Mastering Your Finances.
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  I'm gonna give it to you absolutely free.
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  It's just a short read, but it is a real great book to help you get started on
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  that path to mastering your finances.
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  You can get that@financiallyconfidentchristian.com
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  slash master.
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  Now, tomorrow we're gonna add to this superpower.
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  We're gonna talk about how to unsubscribe from the consumer culture.
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  Really start to protect your peace.
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  I'm gonna encourage you not to miss it.
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  Now, let's all go out there and be those financially confident Christians.
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  You can do this.
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  I truly believe in you.
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  Believe in yourself.
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  Stay financially savvy.
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  God bless you today, and you have a great day today.