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Why Can't I Save Money Even With a Good Job? · Becoming Financially Confident

• 0:37
  Nobody gets it.
• 0:38
  Not your friends, not your parents, maybe not even you.
• 0:42
  You have a job, you pay your bills, you're trying, but you're still broke.
• 0:48
  And there's a reason for that, and it's not what you think.
• 0:52
  Let's get INTO it on today's.
• 1:03
  Hello and welcome to Financially Confident Christian.
• 1:06
  I'm Ralph Estep Jr.
• 1:08
  And today we're talking about something that happens to a lot of really good people.
• 1:13
  These are people with real jobs.
• 1:15
  People handle responsibilities, but they're still living paycheck to paycheck.
• 1:20
  We're going to dig into what that gap is and why it exists and more importantly, what you can do about it.
• 1:27
  So if you're doing everything right and still feel like you're falling short, today's show is for you.
• 1:32
  And if you've got a question for this show, I would love to hear it.
• 1:35
  You can go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question We'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question Let's get right to today's listener question.
• 1:48
  Listener writes this hi, Ralph, I'm in my late 20s and I just moved back home with my parents.
• 1:54
  I've got a good job.
• 1:56
  My car has paid off, but it's old and always needs repairs.
• 2:00
  Between student loans, credit card debt of around $6,000, bills, gas, insurance and constant car issues, I just can't seem to save anything.
• 2:11
  My tax return this year was great, but it's already gone because of bills and some birthday spending.
• 2:17
  Every time I start saving, something breaks and I'm back to paycheck to paycheck.
• 2:21
  I also got accepted to a fantastic grad school, but I haven't heard about scholarships or fellowships yet, and the idea of taking out more loans makes me sick.
• 2:31
  I feel like the only way to make progress is to work constantly and have no social life.
• 2:37
  But when I overlook things like that when I overwork, my mental health suffers.
• 2:42
  I tried that during the pandemic and it wasn't sustainable.
• 2:46
  Ralph, I'm frustrated because I thought I was doing all the right things.
• 2:50
  Can you help me figure out what's exactly going on?
• 2:53
  Thank you so much.
• 2:55
  Well, thank you for sending me your question.
• 2:57
  Like I said, if you've got a question for this show, I want to hear it.
• 3:00
  First thing I want to say to you, you're not failing at money.
• 3:04
  You're managing a broken system with competing demands.
• 3:07
  You got demands all over the place, but you need to see it clearly before you can Fix it.
• 3:13
  So today is all about getting in there and understanding where you are.
• 3:17
  We got to start by naming what you're carrying, and we got to figure out the numbers that really matter.
• 3:22
  Let's talk about it now.
• 3:24
  What are you carrying?
• 3:25
  You've got this debt that's talking to you every month, that credit card debt.
• 3:29
  I could tell by the tone of your voice.
• 3:31
  It's annoying you.
• 3:32
  That needs to be addressed.
• 3:34
  You've got a car.
• 3:35
  It's acting like a second job every time.
• 3:37
  This car, I got to go do something to it.
• 3:40
  And then you've got student loans hanging over grad school.
• 3:44
  You mentioned you're living at home, but you're covering most of your own bills.
• 3:47
  That's a good thing.
• 3:48
  That's not a money problem.
• 3:50
  It's a weight distribution problem.
• 3:53
  But now I want to make it concrete.
• 3:54
  I want you to write down three numbers.
• 3:57
  Are you ready?
• 3:58
  I want you to write down your credit card interest you pay per month.
• 4:01
  I Suspect it's between 100 and $150 a month on that $6,000 balance.
• 4:07
  The next thing I want you to write down is your average car repair cost per month.
• 4:12
  You're probably saying, ralph, I don't want to look at that number, but you've got to look at it.
• 4:16
  And then I want you to finally write down your minimum student loan payment.
• 4:21
  That interest isn't money you're choosing to spend, it's money being taken.
• 4:26
  The car is the same thing.
• 4:27
  Every repair steals from your future.
• 4:30
  And once you see those three numbers, you know where your money's going.
• 4:34
  It's all about clarity.
• 4:36
  You're not broke because you're bad with money.
• 4:39
  You're managing more than most people your age are carrying.
• 4:41
  That's one of the things I wanted to mention.
• 4:43
  At your age, you're actually doing a really good job.
• 4:46
  But the next thing we've got to do is we got to stop the bleeding before we try to optimize anything.
• 4:51
  If you've ever been involved in an accident, what's the first thing they do when they arrive on this screen?
• 4:56
  They assess you.
• 4:57
  They want to make sure you're okay.
• 4:59
  If you're bleeding, they're going to stop that bleeding.
• 5:01
  Right now you're trying to add income, or you're trying to cut your life to zero spending.
• 5:06
  That's not going to work.
• 5:07
  You've said it.
• 5:08
  When I try to overwork, Ralph, I feel like I'm coming unraveled.
• 5:12
  What you need to do first is stop the bleeding.
• 5:15
  Let's talk about where the bleeding is coming from.
• 5:18
  One of the big bleeding areas for you is credit card debt.
• 5:21
  Like I said, you're paying between 100 and $150 a month just in interest.
• 5:26
  That's just money being taken.
• 5:28
  The next bleeding for you is that car.
• 5:30
  It's unpredictable.
• 5:31
  I.
• 5:32
  I suspect it's costing you thousand dollars a year.
• 5:35
  And then you've got this idea, this grad school, without any money funding it.
• 5:39
  You've got a future bleed that you don't want to create.
• 5:43
  So before you do anything else, you've got to get those three things under control.
• 5:47
  Once we do those things, then we can talk about saving.
• 5:51
  So many people want to optimize for perfection while the system still has holes in it.
• 5:56
  You got to repair the holes first.
• 5:58
  But I want to give you something really practical.
• 6:00
  I want you to make one small move this week.
• 6:03
  Here's something a lot of people don't think about.
• 6:05
  This one.
• 6:06
  I want you to call the credit card company and I want you to ask for a rate reduction.
• 6:11
  Seriously, I want you to do this.
• 6:12
  I want you to pick up the phone and call them and say, my name is such and such.
• 6:17
  I have your credit card.
• 6:18
  I pay it every month in earnest.
• 6:20
  Can you reduce the interest rate?
• 6:23
  Many people qualify for this just by asking.
• 6:27
  And do the math.
• 6:27
  Let's say that that rate's 18% right now.
• 6:30
  Let's say that you can drop it to 12%.
• 6:33
  That rate reduction is going to save you $60 a month.
• 6:38
  On that same balance, you could take that $60 and pay down that debt quicker.
• 6:44
  That's not nothing.
• 6:44
  That's momentum.
• 6:46
  And it's just one phone call.
• 6:48
  But you got to do it this week.
• 6:49
  That one move today could change the math for the next several months day.
• 6:54
  I say years, but then once we get past that, we've got to protect your peace before your savings account.
• 7:00
  One of the things you mentioned was about the pandemic.
• 7:03
  The pandemic was hard because you were overworking.
• 7:06
  You said it yourself, Ralph.
• 7:08
  I didn't have any social life.
• 7:09
  I was just working and working and working.
• 7:13
  Well, that's not a character flaw.
• 7:14
  Don't beat yourself up about that.
• 7:16
  That's a human limit.
• 7:18
  A lot of people don't think about this one.
• 7:20
  But your mental health, not a luxury to you.
• 7:24
  It's a prerequisite.
• 7:27
  You can't save your way out of the cost if your life is unstable.
• 7:30
  You got to stay stable first.
• 7:33
  Your first win isn't a savings account.
• 7:35
  It's deciding now that you're not Going to sacrifice your peace for progress.
• 7:39
  So many people I talk to, the first thing they want to do is they want to fix everything, and they don't care about their personal peace.
• 7:46
  But if you live like that, you are going to unravel very quickly.
• 7:52
  The person you're protecting is more valuable than the money you're protecting.
• 7:56
  You need to hear that, and you need to hear it loud and clear.
• 7:59
  Now, you said something else that stuck with me.
• 8:02
  You said, I tried to do all the right things, Ralph, and I still can't afford to do anything more than survive.
• 8:09
  Here's what faith doesn't promise.
• 8:11
  Faith doesn't promise that hard work gets you instant results.
• 8:14
  So many people say, well, Ralph, I'm living in my faith.
• 8:17
  Why is God not speaking to me?
• 8:20
  It doesn't promise that.
• 8:22
  It doesn't promise that doing the right thing is going to buy you comfort.
• 8:26
  You can do the right thing.
• 8:28
  The faith doesn't promise you you're going to live in comfort.
• 8:31
  And it doesn't promise that your resume will fix your broken car or your debt.
• 8:36
  Those things are all good things.
• 8:38
  But what faith does promise is something so much deeper than that you're not alone.
• 8:44
  As you're walking through this, God sees you working hard in a system that honestly is rigged against you.
• 8:52
  And your survival matters to him.
• 8:54
  Now, you notice I didn't say success, not optimization.
• 9:00
  Your survival living paycheck to paycheck.
• 9:05
  That promise changes everything.
• 9:07
  If you know that God's with you, that changes the whole picture, doesn't it?
• 9:12
  You're not failing at being responsible.
• 9:14
  Hey, you're being very responsible for your age.
• 9:18
  And you're surviving with dignity through something genuinely hard.
• 9:22
  So here's the thing I want to tell you.
• 9:25
  You're still fighting instead of giving up.
• 9:28
  And that tells me who you are.
• 9:30
  You're exactly the kind of person who will find a way through.
• 9:34
  So here's your win for today.
• 9:36
  I want you to find those three numbers that we talked about and write them down.
• 9:39
  Remember, your credit card statement gets your current interest rate and the bal, your student loan.
• 9:45
  Look at how much you owe, and then look at your average monthly car repairs and estimate that from the last six months.
• 9:52
  Now, you might say, ralph, this is depressing.
• 9:54
  No, it's clarifying.
• 9:55
  It's going to give you the information that you need.
• 9:58
  Those three numbers are your entry point into understanding your situation.
• 10:02
  So I'm going to encourage you to do that today.
• 10:05
  Let's get to our Bible verse today.
• 10:06
  It comes from the book of Philippians, chapter 4.
• 10:09
  Verses 6 and 7.
• 10:11
  This is an old favorite we've used on this show many times.
• 10:14
  It says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.
• 10:23
  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
• 10:32
  Friend, you're carrying a lot of weight.
• 10:34
  Some in anxiety, some instead of action.
• 10:38
  And Paul isn't saying to pretend the money problem doesn't exist.
• 10:42
  What he's saying is stop carrying that weight alone.
• 10:46
  Bring that to God.
• 10:47
  Bring him those credit card numbers.
• 10:49
  Bring him that grad school question, bring him that car repair bill.
• 10:54
  The peace that you're seeking isn't going to come from optimization.
• 10:58
  It comes from handing over what you can't control and then moving on what you can.
• 11:03
  How about we pray together right now?
• 11:06
  Heavenly Father, I'm praying for someone who is working hard.
• 11:10
  They're managing multiple pieces of debt and they're trying to hold on to their mental health at the same time.
• 11:16
  So Lord, I just ask today that you would give them clarity about those three numbers we talked about.
• 11:21
  Help them to truly see where their money actually goes so they can make one move this week that matters, Lord, in all things.
• 11:30
  Protect their peace.
• 11:31
  Help them understand their survival is enough.
• 11:35
  Their life is worth more than some balanced spreadsheet.
• 11:38
  And give them courage for that grad school decision.
• 11:40
  Lord, I have a feeling that's what you want for them.
• 11:42
  But give them courage to do that.
• 11:45
  Help them to find a path that doesn't require more debt to do that.
• 11:48
  We ask all these things in Jesus name.
• 11:52
  Amen.
• 11:55
  Friend, you're not failing at money.
• 11:57
  You're managing a complex situation and you're doing it with grace.
• 12:02
  So just remember, progress doesn't start with earning more.
• 12:05
  It starts with stopping the bleeding.
• 12:08
  That credit card interest, the car repairs, they're stealing your future one month at a time.
• 12:13
  And don't forget, make that one phone call.
• 12:15
  You might be able to reduce your interest by a lot.
• 12:19
  And before you optimize, understand something, write down those three numbers and understand what they are.
• 12:26
  And remember, your mental health isn't worth the price of stability.
• 12:30
  It's a prerequisite for it.
• 12:32
  And if you've got a question you'd like to share on the show, how about leaving me a voicemail message?
• 12:37
  You can do that at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail we'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail thank you so much for joining me today.
• 12:51
  I want to encourage you to stay financially savvy.
• 12:54
  May God bless you.
• 12:55
  And you have a truly great day today.