I spent too much at Christmas - how do I pay down my credit card debt?

Ralph
00:00:00

Does looking at your credit card statement after Christmas make your stomach turn? Are you lying awake at night wondering how you'll ever pay for all those holiday purchases?

Well, today I'm sharing the incredible story of Henry who turned his $10,000 post Christmas credit card nightmare into a debt free victory by October. Stay with me as I answer the burning question, I spent too much at Christmas. How do I pay down my credit card debt?

Podcast Announcer
00:00:27

In a world where crushing debt keeps you trapped, where living paycheck to paycheck has become your new normal, and where the dream of retirement seems impossibly out of reach, there's hope.

Join financial evangelist Ralph Estep Jr. A man who's walked through the fire of financial failure and emerged stronger on the other side.

Welcome to Ask Ralph, the show where real world experience meets biblical truth. To break the bondage of financial despair, get ready to take control of your money, break free from the financial stress and align your resources with God's purpose for your life. This is Ask Ralph with Ralph Estep Jr.

Ralph
00:01:07

Well, thank you for joining me today as we continue our journey together pursuing the mastering of our finances from that Christian perspective. And let me just tell you, it is cold here in Delaware.

We got a bunch of snow the last few days and I don't think it's gotten above 20 degrees for the last few days. But I don't know where you're at, but today's topic is going to be hot. Well, if you missed yesterday's show, we talked about those tax refund loans.

I got a little salty to be honest. And I exposed why these loans are dangerous traps that can seriously hurt your financial future. So I want you to go back and listen to it.

If you missed it, you can find all of our episodes simply askralph.com well, today's listener question might just make you cry. When I got this message, it really moved me. So I'm going to share that with you today. And this is what this listener wrote.

They said, Dear Ralph, it's 3:00am and I'm sitting at my kitchen table with a stack of credit card statements, a bottle of antacids and tears streaming down my face. The Christmas decorations are still up, but they're mocking me now. The joy of December was turned into January's nightmare.

$7,842 in credit card debt to be exact. I know I messed up, Ralph.

When my husband Brad got laid off from the Factory In September after 12 years, we promised ourselves we'd have a simple Christmas. But then our 8 year old daughter Claudia Wrote this heartbreaking letter to Santa asking if it could help her daddy find a new job.

Our 13 year old Michael stopped asking for anything, saying he was too old for Christmas presents anyway. But I could see the hurt in his eyes. I convinced myself I could manage it, just this one Christmas to keep their spirits up. So I charged everything.

Our presents, our church's angel tree gifts, the Christmas dinner, even basic groceries. I kept telling myself God would provide a way. Well, now the bills are here and I'm physically sick. I've been hiding the mail from Brad.

Last night, Claudia found me crying in the pantry and asked if Jesus was mad at us because daddy lost his job. I didn't know what to say. I've been praying constantly, but every time the phone rings, I'm terrified it's another creditor.

The interest rates are suffocating. 24.99% on most cards at minimum payments. I calculated it will take 15 years to pay this off.

I feel like I've failed as a wife, a mother, and most importantly, as a Christian. How could I have been so irresponsible? With God's blessings.

I heard you mentioned at our church financial class and something just told me to write, please help me find a way out of this mess. I need to get it right with God and my family, with hope and prayer. And that was signed Kristen from Nevada.

Well, Kristen, like I said, your question today really moved me. So I want to start by thanking you for that question. Thank you for sharing that. I think that's the first step to getting some healing here.

And I get it. You're overwhelmed with debt with those high interest rates and they are outrageous.

You got a single income after your husband lost his job and now you're even charging bare necessities on those credit cards. And you're feeling that guilt over spending decisions. A lot of people are feeling this. You got the fear of those creditors calling.

But compound all of that, you feel this religious shame, this religious guilt. You're worried about your child's emotional well being. You're worried about the stress being caused by this financial secrecy with your husband.

I've done a show about that. Don't let that continue. You got to be honest with them. Say that right now.

I even venture to say that you're actually expressing some depression symptoms at crying to late night worry. And the thing that really worries me, and I'm gonna talk about this later, is your children are aware of this stress.

There's been a communication breakdown with your spouse. And I get that you're attempting to protect your children from the financial reality. You got a crisis of faith. You're blaming yourself, their shame.

You feel like you're a moral failure and you got anxiety about the future. But when I sum it all up, Kristen, it's pretty straightforward to me. You got this struggle between faith and the financial reality.

But don't worry, Kristen, I've got solutions for today. There is hope you can do this, and I will give you the tools to do it.

Now, listen, one of the things I want to mention right now, if you've got a question just like Kristen's question, one of the best things you can do is go right to our website. That's askralph.com click on the search icon and put in what your question is or the area that you're looking for guidance.

I've got nearly 700 episodes. We've got blog posts, We've got shorts. We've got all kinds of videos out there.

So if you've got a crisis that you're facing, if you've got this financial question, one of the best places you can start is by going to askralph.com and see if I did an episode on that pass. And if I haven't, just reach out to me by going to justaskralph.com and send me your question and I'll put your question on the show.

You know, Kristen, I really struggled with your with your message today, but it reminded me of a powerful verse from Hebrews, and it speaks directly to our relationship with money and contentment. And honestly, you might not like what I'm getting ready to say, Kristen, but I think your issue is not about the credit card debt.

It's not about the debt. It's something bigger than that. So let's look at Hebrews 13:5. This is what it tells us.

It says, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And Kristen and everybody else, listen, I just want you to focus on that.

Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. So I want to move into my gratitude statement today.

I'm grateful for God's promise to never forsake us. Think about that for a moment. He will never forsake us, Kris. And even when we're facing these financial challenges, we feel like all hope is lost.

We feel like we've failed him. He'll never forsake us. His faithfulness gives us the strength to make the necessary changes in our lives. And that's what I'm grateful for today.

I'm grateful that he will never forsake us. That even when we're facing these financial challenges, his faithfulness will give us the strength to make those necessary changes.

So let's get right to those changes, Kristen, and we'll talk about how to improve your situation. Well, Kristen, in order to get to that, I want to tell you about a client that I worked with last year at this time we'll call him Henry.

And he's got a relatable situation just almost close to yours. But Henry's a little deeper than yours. He had amassed $10,000 in credit card debt from holiday spending and inflation.

In fact, the word Henry used for me was Ralph. I got some bricks on my shoulders because that's what it was. It was weighing him down. It was tearing at his flesh. It was this huge weight on him.

And listen, Kristen, he was feeling those same physical symptoms that you're feeling. He was struggling with his sleep. He was having trouble concentrating at work. He had this deep feeling of shame. I get it.

When you're in debt and you think about it and you dwell on that, you do feel this level of shame. And he was overwhelmed by the bill reminders, Kris. And just like you, you're overwhelmed worrying about those calls from creditors.

You're hiding those bills from your husband, which is a terrible thing to do. And I'm not judging you. I'm just telling you that financial infidelity will cause you more problems than you can even imagine.

So let's go back and talk about Henry. So Henry was feeling the same way you were, Kristen. But let me tell you about Henry's what I call his turning point.

And Henry finally realized that he couldn't do this on his own and he sought professional financial help. He called and scheduled an appointment with me because he understood he needed to overcome that shame.

And Kristen, I'm going to challenge you to do the same thing. You've got to overcome that shame and take action. There's no value in wallowing in that self pity of look at what we did.

It's not going to get you anywhere. I talk about that on the show all the time.

You might have great intentions of doing things better, but until you take action, action, you're not going to get anywhere. And that's exactly what I did with Henry. The first thing I did with Henry is the same thing I do with everybody.

We Did a complete income and expense audit. We wrote down every dollar of income he had and every expense item, line by line, because that's where we start. We start with that assessment.

It's not about judgment, it's not about emotions. It's just facts. And when we did that, we actually found 400 bucks of monthly savings for Henry.

One of my pet peeves, he had these subscription services. He didn't need them. We reviewed them, we eliminated them.

And Henry also had another thing a lot of people suffer with, and that's those out dining habits that those DoorDash and that Uber eats and just going out in general. So that's the first thing we did. We created a debt and a budget. Create. We created that budget. We knew that that was important.

I'm going to get to the debt in a second. But we knew we had to start with that budget. We had to figure out what his current situation was.

And Kristen, I'm going to encourage you to do the same thing. But then we did the second thing and we moved right into. I mentioned this a second ago. We moved into that debt management strategy.

Now for Henry used what's called the snowball method. I'll talk a lot about that later in the show. But for him, we organize his debts from the smallest to the largest.

Because I could sense from Henry's psychology that he needed to really grow this thing quickly. It was really bogging him down and he had a lot of debt.

So we organized his debts from smallest to largest because that focused on those psychological wins because I knew we needed to keep Henry motivated. That was going to be the key to this. And Kristen, I'll talk later in the show about this, but that may be what you need to.

You might need to start having some psychological wins. Now.

The next thing we did is I had what I call a come to Jesus meeting when Henry and I said, henry, listen, here's the bottom line, dude, you're not making enough money to live the lifestyle that you're living. And a lot of people don't want to talk about that. But that is a truth bomb. Sometimes the issue is not the expense side.

There are things you can cut on expenses, you can reduce your expenses, but at some point you might get to the point where it's an income side issue. And one of the things that Henry was good at is he had graphic design skills. So I said, Henry, I said, why don't you start a little side gig?

Why don't you start doing some freelancing work even if you're Just doing it on the weekends. And that's exactly what Henry did. I could see the light bulb go. He said, ralph, I can do this. I can make some money. Guess what?

Henry ended up making between 5 and 700 monthly. And I said to him, okay, here's a deal. Henry, this isn't your fun money. Let's go out to dinner more.

Let's order more doordash or Uber eats that money. If you're listening to me, Henry needs to go directly to debt repayment. That's going to be your snowball creation mechanism.

And that might be a good idea for you too. So let's fast forward a little while. Like I said, I met with him back in January. Kristin, he was feeling just like you.

He had been overwhelmed by this credit card. He was putting everything on it. Boy, his kids and his family had a fantastic Christmas. Henry even said to me, he said, ralph.

He said, I had cousins and nephews said, henry, we've never seen you so generous. I'm going to tell you right now, in January, Henry didn't feel so generous when those credit card bills were coming in.

But let's talk about the transformation because this is why I said, kristen, there is hope. Well, let me just lay it out for you. By October, Henry was completely credit card debt free.

But even bigger than that, we were able to develop a sustainable financial plan for him. He had these financial habits that he had worked so hard to overcome this debt that he created these financial habits. He was doing that budget.

He was measuring what he's doing. He's looking at his income and expenses. And what did that lead to?

It was the biggest benefit for him because he said, ralph, this is going to prevent that future debt cycle. So what's my conclusion as it relates to Henry? And I'm going to get to some specifics here in a few moments.

But Kristen, here's the thing I want to say to you. You really have two issues. Issue number one is you got to solve the problem you're in. But number two, you got to be proactive about holiday spending.

I did a how to survive the holidays without going broke handout before, you know, around the Christmas time. And this is what I talked about that in that.

And I'll put a link to that show so you can see that if you want to go listen to it or watch it and see what Henry started to do is he started to save in advance for those Christmas expenses. So I just talked to Henry a day or two before I recorded this and I said, henry, how'd it go.

He said, ralph, I put zero dollars on my credit card this year and I was just like, henry, that's an awesome job, dude. And he said, ralph, I did one better than that.

He said, I gave a big donation to our church's benevolence fund because I know there's people out there struggling. And he said, ralph, I just want to thank you because now I'm living in this commitment to being a debt free.

I'm living in this commitment to a debt free lifestyle. So, Kristen, I really feel like Henry's story can be your story. You can learn from what Henry went to.

It's not too late, Kristen, I get the emotion and what you're feeling. I get it. I've been there. So, Kristen, let me share my debt freedom plan and I'm going to lay it out for you.

The first thing I'm going to tell you to do. You listen to this show, you know, I always talk about this number one thing before you do anything else.

In fact, if you want to pause right now, pray. Because what did the Bible verse tell us? He'll never leave us nor forsake us. I want to emphasize seeking divine wisdom for these financial decisions.

A lot of people laugh at Ralph and they go, ralph, yeah, that's right. You want to pray about your finances. Yes, I do. Because first of all, the money's not ours in the first place.

The debt's ours because that's our decisions. But we have a responsibility to steward what God has given us.

If God has given us to us, given it to us, then let's look right back at him and ask him, lord, give me the wisdom to make better financial decisions. There are biblical principles about stewardship and debt management that you have to consider.

You can't just live in this bubble of keeping the two things separate. That's why I do the show. This show is all about merging faith and finance.

And one of the big things, one of the things I was praying about this episode I took away from this was you. You got to understand that this is not going to be fixed overnight. Kristen, if you think you're going to solve this overnight, I'm sorry, you're not.

So I need to highlight the importance of patience and the importance of faith during this journey.

And I truly believe with all of my heart that if you regularly pray for this, if you pray for that discipline and that perseverance, you will get dynamic and earth moving fundamental changes. So start with prayer number two thing. Assess like I do with Henry. This is where I Always start. It's not about judgment, it's not about emotion.

It's not about oh, I can't believe you did. If you want to go there, that's fine. Let's have a pity party for an hour and a half and at the end of the day we've not accomplished anything.

It's not about judgment or emotion. It's about getting to the facts. And this is where you got to start. So number two assessment. List all your debts with exact amounts.

Put it down like you did Kris and you said exactly how much credit card debt you have. Put the exact amount, put the interest rates, put the terms, make it clear.

Then I want you to calculate your total monthly income from all those sources. Look at your expenses and track those expenses for 30 days to understand your spending patterns. Like I did with Henry.

We found 400 bucks worth of stuff that he could eliminate and wouldn't even miss it. While you're doing that assessment, look at your credit reports, look at all three credit bureaus. A great time to do that.

Look at any spending leaks and problem areas where your money's going to door. Like I found with Henry, those eating out those doordashes, those ubereats and I'm not picking on them, they're fine services.

You know, calculate your debt to income ratio. Really understand what your situation is. So that's number two, assess. Number three, it's time to budget.

Yes, Ralph's going to talk about budgeting, but let's move away from that budgeting. People think that is so restrictive. Let's call it our intentional spending plan.

And what I mean by that is let's start with a zero based budget where every dollar has a purpose. If you're going to spend a dollar, it's got to have a purpose.

Now one of the things I'm going to recommend, and I've talked about this on the show before, is what I call the 50, 30, 20 rule. Let's use that as our starting framework. You'll be saying realm, what are you talking about? Here's what I'm talking about.

You're basically going to cut your income and your expenses down into three categories, the first of which is 50% of that is needs.

That's your housing, that's your rent, your mortgage, your utilities, your food and groceries, insurance, those minimum debt payments, that basic transportation, essential health care. So that's 50% of your. This is a basic rudimentary budget for nobody. If you've never budgeted before, here's where you start.

50% for needs, then you can take 30% and put it for once. That's those dining out, that's entertainment, that's shopping, hobbies, travel, upgraded services. You know, I'm gonna talk about it here.

Maybe you need to look at those streaming services. Do you need all of them? Could you cut back on some of those? Could you find ways to save money with your cell phone or your Internet service?

And this is also that place where if you want to, you know, do those non essential subscriptions, maybe you pick one good friend of mine, Dave, that's what he does.

He picks one streaming service per month or every, every other month and he binges on those and then he moves on to the next one because he says, rob, why am I carrying all these different services? So that's why I said 50. We start with needs, 30% with once, and then 20% is what I'm going to call our savings and our debt reduction plan.

That's where you build that emergency fund.

And yes, if you listen to this show, and I talk about this all the time, but the emergency fund is so critical, it's where you're going to worry about your retirement savings. Paying those debts above those, whether you choose the snowball or avalanche method. I'm going to talk about those in a few minutes.

This is where you invest and you plan for those long term financial goals. So let me give you a simple example. Let's say you have a job where you have $5,000 a month take home pay, that's your net.

So your budget's going to look like this. 2,500 for needs, 1500 for wants, and a thousand for savings and debt elimination.

The other thing I'm going to tell you to do is maybe you want to consider setting up different accounts for different spending categories. Like that envelope method. My grandparents used to do that.

My grandmother would get my, my grandfather's paycheck or their Social Security check and she had envelopes. You know, this was our food, this was our gas and that, this is our entertainment envelope. Here's our eating out envelope.

But at the same time, while you're building this plan and you're building this budget, you got to plan for irregular expenses and emergency. So plan for those Christmas things, plan for those birthday gifts. If you're going to do that in those months, plan for travel.

Like maybe your family is one of those families that every year you have sort of a homecoming or something like that. And also plan for emergencies. And here's the thing I want to tell you. Plan for tithing and giving in your budget. A lot of people say start there.

I agree. Then to make your life simpler, use some budgeting apps or spreadsheets for tracking. Number four.

Thing I'm going to encourage you to do is prioritize.

You maybe use the snowball method because that's a great way to get that psychological win because it builds momentum and there's quick visible progress. Or maybe you do the avalanche method. That's where you pay the highest interest first.

You know, with the snowball method you take the smallest bounce and pay to the largest and you just start throwing more and more money at as that thing grows. Or with the dead avalanche method, you take the highest interest first. And to be honest with you, that's mathematically optimal.

It doesn't give you those quick wins, it doesn't give you those momentum as much, but you will save more over the long term. But let me just tell you, that requires song discipline.

So whatever you do recommend, I got to recommend you maintain the minimum payments on all your debts. Don't have this approach. Well, Ralph said do the snowball method. So I'm just going to focus on this one. The heck with the rest.

I'm not paying any of them. That is not what I'm saying. And at the same time, I want you to build a small emergency fund because things happen. That's the way life works.

Number five, thing, cut back. This is my mom's favorite phrase when I was a kid, I've mentioned on the show, my mom was a single mom.

She raised my sister and I and she would make this statement and at the time I never understood it. She would say, kids, we need to cut back. There's a couple things that I want to unwind in this one.

Kristen, I'm going to pick on you for a second because one of the things my mom did and I really, I don't say resent is a strong word to use, but it wasn't the right thing. She used to put her financial burdens on me as an 8 year old. And Kristen, I feel like you're kind of doing that with your kids too.

And while I'm here, I want to talk about this. It's not your kids responsibility to worry about your financial situation.

I'm not saying they can't play a role in family budgeting and all that kind of stuff. But listen, it is not right.

My mother did this to me and I'm not picking on her because she passed away a couple years ago and I don't think she knew any better. But Kristen Listen to me. Don't burden your kids with this. They have no way to impact this.

They're not going to go out and get jobs at 8 or 6 or however old your kids are. I know at 8 I wasn't going to get in a job. I had no ability and I had no responsibility to it. So that's my little rant for the moment.

And like I said, don't burden your kids with this. If you're doing that, you are doing what I will call emotional abuse. But let's get back. So number five thing, Cutback.

Review subscriptions and memberships. Like I did with Henry.

One of the great things you can do is do meal planning, do grocery budgeting, have an idea what your meals are going to be before you even go to the store. Because, listen, the stores are designed to make you spend more. I get it, I love it. That's the goal of capitalism.

But if you plan ahead and you have a list and say, I'm only going to buy what's on this list because I've planned out my meals, I planned out my breakfast lunches and dinners. I get on my youngest son about this all the time. Have you planned for your lunches next week? Have you planned for your dinners next week?

He'll be like, dad, I'll just pick up something. You're wasting money. And he doesn't have a lot of money to waste. And I'm not picking on him. He's a young guy, he's just starting out.

And maybe you're saying, ralph, I still need entertainment in my life. Great. Find cheaper alternatives. I've done a hundred or more shows about ways to save money. Call the credit card.

You know, call and negotiate better rates for services. Whether that's your credit card rates, negotiate those down. Find better options. Call your cell phone provider. Call your Internet service provider.

Maybe you need to downsize, whether that's your house or vehicles. Maybe you've got too much going out in housing costs. You need to really focus on that. You know, find some free or low cost activities.

And here's the thing, here's a key takeaway to this one. And this isn't easy because as Americans, we love instant gratification. My wife says this all the time.

We live in the instant gratification situation right now. It's this whole generation, they want instant gratification. So what's the opposite of that? This is the time to practice delayed gratification.

Number six thing, increase your income. Because sometimes it takes extra effort. Like I said to Henry, dude, You're not going to make this work unless you bring more money into the equation.

So explore over time opportunities. Develop additional marketable skills. Start that side business. Sell unused items. People laugh when I say that. I used to work at a credit union.

I mentioned that on the show before and I did some collections work and I'd call people and I'd say, hey Mr. Harris, I'm calling from the credit union. Looks like you haven't paid your credit card this month. What can we do to get a payment?

Ralph, I don't have the money. I said, well, I hear a TV in the background. And he said, yeah. I said, well why don't you take that TV and sell it?

And how dare you tell me to sell my tv. I said, well listen, you're not paying your bills. I know that sounds harsh, but maybe, maybe it's not your tv. But sell unused items.

Take on temporary extra work. Look for a raise or promotion. Look for better paying job opportunities.

Because sometimes it's as simple as you've got to increase the income side of this. Number seven, seek support. I think listening to this show is a great start.

I also write a daily blog post that has a ton of resources in that research. Reputable Christian financial counselors. I talk about that in today's blog post. Join debt free journey support groups. Consider debt consolidation.

Maybe you need to meet with an attorney when bankruptcy might be necessary. I'm not going there today. And Kristen, I don't think that's where you are but maybe this has gotten to that point with other people.

Maintain open communication with your creditors, Kristen. Maintain open communication with your spouse and share your goals with accountability partners.

And number eight and I made this one last, but this is the biggest one. This is so very important. You got to celebrate, celebrate those milestones. I don't make those things that derail the progress.

Don't say, hey, we're going to blow our emergency fund in a celebration. But track and visualize your progress. Share success stories with other people because you can inspire others.

I said this to Henry when I talked to him the other day. I said, henry, I'm going to use your story on my show because guess what, it will inspire others and document the lessons learned.

That's what Henry's done. He's documented it. And like Henry, he's planned for maintaining this debt free lifestyle and he's created new financial goals. Post debt.

So like I said, I want to remind you every day with this show, I do also write a blog post. You can get those blog posts by going to askralphpodcast.com/blog well, let me ask you something, Kristen.

I think this is going to hit you right square in the forehead. You know that feeling when you stare at those bills every month? Your heart's racing. You're wondering how you'll make it work.

Well, let me just tell you, Kristen, I've been there. I'm not this guy that's behind this microphone who's never shared or experienced what you're feeling. I've been there. And let me tell you something.

That pit in your stomach, those sleepless nights, the constant worry about money, it's not what God intended for your life. Hear me? This is not what God intended for your life. And every day I hear from listeners just like you, Christian.

Good, hardworking Christian people who are watching their family's needs go unmet while interest charges are eating up their paychecks. They're feeling guilty every time their kids ask for something they can't afford. They're praying for a miracle while drowning in credit card debt.

They're robbing God. They're missing out on tithing and serving because they're trapped in financial quicksand.

And Kristin, I know this is going to hit close to home, but they're hiding their struggles from family and friends and they're carrying this burden alone. But listen closely and I want you to hear me. This is your moment of hope because I truly believe God hasn't brought you to this point by accident.

There's no accidents when it comes to God. Just like David faced Goliath, you can face this giant called debt. You can do this. And with the right guidance, you can win this battle.

Because let me tell you, I've walked alongside hundreds of believers who thought their situation was hopeless. Just like you, Kristen, that's what I hear in your communication. Ralph, I feel like this is hopeless.

I feel like there is no chance of me getting past this. You're feeling that emotion. You're feeling that guilt. You're feeling that shame.

But I've worked with hundreds of believers who thought that was their situation. But today they're sleeping peacefully at night like a Henry. They're free from financial anxiety.

They're teaching their children about godly money management. They're not burdening their kids with their bad financial decisions. And again, Kristen, I'm not picking on you.

But get to that other side and teach your children about godly money management. I'm gonna be doing a show on that very soon. They're giving generosity to their church and they're given the causes they care about.

They're building wealth while honoring their faith, and they're living the life of freedom because that's what God designed for them. God designed you to live a life of freedom.

That's why Jesus went to the cross, to give us freedom, freedom in our life and freedom from this debt burden. You might be saying, ralph, that's great. I've tried everything. But here's what makes my approach different. You listen to the show.

You know this is true. I combine biblical wisdom with practical financial strategies. Because this isn't just about numbers. It's about transformation.

And that's what you're asking for, Chris, and that's what I hear you saying and others who may be listening. What you need is transformation. And I promise you this. Together, we're going to uncover the root cause of your financial struggles.

That's what we're going to start. We're going to create a personalized debt elimination plan that actually works.

We're going to align your spending with your values and God's principles. We're going to build strong financial habits that last a lifetime. Want to help you establish accountability to keep you on track. And listen to this.

Going to transform your relationship with money. And listen. Been here, done that. I know it takes courage to admit you need help. But just imagine for a moment. Just close your eyes for a second.

Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to open that mailbox without fear. What would it feel like to give your children the opportunities they deserve? What would it feel like to support God's kingdom without restrictions?

How would it feel to finally have peace about your finances? And how would it feel to know you're building a legacy for your family? And let me just tell you, that future isn't just a dream. It's waiting for you.

And the first step is simple.

Right now, while you're feeling this stirring in your spirit, go to askralph.com click on the button at the top of the screen that says book a call and schedule your consultation with me. This is your chance to share your story with someone who understands. I'm not going to judge you.

And I've got the experience to help you find your way out. Don't let shame, don't let fear or uncertainty hold you back another day. Listen to me. Your financial breakthrough is just one decision away.

Again, visit askralph.com that's askralph.com and together we'll create a path to financial freedom while strengthening your walk with God. Because remember Proverbs 22, 7 says this and I didn't use this today, but it's the truth. The borrower is slave to the lender.

It's time to break those chains. It's time to step into the financial freedom God has for you again. Take action now.

Visit askralph.com and let's begin your journey to financial freedom today. I've gone long today, but I want to leave you with a few reflection questions.

Number one thing, what unnecessary expenses could you cut from your budget today to start your debt payoff journey? What are some things that you can do today to get started on this journey?

Number two, how might your relationship with God grow stronger as you become a better steward of your finances? Think about that for a second. Think about that today.

How might your relationship with God grow stronger as you become a better steward of your finances? And number three, reflection questions. What skills do you have that could generate extra income for debt repayment?

Because like I said, sometimes it's not an expense side, it's a income side. Just like Henry found. What skills do you have that can generate that income? Well, let me give you a few action steps.

I'm not going to belabor this for long because I think we've covered it. But let me tell you some things. Number one, get real with your numbers. Get those credit card statement, get those bills, receipts.

Create that comprehensive spreadsheet. List each debt like I said, the total amount owed, the interest rate, the minimum payments. Stop hiding from the financial reality. Start there.

Number two, book a call with me. I think I nailed that one. I have a personalized approach for each family. I want to work with you. This is what I do.

I work with working class families in this faith based financial planning. And trust me, there's no one size fits all. You're not going to watch some YouTube or TikTok or go Google, search it and find the answers.

Step number three, start each day with that financial prayer. Track your expenses. Record every single purchase, no matter how small they are, even those minor expenses like coffee.

And connect spiritual discipline with financial discipleship. And focus on honoring God in your financial decisions. Look for those immediate expense reductions. Break the silence.

Address that isolation of financial struggles. Talk with your spouse, talk with your pastor. Talk with trusted friends. Look for those community support things like I talk about in the blog.

Because that's what I do. This show for. My show's mission is to help working class individuals break free of the bondage of debt.

Now tomorrow we're going to tackle another important topic and is that do I have to pay taxes when I sell my home.

It's a question I get routinely here in my tax practice, and you don't want to miss that because I'm going to give you some insights that might just save you thousands of dollars. Now remember this I know you can feel today. My passion is to help you achieve financial success.

I want to see you live out your dreams, and I want to see you grow in your faith because I know together we can master your finances from a Christian perspective. So as I always end the show, I'm going to add a little bit to it today. Kristen, I'm speaking directly to you. There is hope.

That hope is found in Jesus Christ. So stay financially savvy out there and may God bless you and abundantly bless you as you ask for him to help you in this difficult time.

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