Do you feel like things are out of control?
Are you wishing for God to remove all the obstacles and make all the money drama disappear? Me too sometimes.
But you know the good news, today I will show you how to manage money as a christian so you can take back control of your finances with 9 simple steps.
Are you ready for some magic in your finance?
Life happens and sometimes things just don’t go as per plan.
It is really easy to overspend when we feel stressed, tired or overwhelmed.
After all, the main trigger of impulse buying is our emotions so no wonder many of us blew our budget on food or online shopping.
Who knew we would be in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. It is crazy.
So don't feel guilty or bad! Here is how you can change the whole situation with 9 steps to win again with money.
Step 1: FORGIVE YOURSELF
Yes, please give yourself some grace. We have to let go of the guilt and shame in order to start on the right foot.
Please write yourself a note “ I did the best I could in the situation I was in so I will forgive myself for the past and look at the future with a positive and grateful mindset”.
If no one told you this today, let me tell you that you are not your financial mistakes.
WHAT YOU DO, HAVE OR DON'T HAVE DOESN'T DEFINE YOUR WORTH.
You are worthy, you are enough and you are God’s masterpiece so please remember this. So please pray and ask God to help you forgive yourself or someone. Then pray for wisdom and guidance.
For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6
Step 2: SET E.P.I.C GOALS
How does God want you to steward his resources?
Going to work just to pay the bills doesn’t feel right.
Life is much more than that. We must use our money as a tool to create a life we love, to be a blessings and to glorify God.
In my program, I teach how to create E.P.I.C goals which stand for Empowering, Precise, In season and Christ-lead. We can do everything at once and
For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
It is so important to be clear on where God wants you to go, and what does HE want you to focus on right now?
As your Christian money mindset and habits coach, here are some important questions:
What is your biblical financial vision?
What are your short and long term money goals?
How can you create a plan based on your values?
What is a top priority in your finances right now? (debt, saving, investing...)
What does the bible says about money and wealth?
What do you believe about money?
Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:6
If you want to create a plan, you must seek God's will first. You need to have a vision for your finance, understand what you believe and know where we are heading.
As a former travel agent, I could not buy a ticket for a client if I didn't know where they wanted to go (Point B) nor where they were departing from (Point A).
So we need to know point B but also point A which is step 3.
Step 3: ASSESS YOUR CURRENT SITUATION
Now that you know where you are going, let’s look at your departure point.
You need to assess our financial situation.
This is a simple process.
Sit down with a pen and paper and start writing:
All the things you own (your assets)
All the things you owe (your liabilities)
This is how you calculate your net worth.
Your net worth is your assets less your liabilities.
And at the beginning, it may be negative but don't worry. In this blog, you will learn how to create better money habits so you can build a strong money foundation and have a positive net worth with biblical principles.
Then you need to calculate your profit and loss statement, which is
How much you earn (your income) less
How much do you spend (expenses)
By doing this you will know if you are living below or above your means.
Those four figures are a representation of your financial health and this is what we need to work on to create your RICH LIFE.
By doing this exercise, you will have a clear idea of where you stand today.
If you feel overwhelmed and you want to work with a Christian money mindset and habits coach, I invite you to book a free coaching call so you can go from unsure to unstuck in 30 min. CLICK HERE
Step 4: YOU GET TO!
Now that we have our figures, the fun part begins.
We get to decide what we want to focus on first and set some E.P.I.C goals.
When I left Tahiti and moved to NZ to be with my husband, he had a huge student loan to pay. Plus we couldn’t pay our credit card in full at the end of the month.
He was a security guard and on top of that, I wasn’t allowed to work for maybe 3 to 6 months until I got the proper working visa.
I was living in Tahiti and working as an activity manager on a cruise ship before I left everything to be with my husband.
So it’s fair to say that it wasn’t easy for me. I now truly understand the quote: LOVE IS BLIND. LOL.
I won’t lie the figures and situation were very scary to me and I wondered, are we ever going to get out of this hole? I was 24 years old at the time.
I prayed and asked for guidance. Then I found Tony Robbins CDs in my husband's cupboard and he is the one who taught me.
I had to change my mindset from I HAVE to pay off debt to I GET to pay off my debt.
It may seem like a very small change but actually, it was huge.
You are shifting your mindset from a complaining attitude to a grateful attitude.
The way we talk about money, think about money will affect how we feel and act.
Actions and strategies without the right mindset will take you nowhere.
Also, as a christian I had to stop believe that money is evil and bad.
So you got to work on your mindset and self-talk if you want to see long-lasting changes. This is what I help my clients do. They learn how to shift their money mindset with biblical principles to align their faith with their finances.
So they can earn more without feeling scared or guilty. Which help them give more and pay off debt. faster.
Now, I have another little 3 letters word that will help you reframe that negative self-talk and that is the word YET.
When you see your figures and negative net worth it is hard to believe that things will change. There, I needed to find something like a bridge that could help me go from very negative self talk to positive self-talk.
So I realised that as soon as I found myself saying: "I can't save enough money to pay my debt", I will then add the word YET. So my sentence will become" I can't save enough money to pay my debt YET". That small shift helped me feel excited and positive because I felt like it was just around the corner.
Maybe I am the only one thinking and feeling that way.
What do you think about that little technique, let me know!
So get excited about the new direction you are taking and focus on one little step at a time. I know it is simple but please try it and tell me if it works for you too.
Step 5: - IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
This is where we need to cut all the excuses and really be honest. Often that is why you need to Christian money coach to help you see your blindspots.
Why are you in that mess in the first place?
Are you living above our means because you just can’t stop our impulse buying behaviour?
Is it because you have been through a rough divorce or sickness?
Maybe the living expenses, rent and car are too high compared to what you earn from your business?
I know for us, my husband's income wasn’t enough to support both of us.
We couldn’t furnish our rented studio apartment. I couldn’t invite friends to my place.
We had no table, no couch and only had few dishes.
That was minimalist to the extreme and it wasn’t by choice.
So as soon as I could work, I did 2 jobs: I sorted mail at night time and cleaned toilets. It was hard for me because my previous job in Tahiti was on a luxury cruise ship and I was the guest relation and activities manager.
But well, I prayed, did what I had to do to be a good steward. Plus, I used the "GET "and "YET" techniques to help me get through that time.
And sometimes, you gotta do what you have to do, whether you like it or not.
I feel that those times just made me appreciate the life I have even more now.
Thank you God for this strength, wisdom and faithfulness.
You are not alone!
Step 6: START TRACKING YOUR FINANCES
You need to know where your money is going. The easier and most effective way is simply to track your personal finances.
You don't have to make it complicated. There are a lot of app now that can help you do that. I prefer to add things manually.
All my clients start with a money journal because it helps them see their financial habits and triggers with one simple exercise.
This money journal is a game changer.
It is on sale on my ETSY's store if you want to take back control of your finances with biblical principles check it out. CLICK HERE
The trackers is automated and it comes with a masterclass.
Once you have done the tracking for a month, now it is time to put a plan in place and tell your money what you want it to do.
Having a budget or what I prefer to call a spending plan, is the fastest way in my opinion to get out debts paid off, save for a house, vacations and start investing.
There are 4 really good budget types so make sure you choose one that suits you and match your money personality.
My husband and I created a V.I.P Financial method when we first started on our debt-free journey back in 2007. One of the greatest budget methods out there (maybe I am a bit biased)
This methodology is more than money management it is a lifestyle change.
V. stands for Value-based spending
I for intentional living
P for priority focused
God gave me the name in the shower while I was praying.
It is a combination of 2 budget methods. It is just awesome!
I teach more about this way of life in my one on one coaching program, Financially Confident Sisterhood.
I get to choose how much I prefer to spend in each category and let go of what doesn’t serve me. It truly helped me see that managing money biblically is fun and easy.
It is a new way of life where you are more mindful of your money.
Step 7: CREATE BETTER MONEY HABITS
In step 2, you decided on your money goals.
This is essential however, I often find that focusing on the big goal is not the way to go.
So what I coach my clients to do instead is that to focus on the daily habits they need to have to reach their goals. They focus on the system and journey.
The big goal is broken down into tiny daily steps which they found easier to manage and focus on.
Each day, they know they need to be 1% better than yesterday and colour in their ELASTIC HABIT tracker to see their progress. So set the E.I.PC goals, then focus on biblical financial habits and principles.
Step 8: REWARD YOURSELF
This is so important, being debt-free or saving money for a house or feeling confident about your money, doesn’t just happen overnight.
Therefore, you need to make sure you enjoy the journey.
I have found that the easiest way to do that is by rewarding yourself when you reach a milestone and by using trackers to get instant gratification.
You need to have an accountability partner. That could be a friend, your husband or me as your Christian Money mindset and habits coach. You need someone that will be there when things are tough and also when it is time to celebrate those amazing achievements.
WHO WILL YOU HAVE IN YOUR WINNING SQUAD?
Don’t skip this! You need an accountability partner and you need a tracker for your debt-free journey, your sinking funds, your daily habits (health, prayer, workout etc).
This is a must-do to stick with new habits and stay motivated.
Step 9: REVIEW AND ADJUST
If you are a perfectionist like me who then becomes a professional procrastinator ask God to help you because is no such things as perfect. Well, there is only one person who is perfect and that is JESUS.
So please, your first plan doesn’t need to be perfect before you start. YOU JUST NEED TO DO IT!
Track for a month, then create your pay-check to pay-check budget and give it another month.
Then Review it! Check where you still spend more than you wanted and acknowledge what worked well.
Once you are happy with your spending plan/budget, voilà keep using it and create those new biblical financial habits.
Remember though that life happens and even if you thought yay, I have the plan, there will be ups and down.
You will still go over budget sometimes and forget to plan a big bill, or the car just blew up. "C'es la vie (It is life)
BUT if you did not have a plan it will be worse.
Also if your budget doesn't work yet, don't give up. Try again!
It is best to have a plan for your money than nothing at all.
Please remember, you only fail when you decide to stop trying.
If you feel you can never stick to your budget, it can be because of those 4 reasons:
You are not realistic with your numbers
You haven't planned for big recurring bills or events (birthday, Christmas, house taxes...)
Your Why is not big enough and so you lack self-discipline
You don't have the right support system
Managing money is a journey with ups and downs. Some days it will be easy, other days it will be very hard but what is important here is that you've decided to take control of your finances today and you are working on it.
You should be proud of yourself for taking those steps because I am happy to say that if you follow those 9 steps you will have a plan for your money.
The biggest lesson for all of us is to realise that if we don’t know how to manage $1000, You sure would not know how to manage $100 000.
As a Christian entrepreneur, God can bless you financial and wants you to do great thing with that money. That is why you need to learn how to steward your money wisely now, so when you get more you will know exactly what to do.
Money problems can not be solved with more money.
You need to shift your money mindset, you need to learn biblical financial principles, you need good financial habits and accountability.
So start now, forgive yourself, write your goals, shift your mindset, understand your figures, identify the leak, create a plan, learn new habits, find your squad, review, be grateful and have fun.
You are in charge and you can take control of your finances today.
You totally got this girl!
If you feel overwhelmed and you want to work with a Christian money mindset and habits coach, I invite you to book a free coaching call so you can go from unsure to unstuck in 30 min. CLICK HERE
I am here if you need a hand.
Take care.
Love
Your Christian Money mIndset and habits Coach - Raina