Feeling Overwhelmed? Your 5-Step December Checklist for Financial Peace

Only about one in three folks actually sit down to make a year-end financial checklist, and let me tell you, those who do feel 50% less stressed! Who wouldn’t want that kind of chill vibe during the holiday madness, right? Feeling Overwhelmed? Your 5-Step December Checklist for Financial Peace. Today, we’re diving into how to keep your cool amidst the December chaos. I've been in those shoes, feeling pulled in a million directions with money, family, and deadlines. So, I’m here to share some simple steps to bring a little order to your life, because peace doesn’t just fall from the sky—it’s built, baby! Let’s get ready to end the year strong and kick off 2026 with some serious confidence!

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December is a wild ride for a lot of us, right? Between the holiday buzz, family gatherings, and the looming chaos of year-end finances, it can feel like we’re juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. So, how do we keep our cool amidst the whirlwind? Well, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of keeping that peace we all crave. It turns out that one simple trick can transform the holiday panic into a serene state of mind: making a year-end financial checklist. Only about one in three folks do this, but those who do report feeling 50% less stress. So, what’s the scoop? Ralph, our podcast host, shares his wisdom on how a little preparation can go a long way. He emphasizes that peace doesn’t just drop from the sky; it’s crafted through order and planning.

In this episode, Ralph answers a listener’s burning question about how to stay centered during December’s chaos. He relates to the listener’s struggles, admitting that even he feels the holiday craziness creeping in. The goal here? To help everyone finish the year strong while setting the stage for an even better 2026. Ralph breaks down the importance of reflecting, refocusing, and preparing. He dishes out some practical advice, including charitable giving, checking on retirement contributions, and auditing those sneaky subscriptions that can drain our wallets. Each tip is designed to ease the financial burden and create a sense of calm amidst the holiday hustle.

To wrap things up, Ralph encourages us to embrace the power of planning. With a sprinkle of humor and relatable anecdotes, he reminds us that good planning leads to prosperity. So, let’s take a page from his book and kick off the new year with confidence and clarity, leaving the chaos behind. After all, it’s not about controlling every detail; it’s about showing faith through preparation and being a financially savvy Christian. Ready to tackle those year-end tasks? Let’s do it!

Takeaways:

• Only one in three folks actually create a year-end financial checklist to keep things chill.
• People who make a checklist report feeling 50% less stress during the holiday chaos, which is a big win.
• Preparation is key to finding peace in December, so let’s get our act together early.
• Charitable giving isn’t just about kindness; it can also save you some cash on taxes, how cool is that?
• Checking retirement contributions before year-end can make a huge difference for your future savings.
• Don't forget to audit those subscriptions and expenses, because who wants to waste money on stuff they don’t even use?

Links referenced in this episode:

• financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join

💛 Join the Financially Confident Christian Community

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Episode Transcript

(00:28):
Listen to this. Only one inthree people create a year end financial
checklist. But think aboutthis one though. But those who do
report 50% less stress. Do youwant more stress in your life? I
got the answer today becausepeace doesn't come from luck, it
comes from order. Which leadsme to today's listener question.
Ralph, I feel pulled in ahundred directions this December.

(00:48):
Money, family, deadlines, howdo I keep peace in the middle of
all this chaos? And I got thismeasure. I thought, wow, I feel that
chaos too. Listen, it's onlythe 2nd of December and I'm already
starting to feel it as well.And the end of the year can feel
like a financial whirlwind.Talk about overwhelm. But there is
a way to keep order and keeppeace because a few small steps today

(01:10):
can prevent big stresstomorrow. So let's talk about living
in peace during the chaos.That's what I'm going to cover on
today's show.
This is Financially ConfidentChristian, your daily dose of gospel,
grounded insight and faithdriven tips to help you break the
cycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hello there and welcome. I'mRalph and thank you so much for joining

(01:32):
me today. My goal every day isto help you break that cycle of financial
shame and do it withconfidence. Right now, my goal is
to help you break that cycleof chaos and have a plan. And I'm
so happy you're joining us.We're in our second day of our December
series, what I'm calling theDecember Reset. That is reflect,
refocus and prepare for thenew year. So I'm so happy that you
joined me today and I'vehelped many families and business

(01:54):
owners finish the year strong.And that's exactly what we're building
up to. All of December. We'regoing to talk about how to build
up to a strong 2026. Listen,like you, I've lived through plenty
of Decembers and here's thething. I know peace doesn't happen
by accident. If you think it'sgoing to, all of a sudden, bam, it's
going to happen. It doesn'twork that way. Peace comes through

(02:14):
preparation. And I love what aclient once told me. She said, ralph,
she said, December used to bepure panic until my husband and I
finally made a checklist. AndI said, checklists are great. Just
got to make sure you get thestuff done. But one change, just
one single change can turnthat holiday stress into calm confidence.
And each year since, she said,it's not perfect, Ralph, but it's

(02:36):
peaceful and it's amazing whata little order can do to transform
that chaos into calm. So let'sget to our question today again,
that's how do I keep peace inthe middle of all this chaos? And
I'm going to give you what Isay some items to add to your checklist.
This is kind of some thingsthat as I work with individuals and
I work with small businessclients, these are the things to
really put on that checklist.I'm going to encourage you later.

(02:57):
I'll give you your action itemfor today. But these are some things
that you can add to it. Firstthing, charitable giving. A lot of
people don't think about thisone till it's too late. But give
before you're in because,listen, you're on the cash basis
in the United Statesespecially, you want to make sure
you make those contributionsbefore the end of the year. It's
a great way to bless othersand it can reduce your taxes at the
same time. And what does itpoint to? It points to generosity

(03:20):
and stewardship. That's one ofthe big things we talk about on this
show just about every singleday. We want to live in that financial
confidence. Well, no greaterway to do that than to be generous
and steward. Those two thingsgo hand in hand. So start with charitable
giving. Here's another greatidea. Check on those retirement contributions.
A lot of people don't thinkabout this until after the beginning
of the year, but this is agreat idea to maybe put a little

(03:43):
bit more money away before theend of the year because those small
deposits we mentioned on theshow back in October when we did
our investment series, howthose little deposits can really
grow big later on and it's aneasy win for your future. So check
those retirementcontributions. Make sure you're putting
as much as you can. Listen,I'm going to tell you, I like to
put about 15% a year intothat. If you're not quite there,

(04:04):
well, make it maybe a 1%increase or a 2% increase, but really
focus on that. Here's anotherthing a lot of people don't think
about this. Look at thoseflexible spending or HSA funds. Now
if you've got a flexiblespending account, guess what? You're
going to have to use thatstuff before the end of the year
or you lose it. So make sureyou've checked those balances. Make
sure you're aware of what youcan spend. Maybe go get some new

(04:26):
eyeglasses, maybe buy somecontact lenses, maybe get some medications
that you can prepay for forfor the year. But don't lose those
monies. And if you're fundingan hsa, make sure you get that funding
in before the end of the year,because, yes, it'll give you a little
bit of a tax deduction, andyou don't want to lose out when those
Money's expiring at FSA onDecember 31st. I've seen that happen
way too many times. Go buysome aspirin. Go buy some things

(04:49):
that you can just spend alittle bit of money on. Here's another
great idea. You want to findsome ways to save some money. It's
a great time to audit yoursubscriptions, pull your bank statements
out, pull your credit cardstatements out, and look at where
you're spending your money.I'll give you a great example of
this. I was talking tosomebody the other day, and I said,
hey, I was doing his businesswork, and I said, do you realize
you're still paying for thisparticular event? He goes, ralph,

(05:10):
I haven't been to that in twoyears. I said, yeah, but they're
charging you $150 a month.That's a big deal. I said, that's
a lot of money for you. Goes,that's a great idea, Ralph. I'm so
glad you brought that up. Butdo the same thing. Look at your credit
card statements. Read it lineby and like, it's a. Like it's a
compelling novel. Well, guesswhat? It is, because that's your
money going out the door. Andif you've got leaks, if you've got

(05:31):
drafts, hey, if it's in themiddle of winter, you don't want
the heat to go out the doors,right? Do the same thing with your
money. Cancel those recurringcharges. If you're not using it,
maybe you've forgotten aboutit. Cancel it. Another great thing
to do at year end is look atyour insurance and your beneficiaries,
update your coverage andupdate those contacts, because this
simple act of love is. Is foryour family. You don't know how many

(05:53):
times I've seen people whodidn't think about it. They passed
away, and those beneficiariesweren't updated, and it became a
big, big issue. So here's myrecap. Talk about charitable giving.
Consider some charity. Checkthose retirement contributions, check
those FSA and HSA balances,audit those subscriptions, and look
at your insurance andbeneficiaries, because, listen to

(06:15):
this one. I had Abby, myproducer, throw this into the show.
But 45% of people miss simpletax deductions because they haven't
planned before. December 31st.That's right, from the IRS and a
Kiplinger analysis. That'smoney left on the table, oftentimes
because people ran out oftime. But you don't have to run out
of time. It's only the 2nd ofDecember. You've got plenty of time

(06:35):
to set this year as a greatending and be prepared for 2026.
I encourage you to do allthose things. Let's get to our Bible
verses. We actually have twotoday. First one is from First Corinthians
14:40. It says, but everythingshould be done in a fitting and orderly
way. Now listen, as a type Apersonality, I love that Bible verse.
A fitting and orderly way. Nowsome people don't live fitting and

(06:58):
orderly. But listen, for whatit's worth, planning. Put yourself
in that realm of beingprepared. Now the second one comes
to us from Proverbs 21:5. Nowthis is a different translation than
we usually use, but I kind oflike this one. It's from the new
living translation. It saysgood planning and hard work lead
to prosperity, but hastyshortcuts lead to poverty. Well,

(07:19):
that pretty much stands on itsown, doesn't it? Good planning and
hard work, prosperity. Howabout we pray together right now,
Lord, as we think aboutfinishing up the year strong, we
ask that you would give uspeace in the middle of this year
and chaos in this middle ofthis year end busyness, Lord, and
help me to manage my time andmanage my money with order and not
anxiety. It's so easy to getinto a point of anxiety, to get in

(07:43):
a feeling of overwhelm. SoLord, just teach me right now to
finish the year withgratitude, to finish it with diligence,
and to finish it with strongfaith. You've given us so much, Lord,
and we're just so thankful forwhat you've given us. And we ask
this in confidence in the nameof Jesus. Amen. Okay, here's your
action item for today. I wantyou to go ahead and create that year
end financial checklist. Itdoesn't have to be this 20 line item

(08:05):
thing, just five items. Justpick five items. But here's what
your commitment is. You got tocomplete these things before December
31st. So make sure when youput those things on the list, you're
going to do them. Maybethey're things like taxes. Make sure
you've done your taxdeductions. Maybe it's giving or
those benefits at work,spending or insurance. But find five
and commit to doing thosethings before the end of the year

(08:27):
because it's going to be ahuge impact on you. One of the things
I'd like to see you add toyour list is why don't you join our
community? We just launched acommunity. It's a great way to find
tools, devotionals, and hey,how about some prayer partners to
help you finish the yearstrong with your faith and your finances.
And it's super simple to getthere. You go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join

(08:48):
again. That'sfinanciallyconfidentchristian.com/Join and
you can join for absolutelyfree. Now, if you want to support
the show, there are some tierswhere you can get some bonus content
and actually support the show.So I encourage you to go and check
it out. Again, that'sfinanciallyconfidentchristian.com/join. Remember
this. Peace starts withpreparation. Remember, it's not all
about chaos. And that order inyour life shows faith, not control.

(09:13):
So don't end the year frantic.Finish it faithful. Go out there
today and be a financiallyconfident Christian. Because I know
this is the truth. You havethe ability to do it. God has given
you so many talents and somany gifts. You just have to harness
those. Because guess what? I'mrooting for you and so is Christ.
So stay financially savvytoday. God bless you and you have
a great day today.