August 3, 2025 • 9 mins
School’s back in, and let me tell ya, chaos is knocking at the door! If you wanna save some time and cash as the fall craziness unfolds, you've hit the jackpot with today’s chat. We're diving into how to whip up some smart routines that will bless both your fam and your wallet. Forget the frantic mornings and last-minute takeout runs; I’ve got the goods to help you kick that chaos to the curb. So grab your favorite drink, kick back, and let’s figure out how to keep our cool and save some dough this season. Wondering where to start? Let’s tackle this big question together: How Can Setting Up Fall Routines Save My Time and Money?
Check out the full podcast episode here
As summer fades and school kicks back in, the chaos of daily life can hit hard. We’re diving into how to build smart routines that not only keep the family on track but also save some serious cash. Ralph kicks things off by reminiscing about the wild mornings when his kids were younger, juggling school bags and breakfast while trying not to lose his marbles. The truth? Last-minute chaos can drain your wallet faster than you can say 'takeout'. Today’s big idea? Routines aren’t about restrictions—they’re about creating a rhythm that brings peace to your home. So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if you’re feeling fancy), and let’s chat about how to identify those chaotic moments in our lives and turn them around with simple tweaks. Whether it’s prepping the night before or planning meals ahead of time, small changes can make a huge difference. By the end of this episode, you’ll be ready to tackle the fall season like a pro, with a budget that doesn’t scream at you every time you open it. Let’s get this organized chaos under control!
Takeaways:
- With school back in session, it’s the perfect time to create routines that save money and time.
- Building smart routines can help your family avoid chaos and reduce stress during busy mornings.
- Identifying just one chaotic point in your week can lead to significant improvements in your daily life.
- Implementing simple changes, like meal prepping, can save you from last-minute takeout and chaos.
- Stewardship is about more than just money; it's also about managing your time and energy wisely.
- A well-structured routine not only saves money but also honors God by promoting order in our lives.
Links referenced in this episode:
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ralph@askralph.com or leave a voicemail message on our podcast page
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
School's back in, activitiesare starting and chaos is creeping
in. Do you want to save timeand money as fall unfolds? Well,
join me today as we build somesmart routines that bless your family
and your budget. Because I'vegot the solution for eliminating
the chaos on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian,
your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
(00:23):
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey there and welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
Hey, I'm Ralph and we're inour series Smart Money for Back to
School and beyond. Nowyesterday we talked about how to
teach your kids money habitsand we talked about how to start
that early. So if you missedit, I'm going to encourage you to
(00:43):
check it out. Hey, you canfind all of our episodes at financiallyconfidentchristian.com.
now today we're going to go ina new direction. We're going to be
talking about building fallroutines that reduce stress and increase
your savings. Hey, I rememberwhen my kids were younger we got
into that summer routine andalong came the school year and is
back to get into that fallroutine. And that can be a time of
(01:06):
chaos, like I mentionedearlier, and can cause a lot of stress
and also cost you some money.See, the truth is summer's slow pace
is getting ready to be gone.If you're listening to this when
it's actually released, we'renot too far away from that. And if
you're like my family,mornings can be frantic and then
when the kids get home fromschool in the evenings, it's completely
disorganized and, and takeout,yeah, takeout. Food becomes the norm
(01:30):
and before long, if you're notpaying attention, deadlines are getting
missed and stress builds. Andhere's my big takeaway for today,
why I talk about it on today'sshow. Money leaks through last minute
chaos. Because if you're likemy family life feels more reactive
and not intentional. And hey,we just did a whole series about
(01:50):
living intentionally. Buthere's the thing I want you to understand
today. Routines are a gift.They're not a prison. Let's get to
the word. Let's look at thebook of First Corinthians, chapter
14, verse 40. And it saysthis, everything should be done in
a fitting and orderly way. Nowyou say that to your kids and be
like, oh, sure, that soundsgood, mom and dad, but you know,
(02:12):
back to school is notnecessarily an orderly way, but that's
what the word says. Let's lookat the Book of Ephesians chapter
5, verses 15 and 16. It says,See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise,redeeming the time. Because I love
the ending of this because thedays are evil. That pretty much stands
(02:32):
on its own. But let's look atthis one. This is from the book of
Proverbs, chapter 14, verse23. And it says this. And I think
this is a good way to cap offour scripture for today. All hard
work brings a profit. All hardwork brings a prophecy. Stewardship
isn't just about money. It'dbe easy for me to talk to you about,
(02:53):
hey, let's do this for money.Let's do this, this, and we'll all
be set. But stewardship'sbigger than that. Stewardship is
also about your time. It'sabout your energy. It's about a rhythm.
And hey, if we do it allright, it's about peace. Because
routines in the end are aspiritual act of alignment. So you
(03:14):
might be saying, Ralph, okay,I'm on the same page as you. Let's
figure this out. What can wedo? Well, here's my solution for
today. I want you to reallyidentify one chaotic point in your
week and apply a time saving,money saving tweak. So here's your
one action step for today. Iwant you to start by identifying
just one chaos point. Hey,maybe for you it's that morning routine.
(03:37):
Getting the kids ready,getting the bags packed and all that
sort of thing. Maybe that'swhat it is. Or maybe for you it's
dinner time. Dinner times canbe tough. We got homework to worry
about. Maybe we're shufflingthis one to this extracurricular
or something like that. Sportsgoing on, that can be chaotic. And
then how about Sunday nightchaos? That can be something too.
Just name it. I'll tell you astory about my boys right now because
(04:00):
this will really bring thishome completely. So picture this.
My two boys. Now, my oldestson, he's a very precise guy. I mean,
he is always on time. In fact,if it was time to leave at 7:30,
he was walking out the door at7:29. There's no excuses, no, no
room for flexibility for him.He's. He's tapping on his watch.
(04:21):
It's all about the schedule.Now my other son is a different story.
I mean, my youngest son, noworry, no hurry. So picture this.
My one son, the oldest issitting at the door tapping on his
watch. He has got his backpackon. He's ready to go out the door.
My other son is just nowstarting to make his way down the
steps from his bedroom on thesecond floor. He's got shirt half
(04:42):
dressed, he's disheveled, andit's now already 7:30. And inevitably,
the battle would ensue.Unfortunately, my wife became the
referee on the way to school.We used to call it the MMA battle
in the backseat of her car.And that's what I'm talking about
when I say chaos. So maybeyour chaos looks something like that.
So identify it. That's wherewe're going to start. Second thing
(05:04):
I'm going to encourage you todo is brainstorm some solutions.
You know, we did this, forexample, maybe in the mornings, you
prep those clothes. The nightbefore, lay out the clothes. Especially
if you got real youngchildren, lay out the clothes ahead
of time. Maybe you packed thelunches the night before. One of
the things that we did is wemade sure those backpacks were ready
to go. My wife actually boughta bench that sat sort of on the way
(05:26):
out the door. And every nightbefore she went to bed on a school
night, she'd make sure both oftheir backpacks were lined up and
ready to go. Now, of course,picture my two kids. The one is very
regimented. The other one, notso much. My oldest son, his stuff
was always precise. Everythingwas zipped up. My youngest son, man,
there was stuff hanging outthe sides. That's for another day,
but that could be yourmorning. And that may be a brainstorming
(05:47):
solution for the mornings. Fordinners, how about this? Plan meals
and shop on Sunday. You know,one of the things that my wife became,
and I'll use it just kind offunny way of saying it, but my wife
was the queen of the crockpot. And the crock pot really saved
us because we weren'tscurrying around and say, okay, what
kind of takeout we going toget? But we planned those things.
Or I should say, better. Sheplanned them. I can't take credit
(06:09):
for that. You know, I madesure we got our shopping done on
Sunday, so that by the timethat Monday morning rolled around,
we were ready to go. So that'sthe second thing. Brainstorm some
solutions. And then I don'twant you to do too much. I just want
you to implement one change.Just pick one small change and start
it when school goes back. Andif you're listening to this and school's
already started, start it thisweek. And here's another little bonus
(06:32):
tip. Budget for helpful tools.So maybe you need to find a planner.
You know, one of the thingsthat one of My customers told me
about. One of my clients says,hey, you know, we do during the school
year, Ralph, we bought one ofthose, the plastic calendars that
you put on the wall. And wejust wrote everything that's going
on for the next month. Ithought that was a great idea. Or
maybe you need to become thequeen of the slow cooker as well.
(06:54):
So get something like that ormaybe some bins or containers. But
if it truly helps you plan andpurchase intentionally. Because my
whole goal with all the thingsI've talked about today is to really
help you reduce your stressand also reduce that scattered spending.
Because with chaos comesscattered spending, and that could
put you in a down spiral for,for your budget. It also helps boost
(07:16):
family peace. Listen, therewasn't much we could do about the
two of ours. Like I said, itwas literally MMA in the back seat.
But if you have a plan, ifyou've got a routine and a rhythm,
I think it's really going topromote family peace. It also certainly
increases consistency and itincreases clarity. And here's the
thing it does in the end, ithonors God with structure and order.
(07:37):
As the scripture said, Godloves structure and he loves order.
So let's pray together rightnow. Father God, we just thank you
for the gift of time and thegift of structure. And Lord, we confess,
we often let schedulesoverwhelm us. So we just ask that
you would help us createrhythms that reflect your peace.
Show us where we can savetime, Lord, and money through this
(07:58):
order and really not get stuckin that chaos. And we just ask that
you would give us disciplineto follow through and more importantly,
Lord, joy in the process. Andwe ask this in boldness and in confidence
and in Jesus name, amen.Listen, Fall doesn't have to feel
frantic. It certainly doesn'thave to feel chaotic. Smart routines
(08:19):
are your secret to peace andthey're your secret to saving. So
again, I'm going to encourageyou now. Identify your one chaos
point and work on tweaking itthis week. Just take one at a time
and hey, maybe you do one aweek and over a month or two, you
can get all that chaos knockedout. Now, while I'm talking about
chaos, one of the things Iwould love for you to do is share
the show with somebody else.Maybe they've got that chaos going
(08:41):
on in their lives. Maybeyou've heard stories of your girlfriend
or somebody told you, hey,guess what? I got this kind of craziness
going on in my house. Sharethe show with them, send them a text,
send them an email. Share itwith friends and family who may need
the same idea that we talkedabout. Just send them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com
and say, hey, this guy Ralph,he's got some great ideas on how
(09:02):
to get ready for back toschool. Now tomorrow we're going
to be talking aboutintentional fall meal planning. I'm
going to show you how to savemoney and eat better, so I'm going
to encourage you not to missit. Now let's all go out there today
and be financially confidentChristians. You can do this. I truly
believe in you. Believe inyourself, stay financially savvy,
(09:23):
God bless you, and you have agreat day.
School's back in, activitiesare starting and chaos is creeping
in. Do you want to save timeand money as fall unfolds? Well,
join me today as we build somesmart routines that bless your family
and your budget. Because I'vegot the solution for eliminating
the chaos on today's show.This is Financially Confident Christian,
your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
(00:23):
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey there and welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
Hey, I'm Ralph and we're inour series Smart Money for Back to
School and beyond. Nowyesterday we talked about how to
teach your kids money habitsand we talked about how to start
that early. So if you missedit, I'm going to encourage you to
(00:43):
check it out. Hey, you canfind all of our episodes at financiallyconfidentchristian.com.
now today we're going to go ina new direction. We're going to be
talking about building fallroutines that reduce stress and increase
your savings. Hey, I rememberwhen my kids were younger we got
into that summer routine andalong came the school year and is
back to get into that fallroutine. And that can be a time of
(01:06):
chaos, like I mentionedearlier, and can cause a lot of stress
and also cost you some money.See, the truth is summer's slow pace
is getting ready to be gone.If you're listening to this when
it's actually released, we'renot too far away from that. And if
you're like my family,mornings can be frantic and then
when the kids get home fromschool in the evenings, it's completely
disorganized and, and takeout,yeah, takeout. Food becomes the norm
(01:30):
and before long, if you're notpaying attention, deadlines are getting
missed and stress builds. Andhere's my big takeaway for today,
why I talk about it on today'sshow. Money leaks through last minute
chaos. Because if you're likemy family life feels more reactive
and not intentional. And hey,we just did a whole series about
(01:50):
living intentionally. Buthere's the thing I want you to understand
today. Routines are a gift.They're not a prison. Let's get to
the word. Let's look at thebook of First Corinthians, chapter
14, verse 40. And it saysthis, everything should be done in
a fitting and orderly way. Nowyou say that to your kids and be
like, oh, sure, that soundsgood, mom and dad, but you know,
(02:12):
back to school is notnecessarily an orderly way, but that's
what the word says. Let's lookat the Book of Ephesians chapter
5, verses 15 and 16. It says,See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise,redeeming the time. Because I love
the ending of this because thedays are evil. That pretty much stands
(02:32):
on its own. But let's look atthis one. This is from the book of
Proverbs, chapter 14, verse23. And it says this. And I think
this is a good way to cap offour scripture for today. All hard
work brings a profit. All hardwork brings a prophecy. Stewardship
isn't just about money. It'dbe easy for me to talk to you about,
(02:53):
hey, let's do this for money.Let's do this, this, and we'll all
be set. But stewardship'sbigger than that. Stewardship is
also about your time. It'sabout your energy. It's about a rhythm.
And hey, if we do it allright, it's about peace. Because
routines in the end are aspiritual act of alignment. So you
(03:14):
might be saying, Ralph, okay,I'm on the same page as you. Let's
figure this out. What can wedo? Well, here's my solution for
today. I want you to reallyidentify one chaotic point in your
week and apply a time saving,money saving tweak. So here's your
one action step for today. Iwant you to start by identifying
just one chaos point. Hey,maybe for you it's that morning routine.
(03:37):
Getting the kids ready,getting the bags packed and all that
sort of thing. Maybe that'swhat it is. Or maybe for you it's
dinner time. Dinner times canbe tough. We got homework to worry
about. Maybe we're shufflingthis one to this extracurricular
or something like that. Sportsgoing on, that can be chaotic. And
then how about Sunday nightchaos? That can be something too.
Just name it. I'll tell you astory about my boys right now because
(04:00):
this will really bring thishome completely. So picture this.
My two boys. Now, my oldestson, he's a very precise guy. I mean,
he is always on time. In fact,if it was time to leave at 7:30,
he was walking out the door at7:29. There's no excuses, no, no
room for flexibility for him.He's. He's tapping on his watch.
(04:21):
It's all about the schedule.Now my other son is a different story.
I mean, my youngest son, noworry, no hurry. So picture this.
My one son, the oldest issitting at the door tapping on his
watch. He has got his backpackon. He's ready to go out the door.
My other son is just nowstarting to make his way down the
steps from his bedroom on thesecond floor. He's got shirt half
(04:42):
dressed, he's disheveled, andit's now already 7:30. And inevitably,
the battle would ensue.Unfortunately, my wife became the
referee on the way to school.We used to call it the MMA battle
in the backseat of her car.And that's what I'm talking about
when I say chaos. So maybeyour chaos looks something like that.
So identify it. That's wherewe're going to start. Second thing
(05:04):
I'm going to encourage you todo is brainstorm some solutions.
You know, we did this, forexample, maybe in the mornings, you
prep those clothes. The nightbefore, lay out the clothes. Especially
if you got real youngchildren, lay out the clothes ahead
of time. Maybe you packed thelunches the night before. One of
the things that we did is wemade sure those backpacks were ready
to go. My wife actually boughta bench that sat sort of on the way
(05:26):
out the door. And every nightbefore she went to bed on a school
night, she'd make sure both oftheir backpacks were lined up and
ready to go. Now, of course,picture my two kids. The one is very
regimented. The other one, notso much. My oldest son, his stuff
was always precise. Everythingwas zipped up. My youngest son, man,
there was stuff hanging outthe sides. That's for another day,
but that could be yourmorning. And that may be a brainstorming
(05:47):
solution for the mornings. Fordinners, how about this? Plan meals
and shop on Sunday. You know,one of the things that my wife became,
and I'll use it just kind offunny way of saying it, but my wife
was the queen of the crockpot. And the crock pot really saved
us because we weren'tscurrying around and say, okay, what
kind of takeout we going toget? But we planned those things.
Or I should say, better. Sheplanned them. I can't take credit
(06:09):
for that. You know, I madesure we got our shopping done on
Sunday, so that by the timethat Monday morning rolled around,
we were ready to go. So that'sthe second thing. Brainstorm some
solutions. And then I don'twant you to do too much. I just want
you to implement one change.Just pick one small change and start
it when school goes back. Andif you're listening to this and school's
already started, start it thisweek. And here's another little bonus
(06:32):
tip. Budget for helpful tools.So maybe you need to find a planner.
You know, one of the thingsthat one of My customers told me
about. One of my clients says,hey, you know, we do during the school
year, Ralph, we bought one ofthose, the plastic calendars that
you put on the wall. And wejust wrote everything that's going
on for the next month. Ithought that was a great idea. Or
maybe you need to become thequeen of the slow cooker as well.
(06:54):
So get something like that ormaybe some bins or containers. But
if it truly helps you plan andpurchase intentionally. Because my
whole goal with all the thingsI've talked about today is to really
help you reduce your stressand also reduce that scattered spending.
Because with chaos comesscattered spending, and that could
put you in a down spiral for,for your budget. It also helps boost
(07:16):
family peace. Listen, therewasn't much we could do about the
two of ours. Like I said, itwas literally MMA in the back seat.
But if you have a plan, ifyou've got a routine and a rhythm,
I think it's really going topromote family peace. It also certainly
increases consistency and itincreases clarity. And here's the
thing it does in the end, ithonors God with structure and order.
(07:37):
As the scripture said, Godloves structure and he loves order.
So let's pray together rightnow. Father God, we just thank you
for the gift of time and thegift of structure. And Lord, we confess,
we often let schedulesoverwhelm us. So we just ask that
you would help us createrhythms that reflect your peace.
Show us where we can savetime, Lord, and money through this
(07:58):
order and really not get stuckin that chaos. And we just ask that
you would give us disciplineto follow through and more importantly,
Lord, joy in the process. Andwe ask this in boldness and in confidence
and in Jesus name, amen.Listen, Fall doesn't have to feel
frantic. It certainly doesn'thave to feel chaotic. Smart routines
(08:19):
are your secret to peace andthey're your secret to saving. So
again, I'm going to encourageyou now. Identify your one chaos
point and work on tweaking itthis week. Just take one at a time
and hey, maybe you do one aweek and over a month or two, you
can get all that chaos knockedout. Now, while I'm talking about
chaos, one of the things Iwould love for you to do is share
the show with somebody else.Maybe they've got that chaos going
(08:41):
on in their lives. Maybeyou've heard stories of your girlfriend
or somebody told you, hey,guess what? I got this kind of craziness
going on in my house. Sharethe show with them, send them a text,
send them an email. Share itwith friends and family who may need
the same idea that we talkedabout. Just send them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com
and say, hey, this guy Ralph,he's got some great ideas on how
(09:02):
to get ready for back toschool. Now tomorrow we're going
to be talking aboutintentional fall meal planning. I'm
going to show you how to savemoney and eat better, so I'm going
to encourage you not to missit. Now let's all go out there today
and be financially confidentChristians. You can do this. I truly
believe in you. Believe inyourself, stay financially savvy,
(09:23):
God bless you, and you have agreat day.
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