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July 7, 2025 16 mins

In this episode of Financially Confident Christian, Ralph helps listeners tackle the exhausting cycle of chasing “more” and never feeling satisfied. He explores how defining what truly matters can free you from constantly moving goalposts, and how God’s view of contentment brings peace and stability. If you’re tired of stress, guilt, and misaligned spending, you’ll love this conversation about how to know what's enough for your life.

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Check out the full podcast episode here

Ralph also shares a practical framework for identifying real needs versus disguised wants, along with filter questions to apply before your next purchase. With biblical wisdom and relatable examples, he encourages you to choose peace, clarity, and purpose over the pressure of endless upgrades. It’s time to break the cycle and redefine enough on God’s terms.

Chapters:

  • 00:17 - Defining True Satisfaction
  • 04:30 - Defining Enough: Recognizing Needs vs. Wants
  • 06:00 - Defining Needs vs. Wants
  • 08:30 - Understanding Needs vs. Wants
  • 12:46 - The Power of Delayed Gratification

Takeaways:

  • Chasing after more can leave us feeling stressed and discontent; true peace comes from defining what 'enough' really means for us.
  • The world’s idea of 'enough' is a moving target, which can lead to endless dissatisfaction; we need God’s guidance to find true contentment.
  • Identifying our true needs versus our wants can help us make better financial decisions and reduce anxiety about money.
  • Creating a filter for our purchases by asking if they align with our values can lead to more intentional living and financial confidence.
  • Listing our needs can help establish a baseline for what 'enough' looks like, making it easier to live within our means and avoid shame.
  • Defining our 'enough' not only brings peace but empowers us to break free from societal pressures and consumerism's grip.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ralph (00:00):
Let me ask you something today.
Does it ever feel like you're alwayschasing enough, but that finish line just
keeps moving farther and farther away?
You get a little more, but then you feellike you just need a little bit more
and then a little bit more after that.
What if I told you true satisfactionisn't found in acquiring those

(00:22):
endless things, but instead it'sfound in powerfully defining what
enough truly is for your life.
Well, stick with me today becauseI'm going to share exactly how to
find that piece on today's show.

(00:50):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph joining you again today,and it is so great for you to take
a little time and spend some timehere with me, and we continue in
pursuit of answering that question.
How do I become a financiallyconfident Christian?
I. We're in our series Beyondthe Budget, finding Financial
Freedom through Intentional Living.

(01:12):
This series is all about findingthat freedom by living intentionally.
Now, if you listen yesterday,we tackled the comparison trap.
If you missed it, I'm gonnaencourage you to go check it out.
Talked about how to stop keeping upwith the Joneses in, like I mentioned
yesterday, the Joneses certainly have alot of cool stuff, but today we're gonna
talk about how do I know what that enough?

(01:33):
Because that's the key to this.
How do I know what thatenough really is for my life?
Think about it for a second.
You reach a goal.
I've been saving money, I've beenwanting to do this, and you buy something
like, oh, this is gonna be, I talkedabout this when I bought that watch
the other day, I reached that goal.
I saved up to money to buy that watch,and then I bought that watch and I'm
thinking, oh, this is gonna be great.

(01:55):
And after a couple days, Ifeel completely unsatisfied.
Why?
Because enough keeps shifting.
That enough is never enough.
'cause then you need more upgrades.
You need better versions.
And see this endless chase,because that's what it is.
It's a chase.
You're just chasing after enough.

(02:17):
It drains your peace and itdrains your money and it just
absolutely drains your finances.
And in the end, rather than findenough, you just find stress.
You find misaligned spending.
Unfortunately you find completediscontent and then you just feel like
your progress is just elusive and joy.
Any joy that you get is just a flashin a plane, something just short lived.

(02:42):
' cause here's the thing, yougot to understand The world's
'enough' is designed by itsvery nature to be unreachable.
That's what it's all about.
The world defines enough as somethingyou will never reach because the whole
point, it's consumerism at its best,that you're never going to get to enough
because that goalpost keeps moving.

(03:02):
That's what the world says, The world'senough is designed to be unreachable.
But here's a beautiful thingtoday we're gonna talk about, but
God's definition is clear, andhis definition enough is freeing.
Let's go to the word.
Let's look at one Timothychapter six, verses six to eight.
It says this, but godliness withcontentment is great gain having food and

(03:27):
clothing with these, we shall be content.
Now listen, I'm not talkingabout extreme minimalism.
A lot of people here, they go, oh,well Ralph's talking about minimalism.
That's not what I'm saying.
Godliness with content is great gain.
Hey, do you want great gain?
I know I want great gain.
And then it ends withthese, we shall be content.

(03:48):
Because see, it's about recognizingneeds versus once I talk about this
on the show a lot, a lot of financialdecision is simply trying to discern
what's a need and what's a want, becausethat clarity, that very thing we're
talking about, that clarity that you get,that's where you find your peace because
when you define what your enough lookslike, when you recognize what that is.

(04:12):
You stop running, you stop chasingthat those goalposts don't move
anymore because guess what?
You're stop.
You've stopped running after them.
And then you start to really livein stewardship with a purpose
and not that societal pressurethat so many of us battle.
So now you're askingRalph, what can we do?
How, how do we even definewhat our enough looks like?

(04:33):
And I'm gonna tell you my solution today.
It's not easy, but it'swhat you need to do.
You gotta define your true needs andthen filter your once accordingly.
I'm not saying you can't live withoutyour once, but you gotta define what
your true needs are and then put afilter on those once because this is
empowering and it makes you make peacefulchoices and peaceful, wise decisions.

(04:57):
So here's your one action step for today.
I want you to start bylisting your true needs.
Now you might think,Rob, okay, here we go.
Rob, I need food, clothing, and shelter.
Okay, fine.
Maybe that is your basic needs,but I want you to take a minute
and just write them down.
I'm gonna call this your Enough baseline.
I'm gonna give you some exampleslike maybe yours is, I got a

(05:18):
safe two bedroom apartment.
Check the box.
I got a place to live.
Or maybe weekly grocery budget of $125.
Man, I can eat pretty well on that.
Maybe your, your baseline is, I gotcar insurance and gas and I got to
get to work and I get to church.
Fantastic.
Maybe you have enough totie that's important to you.
Maybe you have a basic phone planand you got an internet service.

(05:38):
You can say connected to the world.
That's a good thing or a badthing, but that's important to you.
Or maybe like a lot of my elderlyclients, you got prescription
medication, you got a good doctor,and you go to your dental checkups.
See, to me, those are needs.
So that's the first step.
Really lay out what your needs are.

(05:59):
And yes, they are pretty basic.
Food, clothing, shelter, andthe things we talked about.
But here's the sinister part of this.
So many times, and I'm guilty of thisjust like everybody else, we identify
our wants and we treat them as needs.
And you're like, okay, Rafaellost me on that one and I won.
Walk you through this.

(06:20):
What do you have to have, becausethat's the key to this whole
thing, and we're gonna talk aboutsome examples here in a second.
What do you have to havethat's really just a want.
Let's talk about this one.
A lot of people get stuck in thistrap streaming subscriptions.
You're, I need downtime, Ralph.
Okay, that's fair.
That's a reasonable need.

(06:41):
You don't need to workevery minute of your day.
Do you need three platforms for that?
Do you need Netflix and Amazon Primeand whatever else is out there?
Hulu name 'em all.
Yeah, you got a need for downtime, butdo you need three platforms to do it?
Is that really necessary?
Here's one.
It's gonna aggravate.
A lot of people drive throughcoffee daily, and everybody's

(07:02):
said, Ralph, you're always pickingon the drive through coffee.
Well, I don't drink coffee.
It's easy for me because you might besaying, I can't start my day without it.
Really?
I don't think that's food,clothing, or shelter.
Hey, you gotta argue it's clothing.
It's food.
Yeah, but, but do you really need it?
Here's a great one.
My listener sent this in.
Ralph.
I need new clothes every season.
I got nothing to wear.

(07:22):
Really?
Are you walking around naked?
I don't think so.
It sounds to me like that's a want.
You want new clothes every, you wannakeep up with the fashion trends.
I get it.
But don't disguise that as a need.
Here's what a lot ofour teenagers might say.
I need an upgraded phone becausemy current one is just too slow.
Guilty.

(07:42):
I do the same thing withmy Apple phone every year.
Is that a need?
Maybe The need is to have a phone.
A way to communicate.
That's fair.
Everybody has one now becausewe need to communicate.
But do you need the latest one?
To me, that sounds likea want or about this one.
Amazon Essentials.
Amazon's done a great job oftelling us what is essential.

(08:03):
You log into Amazon, oh,look at all the essentials.
Oh, it's on sale.
I gotta have it.
You didn't buy it because it wasan essential, they told you it
was, but was it really essential?
No.
You bought it because it was onsale, but it wasn't essential.
So I'm just gonna encourage youright now, write down some of those
things that are really wants, thatyou've disguised those as needs.

(08:24):
And then if you really wannabreak the cycle, this is the
secret weapon to the whole thing.
You gotta create a filter question.
I'm gonna give you some filterquestions, and I want you to ask
this before every single purchase.
It's gonna be tough, butyou're gonna have to do this.
Ask yourself this.
Is this a true need align with my values?

(08:45):
We talked about thosevalues the other day.
Does it really align with myvalues, the things that I hold dear?
So is it a true need to alignwith my values or is it a want?
Is it a want?
Different by comparison?
You know what we talked about yesterday,keeping up with the Joneses or that
societal pressure, or maybe for you, justthe impulse feeling, kind of low tired,

(09:06):
talked about that the other day too.
You're out scrolling late at night,you're looking for a relaxation.
You're looking for an escape.
So ask you that.
Is it a true need aligned with myvalues, or is it really a want?
Second question, does this purchasemove me towards peace and purpose?
Or does it take me away from that?
So is this a true need to line my values?

(09:27):
And does this purchase move me towardspeace and purpose or away from it?
Lemme give you an example.
Let's say you're shopping, you'restanding in the line at Target,
you're holding a $30 candle, andyou got this new throw blanket.
You were out wandering the story.
You're looking for something to do.
Oh, this is a cool, I lovethe smell of this candle.
That throw blanket.

(09:48):
That'd be perfect for those,those fall days when I cuddle
up in front of the fireplace.
But now I'm gonna encourageyou, ask those two questions.
Do I need this to live my values?
Or is it You want it because you sawa friend that has it on Instagram?
Well, they got that candle.
Oh, they got that at Target.

(10:08):
Oh, I gotta go get that.
Oh, oh.
I saw my friend Sally.
She's got that throw blanket.
She had a great picture of that.
Her and her husband snuggledup on the couch on Facebook.
Then I ask the next logical question,will this make my home more peaceful?
Or is it just a momentary distraction?
I don't think a candle in a throwblanket is gonna make your house more
peaceful, but if you're going intodebt to do it, I can guarantee it's

(10:31):
going to make your life less peaceful.
And this is why this helps these things.
I don't just pull these outta the sky.
They help because they distinguishthose needs from once and
they distinguish that noise.
That noise of, oh, this is a need.
This is essential, as Amazon would say,or as social media, do you need this?
And if you do this, it's gonnapromote peace and it's gonna reinforce

(10:54):
the big takeaway from this series.
It's gonna reinforcethat intentional living.
How about we pray together?
Father God, we just thank you forproviding for all our true needs, all
the things we actually need, not ourdisguised wants, but Lord, our needs.
And we often, we confess that, often weconfuse those wants and we confuse those
needs, Lord, and I just ask that youwould help us to define that 'enough'

(11:18):
for our lives and help us to live in thecontentment that you want us to live in.
Grant us wisdom, Lord, grant us clarityand mostly Lord grant us self-control.
And let our choices honor you, Lord.
And we ask this in confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Listen, defining your enoughbrings peace, not pressure.

(11:43):
It's gonna be that thing thatbreaks that pressure away from you.
So list your needs, createa filter, and then choose
contentment and choose purpose.
I'm gonna ask you to do something rightnow if this show is impacting you.
If this particular episode hasimpacted you, I wanna encourage
you to share it with somebody.

(12:03):
There's somebody out there rightnow that's hurting financially.
They're stuck in that shame.
Maybe you've broken free of it andyou're using this show to reinforce that.
Well, maybe somebody needsto hear today's message.
'cause they're stuck inthat I don't have enough.
I don't know what enough looks like.
I'm gonna encourage you to share our show.
Best thing you can do is textor email them our website that's
financially confident christian.com.

(12:26):
I'm also encourage you topick up a copy of my book.
It's a free gift for youwhen you go to financially
confident christian.com/master.
I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's a quick read, but letme just tell you right now.
It is truly impactful and it givesyou a little bit of a kickstart
to get in your finances in order.
Now, tomorrow we're gonna be talking aboutthe superpower of delayed gratification.

(12:51):
Yes, I'm telling you rightnow, delayed gratification.
You might think, well, that's restriction.
No.
Let tell you now it's a superpowerand you're gonna want to hear
about what I have to say tomorrow.
So encourage you not to miss it.
Well, let's go out there todayand be financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I truly believe in you.
Believe in yourself.

(13:12):
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.
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