July 9, 2025 • 13 mins
We live in a world flooded with flashy sales, targeted ads, and endless social comparisons — all designed to keep us spending. In this episode of Financially Confident Christian, Ralph helps us see how this constant consumer noise trains our hearts toward more, more, more, leaving our bank accounts drained and our peace stolen. He shares how to build boundaries and refocus on what really matters so you can finally unsubscribe from consumer culture.
Check out the full podcast episode here
You’ll learn practical steps like decluttering your inbox, unfollowing tempting social media accounts, and creating no-browse challenges to protect your budget and your spirit. Ralph reminds us that these choices aren’t just digital housekeeping — they are a bold act of faith and stewardship, freeing us to live with purpose, contentment, and joy.
Chapters:
- 00:08 - The Sinister Trap of Hot Deals
- 01:08 - The Impact of Digital Consumption on Financial Confidence
- 05:03 - Breaking Free from Consumerism
- 06:10 - Decluttering Your Digital Life
- 08:38 - Finding Peace in a Digital World
- 10:09 - Transitioning Topics: From Financial Confidence to Future Discussions
Takeaways:
- Our phones are constantly buzzing with deals that could be draining our wallets faster than we realize.
- Digital marketing is designed to keep us consuming, so we need to set boundaries to protect our finances.
- Unsubscribing from unwanted emails and muting social media accounts can bring us peace and save us money.
- Focus is essential; distractions from ads can lead to unnecessary spending and financial stress.
- Choosing what we allow into our lives can transform our financial situation for the better.
- The digital world is engineered to make us spend more, so we must be intentional about our choices.
Links referenced:
WATCH NOW ON YOUTUBE (OUR VIDEO VERSION)
WATCH NOW ON RUMBLE (OUR VIDEO VERSION)
Please share our Podcast with all your friends and family!
Submit your questions or ideas for future shows - email us at
ralph@askralph.com or leave a voicemail message on our podcast page
Buy Ralph's Book - Mastering Your Finances!
Buy Ralph's Book - Gospel of Entrepreneurship: Following Jesus in Your Business Journey
Buy Ralph's Book -
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ralph (00:00):
Is your phone blowing up with hot deals and can't miss sales?
Feels harmless, right?
That's until your bankaccount starts bleeding.
What if those nonstop buzz isn't justnoise, but it's really a sinister trap?
Well stick around because I'm aboutto hand you the secret to shutting it
down and shutting it down for good.
That's what I'm gonna talkabout on today's show.
(00:35):
Hey there and welcome back to yourDaily, financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and it's always great tobe with you, and I just thank you
again for honoring me with just alittle bit of your time each day.
We're still in pursuit of answeringthat big question, how can I become
a financially confident Christian?
And we're deep in our series beyondthe budget, really working to find
(00:55):
that financial freedom throughwhat I call intentional living.
And if you've been following along,you know, yesterday we talked about
the power of delayed gratification.
Hey, we called it your superpower.
If you missed it, I'm gonnaencourage you to go check it out.
Today we're gonna talk about howto unsubscribe from that constant
consumer culture that might bemaking your bank account bleed.
(01:17):
Hey, that's no joke.
Think about it for a second.
You open up your emailand then flash sale.
Listen, I'm just gonna go ona rant right now for a second.
' cause as I was preparing for this episode.
The truth is, in many ways our emailhas just become that new junk mail.
I remember when I was a kid, my mom wouldget home from work and there'd be a stack
of mail, and it seemed like half of themail just went right in a trash can.
(01:40):
Well, our email's becoming thatas well, but I get off my ran now.
But maybe you're scrolling Instagram,you see those targeted ads, or
maybe you're like me, you're justreading the news or you're checking
out what's going on around you.
You've got what I call thesidebar of temptation, mean
just add after, add after add.
This is just a constant barragecoming at you from all directions.
(02:02):
And what is it doing?
If you really think about whatit's doing, if you, if you pull up
the hood on that, look under thehood, it's just slowly training
us to want more and more and more.
And there's a couple of big things.
It does three things.
It really does rightaway it steals our focus.
If you're out there looking at the news,you wanna focus on what you're looking at,
and then you got this sidebar temptation.
(02:25):
Or maybe you're trying to gothrough your email, you got some
important emails that get packing.
Now you got these popups from Amazonand Target and all the other retailers.
That's the first thing.
It does it.
It steals your focus.
And then over time, that bleeding,it's just draining your budget.
And as your budget gets drained, whatis really happening behind the scenes,
it just absolutely sabotages the peacethat you're working so hard to get to.
(02:50):
And see, here's the thing.
You gotta understand.
This is like a Ralph truism.
This is the truth bomb of all truth bombs.
This is the megaton bomb.
The digital world isengineered for consumption.
That's the whole point of it.
It's engineered for consumption.
So we have a choice.
We can either accept that consumption andlet it slowly drain us and train us into
(03:13):
spending all of our hard earned money.
Or we can draw some boundaries.
'cause if we don't.
We're just gonna getdrowned in that noise.
Well, let's look to the wordfor some assistance here.
Let's go to the book of Romans.
You know, I mentioned on the show,Romans is probably my favorite verse
of the Bible, but this particularone is chapter 12, verse two.
(03:34):
It says this, do not conformto the pattern of this world.
It's, it's pretty straightforward, but betransformed by the renewing of your mind.
What are two things that say there donot conform to the pattern of this world.
Well, I, I've said it.
The pattern of this worldis more, more, more.
If you've been listening for thelast couple days, more and more and
more consumption, buy now, pay later.
(03:57):
But scripture is warning us aboutsomething very sinister in that, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We've got to make that aprofitable verse for us.
Look at first John chapter two, verse 16.
The lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
You might be saying, Ralph, okay,you do this Christian finance show.
(04:20):
I don't get the connection.
Well, here's the thingyou gotta understand.
Unsubscribing isn't just digital.
It's spiritual because it's guardingyour heart and choosing God's peace
rather than being bombarded withthe constant consumer messages.
'cause here's the deal,you choose the inputs.
(04:44):
If you're choosing the inputs thatshapes your financial output, you
want to take control of your finances.
That's the ultimate level of control.
You choose what comes into it.
the old adage is garbage in, garbage out.
If you're filling your mind with garbage,what do you think's gonna come out of it?
So now you might besaying, Ralph, okay, great.
I agree with you.
I'm trapped in this cycleof this consumerism.
(05:06):
You know that all thosethings are all around me.
What can I do?
How do I break free?
I've kind of already alluded to it.
The big solution is to create somedigital boundaries and listen to me
unsubscribe from unnecessary messaging.
The digital marketers are notgonna be happy with me today.
But the big thing you're doingis you're choosing peace over
(05:29):
being constantly under pressure.
So I wanna give you anaction item for today.
Step one, declutter your inbox.
This can be a fun game for you to play.
Unsubscribe to marketingemails that tempt you.
For example, you realize everymorning you're tempted by a 50% off.
Today only email from your favoriteclothing store, unsubscribe.
(05:51):
Pretty simple.
Or maybe you get that dailyemail from Amazon, even when
you're not looking for anything.
Unsubscribe.
Or maybe that home decor website sendsthe weekly inspiration emails that
always lead to those impulse buys.
Gone.
That's your email.
Second step, filter our social media.
(06:13):
I'm gonna encourage you right now,mute or unfollow those influencers,
those brands or those accountsthat trigger spending or envy.
For example, maybe you've got this luxurylifestyle influencer who are constantly
posting beautiful designer bags andvacation getaways that they make you
feel like you're being left behind.
Unfollow that you don't need that, youdon't need that input of that negativity.
(06:37):
Or maybe you've got a home renovationaccount that that makes, you wanna
just keep completely doing those,those new two new projects that,
oh, I'm gonna redo our kitchen.
But you look around, there'snothing wrong with your kitchen,
but you saw this home renovation.
You, oh, this is great.
I gotta do this.
Look at these pictures you sayto your husband or your wife,
Hey, look at these pictures.
No, get rid of it.
(06:59):
Or maybe unfollow a fitness brandthat posts nonstop about their
supplements and their gear and they,they're constantly tempting you
to buy things that you don't need.
Third thing I'm gonna encourageyou to do is what I'm gonna
call the no browse challenge.
That's why it might take a littleeffort, because if you're like me,
you're kind of addicted to that browsing.
You just say to yourself, look for thenext 48 or 72 hours, no browsing retail
(07:21):
sites unless it's a planned specific need.
It'll help you resist that urge to scroll.
Amazon just, Hey, I justwanna see what's new.
72 hours.
Nope.
You gonna save time and money?
Let's get browsing that target app,unless you've already decided you need
laundry detergent or, or paper towels.
Hey, the, the papertowels are running low.
That's fine.
Go get the paper towels, but don'tlook at the sidebars and all the
(07:45):
other stuff that you gotta have.
And instead of op opening thatshopping app out of just boredom,
we talked about that the other day.
Why are you doing this?
What are your triggers?
So instead of opening up that shoppingapp, 'cause you're just bored, you're
laying around, you got nothing to do,go take a walk, read a book, read my
book, organize a drawer, do something.
(08:05):
You can break this cycle.
'cause here's the deal, fewertriggers leads to less impulse.
This, it, it's, it's a simple equation.
What's coming in.
If you reduce the inputs, if you havefewer triggers, there's gonna be less
decisions and less impulse to go do it.
Less noise.
(08:26):
I said that clatter going aroundyou from all different sides.
That's more peace and it lets youfocus back to what truly matters.
You break free of that cycleof that noise all around you.
How about we pray together?
Father God, we just thank youfor technology and access.
We do really appreciate it, Lord.
But we confess, honestly, that we'reeasily swayed by all this digital
(08:49):
noise coming to us from all directions.
So Lord, right here, right now, we askyou to help us take a stand, help us
filter that with wisdom, strengthenour discipline, Lord, and restore the
peace that we so eagerly search for.
And Lord, we're gonna feel a void there,so just fill our lives with your purpose
and not this lie of constant consumption.
(09:10):
And we ask this in confidence.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
I wanna say something.
Decluttering digitally helps youspend wisely and live freely.
Do you wanna spend wisely?
Do you wanna live freely?
Then unsubscribe.
Unfollow, and if you have tojust completely unplug, you're
(09:31):
moving towards real peace.
And if today's episode has beenimpactful, you like, Hey, I know a
bunch of people that need to disconnect.
Do me a huge favor, sharethis episode with them.
Point 'em to our website,financially confident christian.com.
Hey, make a game of it.
Go onto your text list and text everysingle person you know and say, Hey,
you gotta listen to this episode.
(09:52):
It's all about how to break thatcycle of that, of that stuff that's
coming at you from all directions.
I also wanna give you a copy of my book.
I mentioned it a few minutes ago.
This is something if you're bored.
I'm not gonna encourage you toread just if you're bored, but it
will really be impactful to you.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
You can get to it for free, nostrings attached financially
confident christian.com/master.
(10:13):
Now, tomorrow we're gonna talkabout, and I love this topic.
I'm really excited about tomorrow's topic.
We're gonna talk about whyexperiences and relationships always.
In bold here.
Always beat possession.
So I'm gonna encourage you not to miss it.
Now, let's go out there today and bethose financially confident Christians.
You can do this.
(10:34):
I believe in you now.
Believe in yourself.
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.
I.
Is your phone blowing up with hot deals and can't miss sales?
Feels harmless, right?
That's until your bankaccount starts bleeding.
What if those nonstop buzz isn't justnoise, but it's really a sinister trap?
Well stick around because I'm aboutto hand you the secret to shutting it
down and shutting it down for good.
That's what I'm gonna talkabout on today's show.
(00:35):
Hey there and welcome back to yourDaily, financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and it's always great tobe with you, and I just thank you
again for honoring me with just alittle bit of your time each day.
We're still in pursuit of answeringthat big question, how can I become
a financially confident Christian?
And we're deep in our series beyondthe budget, really working to find
(00:55):
that financial freedom throughwhat I call intentional living.
And if you've been following along,you know, yesterday we talked about
the power of delayed gratification.
Hey, we called it your superpower.
If you missed it, I'm gonnaencourage you to go check it out.
Today we're gonna talk about howto unsubscribe from that constant
consumer culture that might bemaking your bank account bleed.
(01:17):
Hey, that's no joke.
Think about it for a second.
You open up your emailand then flash sale.
Listen, I'm just gonna go ona rant right now for a second.
' cause as I was preparing for this episode.
The truth is, in many ways our emailhas just become that new junk mail.
I remember when I was a kid, my mom wouldget home from work and there'd be a stack
of mail, and it seemed like half of themail just went right in a trash can.
(01:40):
Well, our email's becoming thatas well, but I get off my ran now.
But maybe you're scrolling Instagram,you see those targeted ads, or
maybe you're like me, you're justreading the news or you're checking
out what's going on around you.
You've got what I call thesidebar of temptation, mean
just add after, add after add.
This is just a constant barragecoming at you from all directions.
(02:02):
And what is it doing?
If you really think about whatit's doing, if you, if you pull up
the hood on that, look under thehood, it's just slowly training
us to want more and more and more.
And there's a couple of big things.
It does three things.
It really does rightaway it steals our focus.
If you're out there looking at the news,you wanna focus on what you're looking at,
and then you got this sidebar temptation.
(02:25):
Or maybe you're trying to gothrough your email, you got some
important emails that get packing.
Now you got these popups from Amazonand Target and all the other retailers.
That's the first thing.
It does it.
It steals your focus.
And then over time, that bleeding,it's just draining your budget.
And as your budget gets drained, whatis really happening behind the scenes,
it just absolutely sabotages the peacethat you're working so hard to get to.
(02:50):
And see, here's the thing.
You gotta understand.
This is like a Ralph truism.
This is the truth bomb of all truth bombs.
This is the megaton bomb.
The digital world isengineered for consumption.
That's the whole point of it.
It's engineered for consumption.
So we have a choice.
We can either accept that consumption andlet it slowly drain us and train us into
(03:13):
spending all of our hard earned money.
Or we can draw some boundaries.
'cause if we don't.
We're just gonna getdrowned in that noise.
Well, let's look to the wordfor some assistance here.
Let's go to the book of Romans.
You know, I mentioned on the show,Romans is probably my favorite verse
of the Bible, but this particularone is chapter 12, verse two.
(03:34):
It says this, do not conformto the pattern of this world.
It's, it's pretty straightforward, but betransformed by the renewing of your mind.
What are two things that say there donot conform to the pattern of this world.
Well, I, I've said it.
The pattern of this worldis more, more, more.
If you've been listening for thelast couple days, more and more and
more consumption, buy now, pay later.
(03:57):
But scripture is warning us aboutsomething very sinister in that, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We've got to make that aprofitable verse for us.
Look at first John chapter two, verse 16.
The lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
You might be saying, Ralph, okay,you do this Christian finance show.
(04:20):
I don't get the connection.
Well, here's the thingyou gotta understand.
Unsubscribing isn't just digital.
It's spiritual because it's guardingyour heart and choosing God's peace
rather than being bombarded withthe constant consumer messages.
'cause here's the deal,you choose the inputs.
(04:44):
If you're choosing the inputs thatshapes your financial output, you
want to take control of your finances.
That's the ultimate level of control.
You choose what comes into it.
the old adage is garbage in, garbage out.
If you're filling your mind with garbage,what do you think's gonna come out of it?
So now you might besaying, Ralph, okay, great.
I agree with you.
I'm trapped in this cycleof this consumerism.
(05:06):
You know that all thosethings are all around me.
What can I do?
How do I break free?
I've kind of already alluded to it.
The big solution is to create somedigital boundaries and listen to me
unsubscribe from unnecessary messaging.
The digital marketers are notgonna be happy with me today.
But the big thing you're doingis you're choosing peace over
(05:29):
being constantly under pressure.
So I wanna give you anaction item for today.
Step one, declutter your inbox.
This can be a fun game for you to play.
Unsubscribe to marketingemails that tempt you.
For example, you realize everymorning you're tempted by a 50% off.
Today only email from your favoriteclothing store, unsubscribe.
(05:51):
Pretty simple.
Or maybe you get that dailyemail from Amazon, even when
you're not looking for anything.
Unsubscribe.
Or maybe that home decor website sendsthe weekly inspiration emails that
always lead to those impulse buys.
Gone.
That's your email.
Second step, filter our social media.
(06:13):
I'm gonna encourage you right now,mute or unfollow those influencers,
those brands or those accountsthat trigger spending or envy.
For example, maybe you've got this luxurylifestyle influencer who are constantly
posting beautiful designer bags andvacation getaways that they make you
feel like you're being left behind.
Unfollow that you don't need that, youdon't need that input of that negativity.
(06:37):
Or maybe you've got a home renovationaccount that that makes, you wanna
just keep completely doing those,those new two new projects that,
oh, I'm gonna redo our kitchen.
But you look around, there'snothing wrong with your kitchen,
but you saw this home renovation.
You, oh, this is great.
I gotta do this.
Look at these pictures you sayto your husband or your wife,
Hey, look at these pictures.
No, get rid of it.
(06:59):
Or maybe unfollow a fitness brandthat posts nonstop about their
supplements and their gear and they,they're constantly tempting you
to buy things that you don't need.
Third thing I'm gonna encourageyou to do is what I'm gonna
call the no browse challenge.
That's why it might take a littleeffort, because if you're like me,
you're kind of addicted to that browsing.
You just say to yourself, look for thenext 48 or 72 hours, no browsing retail
(07:21):
sites unless it's a planned specific need.
It'll help you resist that urge to scroll.
Amazon just, Hey, I justwanna see what's new.
72 hours.
Nope.
You gonna save time and money?
Let's get browsing that target app,unless you've already decided you need
laundry detergent or, or paper towels.
Hey, the, the papertowels are running low.
That's fine.
Go get the paper towels, but don'tlook at the sidebars and all the
(07:45):
other stuff that you gotta have.
And instead of op opening thatshopping app out of just boredom,
we talked about that the other day.
Why are you doing this?
What are your triggers?
So instead of opening up that shoppingapp, 'cause you're just bored, you're
laying around, you got nothing to do,go take a walk, read a book, read my
book, organize a drawer, do something.
(08:05):
You can break this cycle.
'cause here's the deal, fewertriggers leads to less impulse.
This, it, it's, it's a simple equation.
What's coming in.
If you reduce the inputs, if you havefewer triggers, there's gonna be less
decisions and less impulse to go do it.
Less noise.
(08:26):
I said that clatter going aroundyou from all different sides.
That's more peace and it lets youfocus back to what truly matters.
You break free of that cycleof that noise all around you.
How about we pray together?
Father God, we just thank youfor technology and access.
We do really appreciate it, Lord.
But we confess, honestly, that we'reeasily swayed by all this digital
(08:49):
noise coming to us from all directions.
So Lord, right here, right now, we askyou to help us take a stand, help us
filter that with wisdom, strengthenour discipline, Lord, and restore the
peace that we so eagerly search for.
And Lord, we're gonna feel a void there,so just fill our lives with your purpose
and not this lie of constant consumption.
(09:10):
And we ask this in confidence.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
I wanna say something.
Decluttering digitally helps youspend wisely and live freely.
Do you wanna spend wisely?
Do you wanna live freely?
Then unsubscribe.
Unfollow, and if you have tojust completely unplug, you're
(09:31):
moving towards real peace.
And if today's episode has beenimpactful, you like, Hey, I know a
bunch of people that need to disconnect.
Do me a huge favor, sharethis episode with them.
Point 'em to our website,financially confident christian.com.
Hey, make a game of it.
Go onto your text list and text everysingle person you know and say, Hey,
you gotta listen to this episode.
(09:52):
It's all about how to break thatcycle of that, of that stuff that's
coming at you from all directions.
I also wanna give you a copy of my book.
I mentioned it a few minutes ago.
This is something if you're bored.
I'm not gonna encourage you toread just if you're bored, but it
will really be impactful to you.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
You can get to it for free, nostrings attached financially
confident christian.com/master.
(10:13):
Now, tomorrow we're gonna talkabout, and I love this topic.
I'm really excited about tomorrow's topic.
We're gonna talk about whyexperiences and relationships always.
In bold here.
Always beat possession.
So I'm gonna encourage you not to miss it.
Now, let's go out there today and bethose financially confident Christians.
You can do this.
(10:34):
I believe in you now.
Believe in yourself.
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.
I.
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