June 23, 2025 • 10 mins
You’ve closed on your home, unpacked the boxes, and hung your first picture frame—but then the unexpected bills start arriving. Property taxes, insurance increases, dripping faucets, HVAC issues... suddenly, the financial picture doesn’t feel so peaceful. In this episode, Ralph walks you through how to move from overwhelmed to organized, helping you answer the big question: Now that I own the home, how do I budget everything else?
Check out the full podcast episode here
From creating dedicated budget categories to starting a separate maintenance fund and planning for future repairs, Ralph outlines a faith-informed approach to protecting your investment. With practical tips and a spirit of stewardship, this episode will equip you to build financial peace in your new home, one line item at a time.
Chapters:
- 00:20 - Budgeting for Homeownership
- 03:00 - Understanding Homeownership and Financial Stewardship
- 04:20 - Establishing a Savings Plan for Home Maintenance
- 07:54 - Budgeting for Home Ownership Costs
- 09:01 - Transitioning to Proactive Financial Management
Takeaways:
- Setting aside a consistent savings plan for home maintenance can save you from future financial stress.
- Understanding the true costs of homeownership helps prevent unexpected financial surprises down the line.
- Creating dedicated budget categories for property taxes and insurance is crucial for financial stability.
- Researching typical maintenance costs prepares you for future expenses and helps protect your investment.
- Remember, budgeting isn't just about the mortgage; it's about managing your whole financial life.
Links referenced:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ralph (00:00):
Moving into a new home, what a feeling that can be.
But once those boxes are in packed,then the reality of other cost of
home ownership start to sink inthings like property taxes, insurance,
and those unexpected repairs,
You start to ask, how doI budget for all of it?
So your dream doesn't becomea source of financial stress.
Well, stick with me because I've gotthe answers for you on today's show.
(00:38):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph, and it's so great thatyou chose to join me again as we
continue to answer that big question.
How can I become a financiallyconfident Christian?
And we're continuing our series throughdealing with the stress of money worries.
Now, yesterday we talked all aboutnavigating the financial waters of home
(00:59):
buying, and the last few days we talkedabout how to figure out how much you
can afford and get that mortgage andall that process and closing costs.
Today we're gonna move beyond thatpurchase itself and we're gonna talk
about what happens after you get the keys.
Yeah.
After they hand you the keys and you askyourself this Ralph, I bought the house.
Now how do I budget for everythingelse that comes with it?
(01:22):
Listen, I get it.
Focusing on finding a house,man, that is a fun process.
That's a tough process.
You probably felt like, oh, Ithought I would never get to this.
Then you got to the mortgage processand you made your way through that
process and went through underwriting,and then went to settlement, and
you came up with the closing costs.
Then you get moved in, you get allthe boxes unpacked, or hopefully
(01:42):
you got most of your boxes unpacked.
And then to open up the bills and, andthen comes a property tax bill and that
that bill's larger than you expectedor maybe larger than your escrow.
And the next thing happens,your homeowner's insurance
costs more than you expected.
And then one Saturday afternoon, youand your wife and kids are, are sitting
(02:02):
there enjoying some afternoon television.
All of a sudden you hear a drip,drip, drip and the roof starts
leaking or maybe the furnacebreaks down or some other repairs.
You're starting to feelthe stress, aren't you?
And these things can costthousands of dollars.
It was hard enough to even getthe house in the first place.
You've drained all your savings and nowyou're feeling that financial strain
(02:23):
and you're thinking about, Ralph, doI charge up my credit cards again?
'cause honestly, I've completelyused up my, emergency fund.
But here's the thing I wantyou to understand today, and
I'm talking to you directly.
Don't forget.
Home ownership is a true blessing.
It just is.
It's a beautiful thing, but you've gotto remember, it's your largest asset
(02:44):
that you will probably ever purchase.
and as such, it does requiresome ongoing stewardship.
The same as you would maintainall of your possessions.
Your car, your, your, your houseis just one of those things.
The Bible speaks the importanceof maintaining what you have.
I wanna share with you Proverbs chapter24, verses three and four today.
(03:04):
That's what it says.
It says, by wisdom, a house is built andthrough understanding it is established
through knowledge, it's rooms are filledwith rare and beautiful treasures.
Well, you've done that part.
You filled the rooms.
You understand how the house was built.
You got through that process.
(03:25):
But now you've gotta preparefor the upkeep, sort of
like the walls of Jerusalem.
In the book of Nehemiah.
They had to have an ongoing effortto repair and maintain those walls.
When you own a home, it'sthe same kind of thing.
You've got planning, you've gotbudgeting, you've gotta have wise
foresight, and you gotta have diligence.
You gotta have these things because yougotta protect that investment because
(03:49):
this investment is gonna help ensure yourfinancial stability for the next 30 years.
Maybe you got a 30 year mortgage,you're like, Ralph, this
thing needs to last, 30 years.
But right now, I want you to justpause for a second and think about
all you've gone through to getthis house that saving, putting
aside the money, and scrimping andsaving, doing all those things.
(04:09):
I just want you to take a second.
Just trust God for provisionand trust him for wisdom.
Now let's move into what we can do.
Here's one of the things that I thinkyou absolutely must do, and I'm gonna
encourage this today on the show.
Establish a consistent savings plan.
That way you have money setaside for future maintenance and
repairs, and it's a proactive way.
(04:29):
Because then it's being predictableand you get to be prepared for
those unpredictable expenses.
So here's your one item action for today.
I want you to go look at your budget.
I hope you have a budget.
If you don't have one, it's agreat time to really do one.
I want you to add some budget linesto your, to your budget, some what
I call dedicated budget categories.
(04:49):
We definitely wanna add property taxes.
We wanna add homeowners insurance.
Hey, maybe you've got a housewhere you pay HOA fees and
plan for when they're due.
Put those right into your budget becauseoftentimes they're not just monthly.
They may be once a year, twicea year, maybe once a quarter.
You can create funds to handle those.
So that's the first step.
Add these things to yourbudget, these categories.
(05:12):
Second thing I want you to do,I want you to create a home
maintenance and repair fund.
This is separate from yourgeneral emergency fund.
This is a separate savings account,what I'll call a sinking fund.
Now, a lot of people say to me, Ralph,how much should I be setting aside?
You ready for this one?
When I did research for thisshow, this is what I found.
You wanna plan for about one to2% of your home's value annually.
(05:34):
So here's a simple example.
If you've got a $200,000 home, youbetter be planning for 2000 to $4,000
a year in repairs and maintenance.
Yes, if you're doing the math, it'salmost $400 a month, but create
that fund and be prepared for that.
Another I wanna really encourage you todo is research typical maintenance costs.
That way you're not surprised.
(05:55):
Understand the life expectancy of thatHVAC system or that, or that water heater.
'cause it's gonna do two things.
It's gonna provide you motivationto save and it might give you some
ideas of how to make them last longer.
And finally, last but not least, yougotta review and adjust, especially as
your house gets older, be prepared toadjust that you're gonna spend more.
(06:17):
This may be a time, and I don't havetime to talk about it on today's
show, but consider a home warranty.
Now you might be saying, great,Ralph, I think this is going to help.
Well, let's talk about why it helps.
It helps because it fights thatstruggle of those unexpected expenses,
and all of us are gonna have those.
I remember when I bought my firsttownhouse, I was about 21 years old.
I was in there about two weeks,and the HVAC system blew up.
(06:38):
I need to replace the whole thing.
So it's gonna fight thatstruggle of the unexpected.
It's gonna ensure you've gotthe money and you don't have to
go charge up your credit cards.
Another thing I think it does isit protects your emergency fund it
preserves your asset, that house.
And last, but certainly not least, itgives you peace of knowing that you are
prepared for whatever comes your way.
(07:01):
Well, let's pray together now.
Father God, thank you forthe blessing of a home.
We're so grateful of what you've givenus, Lord, and we confess that the
ongoing cost of ownership, especiallythose unexpected repairs, Lord,
they can certainly bring us stress.
So we just ask that you would grant uswisdom, Lord, and grant us discipline
again to budget faithfully for thoseproperty taxes and for those insurance
(07:23):
and those maintenance and repair costs.
Lord, we ask that you would helpus consistently set aside funds
in that repair account, trustingthat you'll help us, Lord, you'll
help us maintain our home wisely.
And we just ask that you, Lord,protect our home from those
major unexpected issues, Lord.
But help us to be prepared financiallywhen they do come up, Lord.
(07:43):
And may our homes be a placeof peace and not a source of
overwhelming financial burden.
And we just, ask this in confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
So today, here's your task.
You've got to start budgeting forall the costs of home ownership.
It's an act of wise stewardship, ithelps protect your investment, and it
(08:06):
brings you greater financial peace.
And Isn't that what we all want?
Greater financial peace.
Don't just budget for the mortgage, budgetfor the home and budget for your life.
And I'm just gonna encourage you todayto share this episode with someone else.
You know, you may know somebody that isjust bought a home, or maybe they had a
house for a while and you think, you knowwhat, they could really benefit from this.
I'm gonna encourage you toshare this episode and you can
(08:27):
find resources and connect withthe show right at our website.
I. Financially confident christian.com.
And while you're there, I've got aspecial gift for you on your journey.
Hey, this is another homeowner's gift.
If you go to financially confidentchristian.com/master, I'm gonna
give you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's quick.
It's a powerful read, designedas a starting point to help you
(08:50):
break that cycle of financial shameand really step into confidence.
And again, you can go to financiallyconfident christian.com/master
to get you a free copy today.
Now, tomorrow we're gonna be moving awayfrom this whole home buying and mortgage
process, and we're gonna be talkingabout how to become more proactive and
intentional with your spending and yoursavings decision, and do that overall.
(09:13):
And we're gonna talk about creatingsome personal spending rules.
Now these aren't the restrictivekind of rules, but trust me on
this, we're gonna reduce some stresstomorrow, so you don't wanna miss it.
So make sure you join me now.
Let's all go out there andbe financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I have confidence in you.
Have confidence in yourself, and I justencourage you to stay financially savvy.
(09:34):
God bless you and youhave a great day today.
Moving into a new home, what a feeling that can be.
But once those boxes are in packed,then the reality of other cost of
home ownership start to sink inthings like property taxes, insurance,
and those unexpected repairs,
You start to ask, how doI budget for all of it?
So your dream doesn't becomea source of financial stress.
Well, stick with me because I've gotthe answers for you on today's show.
(00:38):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph, and it's so great thatyou chose to join me again as we
continue to answer that big question.
How can I become a financiallyconfident Christian?
And we're continuing our series throughdealing with the stress of money worries.
Now, yesterday we talked all aboutnavigating the financial waters of home
(00:59):
buying, and the last few days we talkedabout how to figure out how much you
can afford and get that mortgage andall that process and closing costs.
Today we're gonna move beyond thatpurchase itself and we're gonna talk
about what happens after you get the keys.
Yeah.
After they hand you the keys and you askyourself this Ralph, I bought the house.
Now how do I budget for everythingelse that comes with it?
(01:22):
Listen, I get it.
Focusing on finding a house,man, that is a fun process.
That's a tough process.
You probably felt like, oh, Ithought I would never get to this.
Then you got to the mortgage processand you made your way through that
process and went through underwriting,and then went to settlement, and
you came up with the closing costs.
Then you get moved in, you get allthe boxes unpacked, or hopefully
(01:42):
you got most of your boxes unpacked.
And then to open up the bills and, andthen comes a property tax bill and that
that bill's larger than you expectedor maybe larger than your escrow.
And the next thing happens,your homeowner's insurance
costs more than you expected.
And then one Saturday afternoon, youand your wife and kids are, are sitting
(02:02):
there enjoying some afternoon television.
All of a sudden you hear a drip,drip, drip and the roof starts
leaking or maybe the furnacebreaks down or some other repairs.
You're starting to feelthe stress, aren't you?
And these things can costthousands of dollars.
It was hard enough to even getthe house in the first place.
You've drained all your savings and nowyou're feeling that financial strain
(02:23):
and you're thinking about, Ralph, doI charge up my credit cards again?
'cause honestly, I've completelyused up my, emergency fund.
But here's the thing I wantyou to understand today, and
I'm talking to you directly.
Don't forget.
Home ownership is a true blessing.
It just is.
It's a beautiful thing, but you've gotto remember, it's your largest asset
(02:44):
that you will probably ever purchase.
and as such, it does requiresome ongoing stewardship.
The same as you would maintainall of your possessions.
Your car, your, your, your houseis just one of those things.
The Bible speaks the importanceof maintaining what you have.
I wanna share with you Proverbs chapter24, verses three and four today.
(03:04):
That's what it says.
It says, by wisdom, a house is built andthrough understanding it is established
through knowledge, it's rooms are filledwith rare and beautiful treasures.
Well, you've done that part.
You filled the rooms.
You understand how the house was built.
You got through that process.
(03:25):
But now you've gotta preparefor the upkeep, sort of
like the walls of Jerusalem.
In the book of Nehemiah.
They had to have an ongoing effortto repair and maintain those walls.
When you own a home, it'sthe same kind of thing.
You've got planning, you've gotbudgeting, you've gotta have wise
foresight, and you gotta have diligence.
You gotta have these things because yougotta protect that investment because
(03:49):
this investment is gonna help ensure yourfinancial stability for the next 30 years.
Maybe you got a 30 year mortgage,you're like, Ralph, this
thing needs to last, 30 years.
But right now, I want you to justpause for a second and think about
all you've gone through to getthis house that saving, putting
aside the money, and scrimping andsaving, doing all those things.
(04:09):
I just want you to take a second.
Just trust God for provisionand trust him for wisdom.
Now let's move into what we can do.
Here's one of the things that I thinkyou absolutely must do, and I'm gonna
encourage this today on the show.
Establish a consistent savings plan.
That way you have money setaside for future maintenance and
repairs, and it's a proactive way.
(04:29):
Because then it's being predictableand you get to be prepared for
those unpredictable expenses.
So here's your one item action for today.
I want you to go look at your budget.
I hope you have a budget.
If you don't have one, it's agreat time to really do one.
I want you to add some budget linesto your, to your budget, some what
I call dedicated budget categories.
(04:49):
We definitely wanna add property taxes.
We wanna add homeowners insurance.
Hey, maybe you've got a housewhere you pay HOA fees and
plan for when they're due.
Put those right into your budget becauseoftentimes they're not just monthly.
They may be once a year, twicea year, maybe once a quarter.
You can create funds to handle those.
So that's the first step.
Add these things to yourbudget, these categories.
(05:12):
Second thing I want you to do,I want you to create a home
maintenance and repair fund.
This is separate from yourgeneral emergency fund.
This is a separate savings account,what I'll call a sinking fund.
Now, a lot of people say to me, Ralph,how much should I be setting aside?
You ready for this one?
When I did research for thisshow, this is what I found.
You wanna plan for about one to2% of your home's value annually.
(05:34):
So here's a simple example.
If you've got a $200,000 home, youbetter be planning for 2000 to $4,000
a year in repairs and maintenance.
Yes, if you're doing the math, it'salmost $400 a month, but create
that fund and be prepared for that.
Another I wanna really encourage you todo is research typical maintenance costs.
That way you're not surprised.
(05:55):
Understand the life expectancy of thatHVAC system or that, or that water heater.
'cause it's gonna do two things.
It's gonna provide you motivationto save and it might give you some
ideas of how to make them last longer.
And finally, last but not least, yougotta review and adjust, especially as
your house gets older, be prepared toadjust that you're gonna spend more.
(06:17):
This may be a time, and I don't havetime to talk about it on today's
show, but consider a home warranty.
Now you might be saying, great,Ralph, I think this is going to help.
Well, let's talk about why it helps.
It helps because it fights thatstruggle of those unexpected expenses,
and all of us are gonna have those.
I remember when I bought my firsttownhouse, I was about 21 years old.
I was in there about two weeks,and the HVAC system blew up.
(06:38):
I need to replace the whole thing.
So it's gonna fight thatstruggle of the unexpected.
It's gonna ensure you've gotthe money and you don't have to
go charge up your credit cards.
Another thing I think it does isit protects your emergency fund it
preserves your asset, that house.
And last, but certainly not least, itgives you peace of knowing that you are
prepared for whatever comes your way.
(07:01):
Well, let's pray together now.
Father God, thank you forthe blessing of a home.
We're so grateful of what you've givenus, Lord, and we confess that the
ongoing cost of ownership, especiallythose unexpected repairs, Lord,
they can certainly bring us stress.
So we just ask that you would grant uswisdom, Lord, and grant us discipline
again to budget faithfully for thoseproperty taxes and for those insurance
(07:23):
and those maintenance and repair costs.
Lord, we ask that you would helpus consistently set aside funds
in that repair account, trustingthat you'll help us, Lord, you'll
help us maintain our home wisely.
And we just ask that you, Lord,protect our home from those
major unexpected issues, Lord.
But help us to be prepared financiallywhen they do come up, Lord.
(07:43):
And may our homes be a placeof peace and not a source of
overwhelming financial burden.
And we just, ask this in confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
So today, here's your task.
You've got to start budgeting forall the costs of home ownership.
It's an act of wise stewardship, ithelps protect your investment, and it
(08:06):
brings you greater financial peace.
And Isn't that what we all want?
Greater financial peace.
Don't just budget for the mortgage, budgetfor the home and budget for your life.
And I'm just gonna encourage you todayto share this episode with someone else.
You know, you may know somebody that isjust bought a home, or maybe they had a
house for a while and you think, you knowwhat, they could really benefit from this.
I'm gonna encourage you toshare this episode and you can
(08:27):
find resources and connect withthe show right at our website.
I. Financially confident christian.com.
And while you're there, I've got aspecial gift for you on your journey.
Hey, this is another homeowner's gift.
If you go to financially confidentchristian.com/master, I'm gonna
give you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's quick.
It's a powerful read, designedas a starting point to help you
(08:50):
break that cycle of financial shameand really step into confidence.
And again, you can go to financiallyconfident christian.com/master
to get you a free copy today.
Now, tomorrow we're gonna be moving awayfrom this whole home buying and mortgage
process, and we're gonna be talkingabout how to become more proactive and
intentional with your spending and yoursavings decision, and do that overall.
(09:13):
And we're gonna talk about creatingsome personal spending rules.
Now these aren't the restrictivekind of rules, but trust me on
this, we're gonna reduce some stresstomorrow, so you don't wanna miss it.
So make sure you join me now.
Let's all go out there andbe financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I have confidence in you.
Have confidence in yourself, and I justencourage you to stay financially savvy.
(09:34):
God bless you and youhave a great day today.
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