June 30, 2025 • 15 mins
If budgeting still feels accidental or you find yourself wondering where the money went—again—this episode is for you. Ralph challenges the misconception that intentional living means deprivation and instead unpacks how purposeful financial choices are a reflection of your values and faith. Together, we’ll redefine what it means to live with clarity, purpose, and alignment. Today’s episode asks the real question: What does being intentional with money mean?
Check out the full podcast episode here
You’ll hear practical examples, a guided action step, and biblical encouragement for how to break the cycle of financial drift. Whether it’s saying no to a small impulse or making space for generosity, this episode helps you take one step closer to the freedom that comes from living on purpose with your money.
Chapters:
- 00:23 - Introduction to Financial Empowerment
- 01:09 - Understanding Intentional Living for Financial Confidence
- 05:30 - Defining Your Purposeful Financial Life
- 07:45 - Intentional Financial Living
- 10:02 - Living with Purpose: Intentional Financial Choices
- 12:29 - Challenging Consumerism: The More is Better Myth
Takeaways:
- Intentional living isn't about deprivation; it's about making purposeful choices with your money.
- Defining your personal vision for financial intentionality helps align your spending with your values.
- Breaking the cycle of financial shame starts with understanding the purpose behind your money.
- Living intentionally with your finances requires consistent choices that reflect your goals and God's calling.
Links referenced in this episode:
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 - How to Become a Financially Confident Christian
Want to be a guest on Financially Confident Christian?...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ralph (00:00):
Do you ever feel like your money just has a mind of its own,
like it slips through your fingersbefore you even realize where it
went, but what if you could grab thesteering wheel and confidently direct
every dollar towards a life filledwith purpose, not just spending?
I want you to stick with me todaybecause I've got the keys to
make that happen on today's show.
(00:35):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I'm just so happy you'vechosen to join me again today as we work
to answer our big question, how can Ibecome a financially confident Christian?
Now, yesterday we kicked off ournew series and it's called Beyond
the Budget, finding FinancialFreedom Through Intentional Living.
(00:56):
Yesterday we started off by challengingthe idea that money is always the answer.
I hope you went and listened to it.
If you missed it, I'm gonnaencourage you to go check it out
because we really debunked that myththat money is always the answer.
And today we're gonna ask the nextlogical question, and that's this.
Ralph, what does intentionalliving even mean for your money?
(01:17):
I thought we needed to start thereand really start to dive into what
does Intentional living even mean.
Maybe like many people,you've tried budgeting.
You say, oh, Ralph, this isa hassle, but I've tried it.
Maybe you even trackedspending for a while.
You did it for a week ortwo, or maybe even a month.
And in many ways this financial managementjust still feels sort of accidental.
(01:40):
Like it just something yousort of just happened to you.
And then money, money justbe, feels like this thing.
It just happens to you in general.
Your spending's always stuck on autopilot.
Then you're like me, you get to theend of the week or the end of the
month or your, the next paycheck,you're like, Hey, where did it all go?
I call this financial drift, andthat financial drift is subtle at
(02:02):
first, but it's a persistent sourceof stress for so many people.
And maybe you're sitting there rightnow and you go, oh, Ralph, he's
talking about intentional living.
Guess what that means?
That means deprivation.
Maybe that's what you think.
But I'm gonna challenge thatright here at the beginning.
See, that's a, that's aprofound misunderstanding,
and that misunderstandingis keeping you stuck here.
(02:24):
See, in my view, the real struggleis living without a clear why.
What's your why for your money?
' cause here's the thing Iwant you to hear today.
Intentional livingisn't about deprivation.
It's just not, it's not about, well,I can't do this and I can't do that.
Actually, I'm gonna flip the scriptand I'm gonna tell you what I
really believe that intentionalliving is all about purpose.
(02:48):
See, it's the ultimate level of control.
It's about making conscious,deliberate choices with every single
dollar that comes into your pocket.
And if you're doing it right,if you're doing it right, it's
gonna reflect your deepest values.
And God's calling on your life.
Let's look at the, at the word today.
Let's look at the book ofEphesians, chapter five, verses
(03:10):
15 and 16, and I love this versestarts with a very stark warning.
Be very careful then how you live,not as unwise, but as wise, making
the most of every opportunity.
Hey, when the verse startsoff with, be very careful.
Guess what that means?
Be careful.
(03:33):
It's talking about living and it'stalking about making wise decisions.
'cause it's talking about opportunitieshere and unwise people don't take
advantage of the opportunities.
Let's continue our, our look at the word.
Let's look at the book ofColossians, chapter three verse two.
Set your minds on thingsabove, not on earthly things.
(03:57):
That's impactful because what it'ssaying to us is don't get so hung
up on those earthly possessions.
I mentioned in the show that watch I hadto have yesterday that was distinctly
earthly, but collage is saying no.
Set your mind on things above.
here's the real answer,intentional living.
What I'll call purpose-drivenuse of God's resources.
(04:20):
It is ultimately aboutfaithful stewardship.
So now you're probablyasking Ralph, what can we do?
How do we stop that drifting?
You talk about and startliving intentionally.
'cause that's what I want to do, Ralph.
I wanna live out God'sgiven purpose in my life.
I wanna live intentionally.
I've got the solution for you.
(04:40):
It starts with defining your personalvision for financial intentionality.
I talk about intentionality on theshow a great deal, but it starts with
having that vision and that vision.
You wanna align it with yourvalues and with God's purpose
or God's calling on your life.
And this isn't some big,humongous thing that you must do.
(05:01):
You gotta make small, consistentchoices day in and day out
that reflect that vision.
' cause in the end, that'swhat becomes your compass.
And that compass is gonna pointyou in the direction of your values
and God's purpose on your life.
So here's your one action step for today.
This is what I want you to doto really put this intentional
(05:22):
living into your life step.
the first thing I want you to do isdefine your intentional financial life.
You gotta sit down, maybetake five or 10 minutes.
Ask yourself this very deepquestion, what does a purposeful
financial life look like?
And everybody's answer could be differentto this, but ask yourself that question.
(05:45):
What does a purposefulfinancial life look like?
I mentioned this a little bit yesterday.
it about freedom?
Is it about not worrying where yournext dollar's coming, breaking that
cycle of financial shame or breakingthat paycheck to paycheck cycle.
For you, maybe it's generosity.
Do you want to be more giving?
Do you wanna support your church?
Do you wanna support your charities?
Maybe you wanna do more for yourchildren or your grandchildren.
(06:09):
For a lot of people, it mightsimply be living in simplicity.
I don't wanna have all this stuff, Ralph.
I don't need all this going on around me.
It's just too busy in my world.
And for some of us.
Maybe it's our calling, and I justwant you to take some time and capture
a few words, or maybe even not words,but just images that represent this.
For example, let's say yours is freedom.
(06:31):
You might say to yourself, I wannabe free from that paycheck to
paycheck cycle stress, that thatmeans saying no to things that only
offer that short-term gratification.
So I can always sayyes to long-term peace.
As I said, maybe for you, it's agenerosity for me, a, a purposeful
financial life means having margin.
I talk about that on the showall the time so that I can
(06:52):
help when others are in need.
I, I wanna be the kind of person whocan respond when someone's in crisis.
Maybe yours is simplicity.
I'm craving less cluttersphysically and financial.
I, I don't need to keep up greatin my lifestyle to feel successful.
It's a person who seespeace is the new luxury.
As I mentioned, maybe it's thatcalling my financials should
(07:14):
reflect my faith and my calling.
I want to invest in what truly matters,my family, my church, and and the
mission God has placed on my heart.
So maybe you write about a quiethome with fewer bills or giving
without hesitation, not even worryingabout anymore that debt-free living.
Maybe for you it's that Sundayfamily dinner, or maybe just
(07:36):
simple words like margin.
Peace or legacy or impact, or,hey, maybe this one obedience.
And then I just want you totake that vision that you put
to yourself together and connectit to a recent spending choice.
Think of one non-essential recent purchasethat you made, and then ask yourself that
(07:57):
tough question, did this purchase alignwith my intentional financial vision?
This is not about guilt.
It's just about awareness.
So for example, let's say youhad an impulse, Amazon purchase.
Hey, I, I bought a second ringlight because it was on sale.
I do content creation, but I already hadone looking back that wasn't in line with
(08:19):
my desire for simplicity or stewardship.
I didn't need to, and I'mtrying to steward my money.
Maybe one of yours iseaten out multiple times.
Know you say to yourself, I ate out threetimes last week, not because I had to.
But because I didn't plan ahead, andI've done shows about that, and you
say to yourself, my goal is to be moreintentional with health and finances.
(08:41):
Maybe for you it says impulse buys,and you're buying a subscription
app and you say to yourself, Isubscribe to another productivity
tool and I haven't opened it one time.
I say, I want financial freedom, but myspending doesn't reflect that this time.
Ask yourself these verydifficult questions.
Was the purchase life givingor just a distraction?
And then ask yourself this reallydifficult question, did it move me
(09:02):
closer to or further away from peace?
Once you've done those two things, I wantyou to plan one next intentional choice.
Think about an upcoming spendingmoment that you're gonna have, and
think about how you can redirectthat money more intentionally.
As we talked about, maybe youdelay it, maybe you reduce it or
you reallocate it with purpose.
Lemme give you a few examples.
(09:24):
Let's say you've got anupcoming family outing.
So instead of going to an amusementpark this weekend, we we're choosing
a, a hike and a homemade picnic.
It's that frees up $150 topay down our credit card bill.
I would say that's living with purpose.
Or maybe for you it's thatnew clothing temptation.
I, I saw a summer sale pop up in my inbox.
(09:44):
Hey, I see those all the time.
Instead of buying more, I took 10minutes to clean out my closet.
That small act realigned me withsimplicity 'cause that was the thing
that you said was important to you.
Or maybe it's that caffeine run decision.
I budgeted for five coffee shop visitthis month and I'm down to my last
one and now I'm choosing to skip ittoday 'cause that $5 will go towards
(10:07):
my emergency fund instead because youfind value in, in safety and peace and
an emergency fund is important to you.
So ask yourself, What's one smallbut symbolic shift that I can make
this week that will have an impactand help me to live intentionally?
How can I show God that I trust himthrough this next financial decision?
(10:27):
And here's why this helps you,because it fights that drift.
I've talked about that drift.
It fights that drift becauseyou're being intentional.
It builds that intentionalityand it creates that alignment
between faith, between money.
Purpose because you definewhat your purpose is and you've
aligned that with your decisions.
Well, let's pray together now.
(10:48):
Father God, we just thankyou for being our provider.
And Lord, we confess ourmoney often feels accidental.
It just seems like it happens to ussometimes, and we know that's not the
way you want us to live our lives, Lord.
So we just ask that you would helpus define financial intentionality.
Lord, grant us wisdom and grant usdiscipline as we really work to live
(11:09):
within your will, and we ask thatyou would help us to have our money
reflect your purposes for our lives,and we ask this with confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Listen, financial peaceisn't about income.
I said that yesterday and I said thatagain today because it's so important.
(11:29):
It's about how intentionally youlive and you can live intentionally.
You gotta define your vision and makeone intentional choice today, because
listen, you're moving towards freedomand I just wanna encourage you now, if
this episode has been helpful for you,do me a huge favor and share it with
somebody else who needs to hear it.
(11:50):
It's a whole lot of people out therewho are battling that feeling of being
like their money is just, is justworking and it's accidental to them.
It just happenstance and, andthey can learn from this show and
they can learn from this episode.
So I'm just gonna encourageyou to share it with them more.
People need to hear about the peacethat comes with being intentional.
You can visit financiallyconfident christian.com or
(12:11):
share that website with them.
And while you're there, I wannagive you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's just a quick read, but itis impactful and it will help
you live that purposeful life.
And you can get to it by goingthe financially confident
christian.com/master.
Now tomorrow we're gonnatackle the more is better myth.
(12:31):
We're gonna talk about more and moreand more like when my kids were really
young, they say, I need more, I need more.
And we're really gonna startto challenge consumerism.
So I, I wanna encourageyou not to miss it.
So let's all go out thereand be financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I believe in you now.
Believe in yourself.
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.
Do you ever feel like your money just has a mind of its own,
like it slips through your fingersbefore you even realize where it
went, but what if you could grab thesteering wheel and confidently direct
every dollar towards a life filledwith purpose, not just spending?
I want you to stick with me todaybecause I've got the keys to
make that happen on today's show.
(00:35):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I'm just so happy you'vechosen to join me again today as we work
to answer our big question, how can Ibecome a financially confident Christian?
Now, yesterday we kicked off ournew series and it's called Beyond
the Budget, finding FinancialFreedom Through Intentional Living.
(00:56):
Yesterday we started off by challengingthe idea that money is always the answer.
I hope you went and listened to it.
If you missed it, I'm gonnaencourage you to go check it out
because we really debunked that myththat money is always the answer.
And today we're gonna ask the nextlogical question, and that's this.
Ralph, what does intentionalliving even mean for your money?
(01:17):
I thought we needed to start thereand really start to dive into what
does Intentional living even mean.
Maybe like many people,you've tried budgeting.
You say, oh, Ralph, this isa hassle, but I've tried it.
Maybe you even trackedspending for a while.
You did it for a week ortwo, or maybe even a month.
And in many ways this financial managementjust still feels sort of accidental.
(01:40):
Like it just something yousort of just happened to you.
And then money, money justbe, feels like this thing.
It just happens to you in general.
Your spending's always stuck on autopilot.
Then you're like me, you get to theend of the week or the end of the
month or your, the next paycheck,you're like, Hey, where did it all go?
I call this financial drift, andthat financial drift is subtle at
(02:02):
first, but it's a persistent sourceof stress for so many people.
And maybe you're sitting there rightnow and you go, oh, Ralph, he's
talking about intentional living.
Guess what that means?
That means deprivation.
Maybe that's what you think.
But I'm gonna challenge thatright here at the beginning.
See, that's a, that's aprofound misunderstanding,
and that misunderstandingis keeping you stuck here.
(02:24):
See, in my view, the real struggleis living without a clear why.
What's your why for your money?
' cause here's the thing Iwant you to hear today.
Intentional livingisn't about deprivation.
It's just not, it's not about, well,I can't do this and I can't do that.
Actually, I'm gonna flip the scriptand I'm gonna tell you what I
really believe that intentionalliving is all about purpose.
(02:48):
See, it's the ultimate level of control.
It's about making conscious,deliberate choices with every single
dollar that comes into your pocket.
And if you're doing it right,if you're doing it right, it's
gonna reflect your deepest values.
And God's calling on your life.
Let's look at the, at the word today.
Let's look at the book ofEphesians, chapter five, verses
(03:10):
15 and 16, and I love this versestarts with a very stark warning.
Be very careful then how you live,not as unwise, but as wise, making
the most of every opportunity.
Hey, when the verse startsoff with, be very careful.
Guess what that means?
Be careful.
(03:33):
It's talking about living and it'stalking about making wise decisions.
'cause it's talking about opportunitieshere and unwise people don't take
advantage of the opportunities.
Let's continue our, our look at the word.
Let's look at the book ofColossians, chapter three verse two.
Set your minds on thingsabove, not on earthly things.
(03:57):
That's impactful because what it'ssaying to us is don't get so hung
up on those earthly possessions.
I mentioned in the show that watch I hadto have yesterday that was distinctly
earthly, but collage is saying no.
Set your mind on things above.
here's the real answer,intentional living.
What I'll call purpose-drivenuse of God's resources.
(04:20):
It is ultimately aboutfaithful stewardship.
So now you're probablyasking Ralph, what can we do?
How do we stop that drifting?
You talk about and startliving intentionally.
'cause that's what I want to do, Ralph.
I wanna live out God'sgiven purpose in my life.
I wanna live intentionally.
I've got the solution for you.
(04:40):
It starts with defining your personalvision for financial intentionality.
I talk about intentionality on theshow a great deal, but it starts with
having that vision and that vision.
You wanna align it with yourvalues and with God's purpose
or God's calling on your life.
And this isn't some big,humongous thing that you must do.
(05:01):
You gotta make small, consistentchoices day in and day out
that reflect that vision.
' cause in the end, that'swhat becomes your compass.
And that compass is gonna pointyou in the direction of your values
and God's purpose on your life.
So here's your one action step for today.
This is what I want you to doto really put this intentional
(05:22):
living into your life step.
the first thing I want you to do isdefine your intentional financial life.
You gotta sit down, maybetake five or 10 minutes.
Ask yourself this very deepquestion, what does a purposeful
financial life look like?
And everybody's answer could be differentto this, but ask yourself that question.
(05:45):
What does a purposefulfinancial life look like?
I mentioned this a little bit yesterday.
it about freedom?
Is it about not worrying where yournext dollar's coming, breaking that
cycle of financial shame or breakingthat paycheck to paycheck cycle.
For you, maybe it's generosity.
Do you want to be more giving?
Do you wanna support your church?
Do you wanna support your charities?
Maybe you wanna do more for yourchildren or your grandchildren.
(06:09):
For a lot of people, it mightsimply be living in simplicity.
I don't wanna have all this stuff, Ralph.
I don't need all this going on around me.
It's just too busy in my world.
And for some of us.
Maybe it's our calling, and I justwant you to take some time and capture
a few words, or maybe even not words,but just images that represent this.
For example, let's say yours is freedom.
(06:31):
You might say to yourself, I wannabe free from that paycheck to
paycheck cycle stress, that thatmeans saying no to things that only
offer that short-term gratification.
So I can always sayyes to long-term peace.
As I said, maybe for you, it's agenerosity for me, a, a purposeful
financial life means having margin.
I talk about that on the showall the time so that I can
(06:52):
help when others are in need.
I, I wanna be the kind of person whocan respond when someone's in crisis.
Maybe yours is simplicity.
I'm craving less cluttersphysically and financial.
I, I don't need to keep up greatin my lifestyle to feel successful.
It's a person who seespeace is the new luxury.
As I mentioned, maybe it's thatcalling my financials should
(07:14):
reflect my faith and my calling.
I want to invest in what truly matters,my family, my church, and and the
mission God has placed on my heart.
So maybe you write about a quiethome with fewer bills or giving
without hesitation, not even worryingabout anymore that debt-free living.
Maybe for you it's that Sundayfamily dinner, or maybe just
(07:36):
simple words like margin.
Peace or legacy or impact, or,hey, maybe this one obedience.
And then I just want you totake that vision that you put
to yourself together and connectit to a recent spending choice.
Think of one non-essential recent purchasethat you made, and then ask yourself that
(07:57):
tough question, did this purchase alignwith my intentional financial vision?
This is not about guilt.
It's just about awareness.
So for example, let's say youhad an impulse, Amazon purchase.
Hey, I, I bought a second ringlight because it was on sale.
I do content creation, but I already hadone looking back that wasn't in line with
(08:19):
my desire for simplicity or stewardship.
I didn't need to, and I'mtrying to steward my money.
Maybe one of yours iseaten out multiple times.
Know you say to yourself, I ate out threetimes last week, not because I had to.
But because I didn't plan ahead, andI've done shows about that, and you
say to yourself, my goal is to be moreintentional with health and finances.
(08:41):
Maybe for you it says impulse buys,and you're buying a subscription
app and you say to yourself, Isubscribe to another productivity
tool and I haven't opened it one time.
I say, I want financial freedom, but myspending doesn't reflect that this time.
Ask yourself these verydifficult questions.
Was the purchase life givingor just a distraction?
And then ask yourself this reallydifficult question, did it move me
(09:02):
closer to or further away from peace?
Once you've done those two things, I wantyou to plan one next intentional choice.
Think about an upcoming spendingmoment that you're gonna have, and
think about how you can redirectthat money more intentionally.
As we talked about, maybe youdelay it, maybe you reduce it or
you reallocate it with purpose.
Lemme give you a few examples.
(09:24):
Let's say you've got anupcoming family outing.
So instead of going to an amusementpark this weekend, we we're choosing
a, a hike and a homemade picnic.
It's that frees up $150 topay down our credit card bill.
I would say that's living with purpose.
Or maybe for you it's thatnew clothing temptation.
I, I saw a summer sale pop up in my inbox.
(09:44):
Hey, I see those all the time.
Instead of buying more, I took 10minutes to clean out my closet.
That small act realigned me withsimplicity 'cause that was the thing
that you said was important to you.
Or maybe it's that caffeine run decision.
I budgeted for five coffee shop visitthis month and I'm down to my last
one and now I'm choosing to skip ittoday 'cause that $5 will go towards
(10:07):
my emergency fund instead because youfind value in, in safety and peace and
an emergency fund is important to you.
So ask yourself, What's one smallbut symbolic shift that I can make
this week that will have an impactand help me to live intentionally?
How can I show God that I trust himthrough this next financial decision?
(10:27):
And here's why this helps you,because it fights that drift.
I've talked about that drift.
It fights that drift becauseyou're being intentional.
It builds that intentionalityand it creates that alignment
between faith, between money.
Purpose because you definewhat your purpose is and you've
aligned that with your decisions.
Well, let's pray together now.
(10:48):
Father God, we just thankyou for being our provider.
And Lord, we confess ourmoney often feels accidental.
It just seems like it happens to ussometimes, and we know that's not the
way you want us to live our lives, Lord.
So we just ask that you would helpus define financial intentionality.
Lord, grant us wisdom and grant usdiscipline as we really work to live
(11:09):
within your will, and we ask thatyou would help us to have our money
reflect your purposes for our lives,and we ask this with confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Listen, financial peaceisn't about income.
I said that yesterday and I said thatagain today because it's so important.
(11:29):
It's about how intentionally youlive and you can live intentionally.
You gotta define your vision and makeone intentional choice today, because
listen, you're moving towards freedomand I just wanna encourage you now, if
this episode has been helpful for you,do me a huge favor and share it with
somebody else who needs to hear it.
(11:50):
It's a whole lot of people out therewho are battling that feeling of being
like their money is just, is justworking and it's accidental to them.
It just happenstance and, andthey can learn from this show and
they can learn from this episode.
So I'm just gonna encourageyou to share it with them more.
People need to hear about the peacethat comes with being intentional.
You can visit financiallyconfident christian.com or
(12:11):
share that website with them.
And while you're there, I wannagive you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's just a quick read, but itis impactful and it will help
you live that purposeful life.
And you can get to it by goingthe financially confident
christian.com/master.
Now tomorrow we're gonnatackle the more is better myth.
(12:31):
We're gonna talk about more and moreand more like when my kids were really
young, they say, I need more, I need more.
And we're really gonna startto challenge consumerism.
So I, I wanna encourageyou not to miss it.
So let's all go out thereand be financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I believe in you now.
Believe in yourself.
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.
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