Where Can I Find Extra Money to Pay Off Debt Faster?

So, you’ve picked your debt payoff strategy—snowball or avalanche—and now you’re ready to hit the gas. But there’s one problem: your budget feels tapped out. In this episode of Financially Confident Christian, Ralph helps you bridge the gap between intention and action by walking you through how to uncover hidden margin in your current budget. With a calm, faith-based approach and a few practical mindset shifts, he shows you that you don’t need to earn more—you need to rethink what you already have. Tune in if you’re ready to find extra money.

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From cutting back on non-essentials to reevaluating short-term savings priorities, Ralph lays out a simple, repeatable process to free up funds—no spreadsheet wizardry required. He explains how even small adjustments can accelerate your debt payoff and give you a renewed sense of progress and peace. With encouragement from Scripture and a realistic game plan, this episode is your step-by-step guide to turning small sacrifices into big financial wins.

Chapters:

• 00:06 - Finding Extra Money in a Tight Budget
• 01:21 - Finding Extra Money for Debt Payoff
• 03:39 - Finding Extra Money for Debt Payoff
• 04:03 - Finding Margin for Debt Freedom
• 07:56 - Breaking the Cycle of Financial Shame
• 08:15 - Tackling High Interest Debt

Takeaways:

• Choosing a debt payoff strategy like snowball or avalanche is a big deal, folks!
• Finding extra money isn’t just about raises; it’s about smart spending.
• You gotta review your recent spending to see where cash can be freed up, trust me!
• Cutting back on non-essentials like dining out can really boost your debt repayment game.
• Even small amounts redirected to debt can make a HUGE difference in the long run!

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Episode Transcript

Ralph (00:00):
You've chosen your debt payoff strategy.
You know which debt you'reattacking first, and that's huge.
But now comes the real question.
How do you find any extra moneyin an already tight budget to
actually pay it off faster?
If your budget feels maxed out, wellstick around because we're gonna find
that money together today on the show.

(00:34):
Hey there.
Welcome back to your Daily,financially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and it's really awesome tosee you dedicating this time to your
financial health and your financial peace.
This is the show that helps you answer thequestion, how can I become a financially?
Confident Christian and we're walkingstep by step through the series, dealing

(00:54):
with the stress of money worries.
Now, yesterday you made a powerfuldecision by choosing your debt payoff
strategy, whether that's the snowballmethod or the avalanche method.
Today we're gonna get practicalabout fueling that strategy.
Because a debt payoff plan is just a planuntil you add fuel to the fire, right?

(01:14):
And that fuel is extra money.
Money beyond those minimum paymentsthat you can throw at your target debt.
But if your budget feels like it's alreadystretched thin, the question is this.
Where on earth do I find that extra money?
So let's dig in.
Where can I find extra moneyto pay off debt faster?

(01:35):
Now, maybe you've looked at your budgetafter paying for essentials and minimums
and thought there's nothing left, Ralph.
How can I possibly payoff debt any faster?
And then you start feeling discouraged,like aggressive debt payoff.
Well, that's just for those peoplewho make a lot more money than I do.
This feeling of what we call a zerosurplus budget is a significant struggle.

(01:58):
It makes you feel stuck, like debtfreedom will take forever and it
robs you of the motivation thatcomes from seeing real progress.
'cause you know you should payextra, but you just don't see
how, and that uncertainty, well,that just adds to your stress.
Here's the thing, finding extra moneyisn't always about getting a raise.

(02:21):
Now, that does help.
I'm not gonna tell you it doesn't.
That does help, but more often, especiallywhen you're first starting out, it's
about wisely managing and redirectingthe money that you already have.
It's about making intentionalchoices about where your money goes.
Think back to the biblical principlesof stewardship we've discussed.

(02:41):
Being a good steward isn't justabout managing a lot, it's about
being faithful and diligent withwhat you have no matter the amount.
Jesus commended the widow who gavejust two small copper coins noting
that she had given all she had.
That's in Mark chapter 12and also in Luke chapter 21.

(03:03):
Her faithfulness wasn'tmeasured by the amount.
Hear me on this.
It wasn't measured by the amount,but it was measured by her heart
and her willingness to giveeven from her place of need.
In the same way, finding even smallamounts to redirect towards a debt
is an act of faithful diligenceand prioritizing financial freedom.

(03:26):
Yes, it requires sacrifice, butit aligns your actions with your
goal of getting out of debt.
And here's the best part.
It honors God with your focused effort.
So what can we do?
How do you find this valuable extra moneyin your existing budget to accelerate your
debt payoff and reduce long-term stress?

(03:48):
I.
The single essential solution is todiligently view your recent spending with
a critical eye and identify specific.
Now listen, these are gonna benon-essential areas where you can
make temporary reductions to freeup cash solely for debt payoff.
This is about what I call finding marginby making intentional trade-offs for the

(04:08):
sake of accelerating your debt freedom.
So, okay, here's your one actionstep for today, specifically
focused on finding money in yourbudget for debt acceleration.
I want you to start by reviewing,like I said, your recent spending.
Look at your, your spending trackingdata from the past week or two.
What do you see?
Where is your money actually goingbeyond the absolute essentials?

(04:32):
You know, we're not talking about housing,we're not talking about basic food.
We're not talking about, minimumutility, just where is it going.
The next thing I want you to do isI want you to identify one or two
non-essential areas that you can reduce.
Find just one or two specific spendingcategories where you could realistically
just cut back for the next month ortwo, but be honest with yourself.

(04:54):
Common areas are, are things likedining out or entertainment or
maybe those impulse purchases orsubscriptions that you don't use much.
Or even, and listen to me on this one,A temporary reduction in a savings goal.
While you're aggressively attackingdebt, though, maintain that small
emergency fund, I think that's important.
Then I want you to determine therealistic amount that you can redirect

(05:16):
based on where you can cut back.
Calculate a realistic dollaramount that you could free up
this pay period or this month.
Listen, even if it's just $20 or$50, hey, if it's a hundred dollars.
Every extra dollar will help.
And finally, I need you to committo redirecting that specific amount.
Write down that specific amountthat you are committing to add to

(05:38):
your minimum payment on your targetdebt from your payoff strategy.
And when you make your debt payment,make sure you add this extra amount.
That's the critical part.
Now you're probably askingRalph, why does this help?
I believe this single action, it directlyfights that struggle of feeling like
you have no control or you have noway out to pay off that debt faster.

(06:02):
It truly does replace hopelessnesswith a concrete plan to
find those funds and listen.
In the end, it accelerates your debtpayoff timeline, saving you money on
interest in the long run, and givingyou some powerful motivation as you
see your debt balance shrink faster.
And it turns spending cuts from feelinglike deprivation into feeling like

(06:23):
purposeful steps towards freedom.
Well, let's pray together.
Father God, thank you for theresources you provide and for
calling us to be wise stewards.
We confess that our budgets oftenfeel tight and finding extra
money, it feels impossible, Lord.
Please open our eyes intoareas in our spending where

(06:45):
we can realistically cut back.
And Lord, we ask that you would grantus the discipline and the willingness
to make some temporary sacrificesfor the greater goal of debt freedom.
Help us to see these reductions,not as deprivation, Lord, but as
powerful steps guided by your wisdom.
Empower us to redirect thosefunds effectively and accelerate

(07:09):
our journey out of debt.
And we ask this with confidence.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Finding even small amounts to throwat your debt makes a huge difference.
You are actively taking stepsto shorten your debt journey and
reduce that long-term stress.
So keep reviewing, keep finding thosedollars and keep fueling your plan.

(07:31):
You've got this.
And if finding extra money for debtfeels like a challenge you're ready
for, please share this episode withsomeone else who could benefit from it.
You can find resources and connectwith the show at our website that's
financially confident christian.com.
Hey, and I've got a specialgift for you on that journey
for the first 100 listeners.
Who go to financiallyconfident christian.com/master.

(07:54):
I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.
It's called Mastering Your Finance.
It's just 47 pages.
It's quick and it's a powerful read,designed it, a starting point to help
you break that cycle of financialshame and step into confidence.
So again, go to financiallyconfident christian.com/master
to get you a free copy today.

(08:15):
Now tomorrow we're gonna be talkingabout tackling high interest debt
and whether tools like balancetransfers or consolidation might
be the right choice for you.
You don't wanna miss it.
So make sure you join me and let's all goout there and be financially confident.
Christians, you can do this.
I have confidence in you.
Have confidence in yourself.

(08:35):
Stay financially savvy.
God bless you, and youhave a great day today.