What's going on, Pursuers? Welcome to The Pursuit
of Calling, the podcast that provides you with
the strategies and tools needed to successfully
discover and pursue your calling. Whether it's
through inspiring stories, thought -provoking
interviews, or quick, insightful episodes on
personal growth and development, we've got you
covered. I'm your host, Thomas Carney. Enjoy
the episode. Morgan Housel, the author of The
Psychology of Money, says, Money's greatest intrinsic
value, and this can't be overstated, is its ability
to give you control over your time. So today
we're diving into what real financial freedom
means, not just stacking cash, but using it to
design a life that's truly yours. Recently, I
started... leading a Financial Peace University
course, or co -leading a course. Last week was
my first time leading the class, and it was great.
It was fantastic. There's still some things that
I need to work on, some areas I can improve,
especially when it comes to a group setting,
because I think you guys know that I'm a one
-on -one coach, and some of the skills are transferable,
but not all of them. But it's just kind of a...
a fun thing that I'm doing. I'm hoping to then
be able to transfer these skills into future
masterminds that I have, like I've mentioned
before, on the 15 valuable laws of growth, like
atomic habits, and be able to do that in the
future. So stay tuned for that kind of stuff.
The second session talks a lot about paying off
your debt and cutting up your credit cards. It's
probably one of the most, if not the most, controversial
topic of all of... Financial Peace University.
And not that I'm going to be telling you today
to cut up your credit cards, even though personally
I believe that you should. But I do want to go
over a few main points with you about how to
be truly financially free and how this fits into
pursuing your calling well. You know, back whenever
I wasn't really taking my life seriously, That
flowed into how I managed my finances. In other
words, I didn't. I think it helped a little bit
that I didn't necessarily like spending money.
But whenever I did spend money that I wasn't
planning to spend, I didn't have anything to
go back on. I didn't have anything to refer to
that would cause me to think about the money
that I was spending. Whenever those random impulse
buys popped into my head at the store, I had
nothing to check them off. Nothing to check them.
No budget, no plan. One really funny example
that I, well, not funny, but a good example that
I like to share with people a lot of the time
is, I don't know now, like four years ago, I
decided that I really wanted a new flat screen
TV. I bought a LG 55 -inch OLED TV. And for those
of you who don't know what OLED means, that's
okay. You don't need to know that. That's not
important. But it's such a nice TV. I still have
it. However, this TV costs $1 ,500. I put it
on a credit card because I didn't actually want
to spend the money. I put it on a credit card
to make that transaction. Not hurt as much. But
then spent the next three months making $500
payments, which did hurt a lot. Hurt a little
bit over a longer period of time. I guess that's
what you would say. So that's kind of funny,
but also what I like to share whenever I talk
about why I am... I said earlier, like, cut up
your credit cards because they turn into use
cases like that. Anyway, financial freedom isn't
just about having money. It's about knowing why
you have it, how to use it, and when to use it.
Money is a tool, and just like any tool, you
can use it well or you can use it incorrectly.
And depending on who you ask, what incorrect
actually means can differ a lot. But today, I
want to be super, super practical. Because here's
the deal. Like we talked about earlier, financial
freedom isn't just about stacking cash. It's
about building a life that's truly yours. And
if that's the goal, why wouldn't you want to
manage your money well? I think this is something
Dave Ramsey talks about. about really well, honestly.
He starts with a simple but powerful step, saving
a $1 ,000 starter emergency fund. Then right
after you say do that, you start paying off your
debt. You go after your debt with everything
you've got. That step right there, that's huge.
Because let's be honest, debt holds a lot of
people back from living the life they wish they
could. It weighs you down and it limits your
options. But if you're spending your money today
in a way that gives you more freedom tomorrow,
in my book, that's wise. That's wisdom. Now,
look, I'm not saying you shouldn't have any fun
money. You should. You should enjoy life. But
if you're so deep in the hole that you don't
know how you're going to get out, aka you have
a lot of debt, you might have to sacrifice some
of that fun money for a season. And yeah, that's
the hard truth, but it's a worthwhile one to
say. Being wise is harder than being foolish.
There are a lot more people doing foolish things
with their money than wise ones. So how can you
be wise? First, I'd say by setting up a budget.
Figure out where your money is going instead
of wondering where it went after every single
payday. Every dollar, which is by Ramsey Solutions,
is a great option and it's free. I've used the
paid version for years now and I love it. I promise
you this is not a plug. I just really like the
software. And as a software developer, I think
that means a lot because I've used a lot of crappy
software out there. And I know there's a lot
of crappy software out there that a lot of people
use. And every dollar is not one of them. It's
intuitive. They're always updating it. And I
don't think I'm ever going to stop using it,
at least not as of right now. Maybe if there's
ever something new that comes out, maybe I will
then. But you can get that link in the show notes.
Again, not a plug. I don't get a kickback. That's
just me trying to provide you with a tool that
will help you with your finances. So we've talked
about why you have your money. To create a life
that reflects your values and your calling to
design that life that is truly yours. And it
starts with clearing out your debt because you
can't build something strong on shaky ground.
We've also talked about the how. Creating a budget
that helps you tell your money where to go instead
of wondering where it went. But what about, now
what about when? When do you know it's the right
time to spend? When do you actually use your
money? That one's a little bit more nuanced.
But honestly, your budget, if you have that set
up, then you already have your answer. If it's
in the budget, you've already made the decision.
If it's not, then maybe it's a no for now. That's
the beauty of a plan. It takes the emotion out
of the moment. It takes the emotion out of that
transaction, and you're not relying on impulse.
Instead, you're following your values. And I
think in my notes, I said, but I just said that
your beauty, that the beauty of the plan is that
it takes emotion out of the process. But the
funny thing is, is a lot of the times like emotion
can make us spend, but can also cause us to save
and hold on to what we have. And the budget,
again, helps you dictate, dictate where that
money can go. If you want to be more frugal,
then great. If you want to be able to give more,
if you want to be able to give, great. But you're
also in debt. You can give. If you're a Christian,
you want to tithe to your local church that 10
% of your income. You budget for that. You give
of your first fruits. You give that first 10
% off the top of your income, and you budget
the rest. But you can also budget for other giving
opportunities if that's what you want to do.
That's the beauty of having a budget and a plan.
So how does this tie back to your calling? Because
I haven't really mentioned calling a whole bunch
yet. And it's been nine minutes, almost a whole
length of a usual episode that I do. And I haven't
really talked about calling all that much. You
know, God doesn't call us to chaos. He calls
us to stewardship. I know, I'm getting to why
this has to do with our calling in a second.
And stewardship isn't just about tithing or giving.
It's about managing everything he's entrusted
to us. Our time, our gifts, our relationships,
and yes, our money. Financial freedom is a fruit
of faithful stewardship. If you're not a Christian,
I just said a lot of Christian -y things. But
I think I said it before. If you want to live
a life that is truly yours, why wouldn't you
want to manage your money well? And also, if
you want to live a life of generosity, if you
want to live a life of being able to, like Dave
Ramsey says, live like no one else, so you can
live now, so you can live and give like no one
else later. Why wouldn't you want to manage your
money well? And the other thing is, when we manage
what we have well, it opens doors. We don't even
know that it existed before. For me, when I steward
my resources, when I steward my time well, when
I steward my money well, I get to lead a Financial
Peace University course, and I love it. Maybe
you get to lead a small group. Maybe you get
to launch that dream business. And then you get
to start giving radically. Or simply being fully
present with your family instead of stressed
about bills. In Luke 16, verse 10 in the Bible,
Jesus said, whoever can be trusted with very
little can be trusted with much. Think about
that. If you can't steward what you already have,
How will God trust you with more? Now, I'm not
specifically talking about money here, but about
all that God has already given you. All that
you have already been given. And again, if you're
not a Christian, and you're listening to it,
and you've made it 12 minutes into this episode,
let me talk to you now. Now, yes, you hear my
heartbeat behind, I believe, every... A penny
that I have is a gift from God. However, if you
even take it in a secular mindset and you say,
every penny that I have, if I don't steward it
well now, even if I don't have a lot of money,
if I don't steward it well now, how do you think
you'll act? If you were to get more money or
were to get even other different responsibilities,
if you can't steward what you have well, you're
going to do the same thing with more. If you're
already stewarding, if you're already utilizing
the money that you have poorly, then you're going
to do the same thing with more. So you have a
responsibility to yourself and other people in
your lives to steward the resources that you
have well and with excellence. I believe everyone's
calling is meant to help others. Your calling
isn't for you. However, if you don't steward,
again, what God has given you well, the calling
that is on your life, then how is he going to
trust you to steward other responsibilities?
I'd be asking that question. I feel like I have
to rephrase it. Just like how you should manage
your money well, and how you should manage your
calling well, if you don't manage your money
well, then, well, you're probably not going to
have it for very long. Or your life is never
going to be the life that your life will never
get close to the vision that you have for yourself.
And the same thing is true about your calling.
You can steward your resources, including your
money, in a way that feed into the calling that
is on your life. Maybe that's giving to certain
nonprofits and budgeting for that so you can
make sure that you're stewarding your resources
in a way that feed into that calling that is
on your life, into the purpose that is on your
life. Think about that. If you're stewarding
your money well now, keeping your calling, your
purpose in mind, Then maybe later when you have
more money, you'll be able to do even more than
you ever thought you could. You'll be able to
give more. You'll be able to do more, maybe travel
more, go on missions trips, or I don't know,
just be radically generous with the money that
you've been given. In a way, that aligns with
your calling. That make sense? Well, I have a
couple of challenges for you guys. Some things
I want you to do based off today's conversation.
One, I want you to make a budget. We talked about
it a lot. I don't know about this episode, but
I don't want you to make a perfect one. It's
going to be realistic. And you can use every
dollar or whatever tool you'll want to use. Whatever
tool you actually stick with. That could be a
spreadsheet even. If you love spreadsheets, use
a spreadsheet. If you want to use every dollar,
use every dollar. And then next, you set up your
budget, you save your $1 ,000, and then you start
paying off your debt, smallest to largest. That's
called a debt snowball. And that's something
that Dave Ramsey talks about a lot in Baby Step
2. And says, starting with the smallest debt
that you have and working your way up as you
pay them off is the best way to pay off debt.
And I'm going to link an article in the show
notes where you can learn more about what the
debt snowball is and how it works. So, guys,
if you enjoyed this episode and maybe you're
thinking now that you actually would like some
more help with understanding how you should personally
be managing your finances. So in that area of
your life, you're living and stewarding your
calling well, you can sign up for a free calling
coaching session, a free introductory session,
again, in the show notes, another link in the
show notes. And we'll be able to have a conversation
about your calling, the vision you have for your
life, what your goals are, and maybe even start
creating a plan for you to Live out that life
that you feel called to live. All right, guys.
If you like this episode, go ahead and share
it out on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you use
social media. And don't forget to give this episode
and the podcast a five -star review. I appreciate
you guys. You guys are amazing. And keep pursuing
your calling well. I'll see you next time.