Becoming Financially Confident Blog

Should You Save Money or Pay Off Debt First? Here's the Right Order to Do Both  Every extra dollar seems to come with a decision attached. Save it for emergencies, or throw it at your debt? Pick one, and it feels like you're neglecting the ot…

Nothing About Your Finances Is Too Small to Bring to God  You bow your head to pray about your bills, and a thought stops you cold: doesn't God have bigger things to deal with? Isn't my bank account too small to bother Him with?  That …

You Don't Have to Be a Money Expert to Raise Money-Smart Kids  You learned about money the hard way — through mistakes, stress, and lessons you wish someone had taught you sooner. Now you're watching your own kids and thinking: not them. Not …

The Simple Way I Tell People to Figure Out If They Need Life Insurance (and How Much)  It's the financial topic nobody wants to think about. It forces you to picture a world without you in it, so most people just avoid it entirely.  I ge…

5 Things I Tell Anyone Drowning in Medical Debt They Never Asked For  You didn't overspend. You didn't make a dumb choice. You got sick, or someone you love did, and the bills buried you anyway.  That's the reality a listener wrote to me…

How Do You Talk to Your Kid About Money When You Think They're WrongHe didn't come home angry about nothing. He came home with a $40,000 loan balance and two years of house hunting that went nowhere, and he landed on a word for it. Capitalism is evi…

Renting vs. Buying: My 25% Rule for Figuring Out What You Can Actually Afford  If you're renting and someone in your life has told you you're "just throwing money away," I want you to hear this first: you're not behind. That advice sounds tru…

The Real Reason Couples Keep Having the Same Money Fight  The fight always starts small. A purchase, a number, a raised eyebrow. Then somehow it's the same argument for the hundredth time. A listener wrote in describing exactly this after 11 …

You Can Be the One Who Ends Your Family's Money Struggles  A listener wrote in describing something a lot of people carry quietly. Her parents lived paycheck to paycheck her whole childhood. Her grandparents lost everything more than once. Co…

The One Word That Changes How Christians Should Think About Money  A listener wrote in carrying guilt he'd held for years. He works hard, he's ambitious, and he genuinely wants to build wealth, enough to be generous, take care of his family, …

The Hidden Math Behind Buy Now, Pay Later Purchases  Four easy payments. No interest. One click at checkout. It feels harmless every single time, which is exactly the point.  A listener wrote in describing a year of buy now, pay later …

Why Your Credit Card Balance Keeps Rising Even After You Stopped Using It  You cut up the card. You haven't charged a single thing to it in months. You're even paying more than the minimum sometimes. And the balance is still higher than when …

Should You Keep Giving When You're Deep in Debt? Here's How to Think About It  If you've ever watched the offering plate come around while your credit card balance sits in the back of your mind, you know the tension. Give, and you wonder if y…

How to Budget on Irregular Income Without the Feast-or-Famine Cycle  Every budgeting method assumes one thing: a paycheck that shows up the same size every month. If you cut hair, drive for a living, freelance, or run any kind of gig-based in…

If you've got more than one debt sitting on your plate, you've probably run into this argument already. One camp says pay off your highest interest rate first because it saves you the most money. The other camp says knock out your smallest balan…

If you've started a budget more times than you can count, and it always falls apart around the same point, you're not undisciplined. You're not bad with money. The budget itself was built wrong from day one. Why Your Budget Keeps Failing By Week…

A listener wrote in this week with a problem a lot of hardworking people share. She and her husband both work full time. No fancy coffee habit, no new gadgets. But by the time rent, groceries, the car payment, and daycare come out, there's nothing…

A listener wrote in this week and said something I hear constantly, just rarely out loud. She's in her early 30s, never learned how money works in school, and has spent most of her adult life too busy surviving to catch up. She couldn't pull toget…

Why Do Restaurants Look Packed When "Everyone's" Broke? (Here's What the Data Actually Shows)  You've seen it too. The news says Americans are drowning in debt. Then you drive past a packed parking lot at the mall, or you're seated next to a …

Why Your Electric Bill Jumped $55 This Summer (And What Actually Fixes It)  You open your bill and it's $205. Last month it was $150. You haven't changed a thing about how you're living, but somehow you owe $55 more. It feels random. It isn't.  …

When your rent eats 78% of your paycheck, the problem isn't your budget  A listener wrote in, making $2,400 a month. His rent is $1,880. Do that math, and you get 78% of his income going to one bill. He's not going out. He's not shopping. He's se…

At the Kitchen Table at Midnight: One Listener's Race to Protect Her Family Before Disability Hits  She does the math at midnight now. Not if her job goes away, but when. She works in healthcare. She's watched this exact disease move through …

You Beat the Spending Addiction. Why Does Buying Anything Still Feel Like Relapsing?  Quick answer: Guilt and wisdom are not the same thing, even though they feel identical in the moment. Wisdom asks a question: can I actually afford this? Gu…

Can Money Actually Buy You Out of Misery? Here's What It Can't Touch  A listener fired off a letter this week that didn't ask for advice. He argued a position. Money solves nearly every problem, he wrote, and anyone who claims otherwise just …