Is it Money Problems or Priority Problems?
We wake up on time, move from one task to the next, and somehow still end the day feeling behind. Work, dinner, chores and responsibilities, and suddenly it’s bedtime again.
The workout didn’t happen. Pages for your book didn’t get written. The business idea didn’t move forward. And the laundry pile looks exactly the same. Another day gone, and frustration sets in.
It’s easy to say we don’t have enough time, but more often than not, we don’t have a time problem. We have a priority problem.
And that same issue quietly shows up in our finances. Not just in what we know, but in what we choose to do.
The Real Issue: Priority, not Income
One of the most common fears today is the rising cost of living. Online, it’s easy to find sweeping claims that make financial struggle feel universal, no matter where you live. Young people are frustrated that they can’t buy a house, and older people are worried about saving for retirement. But using the same generalized numbers for New York City might not relate to rural Alabama. Constant exposure to these messages can cause you to borrow problems that don’t match your situation, which in turn causes unnecessary anxiety. It’s like when you hear about lice, your scalp starts to itch.
Why You Need More than Financial Literacy
One way to reduce your anxiety right out of the gate is to look at your numbers. At the end of the day, those numbers reflect our choices. Sometimes we even know the right things, but we don’t act on them. If your credit card statement shows DoorDash transactions, small purchases outside your budget, everything adds up. If you start cutting back in just one area at a time, you can make a huge impact on your savings and investment goals.
Financial wellness is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. Bad money habits won’t fix themselves. You have to work on them.
So what can we do about our priority problem? For time management, you make time. Get up earlier, go to bed later, use your lunch break, and put your phone down. Prioritizing what matters is the only way change actually happens. Keep your phone in another room and use an old-school alarm clock.
Practical Ways to Fix Your Financial Priorities
1. Set up Automatic Savings
For your savings account and investment accounts, you can set up an automatic transfer so the money moves first. Prioritizing saving will remove the temptation to spend if the money isn’t available.
2. Remove Easy Spending Triggers
Disconnect your credit card from the apps. Removing your credit card creates a barrier to quick, impulsive spending.
3. Control Your Environment
Delete shopping apps and unsubscribe from text sale alerts. You don’t really save 20% if you had saved 100% by not buying anything. You also save 100% when you don’t even know there’s an active sale. Truth is: The sale isn’t that unique that you have to buy right now. When you need something, then search for sales.
4. Be Intentional With Food & Groceries
Build a grocery list. With the prices of groceries these days, it’s worth the 30-60 minutes of meal planning and comparing grocery sale ads to make sure you’re getting the best deals on the foods you buy. Bonus! When you meal plan, you end up recouping the time investment by knowing exactly what you’re cooking each day- or batch cooking on days you have more time.
5. Review Your Spending Honestly
Look at your credit card and bank statements. Simply reviewing your purchases can reveal where your priorities really are. We might not think we have a spending problem. But if we look a little more closely at our receipts, it’s likely we have items we didn’t really need.
A Biblical View of Financial Discipline
The book of James shows us what it looks like to live out our faith through actions. It offers many actionable steps. James writes, “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.” While James addresses the many trials we face in life, financial growth can be one of those trials. We can apply that same mentality to our day-to-day financial decisions. Discipline, patience, and wise choices over time produce stability and maturity.
Even in Genesis, we see that God cares about our choices. Before Cain sinned, God spoke to him, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7
God warned Cain before he made his mistake. But he also had the choice to do what was right.
God always knows the condition of our hearts. When we honor Him in stewardship and make wise choices, God is pleased with us.
Choosing Faith Over Financial Fear
Sometimes we get too caught up in what the world tells us about money. Messages that tell us we can never retire or buy a home. When we believe those narratives, we start making fearful decisions instead of faithful ones.
We overcorrect. We avoid wise risks and investments. We spend impulsively or think only in the short term.
The better approach is to pause and examine your reasoning. Why are you making the decisions you’re making? How can you make a plan to reduce some of those impulse decisions?
Small, consistent choices shape both our time and our finances. When we align our priorities with what matters most, we begin to build a life that reflects it.
Bible Verses to Reflect On
“The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” -Proverbs 14:15
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4