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I am Rob West. When parents feel overwhelmed financially, it's easy to assume the only answer is more income. But relief often begins with small, intentional choices that create healthy money habits over time. Crystal Payne joins us today to talk about managing money while raising kids. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7,000.
That's 800-525-7,000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Crystal Payne is the creator of MoneySavingMom.com and the author of The Seven Habits of Financially Healthy Women, a title that gives a nod to Stephen Covey's classic while focusing on the habits that help women approach money with wisdom and purpose. By the way, the book releases tomorrow. Crystal, welcome back.
It's great to have you with us. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. You know, one thing I appreciate about your new book is that you don't begin with spreadsheets or formulas. You actually begin with fear.
You share about being married, raising a toddler, expecting another baby, watching your bank account shrink, and wondering how you were going to make it.
So, why was that the right place to start?
Well, I feel like there are so many books that are written kind of from this place of like, I figured it all out. And I really wanted women to know I've been where they are and I've experienced those fears. And actually in writing the book, I surveyed 4,000 women about their feelings around money. And one of the biggest things I noticed is that there was so much fear and financial stress, it can often feel isolating and shameful. And I really wanted the readers to know that they're not alone.
Fear really loses some of its power when we bring it into the light. And so that was my hope and my heart to give people this trajectory that they could be on with healthy financial habits. But it had to start with honesty and not feeling like. She's got it all figured out. What's my problem?
Yes. Oh, that is so good. And I love what you said about fear and bringing it into the light, starting with a place of vulnerability because it's just so inviting. And, you know, I think it's going to be helpful for so many. I also think, Crystal, a lot of parents listening can relate to the kind of pressure you're describing.
You know, it's not just about paying the bills, it's the desire to provide stability for your children and what I'll call the quiet question of whether you're doing enough. Yes. And you know, the interesting thing was when I did that survey, even women who were doing what we would consider really well financially carried a lot of stress, like the what-ifs and the unknowns of the future. It's just like that constant mental load, that pressure to create a good life for your kids and then prepare them for the future. And social media, comparison culture, it can make it so much harder.
Feeling like, well, you know, how come they're doing so well and what's wrong with me? But financial health isn't about a perfect life. It isn't about looking good on social media. It's not about a huge income. It's not even about being out of debt.
It's not about having a lot of money in the bank account. It's really about managing your money with purpose and intention instead of fear. Let's talk about that for a moment, just this idea of managing your money with purpose. What does that look like in your mind? For me, it's really that you recognize that money is a tool.
And that it can do so much good. And there's so much that you can accomplish with it, but you don't have to have a lot of it. You just have to make small choices. And so that's really what this book was about. It's these seven healthy habits that you can make that anyone, no matter your financial situation, if you have a lot of money, if you have a little money, if you're really struggling or you're doing well, you can choose to take these habits and make them something that are a part of your life.
And it really can totally change your future. Talk about that for a moment because you mentioned that in the book, and this is a constant theme, that small choices matter. Unpack that for us. You know, sometimes I think that we discount our daily choices and that we don't realize how much of a difference that it makes over time. I talk about in the book, you know, just drinking water and how you can Choose to bring water with you.
You can choose to buy a water bottle, and it might seem like such a small thing throughout the day. You know, go to a gas station, buy a water bottle, or you buy a water bottle out of the vending machine. But bringing your water versus buying it at the gas station, if you add up how much that costs you over time or saves you, is phenomenal. Your daily choices truly do matter. Oh, that is so good.
Well, after the break, we're going to continue to unpack that. Crystal Payne's here today. She's the creator of MoneySavingMom.com and the author of the brand new Seven Habits of Financially Healthy Women. It releases tomorrow. You can get it wherever books are sold.
Back with more right after this. Stick around. Money always seems to ask for more. More income. or savings.
More security. But what if the better question is? How much is enough? This Faith Phi Field Guide isn't just a book to read. It's a practical guide that helps you prayerfully answer that question for your own life.
one step at a time. Order your copy of How Much Money is Enough today at faithfi.com/slash shop. That's faithfi.com slash shop. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Eventide Investments, a faith-based asset manager pursuing investing that makes the world rejoice. Eventide invests from a biblical worldview, helping values-aligned investors pursue integrity, impact, and performance through their portfolios.
More information is available about how you can align your faith with your investments at faith5.com slash Eventide. That's faithfi.com slash Eventide. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. We're talking about building healthy money habits while raising kids. Crystal Payne is here today.
She's the creator of MoneySavingMom.com. She's a regular contributor to the program. And her brand new book releases tomorrow. It's called The Seven Habits of Financially Healthy Women. That's our topic today, by the way.
You can pick it up wherever you buy books. And Crystal, before the break, we were talking about one of the themes that runs through the book. And it's this idea that small choices matter. And that this really affects how we handle our lives and our families. I'd love for you to talk a bit more about that idea.
Yes, well, you know, one of the things that I remember when my older three were younger, how they were paying such close attention. And I remember explaining to them, like, why we're paying cash, why we're making these choices, these daily choices, and how much it actually impacted them. And it's so cool to see my older kids now. They are 21, almost 19 and 17. And the decisions that they saw us make when they were little kids.
They're now experimenting and making some of those same decisions. And it's so cool. And to realize that, you know, the atmosphere we create in our home around money, it makes such a difference. And our kids are really learning from what we model. And they notice whether the money conversations create panic or whether they see that we're spending our money and saving our money with purpose.
Yeah, that is so good. And we know more is caught than taught.
So this idea of modeling is so key. You shared some stories about your parents modeling discipline and sacrifice in the book. Crystal, how did their example shape the way you approached money in your own marriage and family? It shaped everything. And I owe so much to my parents for where we are financially.
My husband always says we feel like we're standing on our parents' shoulders and we want our kids to be able to stand on our shoulders and go even further. But I talk in the book about my parents making a commitment to pay off their house and then save money. And then we moved out to land and lived in this old trailer while they built a house debt-free. And just watching the decisions that they made, the sacrifices that they made, but how it gave them the ability to have such freedom to be givers. And that impacted me so much.
And that's what, for my husband and I, the decisions that we make now, we make them because we want to be in a position to be able to give generously. Oh, that's so good.
Now, of course, not everyone grew up with that example, right? Yes. And that's one of the things that I really unpack in the book is how much of our upbringing impacts our financial decisions. And oftentimes we don't even realize it.
Some people who are, you know, want to spend more and they don't even realize they're doing it because they're trying to fill a hole in their heart that wasn't filled when they were a child. And so really going back to what were the conversations around money? What was modeled for you? And what can you learn from that so that you don't have to become a victim to that, but that you can then make new choices and new pathways with your money. Mm.
One line that really stood out to me in the book was this one: You said, You can't change what you won't confront. And I think many people avoid looking at the numbers altogether because they're just afraid of what they might find. You know, it's so interesting. When I surveyed those 4,000 women, the thing that kept coming up was so many women don't look at the numbers because they're too scared of what they're going to find. And here's the thing: that's never going to benefit you long term.
And it can be scary. Yes, avoidance feels safer in the short term, but In the long run, if you're willing to do the hard work, it is going to pay off in big dividends for you and the legacy that you're leaving. Mm. Crystal, obviously you have the blessing that you and your husband are on the same page. And I don't want to pretend like that always works.
I mean, we all have challenges along the way. But for somebody who's listening today saying, my husband and I, or my wife and I, are at completely different places, how do you start to make steps toward having more unity in this area of money? I think the biggest thing is, you know, a therapist will say, stay in your own circle.
So, what can you? Fully take charge of. You know, maybe you are in charge of, let's say, you're a woman who does all the grocery shopping.
Well, you can take charge of that. But then also, when it comes to your marriage, do not approach these conversations with, I'm right, you're wrong, but approach it with how can I hear where you're coming from? And in the book, I even give some questions that you can ask to start having these conversations around money that don't feel shameful, don't feel like you're criticizing, but just to help you understand your spouse more. Because when you understand them, you're going to have a lot more compassion. And then when you have that, it's going to probably give you a lot closer relationship and ability to work together.
Yeah, that's so good. I think understanding is really key as we go back to the idea that what was modeled when we were children shapes us. And it's not only important to understand what was modeled for you and how that affects how you handle money today, but it also is important that you understand the same for your spouse, right? Yes, 100%. And to understand that these things that they're doing that to you might feel really frustrating to them, maybe that's a coping mechanism that they learn from an early age that has helped them to survive.
Yeah. Yeah, that's really good. Talk about priorities and our values and how that needs to be really clear and serve as the foundation to our money decisions.
So often we don't realize that in our spending decisions, we're actually showing what's important to us. And so Look at your spending over the last three months, and it's going to tell you a tale of what actually matters to you. And then you look at it and you can hold it up to: is this really how I want to be spending my life? Is this really what is a priority to me? What matters most to your family?
Maybe it's generosity, maybe it's having margin in your life, or family experiences, education, getting out of debt, whatever it is. Really make sure that those little choices that you're making on a daily basis are adding up to showing that those things are a priority for you. Yeah, that's so good. Let's talk about the B word. I know this is where you spend a lot of time, but I appreciate in the book that you don't frame budgeting as punishment.
So, how do you approach it? Yes. And one of the things that I really wanted to do is to give people a very different perspective on the word budget because I feel like it has so much baggage that is attached to it. And I even give people a lot of different words. If you want to call it something different, like a money plan, a spending plan, like you figure out what works for you, that's going to give you motivation, but recognizing that when you have a plan for your money, It's going to give you so much freedom and it's going to give you so much more peace because your money's not just going to slip through your fingers.
It's going to allow you to prioritize, like we were just talking about. And then you're going to have this, you know, you can look back and say, look, I spent my money according to what was my priority, and I don't have to fear for the future. And it really allows you to just have more stewardship and purpose in how you spend. That is so good. Crystal, what's one thought we have just about 20 seconds you would leave with somebody who's listening to this today?
I just want to encourage you that you are not stuck unless you choose to be. Moving forward, even at a microscopic rate, is still moving forward. And I'm over here cheering for you. You can do this one tiny step at a time. Crystal, we're so thankful for you.
I'm really excited about the book. Thanks for stopping by today. Thank you so much for having me. Folks, healthy money habits are built one intentional choice at a time, and those choices can shape your children for generations to come. Our guest today has been Crystal Payne, regular contributor, creator of MoneySavingMom.com, and the author of the brand new Seven Habits of Financially Healthy Women.
It releases tomorrow. You can get it wherever you buy books. Back with your questions after this. Stick around. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical worldview across every aspect of the financial services industry.
And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com. That's kingdomadvisors.com. We are grateful for support from Movement Mortgage, who provides residential home loans and reverse mortgage options in all 50 states. Guided by a mission to love and value people, Movement seeks to help individuals and families make informed financial decisions from buying a home to planning for retirement.
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This is Faith in Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your phone calls today: 800-525-7000. All right, let's begin. We're going to go down to Tampa, Florida, and welcome Patrick.
Go ahead, sir. Yes, thank you for taking my call, Rob. I just want to say I'm thankful for your ministry. It's been immensely a blessing to me over the years. Thank you very much.
I appreciate that.
Okay, so my question is this. I received a letter in the mail uh about three and a half years ago from the uh Social Security Department. And it was a letter informing me that uh I was several thousands of dollars in back pay. And that I needed to actually, it was twenty two thousand dollars three hundred and some change. that I owed him in that case.
And they grow apparently they went all the way back to when I First, I started working while on Social Security.
Now mind you, I've been on Social Security disability at that time for over probably twenty years. And so the first thing is that, you know, under the The Biden administration, when I received this letter, and everything coming out with the the fraudulent stuff going on that's being disclosed. My concern is that that may have been a A fraudulent letter, or it may have been.
Now, I went to Social Security and they said that it was legitimate. And then they informed me that I had a certain time frame to pay it off. which I've already exceeded that. But uh you know I'm just curious how First of all, why would they take so long After having so many reviews over the years with them and never telling me, not once, that I owed them back pay. And secondly, Uh how can I how can I know for sure?
Or what agency can I speak to to get the actual like numbers that I that I may actually owe and not being overcharged. for what they say my dad is. Yeah, yeah, that's really helpful. And I believe you were right to kind of proceed with caution.
Now, there are legitimate Social Security overpayment notices, but scammers also impersonate the Social Security Administration.
So you have to be careful. You did the right thing here, Patrick, in the sense that you verified it in person.
So that would have been my first recommendation, but it sounds like you already did this, and that is to go to the local Social Security office and have them confirm that the debt is legitimate. That's going to be your most reliable way to verify a notice. You did that. Why did it take so long?
Well, unfortunately, SSA has had a significant backlog in identifying and processing overpayments. In some cases, they aren't discovered, and this was the case with you, until years later because of delayed earnings reporting, disability reviews, internal audits. It's frustrating, but it happens. And so I would say a best practice. This is to always verify before paying.
So if you get another notice in the future, log into your MySSA account, see if there's a corresponding notice or balance, call Social Security using the phone number listed on the official website, not only a number printed in the letter, or visit the office as you did before. You don't ever want to act on pressure. You know, the real Social Security will never call demanding payment, certainly not with gift cards or crypto or wire transfers. Those are classic scams. But you do always want to ask for an explanation.
You know, if they say you owe money, well, then request a detailed accounting showing why the payment occurred, over what time period, how it was calculated, and your rights to appeal or request a reconsideration.
So, you know, if you still have questions about this $22,000 calculation, you can ask SSA for a written breakdown of exactly how they arrived at that number. And you have a right to understand the basis for it. But listen, for everybody listening, when you receive an unexpected notice involving money or your benefits, don't ignore it, but don't assume it's real either. Take the time to verify it through official SSA channels before taking any action. Yeah.
Well, just for your listeners, and so you know personally, you know, I love how God works in mysterious ways. And since that time, they also sent me a you know, during that letter that they sent me, they said, well, just so you know as well, if you don't pay it, Or begin, I think, start paying it within a month, we're going to cut your benefits. And so that wind up actually happening. But it was a blessing in disguise because the truth is, is that from my own personal part of my testimony is that the Social Security was like a default for me. It caused me to be complacent and lazy in a lot of ways.
And so since I've been cut off, I've never been so more financially stable tithing, giving, across the board, free. My work ethic and everything that God has developed in me has greatly improved.
So I just want to say that again, a blessing came out of that. Yeah, I love that. Thanks for giving testimony to the Lord. And praise God that that's how He used that in your life. Hopefully, you can get this back on track.
And if you're due future benefits, we can get that squared away. But, Patrick, thanks for your testimony today, sir. God bless you. We're going to go out to Oklahoma. Linda, how can I help you?
Well, it's kind of a serious question for me. V I and taking uh cancer treatment. And I want to know if there is a Mac. amount of money that If you claim in one year that the VA can dismiss you. From their facilities And you have to get insurance on your own.
Mm. Short answer is: there is not a lifetime dollar max. From VA healthcare for medical treatment, including chemotherapy. But there can be co-pays depending upon the veteran status.
So it would have to do with the disability rating and the income level, priority group, things like that.
So there's no hard dollar cap like with many private insurance plans. If the treatment is approved through the VA system, then they generally cover medically necessary cancer treatment, and that includes chemo and oncology visits and hospital stays. What changes is what the veteran pays, not what the VA covers.
So many veterans pay zero, nothing, depending on eligibility.
So if the cancer is service-oriented, or if the disability rating is more than 50%, or Lower priority groups based on income.
So that would be really the key: is how much. You're paying as inpatient copays, whether it's not at all or whether it is something that you have to pay toward that. But in terms of a cap on the total amount they can pay, that is usually not a factor whatsoever.
So I hope, Linda, that helps to clarify that and maybe eases your concern there. No cap, but the key would just be what is your portion of the copays that need to be paid on an ongoing basis. Thank you for your call today. Unfortunately, I'm out of time, so I'm going to have to let you go, but we appreciate you being on the program. Folks, thanks for tuning in today.
I hope you found something encouraging, helpful. I hope, above all else, You appreciate what God's word has to say in this area of financial management and stewardship because it is our source and we want it to be the same for you. A big thanks to my team today: Jim, Autumn, and Evan. Couldn't do it without them. We'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
