Inflation: An Opportunity to Praise or Panic, with Jan Thompson and Crystal Paine

If you've bought a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, or a tank of gas this week, this episode is for you. Join financial strategist Jan Thompson and Money Saving Mom Crystal Paine and discover why inflation is an opportunity for praise.

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Episode Notes

Revive Our Hearts Weekend podcast episode, “God, My Provider”

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Erin Davis: Good morning. If you've had to buy a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, or a tank of gas this week, this episode is for you. Welcome to Grounded. I'm Erin Davis.

Portia Collins: And I am Portia Collins. And I guess this episode is for me. 

Erin: Yes, it is.

Portia: Because while it hurts to just think about those purchases every single one of us uses, we need wisdom to steward our resources. We need to know how to buy what we need. And I'm not just talking about that new cute spring dress. I'm talking about the essentials. I don't have to tell you that the price of everything is going up way up. 

Erin: Yeah, I'll be skipping the new Easter dress this year to pay for groceries, and yeah, everything's going up. Here are some year over year comparisons. 2022 versus 2021 eggs and milk are up 11%, as are coffee and fruit. Used cars, get this, have gone up 41% This is me, the big-eyed emoji—41% on the used car, if you can find them, they're hard to find. And here's the one that might pinch the most right now. The cost of gas has gone up 38%.

Now y'all might not know this, but I drive a big, old van—one of those 12 passenger vans. 

Portia: I know that.

Erin: They call it the boy mobile. And let me tell you, filling up the boy mobile right now is painful, painful.

Portia: Girl, I drive a Nissan Altima, and it's painful. 

Erin: It’s painful no matter what you drive.

Portia: I’m like, “Dude, I ain't got a Hemi,” or what they call it. I don't know anything about engines. But you know, they are the engine with no more the gas. I don't even have this. It's like 70 bucks to fill my tank up. So, it's madness right now. But a recent survey found that we think that this issue of inflation, everything that's happening is the most important issue right now. Like, we want our government to tackle this higher than Coronavirus or violent crimes. This is topping the list.

Erin: Yeah, look at that higher than a lot of that on the red graph. There is us saying to our government, “Fix it. Help us with this inflation.” So, you already know the problem. You didn't need us to tell you that a tank of gas is painful. What you need, and what we need, is some perspective that goes beyond the numbers and the graphs and the economic forecast, which is a little stormy. We need it to come straight from God's Word. And that's why we're here. We're here to give you that hope and perspective.

Portia: Absolutely. And we're gonna make you a promise that this will be the most hopeful podcast episode that you will hear on the economy. Okay. And you're not the only one who needs to hear this. I encourage you to share it. Hit the share button right now and share it with your friends, your family, because they don't want to miss it.

Erin: Absolutely. I mean, everybody's getting plenty of information. But very few places are giving away hope and perspective grounded in God's Word. We are. So, we trust you to be our boots on the ground and let people know that we're talking about it. 

And what a lineup we have today. I know I say that every week, but we do get the best guests on Grounded. We've got Jan Thompson. She's back. She is one of our favorite financial experts. She takes her money principles straight from Scripture. So, you know they’re rock solid.

We've also got Crystal Payne here. You might know her as the Money Saving Mom. She's gonna take us to the practical ideas. How do we keep feeding four boys, asking for a friend when the price of everything goes up. She is going to show us why this economic downturn is an opportunity. But before we get to all of that, we need to hear some good news. Dannah Gresh is the perfect woman to bring it to us. Dannah, what's the good news this Monday morning?

Good News: Giving Trends of Young Adults (9:26)

Dannah Gresh: Well, I've got some great good news. For today's good news, I want to turn your attention to some interesting new data. There's a new survey that's discovered that young adults (I've got three of them) who are followers of Jesus, give three times more to charity than those who do not have a Christian worldview. So, over the course of a year, those between the ages of 25 and 40 who are Christians give almost $2,000 away to their church and other charities. That’s compared to non-Christians who give an average of $550 in that same time period. 

Now, this is not a contest of us versus them. Generosity is always something to celebrate. But Scripture definitely calls us as Christ followers to give sacrificially. And often, the next generation of Christians is getting that message and living it out. Ah, I love this. Now, I've got to say a lot of conversation revolves around Millennials, and not all of it is positive.

But today, we're giving you proof that many young adult Christians know the Bible and are committed to surrendering their finances to the Lord. They're showcasing the love of Jesus Christ with their generosity. In fact, the news gets even better. Their giving goes way beyond what they drop in the offering plate. Christian young adults are also more likely than non-Christians to agree it's important to regularly give their time to good causes. In other words, they are flooding God's economy with good gifts, gifts of their time, gifts of their money. 

There's even one more bit of good news from that study that I want to share with you. Do you want to guess who young adults say is their biggest influence when it comes to finances? Their parents. Did that just do your heart some good mama? Listen, when we model wise stewardship of our God-given resources and generosity towards others, someone's watching. Our kids see it. They're paying attention, and they're following in our footsteps. And we think that is good news.

Erin: And there was a little good news embedded in your good news, Dannah. You said women in their 40s were considered young adults, which I am slightly over. But I think the good new inside the good news is that I'm still a young adult. 

Dannah: Work it, Erin.

Grounded in Financial Wisdom with Jan Thompson (12:17)

Erin: I am going to own it. Hey, Jan Thompson is with us this morning. She is the CEO and financial advisor for One Degree Advisors. You might want to hold on to that name, because it is a place to get some God-centered financial advice. And her website says this, I just love it. It says you make a living by what you get, and you make a life by what you give. Whoo, I can't wait to hear more from her. That's my kind of financial advice. Welcome back to Grounded, Jan.

Jan Thompson: I couldn't be happier to be back with you. It's a delightful time.

Erin: Jan, I am a word girl, not a numbers girl. It feels like we either fall into one of those two camps. I'm going to bring the words, and I'm going to help you out. You are now our Grounded financial planner. Can you explain what is happening in the market right now?

Jan: Well, what's happening right now is we've had a tremendous surge of stimulus with a lot of cash in the marketplace. There's too many dollars to chasing too few goods. So, we've had supply chain shortages. The war in Russia has created issues with oil, wheat, corn, you name it. So, it's going to take a while for all the stimulus chasing all of these two products that are in that are scarce to work its way through the system. 

But I want to help bring a little perspective here, because we've been in about a decade of very, very low interest rate environments, and very, very low inflation. I know the conversations we've been having with clients. It's very hard for them to have this conversation where we need to be planning for a higher interest rate environment. It is coming. What we're experiencing is not normal. But that conversation typically falls on deaf ears until something like what we're experiencing happens. 

But if you look at the last 90-plus years, inflation has been running at 3.1%. It has not been at that level for the last decade. We're now looking at 7% to 8%. It looks scary. It looks very frightening. But it is actually very normal. It's actually very healthy for the long-term economy to to get back to a more normalized state. So this will be a very rocky year ahead. I have no doubt it is impacting people in a significant way. But there's also a lot of opportunity that's available if you understand a few basic principles. 

But under estimating inflation to me is one of the biggest planning mistakes people make, because these periods of time are have to come. We had it in the 80s. We had to begin in 2000. We haven't during the financial crisis of ’07–’09. It's a pattern. We need to prepare for it, and there are ways to do that.

Erin: I'm going to latch on to a few words that you said they're: normal, healthy, prepare. I think those are all such anchoring words. You mentioned that you're hearing some things from your clients. Are you are you hearing a lot of panic? Are people scared? What are you hearing in your financial planning office?

Jan: Well, I don't know that we're hearing panic, because we've prepared our clients for times like this. Everyone can do that. There’s a few basic principles from Scripture that everyone will operate their finances, in great times and in very difficult times. You can weather these periods of time. 

The first one, very simply, spend less than you earn. If you've become comfortable with low interest rates and leveraging debt and having variable debt, having things on credit cards, it's going to be very painful to go through a rising interest rate environment. So the first thing is, learn to control spending. I'm shopping differently. I'm in San Diego, California, our gas is about to reach $6 a gallon. 

Erin: Wow.

Jan: So, it is very challenging. So, you've I think now, can we consolidate trips? Do we have to make all these trips? Can I go pick up my kids and take them to the store with me so they don't have to spend more money on gas. So, there is just being very practical and very conscious about how you're how you're spending your dollars. I'm not going to increase my budget just because inflation means every product I’m buying at the store I'm seeing typically it's 50 cents to $1 more than I was paying a year ago. My heart goes out to families of children who are trying to feed their families. It is challenging, but if we spend less than we earn, we continue to rein in that spending. It just means we have to shop differently. We have to shop more carefully. We can't mindlessly spend.

Erin: Oh good. Don't put the groceries on the credit card friends, right? Find another way to buy them.

Jan: Right, minimize debt. If you have any variable debt at all, do what you can to convert it, because interest rates are only going to be rising.

Erin: Any other principles you want to share off the top of your head.

Jan: Yes, build equity. This is probably a tough time to have this conversation. But if you were always having a cash reserve that helps some of this fluctuation. It helps you ride out these turbulent times. 

So, if you can't do it now, just understand that as soon as we come out of this, and we will, history tells us these are these cycles are as painful as they are, we do come out of them. Then be determined to build that emergency reserve. Look at the animal kingdom. God put it in the heart of a bear to prepare for winter. He did that in the animal kingdom. But somehow, we think we could ignore the fact that winters come. We're in one of those cycles, now. They need to be prepared for ahead of time for us. 

The third thing is to stay focused on your long-term goals. If you just get very myopic, and think only in terms of what you're dealing with today, you forget about the fact there are tremendous buying opportunities in the investment world. And I think they're only going to get better, that means we're going to have some a lot of volatility in the stock market. 

Well, the stock market is one place that normally when things go on sale, what do we do, we just jump right in, and we buy as much as we can. But this is interesting, when the stock market goes through times like this, and through every inflationary environment, the stock market always takes a dip. If you look back the last 30 years of steady inflation cycles, you'll see that this is the time to actually be taking those long-term growth assets, and actually focusing them on the stock market. It's a great time to be doing that. 

So, think in terms of long term, not just what you're seeing today. 

Diversification is another really important principle. If you have all of your eggs in one basket, you're going to be in a panic. Ecclesiastes 11:2 says divide your portion seven or eight. You don't know what misfortune may happen. This feels like everything is falling apart. Right now, I get that we feel that. But diversification works. There are places in the market that are actually thriving, believe it or not. 

And then the last thing is, boy, and I can't say this enough, keep that first in your finances. You need to give Him the first and the best of everything. He trusts it to you. You're going to fail miserably on this if you're going to be full of fear. 

When you actually say, “You gave me this. I'm going to give you a portion back recognizing all belongs to You.” This is an act of faith saying, “I trust you with my life.” You're going to see a remarkable difference in the way you respond to the noise of the world. The media is driven by fear. If you have a steady diet of that, you just hunker down and just think about me. Look around you. If you think in terms of what's going on in Ukraine, in Russia right now, there are so many Christians that would give anything to trade places with us. 

So, when we think we're in such bad shape. . . I think again that we've been extremely blessed. So, look for your neighbor, look for that person that God brings across your path where you can share from what he's given to you, and be the hands and feet of Jesus in their life. It completely changes your perspective on this.

Erin: Oh, man, that's why I love to talk to you Jan, because you've given us this scriptural truth to build our finances on, and it is so rare. Finances really do touch every part of our lives. We can't just put our heads in the sand and say, “Oh, I'm not a money person. I don't want to handle that.” I've only recently been cognizant of this idea of values-based budgeting, which is silly, because it's what the Bible teaches. 

But it's that idea that we spend our money on what we value. I evaluated our finances recently in light of all this, and I realized our out to eat budget was insane. We don't actually value eating out; we actually value convenience. And so I put us on a budget and I said, “Okay, this is how much we get to go out to eat.” Because we really want to spend on what we value. So, we can have peanut butters and jellies right. So how do we continue to spend on what we truly value? Even as the cost of everything goes up? Maybe we do value home cooked meals. Or maybe we do value taking a trip once a year. How do we continue? How do we determine what we value and then direct our money that way?

Jan: Well, it goes down to basics: food, clothing and shelter. Those are basic needs. Eating out, that's food, but is that the most prudent way to spend the money, the dollars on food? And now we need to support our economy as well. So, I think every family has to come down to how much do you have in equity in your cash reserves? How much do you have in your short term, the next stage bucket, and then how much is long term. Make sure you're not spending long-term dollars on today's needs because eventually you're going to get to the point where you can't work. 

If you think in terms of a 65-year-old retiring today, if inflation runs at the average is 3.1%, which is done for the last 90 plus years, everything's going to double by the time that person is 88. Well, now, look at a 30-year-old. What we're looking at now, look forward 23 years. Just know these times are going to come. Again, what I want to encourage people is don't be just myopic on what's going on today. Obviously, you have to meet the needs of your family.

But if it means you don't eat out, oh well. The day will come again. It's not the end of the world. So, there's a lot of opportunity available out there. It is a challenge. I understand and I work with a lot of families who may be struggling to some degree, but there is always hope. There's always a way if you are planning ahead, instead of just letting life happen and just going with whatever the flow is.

Erin: So good. My boys are learning to love generic cereal. They just have to learn to love it, and everybody's gonna be okay. 

Jan: It's not going to hurt them. 

Erin: No, it’s not. Okay, I know how you're gonna answer this next question, because I have such confidence in your heart and your skills. But I want to give you the chance to say it, as we're trying to navigate everything costing so much more. Should we stop giving to our churches that 10% to make up the difference?

Jan: Only if you want to be caught in a vortex of fear and scarcity. God has an abundance mentality. And that abundance when he said to trust Me and to try Me, I would be terrified to not trust Him and give Him the first and the best of anything that comes into our checkbook. Any asset we have. So, the answer there has been . . .

Erin: I don’t want to be in that vortex.

Jan: I don't want to be in a position where I can't say before God, I am absolutely by faith trusting You because whatever is not faith is not God, that is the enemy speaking.

Erin: Amen. That's a good place to put our exclamation point. Hey, where can people find out more about you, Jan, if they want to get some of this wise financial advice you have to offer?

Jan: We do a podcast actually, at least once a week, if not more often. If you just go on to our website, OneDegreeAdvisors.com and go to videos and blogs. Every week we are posting about current events and perspective. All the advisors in our firm are faith-based, godly men and women. We speak to a very broad audience. So, you're going to see biblical wisdom integrated into those blogs. And that advice, it just may not be as overt as quoting scripture. But they're doing a remarkable job of staying with current events that are occurring and how to address those issues from a political perspective.

Erin: Well, consider me a new listener, I'm going to go and subscribe because I want to stay out of the vortex of fear. Thanks for being with us. Jan. Dannah, get us grounded in God's Word.

Grounded in the Word: Jer. 29:4–7 (25:18)

Dannah: Erin, the vortex that I would like to get us all into is the vortex of faith and trust and peace. And to do that, we're going to have to get grounded in the Word. I don't think there's ever been a time in my life where I've needed to be grounded in the Word more. It's not just the inflation, but we're still coming out of this pandemic, and our eyes are on the conflict that's happening in our world. 

And here's the thing: how you and I respond to these hardships will reveal what we believe. Do we have faith? Do we trust? So let me take you to a book of the Bible that could help you pass the test. It's Jeremiah. Grab your Bible. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. And that's pretty fitting, because there was a lot to cry about when he was administering for the Lord. The world was full of sin. God's people were full of sin. The Israelite people were in exile, much like the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan right now. There is economic hardship and so much social abuse and injustice. Sound familiar? This book has a lot to teach us about how to respond right now, so lean in. And if your Bible is nearby, go ahead and even grab it. Turn to Jeremiah 29. I'm going to read from that in just a moment. 

Now the hard place the Israelites found themselves in is not without reason. Earlier in the book of Jeremiah, He tells the people of Israel in chapter two, I believe it's verse 13, God says you've committed two evils. Just lean in a little bit closer because, well, I think many of us are guilty of the same two things. I know we are as a culture, the first evil: you’ve forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. In other words, God's saying, I'm the one who can quench every thirst you have. I'm the source of everything, but you don't drink from me. You’ve forgotten to pause in your day and fill yourself up with My satisfying living water. Guilty? Yeah, I've been there too lately, my friend. Let's not be guilty anymore. Let's push the reset button on that today. 

And the second evil that Jeremiah writes about is this: you've hewn out cisterns for yourselves, broken cisterns. In other words, God was saying not only have you turned away from Me, but you've turned to other people and other things instead of Me. Can you say idolatry? I wonder what are you turning to? Times like these reveal to us what our idols really are. If you worry endlessly right now and all you can think about is your paycheck, your mortgage, the house you hope to build, the vacation plans . . . should I go on? 

Well, God may mercifully be giving you a view to see your broken cistern. Every single one of those things I just listed are good gifts from Him, but they never satisfy our needs or our thirst. They are not first things. They must be considered gifts from Him. Only He can truly satisfy us. 

Well, the Israelites, they were warned: stop doing these two evil things. Stop turning away from Me, and start drinking from Me, turn to Me, let Me satisfy your thirst. They didn't. And they ended up in captivity to Babylon. They were pressed out of their homes and the very land God promised to them. Listen to me: idolatry always leads to rampant social injustice and hardship. 

Now, I want to read to you from Jeremiah 29, to see what message God sends them. They're in ruin. They're in the rubble of their lives. How does God advise them to live? This is Jeremiah 29, verses 4–7. 

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Now, let's take a moment and think about that. First, who sent them into exile? God did. It says in there “to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Babylon, the very land where the captivity Daniel declared Heaven rules. I want to remind you God reigns and rules right now in this hard time. Are you declaring it? He has not stepped away from His throne. In fact, He has allowed this hardship in our lives. 

The first thing this passage of Scripture reminds me of is this: Heaven rules. 

Second, let me ask this, what does God tell them to do in exile? Build houses, live in them. Plant gardens, eat the food, get married, have children. In other words, live your lives. Don't eke it out. Don't just survive. Thrive right here, right now in this life. This is not the time to stop building houses or planting whatever feeds your family, gardens, businesses, dreams. It's not the time to put our wedding plans or plans for having a baby on hold. Should we be discerning and wise? Yes, absolutely. Always. It may be in a special way right now. But should we be fearful and penny pinching? Never. 

Because as we build houses, as we live our lives, we are declaring that we believe Heaven rules, that we believe God is still in control, that we trust Him. 

So, the second thing this Scripture teaches me is that how I live reveals what I believe. How you live reveals what you believe. But let me ask one more question as we look at this. It's kind of a doozy. How does God tell them to respond to the evil government that caused their pain? Seek its welfare. Now, I looked up welfare. I wanted to be sure I was using it correctly. It's a word that describes health, happiness, and good fortune. In other words, God is saying, “Christian woman, do absolutely everything in your power to make the place where God has you living right now flourish.” 

Why? Well, this takes us back to the source the living water. If we're full of Him, He will pour out of us into this troubled land. Where His people live like that, the land will be healthy, happy, and full of goodness. And the last will say, “Why?” Why are they so peaceful? Why are they so content? What do they have that we don't have? 

And we can say to them, “It's God. It's Jesus in me giving me the peace to live like this. It's the Holy Spirit directing me how to spend my income and invest it even now. It's God the Father ruling and reigning in my life, that allows me to live like this.” Live like you believe that. 

Yes, my friends, how you and I respond to this hardship right now will reveal what we believe. So, take the wealth and the health you do have, even if it's not all that you want, or formerly had, and maybe it's not what you wish you had. But use what you have in such a way that you prove you believe that God is in control, Heaven rules. 

Now, if you're having a hard time believing that, well, we've actually designed an entire conference, because we know the struggle is real. And the conference has one simple and life-changing theme. It's a truth: Heaven rules. Listen to this brief promo.

Heaven Rules Video (33:43)

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: We see deeply disturbing things going on around us. You listen to the news, and you get a pit in your stomach. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed and sick about it all. But we've been placed here by God in this time, and in this place, and we’re to serve wherever He is put us. While at the same time, keeping our hearts firmly planted in His eternal kingdom, living with hope. 

In the midst of it all, our faithfulness to God, our prayers, our courage, our faith, our perseverance, our willingness even to suffer, all of this provides an opportunity for the power of God to be showcased, put on display.

There will never, ever be a time in eternity when God will not be God, when He will not be present, when He will not be in control, when He will not be sovereign over every detail of our lives. Heaven rules. 

Dannah: Take courage. Take comfort. Our God is in control. True Woman ’22 takes place in Indianapolis this September. What you just heard is just a sampling of the kind of comforting and truth-filled courage that we're going to plant in your heart. Find out more at ReviveOurHearts.com.

Grounded in Practical Money-Savings Tips (35:56)

When we designed this episode, we wanted to fill you with courage to live like Heaven rules in faith. But we also realize there's a responsible way to handle the bank account. So we asked one of our most practical Grounded guests to join us for some living tips. Crystal Paine is founder of MoneySavingMom.com. She's the author of The New York Times best-selling book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. Hmm, that sounds like it's written by a woman who believes Heaven rules. Today she's gonna help us live with joy, purpose, and intention through this time of inflation. Hello, Crystal.

Crystal Payne: Hello, I'm so excited to be here. I just kept thinking as you were teaching, this quote, “Worry is believing that God won't get it right.” I think we need to choose in these times, are we going to walk by faith? Are we going to cower in fear?

Dannah: Wow, worry is believing that God won't get it right. I don't want to be guilty of that, Crystal. Listen, I met you way back. I don't know, maybe 2009, 2010, just as you were getting started. You've been helping moms save money since about 2007. I was thinking as I was preparing, that was about the time we were experiencing a pretty rough recession. Is it a coincidence that you started your practical tips for women at about that time?

Crystal: You know, I just see God's hand in it, because when I started MoneySavingMom.com, I had no idea that the economy was going to tank, and that coupons were going to be coming i vogue, and that it was going to turn into our family's full-time business. I look back at that time and see how there was a lot of fear and a lot of worry and a lot of stress over finances then. But God was so faithful, and He will be faithful now. And so, we can learn, and we can grow from these hard times.

Dannah: Yeah, we can learn, and we can grow. All right, what's your best tip for feeding a family while the costs at the grocery store are going up?

Crystal: I think the biggest thing is, it starts with mindset. You get to choose: are you going to live in stress and fear and just go to the grocery store and feel defeated? Or are you going to say, “I'm gonna do the best that I can with what I have, where I am?” 

And so, I really encourage you to do a grocery budget audit. Where are you spending the most money? This is your opportunity to step back and really pay attention to where your money is going. I think a lot of times we just shop. We just can throw things in the cart because our kids like that, or because we don't know what else to buy. But now's the time to get really practical and really focused. Figure out where we are spending the most money? And how can we maybe make some pivots? If we're spending a lot in this area, what is something that we could replace that with that would be less expensive? 

A lot of people are saying not all groceries have gone up. Here's the truth. A lot of groceries have gone up, but there are a lot of groceries that are still really inexpensive. We're still sticking with a $70 weekly grocery budget, because I'm just getting creative. I'm planning our groceries and our menu based upon what's on sale at the store. What’s inexpensive, I'm starting with that, instead of starting with whatever sounds good, or I just want to throw in the cart.

Dannah: When you say some things haven't gone up, that makes me want to ask, what are some of the things that we should be looking towards to feed our family with because they're staying stable.

Crystal: I think that there are a lot of great sales still that I am seeing every single week on some of the staple items. I just got eggs for 70 cents a dozen. So, there are some great deals. And so, what is on the front of your store sale flier? The loss leader? Those are the things that they are wanting you to come in the store to buy because it's such a good deal. Load up your cart with other things are a good deal. And so, if you can plan your menu based upon what is on sale, you're going to save a lot of money.

Dannah: Yeah, that sounds great. Hey, there are a lot of headlines right now that wheat costs are going to go up due to the what's happening in Ukraine. If you don't know, Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, providing majority of wheat to that region of the world. And when one part of the world faces a problem with a commodity, other parts of the world are going to feel that. So, what are some specific tips you can give us to prepare for providing bread and pasta and things like that for our family when that happens.

Crystal: So, flour freezes. If y'all didn't know this, you can stock up right now and get enough flour to last for the next year or a year-and-a-half. You could also get really outside the box. You could buy a grinder that you can grind your own flour. This is what we always did growing up. We would buy wheat in 50-pound bags. That's going to be enough to last you for a long time. You can bake your own bread and not even have to worry about the expensive flour going up. 

But other things are oats and rice. Those are still at a great price. You can grind those and make your own oat flour and rice flour, and so, getting creative, gluten free. I mean, now's the time to be gluten free. So, there's a lot of ways to think outside the box and to get creative. And also, pasta is something that I stocked up on anytime it's on sale. I'll buy enough for the next two years. And so, plan ahead, and so that you have stuff stocked up so that whenever the prices do go up, you don't have to worry about it.

Dannah: Yeah, that's great advice. I think a lot of people are wondering, are there any specific things we should be stocking up on? We just talked about flour. Are there any other things that you're mindful of, “Hey, this might be going up soon so, stock up?”

Crystal: Well, I one of the things my husband I just recently did is we sat down and we're like, what are the things that we spend a lot in that possibly the supply chain or just the economy is going to really jack up the prices. Let's go ahead and let's stock up on those things. For us with having little kids, diapers are one thing. I don't know that they're going to go up, but if they go up a lot, I want to have a stock of them. And so just looking at what you typically buy that you are essentials and thinking, could we go ahead and stock up now, if you have the wiggle room in your budget so that if the prices do get hyped up a lot, you're not having to stress about it.

Dannah: So basically, anything where you would spend a big chunk of money at the grocery store on a regular basis that is shelf stable, go ahead and get that.

Crystal: Yes, I'm always looking right now for deals on meat, because those have been not as prevalent as I used to be. And so anytime I find a great deal of meat, I'm stocking up and sticking in the freezer. A lot of people feel like, well, I have to have huge space to build a store all this stuff. You get creative. I have stored stuff in bathroom cupboards, I've stored stuff under the bed, to be able to stock on things.

Dannah: Yeah, I am preparing to buy my meat locally. That's what I did in 2020, when meat prices went a little crazy. I found that the local meat providers didn't have the supply chain issues that some of the bigger grocery stores did. So the prices remained stable and the supply was at the ready. So that's a little tip, you might want to check out with your local meat providers. 

Okay, I want to let your faith shine Crystal, because you are such a bold testimony for Jesus in a lost world. You're what I call a roaring lamb. That is someone who carries the lamb of Christ out into the lost world, your website, MoneySavingMom.com is not going to have a drop-down menu with the Romans Road on it, because you're there to practically help women of every faith with their budget. But your faith shines in that I see glimpses of it all over the place. It's salt to a lost world. Share a little bit from your heart about how your faith guides you in these practical decisions to make your family budget work.

Crystal: You know, I think that our heartbeat is really, if we can be intentional with our finances, it allows us to be in a position to give generously, and that is really my heartbeat. I share with the world because I want to not only be a light to Jesus and pointing people to Jesus. I think going into a country where they have a water shortage and digging a well, and then you get to share Jesus with them. That's kind of what I see. What I do online is kind of digging that well, and providing that practical information for people, and then getting to share Jesus through that. Our heart is really, let's walk by faith. And for us, that's even step out to foster care. We're adopting a child with special needs, and it's walking by faith in the day to day, and trusting God and seeing He’s so faithful.

Dannah: So, build houses, plant gardens, adopt children, keep giving your church. I love this. You know, I think that giving is so important right now, because what part of our money are we supposed to give to the kingdom of God? The last part? The leftovers? The first part, and when we do that faithfully, He cares for us so faithfully. 

Now, I know we don't often pray about our trips to the grocery store. But it seems fitting to me today. Crystal, I wonder if you'd mind praying over us as women that when we plan our meals, our healthcare needs, and our other regular expenses, that we live like women who are caught up in a vortex of faith, who believe that Heaven rules. Would you pray for us today?

Crystal: Absolutely. And just before I pray, I want to say that in really lean seasons, I have prayed before I've gone to the grocery store and been like, “God, this is all the money that I have. I'm going to trust You and this money to be multiplied in the grocery store.” And He is always faithful, let's pray.

Dannah: What a faith builder.

Crystal: Heavenly Father, I am just so thankful for each woman who is listening. I just pray for the hearts. I know that it can just feel overwhelming. It can feel stressful, it can feel like you go to the grocery store, and how are you going to feed the household that you need to feed? And how are you going to do this? 

I just pray that each woman listening right now would feel Your presence and would trust in You and would see this time when inflation is just a difficult thing and costs are rising as an opportunity to get to see You be faithful. Because You are faithful and faith is getting to trust You even when we don't understand, even when we can't see the results. We get to prove that you are who you say You are. And so, I just pray, God, that You would bless every single woman here, and that You would give her opportunities to trust in you and rest in You and then see You be faithful so that she has a story to tell her friends and her neighbors and her children of the faithfulness of God. Thank you very much Jesus’ name, I pray amen.

Dannah: Amen. Thank you, Crystal. Hey, if you want to get more great tips from Crystal, visit MoneySavingMom.com God bless you friend.

Portia: So good. It was so good, I got lots of tips.

Dannah: I'm gonna freeze my flour. I didn't know that. 

Portia: I know! I didn’t know that. So, thank you. 

Alright, if this episode has not been enough for you and you are craving just a little bit more, I encourage you to go check out this Revive Our Hearts weekend podcast. It's called “God, My Provider.” Let me tell you, it is packed with tons of nuggets of wisdom. So go check it out. We will drop a link in the chat and in the show notes. 

Also, as Dannah has already kind of led us into this and we saw that beautiful promo video, we want you to join us at True Woman 2022. I cannot begin to tell you how many amazing speakers we have. If you've never experienced a Revive Our Hearts conference, I will say, it is like none other. Like just the presence of the Lord just fills the place. We want you to come and share that. So, we will drop a link for you to get registered in the chat and in the show notes.

Erin: Let's have a huddle up. You know, how the teams do after a game, to have a little huddle up. I want to hear, because I feel like we represent different stages of life and probably different financial brackets. I want to hear what everybody's little nugget was. Portia, what was your take home?

Portia: I think it's for me just actually stocking up on stuff and then not feeling bad about storing it wherever like. I love that Crystal said she's got stuff in bathroom cabinets. 

Erin: I’m going to come to your house and look under the bed and find some beans. 

Portia: Look in the closet. I think that's good, because we have a tendency to have these perfectly pristine homes. But really what we need to be is functional and wise and being able to sustain. 

Erin: That's good. Dannah, what’s your nugget? 

Dannah: Well, when we talk about, I have a question about that when we talk about stocking up. We have to stock up in a way that is responsive to other people's needs. We're not hoarding. Like if you have bathroom tissue in your closet right now that you bought in March of 2020. Perhaps you hoarded . . .

Portia: Remember that? The tissue scarcity?

Dannah: So, think about others when you do that. I do wonder how that impacts the supply chain in the economy. So just be a good steward of everybody else's needs. But my takeaway is paying attention to the prices in the grocery store. It's just Bob and I, so our grocery stores and our grocery budget isn't huge. We don't need a lot of food, so I don't really price. I'm not looking at the price as much as I used to. But when I checked out on Saturday and my grocery bill was $500, I was looking at the bottom line, and I was like what? So yes, like being more attuned to each individual item, whether it's high or low, and being a steward there.

Erin: I told Jason just the other day, “Listen, Babe, we're going to be stocking up on groceries. Ought we to be stocking up on Bibles, too? Because if things get bad, I want to be giving away real hope so we can prepare. But here is my takeaway, for Christians to live generously right now. 

Dannah: Amen. 

Erin: Such a witness to the world. So yes, we need to figure out how to cover our grocery budgets, but it is a time to give more than we've ever given before just so we can show the world. Hey, Heaven rules. 

Portia: I’ve got some Bibles. You've got some extras. 

Erin: I know you do P, so we're stocked up on Bibles.

Dannah: Well, friends, the next time we gather together like this, it's going to be April, no foolin’.

Erin: Nice. 

Dannah: Okay, we've got a great lineup all month long: Katherine Wolf, Kristen Wetherell Kristie Anyabwile. Oh, that’s tough to say. You're not gonna want to miss an episode in April. Let's wake up all month next month together, on Grounded

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