[281] How to Do a Sunday Money Reset (In 10 Minutes) So Your Week Feels Less Expensive

This episode started because my YouTube feed randomly turned into a whole finance channel, and it made me realize I’m 40… so compounding interest doesn’t have the same runway it did at 20. Then I heard one line about Jesus and leftovers that hit me right in the chest and made me look at all the “leftovers” I waste—not out of carelessness, but out of forgetting and not planning. That mindset shift led me straight to my orange tree situation and a full-on no-waste orange adventure that turned into real stewardship in real life. So today I’m sharing a simple Sunday Money Reset—five quick steps to help you pay attention, reduce the chaos, and stop waking up midweek wondering where your money went.

Mentioned in this episode:
👉 I Will Teach You to Be Rich (Ramit Sethi)

3 Takeaways from this episode:

1. Stewardship isn’t about perfection—it’s about pausing long enough to ask, “How can I use what I already have?”
2. A quick weekly reset (not a full budget) helps you catch surprises early so your week doesn’t get expensive by accident.
3. Guardrails—especially around meals—protect your money and your energy because decision fatigue is real.

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Transcript

0:00

so I went through my YouTube history like I was an FBI agent investigating who exactly turned my feed into a finance channel because I don't know about you, but it's crazy how when you click on one video. All of a sudden your feed changes quite a bit, especially if it's not what you're used to watching. But anyway, at some point, my usual lineup of comedy clips and pop culture mess and the kind of drama you see in the Shade Room got replaced with"payday routine"."Five money habits that will change your life.""10 things I stopped buying in 2026." You two said, oh, you wanna be a big girl? Great, here you go. So I have been wondering how I even got on this kick because I have this realization that hit me out of nowhere. I know that I'm 40, but it hit me that I'm 40 and compounding interest does not have the same time to do what it did when I was 20. So. Now I keep thinking about my 80-year-old self. I picture my 80-year-old self living a really good life. She's not stressed, she's not scrambling. She's healthy. She has. More than enough money and lots of energy and enjoys what she loves. And when I really sit and think about 80-year-old me, I realize this isn't just about saving more money, it's also about taking care of my health and actually enjoying my life so that I can enjoy it later. But anyway, back to YouTube. Ramit Sethi pops up. First, you probably know him from the book. I will Teach You to Be Rich. I watch many of his videos. Then I watched David back, and after that it was a wrap. My feed was like, welcome. You are now a personal finance guru. But the video that really sent me down a rabbit hole wasn't even really a money tips video. It was this one video about minimalist lessons from the Bible. And the crazy thing is I didn't even finish the video because he said one thing that made me pause, like someone had called me by my full government name. He was talking about the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. And after everyone ate, Jesus told everyone to gather up the leftovers, and the guy said, if Jesus cared about the leftovers, we should too. And I tell you that like smacked me in the face like none other because I immediately started thinking about. All the leftovers, quote unquote, in my life that I waste. Not because I'm careless, not because I'm trying to be wasteful, but because I forgot or I didn't plan, or I replaced it without thinking, especially when it comes to food. And literally right after that, I walk outside and I look at our orange tree and it looks different. I'm like, wait, why is my tree so bald? So I asked my husband, what happened to the oranges? And he goes, oh, I picked them all. And I'm like, okay, cool, but where are they? And he's like, oh, they're in the pantry. So I walk into the pantry and let me tell you, it was like 10, maybe 15 bags filled with oranges just sitting there. And I love my orange tree. We got that orange tree when we moved into this house back in 2014. And at the time it was about the size of my then 2-year-old. Now that orange tree is just massive. Every year. It produces so many oranges. And every year, if I were being honest, some of them end up going to waste and I could not stop thinking about if Jesus cares about the leftovers. So I told my husband, listen, we're not doing the forgot about the oranges situation again, because one year we left them sitting so long that we had little flies running all over the house. So I had two options. Either we give these oranges away or we figure out how to actually use them, and that my friend, is how I ended up watching videos on canning oranges, no waste orange recipes making household cleaners from orange peels, simmer pots. Orange peel powder, natural insecticide. And yes, an orange liquor and an orange wine that I have fermenting right now. This turned into a whole adventure, and the best part is not a single piece of those oranges went to waste. And what's wild is this started off as a personal finance lesson, but it turned into a mindset shift because being a good steward isn't about being perfect or extreme. Sometimes it's just pausing and asking, how can I use what I already have instead of replacing it? And that's when it clicks. To me, this is the same reason Sunday prep works. Sunday prep isn't about being a new woman by Monday, but it's about reducing the chaos, making fewer decisions and catching problems early so the week doesn't snatch you up and say Surprised. And money works the same way. A little weekly reset keeps you from waking up on Wednesday, like, where did my money go? Or Why are we eating out again? And why do I feel like I'm always starting over? So I wanna give you a quick Sunday reset that you can do that includes money, even if you're not a finance person, because I'm not a money expert either. I'm just a mom who decided to pay attention. So. Here are the five steps. Step one, look back. What surprised you last week? What popped up that you forgot about? I know a lot of times there are things that I think we would like to forget about that we do, but really look and see what happened last week. Step two, look ahead. Look ahead at what you have on your calendar on what's coming up. Do you have certain bills that need to be paid on a certain day? Do you have kids' appointments or your own appointments maybe with the doctor or going and seeing the chiropractor? Are there any birthdays that you need to make sure that you buy gifts for? Any field trips, random life stuff? What do you have coming up this week? Then step three is pick one, focus, not 10 things, just one. And for right now, my focus is calling T-Mobile because my phone bill is a bit ridonculous and I learned that you can negotiate your bills. Especially your phone bill and your insurance, so that is my one thing. Step four is set guardrails. This is where you protect future. You meals are a big one in this particular category because if you don't plan what you're eating, you'll end up spending more at the store, you'll eating out more and wondering why this week feels so expensive. So check your fridge, check your pantry, and use what you already have. And then lastly, step number five, do one tiny action. Transfer$10 to your savings account. Pay a bill, cancel a subscription, move money into buffer category because life likes to life, and that's it. That's a reset, not a full budget, not a three hour spreadsheet session. Just a quick check-in that makes it feel way less dramatic. So let me recap the Sunday money reset. Step one, look back. Step two, look ahead. Step three, pick one, focus, step four, set guardrails, and step five, do one tiny action. And I want you to keep the leftovers line in your head this week. If Jesus cared about the leftovers, we should too. Not in a guilty way, but in a pause and pay attention way because you already have more than enough. All right. That's all I've got for you today. I'll be back again next week with another episode. Take care, and with lots of love.