Finishing Well — Reflecting on 2025, Preparing for 2026

As we approach the end of the year, this is the moment to pause, breathe, and look back with honesty and gratitude. Stewardship begins with awareness. Before we can plan wisely for 2026, we must first understand what 2025 revealed about our habits, our decisions, and our walk with God.

Reflection is not about shame or regret. It is about clarity. It is about seeing where God provided, where we grew, where we drifted, and where He is calling us to greater wisdom.

This is the heart of finishing well.

💡 This Week’s Focus: Reflection With Purpose

In their well-known study The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko), researchers found that most financially successful households share a surprising set of habits. They live well below their means, they plan their spending, they review their finances regularly, and they make intentional decisions that reflect long-term priorities rather than impulses. Their wealth does not come from luck or high incomes. It comes from consistency, clarity, and discipline over time.

This research echoes what Scripture teaches about stewardship. Wisdom, diligence, and faithfulness produce stability. Neglect and impulse lead to frustration and lack.

That is why this week’s focus is all about understanding your financial patterns from 2025. Before you can set God-honoring goals for the year ahead, you must clearly see how you managed what He entrusted to you this year.

This week is about looking honestly at:

• Where your money actually went
• Which habits shaped your financial life
• Where emotions influenced decisions
• Which choices strengthened your stewardship
• Where God provided in meaningful ways
• What needs to change to walk in greater wisdom

Reflection is the foundation of transformation. When you understand your patterns, you can change them. When you recognize God’s provision, you can trust Him more deeply. And when you see both the strengths and weaknesses in your financial life, you become equipped to build a year that honors Him with greater clarity and purpose.

📖 Verse of the Week
“So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
— Psalm 90:12 (ESV)

Wisdom grows when we pause and reflect. Stewardship begins in the heart before it shows up in the budget.

What 2025 Revealed: A Steward’s Year-End Review

One of the most eye-opening findings from The Millionaire Next Door is this: financially healthy households pay attention. They track. They review. They reflect.

Most people think they know where their money goes — but the numbers tell a different story.

The people who build lasting wealth are those who practice intentional, consistent stewardship.

Reflection is practical. Here’s where to start.

1. Review Your Spending Categories

Start by gathering your total spending for the year. Pull everything from:

• Your bank statements
• Credit card statements
• Budgeting apps (if you used one)

Download the annual or year-to-date report if your bank offers it. Most do.

Next, group every expense into categories such as:

• Housing
• Food and groceries
• Eating out
• Utilities
• Giving
• Debt payments
• Transportation
• Insurance
• Subscriptions
• Personal spending
• Entertainment
• Kids or school
• Medical
• Miscellaneous

The goal: See clearly where your money actually went — not where you assumed it went.
You cannot change what you do not understand.

2. Compare Reality to Intention

Now ask yourself:

• Did my money go where I wanted it to go?
• Or where my impulses pushed it?
• Are my values and priorities reflected in my spending?

Most people discover that their “mental budget” and their real budget don’t match.
This step reveals whether your spending was aligned, drifting, or reacting.

3. Notice Emotional Spending Triggers

Look back over the months and identify moments when emotions drove decisions.

Common triggers include:

• Stress spending after a long week
• “I deserve this” purchases
• Boredom spending or comfort shopping
• Late-night online impulse buys
• Eating out because of exhaustion or overwhelm

Emotional spending is not a moral failure — it is a signal.
It points to places where rhythms, boundaries, or emotional needs must be addressed.

4. Celebrate Wins and Acknowledge Struggles

Both matter.

Celebrate wins such as:

• Faithful giving
• Paying down debt
• Saving consistently
• Cutting unnecessary expenses
• Making wiser decisions

Acknowledge struggles such as:

• Overspending in certain categories
• Inconsistent budgeting
• Neglecting savings
• Emotional or relational triggers
• Avoiding financial tasks

Bring both your wins and your struggles to God.
He works through honesty, not perfection.

5. Recognize God’s Provision

Reflection is not only financial — it is spiritual.

Ask yourself:

• Where did God provide unexpectedly?
• What expenses worked out when they shouldn’t have?
• Who helped or supported you?
• What doors opened at exactly the right time?
• What did He teach you about trust?

Even in difficult seasons, His fingerprints are everywhere.

6. Look for Red Flags

These are signs something needs to change:

• Recurring overdrafts
• Growing credit card balances
• Spending rising faster than income
• Subscription creep
• Emergency expenses you weren’t prepared for
• A lack of margin month after month

And the most important question:

Do I have a spending problem… or an income problem?

A spending problem can be fixed with discipline.
An income problem requires a different strategy — one we will explore in the upcoming series on income, calling, and work.

Wisdom comes from knowing the difference.

🎯 Weekly Challenge

Review your 2025 spending and write down:

• Three insights you gained
• Two changes you want to make for 2026

This becomes the foundation for next week’s planning.

💬 Reflection Questions

1. What spending patterns defined my year — positive or negative?

2. Where did God provide in ways I didn’t expect?

3. What is one financial habit I want to leave behind in 2025?

📢 What’s Coming Next

Next week in Finishing Well — Preparing for 2026 (Part 2) we’ll take what you discovered this week and begin shaping your financial priorities, goals, and commitments for the year ahead.

You’ve looked back. Now we begin planning forward — with wisdom, faith, and intention.

🔁 Missed a newsletter? Catch up anytime at financebyfaith.beehiiv.com

Blessing and financial peace to you!