Faith & Finance

Setting Your First Finish Line with Cody Hobelmann

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“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…” - Deuteronomy 8:17-18

This passage powerfully reminds us that God owns everything, and we are merely stewards of what He has entrusted to us for a season. Today, Cody Hobelman joins us to discuss how you can establish your first financial finish line.

Cody Hobelmann is a Certified Financial Professional (CFP®), a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA®), and is the Chief Business Development Officer at Turning Point Financial. He and his brother Kealan founded the Finish Line Pledge and cohost the Finish Line Podcast, where they discuss the intersection of faith, generosity, and personal finance.

The Challenge of Prosperity

Prosperity presents a significant challenge—perhaps more so than hardship. While we live in one of the most prosperous nations in history, this struggle with abundance is not unique to our time.

The book of Deuteronomy mentions how the Israelites stood on the edge of the Promised Land after 40 years in the desert. Moses knew that once they entered the land flowing with milk and honey, they would face a new kind of test—not hunger, disease, or war, but the temptation to rely on their own strength rather than God’s provision.

Just as the Israelites needed a reminder that all wealth belongs to God, we, too, need to set guardrails against the deceptive power of wealth. One of the most effective tools for doing this is the concept of a financial finish line.

Five Approaches to Giving

Before diving into how to set a financial finish line, here are five major approaches to giving:

  1. Spontaneous Giving—Giving as needs arise, without much planning.
  2. A Giving Goal—Setting a target amount to give annually.
  3. Percentage Giving—Committing to give a fixed percentage of income.
  4. Incremental Percentage Giving—Increasing the percentage of giving over time.
  5. A Financial Finish Line—Setting a cap on personal spending, allowing everything beyond that to be given away.

The first four methods focus on how much to give, while the financial finish line flips the paradigm. Instead, it asks, “How much do I truly need?” and commits to giving away the excess.

Breaking Down the Financial Finish Line

So, how do you actually set a financial finish line? Financial stewardship can be broken down into four key categories:

  1. Personal Spending—Lifestyle expenses (housing, food, transportation, etc.).
  2. Taxes—The portion owed to the government.
  3. Future Planning—Savings for upcoming expenses, investments, and retirement.
  4. Kingdom Building—Everything given to ministry, charity, and impact projects.

Since lifestyle spending is the primary determinant of financial behavior, the crucial first step is to cap personal spending.

Three Methods to Set a Finish Line

Here are three practical approaches to setting your first financial finish line:

  1. Maintenance Spending Finish Line—Freezing your current lifestyle spending at a set amount, preventing lifestyle creep as income rises.
     
  2. Benchmark Spending Finish Line—Using census data or external benchmarks to determine a reasonable spending cap based on objective measures. The Finish Line Pledge website offers a calculator to help with this (finishlinepledge.com/calculator).
     
  3. Prioritization Spending Finish Line—Evaluating where your money currently goes, eliminating non-essential expenses, and focusing only on what aligns with God’s priorities for your life.

Whichever method you choose, the goal is the same: determine what is “enough” and dedicate the rest to Kingdom impact. This concept is not just for the wealthy. Defining ‘enough’ changes everything; if you never define it, you’ll never reach it.

Testing your financial finish line for three to six months. Many who do find it transformative—not just financially, but spiritually. It shifts the mindset from ownership to stewardship, freeing us to see money as a tool for God’s Kingdom rather than a source of security.

Next Steps: Where to Begin

To get started:

  1. Visit finishlinepledge.com and explore the calculator.
  2. Set a trial finish line for 3–6 months.
  3. Adjust over time as you refine what “enough” looks like in your life.
  4. Discuss this approach with a Kingdom-minded financial advisor, especially a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA), who can help integrate this principle into a broader financial plan.

Setting a financial finish line is a process, not a one-time decision. It’s a faith journey that requires intentionality, wisdom, and a willingness to surrender financial control to God.

If you’re ready to take the next step, check out finishlinepledge.com and consider taking the pledge. It may just transform your relationship with money—and with God.

Faithful Steward: FaithFi’s New Quarterly Magazine

If you’d like to explore this idea further, you can read Cody’s full article, “Setting Your First Finish Line,” in the latest edition of Faithful Steward.

You can receive this quarterly magazine and help equip believers with biblical financial wisdom by becoming a FaithFi Partner. With a commitment of $35 a month or $400 annually, you’ll support the mission and ministry of FaithFi. Join us today at FaithFi.com/Give. 

On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:

Resources Mentioned:

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