Episode Details

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Life moves in seasons—and with each season often comes new challenges, new opportunities, and sometimes new financial finish lines. 

On today’s episode of Faith and Finance, we were joined by Cody Hobelmann, a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP), Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA), and co-founder of Finish Line Pledge, to discuss why adjusting your financial finish line is not only okay—it can be wise and faithful.

What Is a Financial Finish Line?

A financial finish line is simply an answer to the question: How much is enough?

It helps separate what we intend to use for our own needs from what we can make available for Kingdom purposes. Rather than endlessly increasing lifestyle spending or accumulating wealth without direction, a finish line provides clarity and purpose.

For many people, the idea of setting a finish line can feel intimidating. It may sound final or restrictive. But Cody emphasized that a finish line is not about perfection—it is about growth. Your first finish line does not have to be your last.

Why Finish Lines Need to Be Revisited

Just as a financial plan should be reviewed regularly, your finish line should be revisited as life changes. There are many reasons to adjust it:

• A new child or dependent enters your family
• Someone is no longer financially dependent on you
• You move to a region with a different cost of living
• Your health changes
• Major life transitions reshape your responsibilities

These shifts may change the cost of maintaining the same lifestyle, making it wise to reassess your financial boundaries.

At first glance, caps and limits can sound restrictive. But Cody shared that in practice, setting a finish line often creates freedom. Instead of constantly wondering if you need more, you begin to experience:

• Contentment
• Peace
• Purpose

That reflects a biblical pattern. God’s boundaries are not meant to diminish joy but to protect and deepen it. Financial limits can function the same way.

Two Types of Finish Lines

1. A Lifestyle Finish Line

This is the amount needed to support your current and future lifestyle. It helps determine the appropriate and sustainable level of spending.

2. A Net Worth Finish Line

This is the amount of wealth you believe is wise to accumulate over your lifetime.

Cody connected this idea to Luke 12 and the parable of the rich fool, who stored up more than he needed while missing the deeper purpose of his resources. The issue was not wealth itself, but accumulation without a Kingdom perspective.

Three Questions to Help Define “Enough”

Cody highlighted three key areas to prayerfully consider:

1. Your Lifestyle Needs - What does it truly cost to live faithfully and responsibly in this season?
2. Wealth Transfer - What resources would you like to pass on to heirs or future stewards?
3. Conservative Margin - What reserve is wise for life’s uncertainties—without placing ultimate trust in money?

These categories can help shape a thoughtful and prayerful plan.

If You’re Beyond Your Finish Line

If you realize you are accumulating more than needed, Cody suggested asking one important question: Why am I holding on to these resources in the first place?

That question can expose fear, habit, or misplaced trust—and open the door to greater generosity and purpose.