Chris and Curt Chaffin Generosity Missions Giving Financial Finish Line Podcast
Finish Line Podcast Episode 53

Curt and Chris Chaffin on the Joys and Challenges of Life with a Finish Line

If your income rose significantly tomorrow, you might discover that the hardest question is not what you could afford, but what you actually want your growing resources to accomplish.

How might deciding in advance what is enough help you resist automatic lifestyle growth, prioritize what matters most, and create lasting margin for generosity?


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Meet your guide

Curt Chaffin, an allergist with a background in pediatrics, and Chris Chaffin have practiced a financial finish line together for more than fifteen years. Their journey grew from Christian families, international missions exposure, medical training, and a season when Curt’s income changed dramatically between residency, fellowship, and medical practice.

Rather than allowing each income increase to redefine their lifestyle, Curt and Chris chose a spending level in advance and directed the remaining margin toward generosity. They share candidly about learning to budget as a couple with very different personalities, navigating lifestyle pressures, choosing which family priorities deserve more spending, and raising children who are surrounded by different financial expectations. Their giving has increasingly focused on trusted medical ministries in places such as Papua New Guinea and Burundi.

They also return to a foundational stewardship question: not simply how much should you give, but how much should you keep when everything belongs to God. You may come away seeing a finish line as a practical tool for freedom, intentionality, and sustained generosity.

What you’ll gain

  • Why income growth does not require automatic lifestyle growth
  • How a finish line can create freedom instead of restriction
  • Why budgeting can strengthen generosity across different financial personalities
  • How your environment quietly shapes spending expectations and desires
  • Why choosing priorities matters more than eliminating every luxury
  • How asking what to keep can transform your generosity

Inspired? Take your next step

Financial Finish Line Pledge Step 1

Take the Finish Line Assessment

Take a brief assessment to see if you are ready for a financial finish line right now 

Financial Finish Line Pledge Step 2

Build a Finish Line from Scratch

Use the Finish Line Builder to identify the finish line that fits your season of life best

Financial Finish Line Pledge Step 3

Try a 90 Day Finish Line Experiment

Receive practical guidance and encouragement as you spend 90 days with a finish line.

Complete your first step right now in under 3 minutes.

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Play the Game of Life Simulator

Not ready for the assessment? Try a quick interactive simulator to see how you stack up in managing wealth.

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Inspired? Take your next step

Try the Game of Life Simulator

Step into a four-minute interactive experience and see what unfolds as you decide how to manage your resources.

Start the Game
Game of Life Simulator Mobile Screenshot
Game of Life Simulator Mobile Screenshot

Inspired? Learn how to partner with ministries well.

A compelling ministry story can inspire you to respond. But wise partnership often begins with better questions.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Focus

What is the ministry really seeking to restore?

Learn to look beyond visible needs toward people, context, relationships, and flourishing.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Fruitfulness

How do you recognize meaningful impact?

Consider how ministries learn, evaluate their work, and pursue lasting change.

Applied Generosity Intervention Partnership Faithfulness

What does genuine ministry partnership look like?

Explore how to foster trust, alignment, and shared mission in your giving.

In our Intervention Series on the Applied Generosity Podcast, we’ll help you become a more thoughtful, discerning, and faithful partner.

Start the Series

Quotes to Remember

  • “Yes, there are needs here in the U.S., but overseas there are tremendous needs.”
  • “We were already used to the idea of arbitrarily limiting how much we spent.”
  • “As we were given resources, we knew immediately that these probably should not be spent on us.”
  • “God had been preparing our hearts all along.”
  • “Why are we trying to figure out how much to give away when it should be how much should I keep?”

Links from the Show

Use Our
Free Guide

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Use Our
Free Guide

Have you considered the ways you are uniquely called into generosity? We’re not all called into the same adventure.
Generosity Profile Image
Enter your information below and we’ll send you our free PDF guide to explore the specific adventure you were called into.
Generosity Profile Image

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