PART 1: DISCOVERING AND INVESTING OUR TALENTS
PART 2: FINDING FREEDOM WITH INTENTIONAL TIME MANAGEMENT
PART 3: FINDING FREEDOM IN OUR TREASURES
HOW APPLYING BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES TO OUR FINANCES CAN ALLOW US TO LIVE WITH FINANCIAL PEACE
Note From Natalie: Unlike some of my friends, I graduated with my BSN and I didn’t have any trouble getting into the workforce. I was “making good money” right out of college with my “big girl job.” Sure, I had student loans, but I didn’t have to start paying on those until 6 months-post graduation. I was excited to be making my own money and more importantly, spending it!
In high school, we were required to take a finance class and I knew that I shouldn’t open a credit card until I had a “big girl job” but I couldn’t remember anything else I learned in that class by the time I graduated college. Once the paychecks started rolling in, the inevitable “lifestyle creep” began to develop. Most of my friends were still living off their parents and completing grad-school, but I was making real money and had to have something to show for it- enter my first “big girl” purchase: a 2009 Infiniti FX 35. I financed all but $400 of it and thought it was mine- LOL!
Thankfully, I never fell into large amounts of consumer/credit card debt, but I did develop a “buy now, pay later” mindset- something that our society views as normal. My main question was “Can I afford the monthly payment?” I was financing things to build my credit score, living with no sense of building wealth, and spending aimlessly. I had no savings and only a credit card as an emergency fund, which I burned through when I had to replace a radiator, buy new tires, and fix the power steering TWICE in one year. I had no idea how people saved up enough money to buy things since all my income went straight to my monthly payments. I never had any clear financial goals and I figured I would start saving for retirement after my student loans were paid off in TEN YEARS!!!!!
When Trevor and I started dating, he saw some red flags in my “laissez-faire” financial habits, and limited knowledge on finances. As our relationship got more serious and we began talking about engagement, Trevor suggested completing Financial Peace University (FPU) as a couple. This course was honestly THE BEST THING we could have done for our future after faith-focused premarital counseling. FPU allowed us to have the tough conversations before marriage and prepare to unify our finances. With a new plan in place and a little elbow grease, we paid off my car AND student loans within the first 6 months of our marriage!! Our cashflow pattern began to move right on the diagrams below (from Rich Dad, Poor Dad). With more room to breathe financially, we began to dream bigger about our future!
In Part 1: Talents and Part 2: Time, we began understanding and investing our Talents and Time according to God’s plan. We are also called to bring our finances in line with God’s calling for our lives. We must form a clear picture of where we are (current position) and where we are headed (trajectory). Just like we translate our Freedom Board into our schedule, we also proactively translate our goals into our budget. Regularly reviewing our “stewardship” category on the Freedom Board is imperative for improvement and consistent follow-up. We don’t pretend to be financial experts so please don’t take this post as financial advice, but we want to share our journey towards Financial Freedom and Financial Independence, and the peace that it brings to our marriage. Everything belongs to God, so any treasure we claim as “ours” is really on loan from God.
There are plenty of worldly “experts” who would love to tell you how to spend, save, give, and invest your money. But we must distinguish between the “world” and God’s “Word.” God created money and provided us His “Word,” full of wisdom on how to handle our finances. When we make a conscious decision to forgo the “world” and handle our money in accordance with the “Word,” we will begin to experience freedom and peace like never before!
Jeffery Curtis Poor from Rethinknow argues: “The common statistic given to show how much Jesus emphasized money is that 11 of the 39 parables talk about money. To add emphasis sometimes it’s pointed out that 1 out of every 7 verses of Jesus’ words talk about money. Those are both true. BUT those stats don’t tell the whole story. Jesus did talk a lot about money, there’s no debating that. However many, specifically pastors, have overemphasized Jesus’ teaching on money to prove their point. Oftentimes Jesus is simply using money as an illustration to a bigger point.” Rick Warren argues in his book Purpose Driven Life that “Money is both a test and a trust from God. For many it is the greatest test of all. The Bible indicates that there is a direct correlation between how a person uses money (another loan from God) and his spirituality. But in all things, the more God gives a person, the more responsible He expects the person to be.” and “How I manage my money (“worldly wealth”) determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings (“true riches”).” Based on how frequently money is mentioned in the Bible, how we handle God’s treasures is a topic of utmost importance. Our financial journey can be broken into two simple phases:
What phase are you currently (current position) in with your finances? If you maintain your current financial patterns is your trajectory towards Financial Freedom then Financial Independence, or somewhere else?
- Phase 1: Financial Freedom is about stewarding our treasures so we can “make life decisions without being overly stressed about the financial impact because [we] are prepared.” -Dave Ramsey
- Phase 2: Financial Independence is about stewarding our treasures so we have “enough income (from investments, passive businesses, real estate, etc.) to pay for one’s reasonable living expenses for the rest of one’s life without having to rely on formal employment.” (Wikipedia)
Phase 1: Financial Freedom
We completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University prior to marriage and a second time over a year into marriage. The course has allowed us to establish a solid foundation by paying off consumer debt and building a sense of financial peace and purpose. Below are some topics and issues that surfaced while working towards Financial Freedom:
- “Budgeting is boring and painful. No one else lives on a budget.” When we feel this way, our WHY isn’t strong enough!
- Marriage isn’t always fair! Life circumstances or personal limitations will not always allow us to meet in the middle or split 50/50, so building an expectation of fairness will only breed resentment and disappointment. We each bring different talents and financial obligations that we should use to selflessly serve one another.
- Don’t expect financial unity to happen overnight! We must understand our individual financial pasts to bring two different financial pasts together into one unified purpose and plan. Family background, emotional disposition, past financial stressors, and financial education levels make this quite a complex topic to tackle.
- Separate finances vs. unified finances: Who is in charge? Who makes the decisions? We believe that in marriage finances are a team effort founded upon trust and open communication, with no secrets between us.
- Immediate gratification (debt culture) vs. saving to buy purchases (ownership culture): We worked hard during the first several years of marriage to eliminate consumer debts and reduce monthly payments in order to build a larger safety margin between our income and expenses. We never want to live paycheck to paycheck or feel the weight of debt again!
- The Tithe– is it a legalistic, hard and fast rule? Short answer, no. But we are called to embody a spirit of Christlike generosity with our treasures.
When theThe 7 Baby Steps from Financial Peace University pictured above start to feel “boring”, we must be careful not to fall off the path, as increasing wealth and financial success has its own challenges and temptations…
Phase 2: Financial Independence
For those who have found Financial Freedom, we next recommend reading Dave Ramsey’s Legacy Journey and watching Dave Ramsey’s 5-Part Legacy Journey series which is free on Youtube and also available on RightNow Media. Legacy Journey is a follow-on to FPU and uses the same principles to further grow God’s resources to establish a lasting financial legacy. Below are some topics and issues that surfaced as we began working towards Financial Independence:
- Idolatry of financial stability and wealth: Trevor was introduced to Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) community after college and jumped on the movement. While certain aspects of the FIRE movement are positive, FIRE is often focused on worldly comfort and focuses completely on the self. Can we balance a FIRE mindset with the teachings like Luke 19:11-27 and James 5:1-6?
- What is an asset vs. liability, and how do we build more assets so that we can grow our legacy?
- How can we simultaneously build a lasting financial legacy while giving with an open hand? Dave Ramsey teaches the Now-Then-Us-Them concept.
- How much is enough for us to live and retire on? Jewish Havdalah Tradition
- As we build a side business to grow our income, are business loans and mortgages all bad, or are there acceptable forms of debt?
- As our net worth/giving potential increases, so does our giving potential. How are we called to deploy our new financial freedom to serve and bless others?
- What does “retirement” look like, and how do we work towards that end goal?
We are all on a unique financial journey. But once we start living according to the “Word,” building a legacy starts to get fun!
Conclusion:
Our financial journey isn’t really about us – it’s a “test and trust” from God to see if He can trust us with REAL treasures in Heaven! We are servants entrusted the Master’s resources and one day He will settle accounts with us. Read the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25: 14–30: To the faithful servant, “His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” To the servant who hid his treasures under a rock out of fear and greed, “His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” How we honor God with our treasures reflects our relationship with God. Will we grow and invest God’s treasures to serve His purpose and “Word”? Or will we hide, spend, and squander God’s resources in accordance with “worldly” advice and our selfish desires?
Practical Steps to Increasing peace and Unity on the Topic of Finances:
- Before you do anything else, GIVE a portion of your treasures. The act of giving loosens our stranglehold on the treasures that we deem as “ours” and we begin giving with an open hand.
- FPU will teach you how to create and setup your budget using an app like Mint or EveryDollar. Review your budget as a couple as part of your weekly accountability meeting. Talk through your WHY, successes, failures, and how to improve next week/month. Praise God for any treasures and financial peace He provides! (Click here for a FREE download of our Monthly Budget Review spreadsheet!)
- On a monthly basis, track your giving rate, savings/investing rate, and net worth. (Click here for a FREE download of our Net Worth Tracker spreadsheet!)
- Revise your big picture financial goals every 6 months, and at every major financial landmark (change jobs, move, purchase new home, change vehicles, etc.)
Thanks for reading! Connect with us.
