Is there more to life than minimizing expenses and maximizing income?
If you dig deep enough, you’ll find a small corner of the personal finance blogosphere where the focus on wealth and self-sufficiency and comfort sometimes gives way to bigger issues.
If you follow Personal Finance King, you know that I’ve tried to tackle some of these faith issues here, along with a lot of trivial stuff also. (You can read about my approach to money and life on my About page.)
I’m pleased to see that there are a number of other quality personal finance blogs that are hiking similar less-traveled trails.
For this roundup post, I reached out to a select group of PF bloggers that address faith and finance, and following is what I compiled based on their responses (and for some of them, info I pulled from their blogs). I hope you can benefit from it.
Let me know in the comments if there are other blogs that address faith & finance that I should check out.
Dave Ramsey
About: Dave Ramsey is the Big Kahuna of Christian personal finance. His blog is a small part of his book/radio/TV empire. He has a horde of disciples and, like all successful people, not a small number of detractors. A couple criticisms include his promise of a generous 12% annual return for investors (potentially leaving some people poorer than they planned to be in retirement) and the $5M house he built for himself in 2010. But overall, he is well regarded and a good Christian witness.
In His Words: “Money is a wonderful tool, it makes a terrible god. Build wealth to use and help others, NOT to worship.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: I don’t see where he addresses faith in his blog, but he’s not afraid to address it elsewhere in his fiefdom.
Kyle of Steward and Slave
About: Kyle is in his mid-twenties and with his wife has been paying off $80,000 in consumer debt.
In His Words: “Separating my faith from my finances and expecting to succeed financially would be much the same as separating my brain from my body and expecting to still enjoy life. The God that created the universe has entrusted some of His wealth to me, and every decision I make with that wealth needs to reflect His glory as much as it possibly can.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: A new one, and a goody, on Separation of Church and Bank
Bob of SeedTime
About: Bob Lotich started SeedTime’s predecessor blog ChristianPF in 2007 due to his combined passion for personal finance and Proverbs. The blog has really blown up, and he offers a number of services today.
In His Words: “My hope is that readers can learn to be content and focus on spending less than they earn.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: 250 Bible Verses about Money organized by type.
Rob of Mustard Seed Money
About: A mid-thirties federal government accountant, Rob has a target retirement age of 40.
In His Words: “My faith gives me hope in something much greater than myself, or even this world. In my life, I have experienced such provision and faithfulness from God. As a result, I don’t find my worth or security in money. The Lord has taken care of me in every season, so I don’t worry about the future. With that said, I try to be a good steward of the resources that he has given my family.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Letter To My Son: How To Be Wise points to how the time we’ve been given, not money, is our most valuable resource.
Ms. Steward of How We Do Money
About: A young couple with a toddler, Mr. and Ms. Steward have 3 blog goals: Talk about money, share their journey in real-time, and insert stewardship into financial discourse.
In Her Words: “Our pseudonym comes from the belief that we steward our money, which means that we’re managing someone else’s resources (i.e. God’s). That difference is crucial, because it means we view our financial decisions as not only personal, but also infused with ethical and moral repercussions. It is imperative to us that we not only handle our finances in a smart way, but in a good way.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Not explicitly about faith, but a good post on Why We Gave Away 10% of Our Income, Even While We Paid Off Debt
Peter of Bible Money Matters
About: Launched in 2008, Peter Anderson has built a small empire centered around finances, faith, and family. He relates the tried-and-true starting in debt story, hating it, and leaving it behind.
In His Words: “Many people believe that faith and finances should be wholly separate, but I believe they are inextricably bound. There are over 2,300 bible verses on money, and it is clear to me that our money needs to be informed by our faith.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: An impressive list of Bible Verses About Money: What Does The Bible Have To Say About Our Financial Lives?
Brian of Luke1428
About: Brian is a former high school personal finance teacher turned youth pastor who wants to make people think, offer hope to the discouraged and motivate people to make lasting change.
In His Words: “My faith is very important to me and through reading the Bible I became convinced I was not being a wise steward of the resources God had given me. It was through that re-commitment that I found the discipline to control my spending habits.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: One of the few places you’ll find God’s Take on Playing Video Games
Bailey of Becoming Bailey
About: A 20-something Army housewife, Bailey shares thoughts about marriage, military life, and her faith.
In Her Words: “My faith definitely affects how I view my finances. To me, ‘my’ money isn’t mine, but God’s. I want to be a good steward of the resources He’s given me, which is one reason why I seek to be wise with my finances. It wasn’t until I started the concept of tithing (giving 10% of my income back to God, as mentioned in Malachi 3:10) that I noticed a drastic change in how I view my money. Before, I was so strict with my money, afraid that I wouldn’t have enough; now, I know that the Lord has provided before and He will provide again.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Have to mention two: Why We Choose to Tithe Even Though We’re in Debt and What is Rich?
The Dreamers of Dream2Retire
About: The Dreamers are a middle class, interacial, homeschool, Christian family from the deep South that uses coupons, pays all bills down in advance, and is on schedule to be debt free by the end of 2017.
In Their Words: “The Dreamers try to put faith first in all our decisions. We both want our kids to know money is not the answer to happiness, but God blesses and rewards you for your actions. We have seen this many times through our marriage, often when we leave God out the decisions do not end well. We still fail at times with our finances and that is OK, we are learning. I hope to really explore God’s word on money in our journey and feel his will in our decisions.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Working on it.
Kristen of Joyfully Thriving
About: The daughter of a Lutheran pastor, this stay-at-home mother shares tips on living a frugal life.
In Her Words: “Growing up in a church work family, I learned quickly the value of frugality. We didn’t have a lot of money but we never were lacking. We learned firsthand how God will always provide for His children. Besides, as my Grandpa likes to say, we are rich already – someday we’ll have money.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Who knew that defacing a Dr. Seuss book would be a great Christian gift for graduates? A Biblical Version of “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”
Bill and Amanda of Wealth Well Done
About: MN-based couple tell stories to find the meaning of wealth.
In His Words: “Hang out with us at Wealth Well Done long enough, and you’ll notice I talk A LOT about seeking a purpose in life. Purpose is such a fascinating subject for me because I believe we are all here for a reason. We are supposed to accomplish fantastic things for God. I ultimately see money as a tool that we can use to fund our adventure to find our purpose in life. That’s why I am such a strong advocate for frugality, and making wise financial decisions. The more money you save, the more risks you can take, and the greater adventure you can go on to find your purpose in life and inspire others along the way. On a final note, our blog’s name, Wealth Well Done, actually came from Matthew 25:11.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Purpose of Life and How to Create Wealth addresses the importance and God and money.
Reid of Wealth Rehab
About: Born and raised in DC, now living in Brooklyn, Reid’s newish PF blog is targeted at millennials and explores the topics of financial literacy, debt reduction & wealth creation.
In His Words: “As a Christian, I believe the Bible has helpful and super practical principles on finances that can apply to your financial circumstances regardless of what faith background you come from.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: Money Proverbs: Laziness Vs Diligence is the first in a series of posts inspired by money wisdom in Proverbs. He is working on a book on the same topic.
Neil & Kalie of Pretend to Be Poor
About: An engineer and stay-at-home mother espouse the counter-culture concept of living on less to provide flexibility in your career, family, and other interests.
In Their Words: “We want to offer a solution to the financial problems many people face, and much of it begins with a mindset we’ve found in the Bible.”
Best Faith & Finance Post: 10 Reasons to Give Away 10% of Your Income is a thought-provoking post on tithing.
Awesome round up!!! I love hearing all the perspectives various perspectives from the Christian PF community 🙂
It was awesome to have your perspective, thanks for contributing!
I think one of the tricky things in personal finance as a Christian is in the Parable of the Talents. To me it says that God doesn’t want us to just hunker-down and play it safe, but instead to use what he has given us, including our intellect, our opportunities and, well, our money, But the best of intentions and effort can sometimes lead to failure in attaining goals and instead lead to incurring debt. I guess it’s a balancing act, but the right answers aren’t always crystal clear.
It is tricky. I think that’s why there is so much disagreement, even inside the church, about how to approach these things.
I try to donate a small percent of my income every year to charity. I think it’s important to share my good fortune with those less fortunate than me.On the other hand, I don’t give away a lot right now. I’d rather increase my wealth via business dramatically and then one day give most of it away. e.g. 70% of $100 million is $70 million!