We all want to have a healthy relationship with money, free from worry and financial stress, and ideally, free from debt. However, few of us have such a relationship. We let money have some control over our lives, and over us. Many people desire financial freedom, but only a few achieve it.
A key step to attaining financial freedom is to shift our mindset and beliefs about money. Money is not inherently good or bad, but as 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money itself is simply a tool that God has entrusted to us to achieve our goals and live out our calling. We need to stop seeing money as something that controls us, but rather as something that we steward for God's purposes.
As with many things in life, the path to a healthy money relationship is not difficult to traverse. How we get there, naturally, depends on where we start from. Some people have an unhealthy relationship with money where they act irresponsibly, spending money they don't have, building a mountain of debt and living in the grips of financial insecurity. This mirrors the Prodigal Son from Luke 15, who squandered his inheritance on wild living, only to find himself destitute. At the other extreme, some people hoard every penny they can, like the rich fool in Luke 12 who stored up treasures but wasn't rich toward God. They too live in the grip of financial insecurity, it is just a different manifestation.
Financial Freedom with Discipline and Faith
The path to financial freedom requires discipline, patience, and commitment—virtues that Scripture repeatedly emphasizes. It may take time to make changes to our financial habits and mindset, but it is worth it in the end to gain control over our finances and create a secure future for ourselves and our families, just as Proverbs 13:22 tells us, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children.”
Those with a healthy money relationship are not found at the extremes. They live in balance with their money, taking care of the future, while also taking care of themselves today. They may not have everything they could wish for, but they do the best they can with what they have and do not suffer unreasonable fears or anxieties over financial matters. They are in a positive – healthy – relationship with money, exemplifying Philippians 4:11-12 where Paul says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
And you can be too, if you're not there yet. Here are the seven steps to building a healthy relationship with money from a Christian perspective.
Step One: Assess
Step one is to assess, to access your current relationship with money, and to assess your current financial situation.
To assess your current relationship with money you consider your thoughts and feelings about money and about saving money and spending money. Look at where you might experience anxiety, or other feelings such as guilt. What drives these thoughts and feelings? What would have to change to no longer experience them?
This is similar to the process described in 2 Corinthians 13:5, where we're encouraged to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” Dave Ramsey, a well-known Christian financial advisor, often speaks about this self-examination process as the first step toward financial peace. His Financial Peace University program, which has helped millions of Christians, begins with this crucial assessment phase.
Also, assess whether you're headed where you want to go – are you moving forward financially or sliding backward? Consider your sources of income and expenses and get a clear picture of where you currently stand financially, just as Jesus advised in Luke 14:28-30 about counting the cost before building a tower.
Step Two: Set Intentions
Step two is establishing intent for your financial decisions and actions. Where step one helped you see where you are, step two is about where you want to go.
Consider your future and write a list of goals and their priorities. Oftentimes, we may have a longer list than means to accomplish everything on it, so we need to make some honest decisions about what is most important, financially, to accomplish. This reflects the wisdom of Proverbs 16:9: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
Crown Financial Ministries, founded by the late Larry Burkett, teaches that setting God-honoring financial goals means aligning our desires with biblical principles. Their studies show that Christians who establish clear, Scripture-aligned financial intentions experience greater peace and success in their financial journeys.
If we have strong feelings about the importance of our financial future, it can serve as our north star, guiding and motivating us on our financial journey, much like the star that guided the wise men to Jesus.
Step Three: Plan
Step three is to create a plan for making the most of your money. Some people call this a spending plan, some call it a budget. Everyone needs a plan to do the best with what they have to work with.
Proverbs 21:5 tells us plainly, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” One of the great financial ironies is that many people don't want to budget because they don't want to feel locked in and trapped by their money, yet those who budget experience greater financial freedom, have lower financial stress and accomplish more with their dollars.
Chuck Bentley of Crown Financial Ministries shares the story of John and Mary, a couple who lived paycheck to paycheck despite a six-figure income. After implementing a biblical budget that included giving, saving, and intentional spending, they eliminated $35,000 in debt within two years and began funding mission work they were passionate about.
So much for feeling trapped and locked in, a spending plan allows for maximum intentional use of funds which produces the greatest results and creates the ancillary benefits of financial freedom and lower financial stress. Budgeting doesn't cause stress, it removes it, just as Jesus promised “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Step Four: Short, Mid, and Long Terms
We tend to work from the short term out, at least when we are running tight with money. People tend – naturally – to be more concerned about a crisis next week or next month than they are about funding retirement in 30 years. But all need to be addressed, lest they become a source of stress.
In the short term, we need to know how our bills are getting paid in the coming weeks and months. This is a major aspect of budgeting and reflects Jesus' teaching about daily bread in the Lord's Prayer.
For the mid-term, we need to know how we are addressing goals that we need to address within the next few years. This may include vacation funds, vehicle replacement, and possibly children's education. The biblical story of Joseph preparing for seven years of famine during seven years of plenty (Genesis 41) provides a powerful example of mid-term planning.
For the long term, we need to address our eventual financial independence, where work becomes optional and not working becomes affordable. This doesn't mean we stop being productive – the Bible never endorses idleness – but rather that we have options for how to serve God in our later years.
Ron Blue, founder of Kingdom Advisors, teaches Christian financial professionals that balancing these three time horizons is essential for faithful stewardship. His research shows that Christian families who address all three time frames experience less financial stress and greater generosity.
The needs for the short-, medium- and long-term goals need to be incorporated into the spending plan from step three.
Step Five: Buffer
Step five is to build a buffer, a source of funds against unexpected expenses, against unexpected interruptions in income, and to take advantage of unanticipated opportunities. This is commonly referred to as an emergency fund, although many financial advisors call it a cash reserve, as it's for opportunities as well as emergencies.
The Bible speaks to this wisdom in Proverbs 21:20: “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.” In modern terms, this means having savings rather than consuming everything immediately.
The typical range for the size of this buffer is three to six months' worth of expenses. If that seems like a wide range, it is. It's a wide range to accommodate variables like job security, where someone with a less secure job might want a bigger buffer; to accommodate specific risks, where someone who drives an older vehicle or who lives in an older house might want additional cushion against emergency repairs; and to accommodate personal risk tolerance.
Howard Dayton, co-founder of Compass—Finances God's Way, shares the example of the Miller family who, despite modest income, built a six-month emergency fund over three years by setting aside just 5% of their income. When Mr. Miller lost his job unexpectedly, they had peace rather than panic, giving him time to find the right position rather than taking the first available option.
You do you. A buffer provides peace of mind and reduces stress during challenging times. It's like money in the bank because it is money in the bank. And it is a component of having a healthy relationship with money, allowing us to live out the promise of Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Step Six: Protection
Step six is protecting that which we cannot afford to lose. We need insurance on our home, or renter's insurance if we rent. We need to insure our cars; we need to have a source of income if we are sick or disabled and unable to work. And we may need to provide some capital to the surviving family if we pass prematurely.
This reflects the wisdom of Proverbs 27:12: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”
This step involves insurance but also managing risk, which helps reduce our need for insurance. When we have a risk, we can, in some cases, avoid the risk, in some cases, we can reduce or manage the risk, and in other cases, we can transfer the financial consequences of the risk to another party through insurance.
Art Lindsley of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics points out that biblical stewardship includes protection. He notes that Joseph's management of Egypt's resources included not just accumulation but protection and distribution systems—a comprehensive risk management approach.
Failing to address risk can cost us, it can cost us financially, and it can cost us emotionally through stress and difficulties we didn't need to go through.
We all face risk, managing risk is a key element to having a healthy money relationship, and shows wisdom as we steward what God has given us.
Step Seven: Review
Step seven is about keeping up with our ever-changing lives in our ever-changing world. We can plan for what we think will may happen, but the world around us changes, and our desires and goals change over time as well. We need to adjust to keep our money working towards what we most want to accomplish.
This makes sense intuitively and biblically. Psalm 90:12 asks God to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Regular review helps us use our limited time and resources wisely.
A healthy relationship with money is an investment: we put in, and we get out. If a relationship is worthwhile, we tend to be willing to put some degree of effort into maintaining the relationship. We need to be sure we're on the same page with our money.
Bob Lotich, founder of SeedTime.com and author of “Simple Money, Rich Life,” shares how his family does quarterly financial reviews that begin with prayer and gratitude. This practice has helped them give away over $1 million despite never having extraordinary income, proving that review and realignment can multiply our financial impact for God's kingdom.
The good news is that our money will go along with our plans if we plan and don't ask too much of it. It's a good friend that way.
Once we have built a healthy relationship with money, we need to address issues as they come up, and keep the relationship healthy and ongoing. Of course, we do.
The Bottom Line
It may be apparent that we can work steps three through six simultaneously. We don't have to finish each before moving on, we can do them together over time. Many people find that an easier approach.
It's realistic to have a healthy relationship with money, no matter where you're starting from. Most of us develop our core money attitudes early, much is set by the time we're five or six years old. That may not reflect how we would choose to solve our problems and build our relationships today.
If you find you have any stress or anxiety around money or finances, or trouble meeting your financial goals and objectives, working towards a positive and healthy relationship with money is a good place to start. And remember Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our relationship with money ultimately reflects our deeper values and priorities.
By following these seven steps with prayer and biblical wisdom, we can develop financial freedom that allows us not just to meet our own needs, but also to be generous toward others and advance God's Kingdom purposes.
