Recently, a young man in the ministry reached out to me for some financial stewardship advice. I’ll paraphrase his request:

“Bob, watching your life and ministry, I’ve seen the Lord’s blessing on you. As a young man in the ministry, I’m wanting to plan wisely for taking care of my family financially. But, as you know, many of us in ministry—whether biblical counseling, pastoring, or teaching—are not necessarily paid a great deal. Are there some stewardship principles you’ve followed that you could share with me for how you’ve provided for your family financially?”

My response:

“That’s a great question, and one I’ve even wondered about blogging on. But I hesitate because I don’t want to sound like I’ve figured it all out or like I’m bragging.”

After sharing the following principles with my young friend, he encouraged me to share these thoughts more widely. Here goes…in no particular order…

But first, I start with this thanks to the Lord. We’ve never made a lot of money, but God has graciously blessed what we’ve made. All thanks to Him.

#1: Be Patient

 Shirley and I had very little money to start with. Our initial finances remind me of a scene in the classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart’s character has just stopped a run on the Building and Loan and he has two $1 bills left—and he wants them to make many baby $1 bills! Shirley and I started with money we saved from cash wedding gifts—and it wasn’t much. But we invested that in our first home—a single-wide mobile home. We still have our family budget from our first year of marriage. Whoa. We budgeted just $30 a week for groceries. Yes, it was a while ago (1981), but still…we didn’t have a lot. Most young couples don’t start with a lot. So…be patient financially as you build your “stewardship nest egg.”

#2: Follow the 80/10/10 Principle

Shirley and I have sought to live by the 80/10/10 principle of giving 10% per year, saving 10% per year, and living on 80%. We have “religiously” and “obsessively” saved at least 10% for all 38 years of our marriage—including those very lean early years. Compound interest definitely works! We’ve recently chosen a financial adviser (for the first time in our lives), and he’s amazed at what we’ve been able to save given our (lower) income over the years. As part of our investing plan, wherever possible we’ve put in the maximum amount we could for “employer matching funds.” We’ve also always put away the maximum allowed per year in tax-deferred IRAs—great for future investing while saving on current taxes.

We also save for “big things” so that we did not have to go into debt. Later in our marriage, we’ve made it a priority to have especially fun 5-year wedding anniversaries (25, 30, 35, 40)—by saving for 5 years. By the way, as our finances have improved over the years, we have invested more than 10% annually.

#3: Spend Wisely by Budgeting Annually

You’ll read in a moment about investing wisely, but we also believe in and practice budgeting wisely with the 80% we spend. Even now that we have more “wiggle room” in our finances, Shirley and I still prayerfully craft an annual budget. We know where our money is going in various categories. And, contrary to what some people think, we’ve found that having a budget is freeing instead of being a straitjacket. “This is money we can guiltlessly spend in this category!”

#4: Invest Wisely (Including in Housing)

 We’ve been very focused on home-buying, home-upgrading, and home-re-selling. With each new home, we had a very strict budget of what we could afford and kept to that in searching and negotiating. Shirley and I also put a lot of “sweat equity” into each home we’ve had. The upgrades ended up earning us a lot profit on each home we sold. But a home is just one “investment vehicle.” We surely are not investment experts, but we’ve read widely, consulted experts for advice, and sought to follow best practice principles. But the key is—disciplining ourselves to save and invest.

#5: Avoid Loans/Interest Whenever Possible

We detest paying interest on anything. It’s not a “Dave Ramsey thing” or a “Larry Burkett thing;” we just don’t like giving our money away! We never took a 30-year mortgage. We paid our second home off well before 15 years (within 7 years). Our savings on home interests has been huge. We rarely purchase a brand new car; normally purchasing newer cars after they have depreciated—and we have never taken a loan on a car. We never carry any interest on our credit cards. We also did not have student loans—and we realize it was much easier to do that “back in the day.”

#6: Have “Frugal Fun”

 We’ve always had a lot of “frugal fun.” Our kids look back on the fun they had growing up and say, “How did we do such fun stuff with such little money?” Things, especially early on in our marriage and family life, were very tight…but very fun!

#7: Put Family Time First; Carefully Decide When/If to Work Extra

Many Christian families seek to not have the wife and mom “work outside the home” until the kids are at least beyond elementary school. We added to that: I rarely did any extra “outside speaking” or any writing until our children were in late middle school and high school. More time with the kids was more important than more money for the kids. But, as the kids got older, I did start to speak, write, and consult “on the side” some. That money became a nice supplement to our income. Initially, a lot of that went toward college for our kids. By God’s gracious blessing, they both graduated college without any loans—between what we covered, their scholarships, and their summer work and some work during college.

#8: Creatively Look for Wise “Passive Income”

After 20+ years of marriage, we had a little extra income. We invested that in real estates and we have two rentals that are paid off. This “passive income” has been a nice help. And, because they are paid off, we’ve rented them below the going market rate—which has helped our renters—a “win/win.” My book royalties also have become “passive income” that assists with our stewardship planning.

#9: Believe That the “Workman Is Worthy of His Hire”

Because I believe “the workman is worthy of his hire” (1 Timothy 5:18), I’ve not been afraid to negotiate with my Christian employers—schools, churches, para-church organizations. I’ve offered to do extra work (when the kids were older) for extra pay. I’ve laid out for employers what I could accomplish for the organizations (and for God’s kingdom) if they invested in me and my time. For example, when I was the Executive Director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, each year I would share that, “I can work 0%-time, 25%-time, 50%-time, 75%-time, or 100%-time—and here’s what I could accomplish at each of those time-amounts.” The BCC Board of Directors loved that. In my very first ministry at a Christian school, the Guidance Counselor had always been a 9-month contract. I outlined what I could do for the school if I worked year-round—and I had my contract extended.

#10: Develop a Lifestyle of Giving

After giving to our church, we’ve always focused on helping family first, then friends, and then para-church ministries. As we were blessed, we wanted to bless others.

#11: Believe That God Honors Wise Stewardship 

I’m hesitant to share this final principle, because it can be so easily misunderstood. Here’s what I am not saying. This is not a “health and wealth gospel” by any means. I do not believe in giving so that God will give back to you. However, I do believe Luke 16:10 and the parable of the faithful steward. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” I’m not sure that Shirley and I “have much.” Yet, compared to most people on the planet, we sure can’t and don’t complain. I do wonder sometimes if some of our financial blessings and “good returns on investments” might be due to the principle that if you are good stewards in the small amounts, God may choose in His affectionate sovereignty to bless with larger amounts—to keep stewarding for His kingdom…

Join the Conversation 

If a younger person in full-time vocational ministry asked you for financial stewardship advice for taking care of their family, what principles would you share?

Which of the 11 principles I have shared do you agree with and why? Which of the 11 principles might you disagree with, or word differently, and why? Which of the 11 principles might need some tweaking with the economic realities young couples face today?