Financial Coaching for Kingdom Men

Tax season has a way of holding up a mirror to our lives. You look at the "Gross Pay" on your W-2 and that familiar pit forms in your stomach. You think, “I made that much money last year? Where on earth did it all go?” Without a plan, money is remarkably flighty. If you don't intentionally tell it where to stay, it will fly away like a pet finch when the cage door is left ajar—quick, quiet, and suddenly out of reach. The Workplace Trap vs. The Family Blessing For many of us, our only experience with a "budget" is at the office. In the corporate world, a budget feels like a list of restrictions handed down from a department you’ve never visited. It’s a "no" to your ideas, a "not yet" to your project, and a ceiling on your potential. But a family budget is fundamentally different. It isn’t a corporate restriction; it is a Kingdom duty and a divine blessing. At work, you have no control. At home, you and your spouse are the Finance Committee. ...

I recently sat down with Samantha, a talented professional here in Idaho. She had just been offered a new role with a local organization, and on the surface, it looked like a great win: $20 per hour. But as we looked closer, the "fine print" surfaced. They wanted to hire her as an independent contractor (1099) rather than a traditional employee (W-2). That meant no benefits, no health insurance, and—most importantly— no tax withholding. Samantha is focusing more on her money these days and wanted to know, “H ow much of that $20 is actually mine? And how do I make sure the IRS doesn't come knocking next April?” Her question is wise. For the 1099 worker, "gross pay" is an illusion. Without a system, you aren't just earning an income; you are accruing a debt. The 15.3% "Surprise" When you’re a W-2 employee, your boss pays half of your Social Security and Medicare taxes. When you’re self-employed, you are the boss. That means you’re responsible for th...

  Why do people save? Too often, it’s just "what's left over." For a steward, saving is intentional . It's deciding that future needs are more important than current wants.  Saving is prudence. Scripture warns against the foolishness of squandering resources today without planning for tomorrow (Proverbs 6:6-8, Parable of the Talents). Saving is taking ownership of your future provision.  Scripture also warns against saving and investing without being rich toward God with our finances Luke 12:13-21. We have seen how God has provided us an income and we want to wisely consider the expenses that we have chosen to use these finances for and now we have a surplus.  What are we to do with these finances? This is when saving rightly comes in. How to Save Money: Making it Non-Negotiable The biggest myth about saving is that it happens automatically with whatever cash is left over at the end of the month. That approach simply doesn't work because discretionary spending alw...