Young adults, including Christians, have complicated relationships with money

Interesting study that further confirms Christians, on average, give considerably more than others. It is also true that conservatives give more than liberals.

And, to any young Christians reading this, especially young preachers, begin now to save, save, save for retirement. You cannot imagine the blessing of having more than you have to have in retirement. And being able to give generously as the Lord leads. Educate yourself now in the basics of saving and investing.

David R. Brumbelow

When my children were growing up, my wife and I set the expectation that once they graduated from high school they were responsible for paying their own expenses. We would not charge them rent if they stayed at home as long as they were going to college or trade school. Once they graduated from college, if they wanted to stay at home, they would pay rent along with all other expenses (e.g. car, insurance, gas, cell phone, etc).

When they were seniors in high school, I sat them down and had “the talk.” No, not that talk. But, I specifically talked to them about how to live in such a way to become financially independent early on in life. This involved conversations about debt, savings, budgeting, investing, and giving. We read a book or two about these topics. One I recommend is JL Collins The Simple Path to Wealth.

Each of my children opened up a roth IRA when they turned 20, and I encouraged them to fully fund it each year afterwards (currently $6K / year) and invest in a vanguard index fund (e.g. VTSAX). I also showed them several scenarios in excel using the future value function to demonstrate the importance of saving / investing for retirement early and often.

It’s important. It’s also helpful to show them what spending less and saving more can allow them to accomplish when they reach their mid-30s. They could be fully financially independent by then.

Like many young preachers starting out, my salary was low (I mean Really low), and my wife and I could barely make ends meet. But we always gave a tithe and beyond to the Lord, and also started a small college savings fund for our children. I knew it wasn’t adequate, but we did the best we could, and trusted God. Then, I got severe cancer after nine years of ministry, and could have died. Fortunately, the church, by that time, was providing good health insurance. But I realized if I died, I would leave a widow with four young children, a mortgage, and not much else.

I began getting more serious about saving. We learned to live on less, increased our giving to the Lord, and saved what we were able. In ways I will never fully understand, our four daughters all graduated college debt free, all had nice weddings without debt, and our savings grew in the hands of a good investment manager. Today, we are looking toward a comfortable retirement whenever the time comes. I attribute this to God’s promise to multiply the seed of those who give to Him. I’m convinced that giving generously is more important than saving. We must do both, but those who skimp on giving in order to save will probably do no better than those who save less in order to give, and they alone will reap rewards in Heaven, as well as experience God’s bounty here on earth. God keeps His promises. He is able to miraculously multiply the widow’s oil.

[T Howard]

When my children were growing up, my wife and I set the expectation that once they graduated from high school they were responsible for paying their own expenses. We would not charge them rent if they stayed at home as long as they were going to college or trade school. Once they graduated from college, if they wanted to stay at home, they would pay rent along with all other expenses (e.g. car, insurance, gas, cell phone, etc).

When they were seniors in high school, I sat them down and had “the talk.” No, not that talk. But, I specifically talked to them about how to live in such a way to become financially independent early on in life. This involved conversations about debt, savings, budgeting, investing, and giving. We read a book or two about these topics. One I recommend is JL Collins The Simple Path to Wealth.

Each of my children opened up a roth IRA when they turned 20, and I encouraged them to fully fund it each year afterwards (currently $6K / year) and invest in a vanguard index fund (e.g. VTSAX). I also showed them several scenarios in excel using the future value function to demonstrate the importance of saving / investing for retirement early and often.

It’s important. It’s also helpful to show them what spending less and saving more can allow them to accomplish when they reach their mid-30s. They could be fully financially independent by then.

Wiseman! I commend you