If you've ever felt torn between wanting to honor God with your money but also feeling overwhelmed, confused, or even a little ashamed about where you're at financially — if you've ever wondered, am I doing this right? Does God expect more from me? How do I actually steward my money in real life, not just in theory? — this one is for you.

Today I'm sharing our real money story, how God gently reshaped our understanding of stewardship, and the three things I believe busy Christian moms can confidently focus on when it comes to stewarding money well — without perfection, pressure, or fear.

Grab a cup of coffee, take a deep breath, and let's talk about God and money in a way that feels honest and freeing.

I want to start by telling you a little about us, because I want you to know that we don't have it all figured out. We're not even millionaires yet. We're just hardworking, faith-driven people doing our best to steward well what God has given us. And I don't believe you need to hit all the goals to help someone else along the way.

I've been working since I was about 15 years old, and I always let money burn a hole in my pocket. I called myself a recovering serial spender because I thought being smart with money meant getting a really good deal. I was great at finding a bargain — but then I had no money because I was just addicted to the hunt. I started playing the credit card points game, racked up some debt because I couldn't keep up with it, and honestly, if you do the math on those payoff returns and how much you have to spend in a short amount of time, it's actually a terrible deal.

Our money story really shifted when my husband came home one day and said, "Hey, have you ever heard of Dave Ramsey?" I hadn't. He'd been given the book when he graduated college — seven years earlier — and never read it. But he listened to a podcast episode on the way home and thought I'd like it.

It was one of the best things he ever did. The very next day I got hooked. I listened to that show for eight hours straight at work, came home, and told my husband — we are doing this. We sat at our kitchen table in our expensive apartment and listed it all out for the very first time. Over the next few weeks, as we kept uncovering things, that list kept growing. That's when we arrived at the $87,000 number. Two car loans, student loans, credit cards, furniture loans, even our wedding bands were financed.

But we went all in. We knew that if we could focus our full intention on paying it off as fast as possible, our lives would change. My husband was active duty in the Army and picked up as much extra work as he could between trainings. I picked up two waitressing jobs. And by the grace of God, we paid it all off in 10 months.

It was a hard year. But it was the very best thing we ever did. And exactly one year after becoming debt free, we became parents. I am so grateful we were able to start our family that way.

That journey opened up a passion in me to help other families with their finances, which eventually led me to becoming a licensed financial advisor in 2020. For about four years I worked with families on retirement and investments. But I kept seeing the same pattern — couples in their late 40s and 50s with retirement on the horizon, finally getting serious, and me having to deliver the hard news that they weren't going to hit their goal. They'd either have to work longer or settle for less than they'd imagined.

And I kept thinking — where are all the young families? Where are the people taking advantage of time, because that's where money really grows. I don't want you to blink one day and wonder where all the money God blessed you with actually went. That's why I'm here.

So What Is Stewardship, Really?

This word gets thrown around a lot, so let's just be clear about what it means.

Stewardship means that everything belongs to God. He is the owner and we are the appointed managers of what He's entrusted to us — our money, our time, our talents, our energy, our families. Our responsibility isn't to hoard it, fear it, or try to control it perfectly. It's to use it wisely for His glory and the good of others.

God doesn't hand us a step-by-step financial rule book. But He gives us His Word and invites us to walk in alignment with it. So here are three things I believe Christian moms can confidently anchor to when it comes to stewardship.

1. Tithe

I know what you might be thinking — how am I supposed to give 10% when I can barely live off 100%? But here's the truth: if you wait to give until everything feels figured out, what you're really saying is, God, I trust myself more than I trust you.

I didn't start tithing until we were deep in our debt snowball. It didn't make sense on paper. But I heard Dave Ramsey say something that has stuck with me ever since — if you can't live on 90%, then you can't live on 100%, and that's just a problem. I felt deeply convicted, and we started tithing right away.

And I want you to hear this — tithing didn't just change our finances. It changed our marriage. It drew us closer to the Lord and taught us to rely on Him instead of each other. I don't know where we would be if we hadn't done this early on. That closeness with Jesus that has deepened over the years started right there, in that one scary step of faith.

If you haven't started yet, I want to encourage you to start today. If 10% feels impossible right now, start little by little. Give something and trust the Lord.

2. Live on Less Than You Make

This sounds obvious, but there's more to it than just the math. This is about margin. Margin gives you room to breathe, room to save, and room to invest for the future. And when you have a vision for the future you want to create for your family, living on less stops feeling restrictive and starts feeling purposeful.

Living on less is not about deprivation. It's about direction. It's showing the Lord — I can be trusted to manage what you've placed in my hands.

3. Enjoy It

This one might surprise you. Money is a tool, and I believe God uses it to serve our marriages and our families too. We go on vacations with and without our kids. We have Disney annual passes. We want to use our money to create memories because life is meant to be lived.

Now, I want to keep this in check — some people focus only on enjoying money and call that stewardship, hiding behind "you only live once." That's not what I mean. God gives us priorities and wisdom and asks us to be responsible.

But on the other side, for my hardcore savers — holding on too tightly can also be a sign of fear. So consider this your permission: it's okay to spend within reason and enjoy it with intention.

Stewardship is really about three things: honoring God first, living with margin, and enjoying what He's entrusted to you. Not perfectly — just one step at a time.

You don't have to have it all figured out to start aligning your finances with God. You just have to take one next and different step than what you've already been doing

If you liked this blog post, make sure to head over to our podcast and listen to the full episode!

Episode 1 | Feeling Confused About God and Money? How to Start with Stewardship

Listen To The Episode

I'm so glad you're here! If this encouraged you, share it with a mom who needs to hear it and I hope you follow along!