32 Money Lessons I’ve Learned by 32
Today is actually my 32nd birthday. And birthdays always make me very reflective. I think back to 10 years ago, my 22nd birthday, graduating college — and if you would have told my 22-year-old self that I'd be doing this today, teaching you about investing and stewardship, I would have laughed. Or I probably would have cried. Or maybe a little bit of both.
So today I want to share 32 money lessons I've learned by 32. All of them have shaped me, and I hope they resonate with you.
1. God owns it all.
It was never mine to begin with. I'm just managing what He entrusted to me.
2. Stewardship brings more peace than more income ever will.
Our income has gone up and down over the last few years. And let me tell you — there were years we made the most money and spent a lot of it. I just wasn't fully aware of where my habits were at, and especially where my heart was at.
3. A budget isn't restriction, it's clarity.
The moment we stopped looking at it as a punishment, it became empowering. A good budget allows you to be proactive with money instead of reactive — so you feel more in control, but not complete control, because that's the Lord's job.
4. Tithing changed my heart before it changed my finances.
5. Wealth is a crockpot, not a microwave.
Slow and steady, just like Proverbs 13:11 says.
6. The goal isn't making money. It's keeping, growing, and using it wisely.
7. Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity.
This one is especially for my entrepreneurs. Revenue is really cool, but it's not everything if you're justifying every expense as a tax deduction.
8. Compound interest is the goal, not credit card points.
The points feel productive, but they're not building legacy.
9. No one is coming to rescue me. I need to make the changes.
This one has always been a hard pill to swallow. We all want a quick fix, but we don't want to stay disciplined. The truth is, I am the one carrying my debit card every day. Someone can coach me or encourage me, but at the end of the day, I make the choice.
10. My kids are watching how I talk about money.
They are forming beliefs right now. I've really tried to catch myself lately. Instead of saying "that's too expensive" or "we don't have the money," I'll say things like, "Hey buddy, right now we are saving money so we can go on a cruise with your cousins this summer."
Reframing those beliefs so he doesn't think it's always a scarcity thing.
11. Financial peace feels better than any luxury purchase
Hence the reason I haven't bought that Louis Vuitton bag yet. It's coming... but I know it's not a priority right now.
12. Waiting until I have more is how I will stay stuck.
I focus on a percentage of our income rather than reaching a certain income goal before I start investing. My 10% may look different than yours in a fixed dollar amount, but it's relative to my income. I aim to invest 10–15% of our income toward long-term wealth.
13. $50 a month beats "I'll do it someday."
How I wish I knew this 10 or 15 years ago. The little habits matter because they compound. And investing wisely is not an all-or-nothing thing.
14. Automation protects you from yourself.
Motivation fades, but systems don't. And it's really hard to reverse a contribution to my Roth IRA without a penalty.
15. Avoiding your bank account doesn't protect your peace, it builds anxiety.
Facing it gives so much clarity.
16. The first $100 invested is scarier than the next $1,000.
The fear barrier is real, but once you cross it, momentum changes everything. Sometimes you need to start with the five-pound dumbbell before you move up to the twenty-five-pound one. The same goes for our money.
17. Just because it's on sale doesn't mean I should buy it.
I'm still learning this one. I was at the outlets recently and I had to stop and ask myself: am I buying this because I really need it, because I really want it, or just because it's a good deal? It's a work in progress, always.
18. Money can enslave me or it can empower me.
f we use it as a master, it will enslave us. But if we view it as stewardship, it will empower us.
19. Money magnifies more of who I already am.
It doesn't fix stress spending or comparison. In fact, it makes it worse.
20. Discipline today buys options tomorrow.
By sticking to our financial plan, we are building options to travel the world, spoil our grandkids one day, fund mission trips, and make work an optional thing, not a necessary thing.
21. The goal isn't early retirement. It's freedom.
Retirement isn't about sitting around doing nothing. It's flexibility. Freedom to pivot, freedom to say yes to that trip, freedom to leave a job that God has called you to leave. Retirement is really just a boring way of saying financial freedom.
22. If I don't tell my money where to go, it will disappear.
I've looked back on so many years wondering where it all went. As soon as we started tracking and planning, we knew exactly where it was going (to giving, to investing, to our future, and to really fun memories) most of the time without guilt.
23. Scarcity sounds logical, but abundance requires faith.
Looking at a budget can sometimes create a scarcity mindset... like that's all we have. But abundance brings us to Jesus, asking Him for provision, asking Him to change our hearts around our habits. I have seen Him do it time and time again.
24. Cash sitting idle isn't safe — it's slowly shrinking.
There is a time and place for cash. But beyond our emergency fund and short-term goals, cash is not part of our wealth-building strategy. If you're hoarding cash beyond these things, I'd invite you to evaluate it, pray about it, and see what else you could be doing with it.
25. Delayed gratification is a superpower.
If I waited, would I still want it? That one question has saved me more times than I can count.
26. Lifestyle inflation is sneaky.
Income rises and expenses get justified really quickly. I used to see extra money and it was like a hole burning in my pocket. It has been a trained muscle to hold it, pray about it, and just wait.
27. Have fun with your money.
James 4:14 reminds us that we are just here for a little while — a mist that vanishes. Just because we give and invest first doesn't mean we don't have fun. It's honorable to wisely use our money to make memories with our family. Life is short, and those precious moments are everything.
28. Investing is less about math and more about behavior.
Sure, there's a math equation here and there. But ultimately, it's the discipline and consistency that gets rewarded.
29. Confidence grows from action, not information overload.
Action breeds clarity. We don't get comfortable until we start doing something more often. It's like moving to a new town and getting plugged into a new church — it's nerve-wracking at first. But the more you go, the easier it becomes. The same goes with our money. Sometimes we just need to move our feet.
30. You can build wealth in any season you're in.
It starts with a decision. It is there waiting for you whenever you're ready to say yes, even through the fear.
31. Money can divide your marriage or it can unify it.
Getting on the same page with money and working toward goals together has completely shaped our marriage, and I am so grateful for it. Money fights are the number one cause of divorce in America. But if we can find a way to use money to serve our marriage and serve the Lord, we can run from that statistic as far as possible.
32. Money is a tool.
It's not our identity, our security, and it's certainly not our savior. It is a tool entrusted to us to build, to bless, and to multiply beyond our lifetime — and a tool to serve our marriage and the goals and values the Lord has placed in our hearts.
There you have it! 32 things I've learned about money. I don't feel like I've arrived, but I do feel really anchored in the truth that abundance isn't about accumulation. It's about alignment, with stewardship, with discipline, with faith, and with so much purpose.
If you're in the messy middle like me, if you feel behind, if debt feels loud, if the numbers feel overwhelming, you are not late. You can build alignment with your money today. You're just one decision away from shifting that.
If you liked this blog post, make sure to head over to our podcast and listen to the full episode!
Episode 8 | 32 Money Lessons I’ve Learned by 32
If any of these lessons nudged you today, I would love to hear from you over on Instagram!
