Psychologist and educator Fitzhugh Dodson once wrote, “Without goals and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”
Goals matter, but they accomplish little without a thoughtful plan. And for Christians, that plan should involve more than increasing net worth, reaching retirement, or achieving financial independence. It should help us consider how God may be inviting us to use our time, abilities, and resources for His purposes.
Ron Anderson, a Certified Kingdom Advisor® and Founder of Plan A Wealth Management in Lincoln, Nebraska, has spent more than 30 years helping people plan their financial futures. Increasingly, however, his work has also focused on something broader: life planning.
Psychologist and educator Fitzhugh Dodson once wrote, “Without goals and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”
Goals matter, but they accomplish little without a thoughtful plan. And for Christians, that plan should involve more than increasing net worth, reaching retirement, or achieving financial independence. It should help us consider how God may be inviting us to use our time, abilities, and resources for His purposes.
Ron Anderson, a Certified Kingdom Advisor® and Founder of Plan A Wealth Management in Lincoln, Nebraska, has spent more than 30 years helping people plan their financial futures. Increasingly, however, his work has also focused on something broader: life planning.
What Is Life Planning?
Traditional financial planning often begins with practical questions:
Life planning goes beneath those questions to address the deeper motivations behind them.
Why do you want to succeed? What contribution do you hope to make? How will you use your time if you reach your financial goals? What unique gifts, experiences, and opportunities has God entrusted to you?
“You need to know what your financial goals are,” Anderson explains, “but you also need to ask why you want to be successful. If you are financially on track, what will you do with your time and your life to make the contribution God has placed you here to make?”
Life planning does not replace financial planning. It gives financial planning a greater purpose.
Begin With the Deeper “Why”
Financial decisions are often only the visible part of a much larger picture.
Financial teacher Ron Blue has compared this to an iceberg. The decisions above the waterline—saving, spending, investing, and giving—represent only a small portion of our financial lives. Beneath the surface are our beliefs, priorities, values, fears, and faith.
That is why a meaningful plan must begin with more than numbers. It requires honest reflection:
What do I believe God has entrusted to me?
What relationships and responsibilities deserve my attention?
What needs or opportunities has God placed before me?
What would faithfulness look like in this season?
How might my financial choices help me become more available to serve?
These questions may not produce immediate or easy answers. But asking them can help us move from simply accumulating resources to managing them with intention.
Creating the Freedom to Say Yes
A financial planner can play an important role in life planning by helping someone establish a reasonable lifestyle, prepare for future needs, and create financial margin.
That margin can provide the freedom to respond when God redirects our plans.
“If God nudges your heart to do something different with your time, energy, or occupation,” Anderson says, “you want to have the flexibility to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will follow,’ rather than, ‘I cannot afford to do that.’”
This is one reason defining “enough” can be so important.
Without a clear sense of enough, lifestyle expenses can continue rising alongside income. More money leads to more spending, which can make us increasingly dependent on maintaining a certain salary or standard of living.
A reasonable lifestyle is not about deprivation. It is about creating the capacity to give generously, pursue meaningful work, care for others, and remain responsive to God’s direction.
The Value of Wise Counsel
Life planning can be difficult to do alone. Our thoughts may feel clear internally but become more complicated when we attempt to put them into words.
A trusted financial advisor, pastor, mentor, or mature friend can provide a place to process those questions honestly.
Talking through your goals can reveal inconsistencies, clarify priorities, and expose assumptions you may not have recognized. Wise counsel can also challenge you when your financial plan and your stated values do not align.
The goal is not for someone else to determine God’s will for your life. Rather, wise counsel can help you think carefully, pray faithfully, and make decisions with greater clarity.
What Scripture Says About Planning Your Life
Ephesians 5:15–17 offers an important foundation for life planning:
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Scripture calls us to live intentionally. Our time is limited, and wisdom requires that we pay attention to how we use it.
Understanding what the Lord desires involves spending time in His Word, seeking Him in prayer, listening to wise counsel, and honestly examining the opportunities and responsibilities He has placed before us.
Life planning should therefore be approached with humility. We make plans, but we acknowledge that God directs our steps. As Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
The goal is not to create a perfect roadmap for the rest of our lives. It is to become more attentive and available to follow wherever God leads.
When Financial Planning Serves a Greater Purpose
Anderson has seen clients use life planning to pursue opportunities far beyond a traditional retirement plan.
One couple gave a significant financial gift and later traveled overseas, where they helped translate the Bible while supporting their own ministry work. After returning to the United States, they purchased a property in Colorado where people serving in ministry could find much-needed rest.
Their financial resources became tools for service, hospitality, and generosity.
Not every life plan will involve moving overseas or beginning a ministry. Faithfulness may mean caring for aging parents, mentoring younger believers, volunteering in the community, supporting a local church, spending more time with family, or becoming more generous.
The specific expression will differ from person to person. The important question is whether our plans are preparing us merely to become more comfortable—or helping us become more faithful.
Planning for a Life of Faithful Stewardship
Financial planning asks, “Will I have enough?”
Life planning adds another question: “What will I do with what God provides?”
Money is not the final destination. It is one of many resources God entrusts to us, along with our time, relationships, experiences, and abilities.
A wise plan prepares for future needs, establishes healthy financial boundaries, and creates room for generosity. But most importantly, it helps us remain ready to respond when God presents an opportunity to serve.
On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:
I’m 75 and legally blind. After helping my daughter with a loan and a car, I expect to have about $5,000 a month available once the car is paid off in seven months. I’m uncomfortable with investing and would rather put that money into savings. Is that a wise approach?
I have about $50,000 in consolidated student loans at 6% interest. Is it true that the remaining balance could be forgiven after 20 years? I also give generously to ministries and missionaries. Should I reduce my giving temporarily to pay down the debt faster?
I have an indexed annuity with seven years remaining, and I’m charged a liquidity rider fee on each monthly withdrawal. What is that charge, and is there any way to avoid it?
A collector is contacting me about a medical bill from 13 to 15 years ago, but they haven’t provided documentation, and the hospital says I owe nothing. How long can someone legally pursue an old medical debt, and could they garnish my Social Security benefits?
Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources.
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