Money Lessons For Young Adults

Show Notes

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 We all want our kids to mature and become wise stewards of God’s resources. Younger generations need training to do that. This is Faith and Finance Live - biblical wisdom for your financial journey.

• Some of the lessons we’ll talk about can be taught to younger children but by the time they’re adults, they should have all of these down. It’s sometimes too early but NEVER too late to teach your children how to manage money wisely. So now, we'll focus on teaching your older kids who are in, or nearing, adulthood because they may have missed a lesson along the way.
• This is especially important because a recent financial literacy survey by the TIAA Institute found that Americans age 18 to 29 scored the lowest of any age group. Only about 40% of these young adults answered money-related questions correctly. That’s disturbing, but your family doesn’t HAVE to be part of that statistic if you pass along several important lessons.
• Two of the most important are:

  • 1.) God owns everything, including ourselves. Psalm 24:1 reads, “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”
  • 2.) God is our Provider. Everything we have is a gift from Him, including and especially, our salvation. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”

• Grasping those two truths will enable your child to trust in God to provide and to give cheerfully out of gratitude. H ere are some lessons about managing money wisely that begin with teaching the value of work, whether that’s studying for school or earning money on a job. Work is NOT PUNISHMENT. It was ordained by God BEFORE the Fall. Genesis 2:15 reads, “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it.”
• You never want to express the idea that work is punishment, but rather as an opportunity, given by God, to earn money. Children who’ve reached adulthood and are not still in school should work outside the home and contribute to household expenses. You probably AREN’T helping them by allowing them to live at home and not contribute. Remind them that all work has value and is profitable, that God is their real boss and that they should always conduct themselves in ways that honor the Lord.
• The next lesson they need to learn is that living on a budget is ESSENTIAL for wise money management. Everyone needs to budget and the less money you make, the more important it is to have a spending plan. Young adults should have zero trouble downloading the FaithFi app to help them set up a spending plan. They can just look for FaithFi in their app store.
• The next lesson is to Always Be Saving. A budget will help your young adult cut expenses, or maybe increase income, so there’s something left over each month. If he or she can’t learn to live on less than they make, they’ll always be in debt which is our next lesson.
• Teach them that debt is NOT a sin, but that Proverbs 22:7 teaches that, “the borrower is SLAVE to the lender.” This lesson should not be limited to credit cards. Student loans are a huge problem for young adults entering the workforce. They need to borrow as little as possible for college.
• Living beyond one’s means and running up debt is “presuming on the future,” that you’ll have enough money later to pay it off. But Proverbs 19:21 warns, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Debt may also be a sign that one is discontent with God’s provision and is ungrateful, but Philippians 4:19 reads, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
• Our last lesson for young adults is about giving. They may be just entering or new to the workforce and struggling financially. Generosity is an essential part of Christian life and can’t be ignored. Encourage your young adult to be a percentage giver to his or her local church. Giving is an act of worship and as Jesus said, it’s better to give than to receive. Giving with an open hand breaks the power that money has over us and strengthens our relationship with Jesus.
• Young adults should learn to give cheerfully out of gratitude for already receiving the gift of salvation through Christ’s work on the Cross. There’s nothing more valuable than that.

On-Air Mention:

• It should come as no surprise that teaching your children biblical principles of money can start early, and God’s Word is always a source of encouragement. Our featured scripture verse this week is from Proverbs 22:6 which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That’s good news from God’s Word.

Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at askrob@FaithFi.com:

• If your husband has a relative who wanted to borrow $500 but he has not been living financially responsibly, how should you handle requests like this in light of Matthew 5:42 - "do not turn away from those who wish to borrow from you"?
• If you sell a your car right that you bought last year, you're $10,000 under water, what are the bests ways out?
• If you have money that you'd like to save for children in the range of about ten years later, should you use a 529? Sound Mind Investing.org
• If your dad wants to buy a house but he's also paying for your mom's car which is requires him to need a co-sign, should you consider this since it's your dad?
• If you're 70, retired, you have a little over $100,000 saved, you work about 3 days a week to pay your $14,000 auto loan and currently live in a apartment, is it wise to consider buying condo right now?
• If your husband had a 401(k) with a company that went out of business, how can you find it now?
• What interest rate are I-Bonds going to next and when is it happening? Open an I-Bond
  
• Is taking out a HELOC a good idea for having a little back up money?

< -- Market Analysis with Bob Doll of Crossmarkglobal.com -- >

• A lot of data out last week, some surprising with a lot of acronyms, CPI, PCE GDP, what stands out to you right now?
• Beyond this next meeting from the Feds, the hike is probably baked in so what happens beyond that?
• Talk about the strength in aggressive stocks right now.
• All eyes this week are on the busy week of earnings, what are you looking at going forward?
• Is the rest of the world mirroring what we're seeing here with the slowing?

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