Sometimes as believers, we perceive that knowledge is ungodly. Relationship with God is foremost. And the latter statement is true; but it’s not an either-or. It’s a both-and. 

Proverbs tells us wisdom, knowledge and understanding come from God’s mouth. If we’re in relationship with God, we will trust Him to give us only that which is good. Therefore, wisdom, knowledge and understanding must be good. He gives it to us as we ask for it and do what He says. 

Remember the story of the talents. A man is going on a journey, so he gives five to one, two to another and one to another– each according to his ability.  That means there are different levels of ability.  Ability can increase with knowledge. As you learn and gain financial knowledge with God, God can trust you with more.  Financial knowledge is key.

But that’s where the resistance begins.  

Why we resist financial knowledge…and where that leads

The most common reasons for resisting financial knowledge are “I haven’t a clue about financial things,” “my spouse does it all,” or “I’m no good at math.”  All of these appear valid on the surface, but when compared to what was stated above, they fall quite short of trust in God. 

There is wisdom in having advisors. But to choose a financial advisor that knows what they’re doing and one you can trust, you need to have financial knowledge yourself.  Most advisors and brokers sell financial products, which means you really need to understand the cost-benefits of the products you’re sold. God desires to open up the floodgates and pour out the blessings. The question is, are you prepared to receive it?

Through our years of helping over 2 million people, we have often found people “planned” on a wing and a prayer or quite frankly stuck their head in the sand.  Many believed they were living by faith or just hoped to be okay. The unknown creates fear and anxiety. 

We’ve all heard the saying “fail to plan, plan to fail.” We certainly don’t want to get on a plane with a pilot who doesn’t have or follow a flight plan. That would be scary. If you know where you want to go, you can create a game plan to get there. With finances, creating a plan seems daunting and expensive to most.  Either you have to spend hours with a financial planner at $250 per hour, or days on end learning and doing it yourself. Worse yet, we could end up with analysis paralysis– learning too much to know what’s the right thing to do. 

But what if I told you that you could do it yourself or with a financial coach in anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours?

In fact, with the 3Nickels app, anyone can easily establish a plan, get on track and stay on track. You don’t have to do any math, and we won’t ask you any questions you don’t have the answer to.

Now you might say, “I don’t know where I want to go.” That’s fair, so let us help you. 

Financial knowledge leads to financial freedom

As we say, “you can work for your money or have your money work for you.” Most want the latter but are living the former. 

There are two types of income–earned income, the money you work for and unearned or passive income, the money you receive from investments. 

When the money you earn from investments exceeds your living expenses, you are free to choose with God what’s next–retirement, working to give, working to grow wealth, starting a business, etc. 

That’s financial freedom.

But the next argument we typically hear is “it takes money to make money.” Not true. 

Remember the miracle of the widow’s oil, or the miracle where the fish spits up Peter’s taxes. All that is required is to trust God to provide and to grow in knowledge. 

The first step to getting to financial freedom is to manage cash flow. That means figuring out the optimal way to pay off debt, reduce expenses and increase income. 

Once you have break-even or positive cash flow, you begin to invest to multiply your wealth.  You can also use leverage to increase your investment. Some leverage is based in borrowing, which can be okay. But there are other types of leverage that don’t require any money or debt and allow you to increase your wealth. 

We discuss some options in 3NickelsU. These are not “get rich quick” schemes. God warns against that in Proverbs. And God doesn’t call everyone to use leverage. But knowledge opens up options for what God can do through you.

Getting your money to work for you is not hard, but you do need to be intentional. The best investors know something most investors don’t. To be successful, you must understand risk-return trade-offs.  Managing risk is key.

Get coaching & financial education

3Nickels is here to help. If you’re stuck in a mindset, in addition to 3NickelsU, we have coaches to help you pray and work through it.

Then there is the doing. That’s where the 3Nickels app comes in. With the free version, you have loads of financial education and tools to help you set up your plan on your own. 

But if you’d like more, 3Nickels has an advice version with coaching available for only $14.99 monthly. Your monthly income and spending will determine your available cash flow– or money left over each month. From there, we will help you develop a plan to get out of debt and invest to reach your goals.

God has blessed us with technology to help. For those who believe technology is evil, I humbly remind them that only God can create. God uses people to create. If new technology exists, then God has a purpose for it. The enemy can’t create.  Sadly, he can manipulate people to contort God’s creations. But look first at how God wants to use technology to expand His kingdom. We believe 3Nickels is a kingdom builder and will bless you to bless others.