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Raising Stewards, Not Spenders: Teaching Kids how to use God's money for His Work · Equipped for Impact

• 0:01
  Nate: Quick question.
• 0:01
  Nate: Have you ever opened your banking app and immediately felt your shoulders rise and your stomach tighten up?
• 0:08
  Nate: Or maybe you look at a price in the store and think, that used to be half this price.
• 0:12
  Luis: And when the economy feels shaky, here's what happens anxiety goes up, impulse buying goes up, and generosity gets pushed to the edge.
• 0:21
  Luis: And for Christian families, it exposes something deeper.
• 0:24
  Luis: We say we trust the Lord, but we handle money like we own it.
• 0:28
  Nate: Today we're talking about discipling in a kingdom economy.
• 0:32
  Nate: Not just teaching kids how to tithe, but teaching them stewardship.
• 0:37
  Nate: Because every dollar is a tool, not a trophy, not a comfort blanket, a tool for the mission of the gospel.
• 0:45
  Nate: Welcome to Equipped for Impact, the podcast designed to assist Christian parents, leaders, and educators to raise up the next generation, to stand firm in their faith, and influence the world for Christ.
• 1:06
  Nate: We're your hosts.
• 1:07
  Nate: I'm Nate.
• 1:08
  Nate: And I'm Lewis.
• 1:09
  Nate: And today's topic, as you just heard, is financial stewardship.
• 1:14
  Nate: And this really, you know, it it is about our own, right, Lewis?
• 1:18
  Nate: Financial stewardship.
• 1:19
  Nate: But then also how we can use the opportunities we have in working through a new budget year and everything and use that to disciple uh our own children so that they learn how to be good stewards as they grow up.
• 1:36
  Nate: Um and we're recording right now.
• 1:38
  Nate: It is the beginning of 2026.
• 1:40
  Nate: Happy New Year, Louisa.
• 1:41
  Luis: Happy New Year, Nate.
• 1:42
  Nate: We have to pause.
• 1:43
  Nate: Yes.
• 1:43
  Nate: We last episode talked about uh Christmas and Christmas traditions.
• 1:48
  Nate: So the big question here, speaking of spending money, did you get your Chinese food on Christmas Eve or evening?
• 1:55
  Luis: It was an ordeal.
• 1:56
  Luis: I I'm guessing a lot of people from Wayne County must have listened to our episode because every Chinese restaurant was completely packed on Christmas Day.
• 2:06
  Luis: I had to go to two different restaurants.
• 2:07
  Luis: Two different restaurants.
• 2:08
  Luis: Two different restaurants.
• 2:08
  Luis: Because the first one forgot my order, and then the second one was like, it'll be 30 minutes, and so it was it was insane.
• 2:15
  Luis: Wow.
• 2:15
  Luis: But we did.
• 2:16
  Luis: We got our Chinese, we got our wonton soup, our beef lo main, and our chicken fried rice.
• 2:21
  Luis: And it was really good.
• 2:22
  Nate: All the important things.
• 2:23
  Luis: And General So chicken.
• 2:24
  Nate: General So.
• 2:24
  Nate: Did you ask General So if you could have his chicken?
• 2:27
  Luis: Uh I should have, because uh now that I think about it, it's actually General So's, right, with an apostrophe S.
• 2:31
  Luis: So it belongs to him.
• 2:32
  Luis: He owns that chicken.
• 2:36
  Luis: I should have made it.
• 2:37
  Luis: But we did enjoy it on Christmas Day.
• 2:39
  Nate: That was stealing.
• 2:40
  Nate: You need to go repent.
• 2:41
  Nate: I do.
• 2:42
  Luis: Hey, stealing connects back to our topic today.
• 2:45
  Nate: There we go.
• 2:45
  Nate: Nice even uh segue here.
• 2:47
  Nate: But okay, so it's 2026, right?
• 2:50
  Nate: Um there's a lot going on in the American economy.
• 2:53
  Nate: If you're listening in a different economy, you also probably are feeling this in your country.
• 2:58
  Nate: Yeah.
• 2:58
  Nate: Um but there's a lot going on.
• 3:00
  Nate: We've got prices going up.
• 3:02
  Nate: Thankfully, gas prices, at least here in North Carolina, are going down.
• 3:05
  Nate: So that's a positive.
• 3:06
  Nate: That is.
• 3:07
  Nate: Um but you know, you you you're dealing with this, maybe you overspent on Christmas, and you can go back and listen to our episode on consumerism at Christmas time.
• 3:16
  Nate: Yeah.
• 3:17
  Nate: Um but but we come into this and it's it's you know, how we approach money can either be one that is like it's fear and selfishness and all of that.
• 3:28
  Nate: But but we don't want to do that because if we're doing that with our money, we're gonna instill that in our own children.
• 3:33
  Luis: That's right.
• 3:34
  Luis: Yeah, because training your kids to see themselves as stewards of the money that God has entrusted them with instead of being the owners, right?
• 3:44
  Luis: Because that's right.
• 3:45
  Luis: People love Jesus, but they're still being discipled by comfort, by convenience, by their lifestyle, um, by their possessions, by money.
• 3:54
  Nate: Yeah.
• 3:54
  Nate: So here's here's the aim of this episode.
• 3:56
  Nate: We want to help you move beyond a single conversation about tithing or some other word that feels super spiritual into just a full discipleship framework of stewardship.
• 4:08
  Nate: Yeah.
• 4:08
  Luis: Yeah.
• 4:08
  Luis: Because that's the automatic response, right?
• 4:11
  Luis: Right.
• 4:11
  Luis: When when when you start talking about money in church and money in God, tithe.
• 4:16
  Nate: 10% Let me give it.
• 4:17
  Nate: Pull up my calculator, so it's 10% to the penny.
• 4:20
  Nate: To the penny.
• 4:21
  Nate: To the penny.
• 4:22
  Nate: I I've knew a family that did that, and the husband would always like be telling his wife, like, you need to just round up.
• 4:29
  Nate: It's easier to write the check.
• 4:30
  Nate: This was back when you would write checks to give to your church.
• 4:32
  Nate: He's like, it's easier to just round up and we can balance our checkbook and all that.
• 4:35
  Nate: And she's like, nope, to the penny.
• 4:37
  Nate: To the penny.
• 4:37
  Nate: 10%.
• 4:38
  Nate: 10%.
• 4:38
  Nate: Anyway, they were a very generous couple, but it was that one tithing check.
• 4:43
  Nate: They had to get it 10% through the penny.
• 4:45
  Nate: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:45
  Nate: Anyway, people are funny about that.
• 4:47
  Nate: But but here what we're doing is we're training our kids to see themselves as stewards, not owners.
• 4:53
  Nate: So, Lewis, you know, just kind of paint this picture of of the moment we're in.
• 4:57
  Nate: We already kind of hinted at this a little bit, but what does this look like right now as far as you know, financial stewardship, at least here in America?
• 5:05
  Luis: Yeah, you know, because people feel the economic just crunch, right?
• 5:09
  Luis: Yeah.
• 5:09
  Luis: They feel the changes in their behavior.
• 5:12
  Luis: And the pressure, the pressure's real, right?
• 5:15
  Luis: So um the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices were up 2.7% over the 12 months ending November 2025.
• 5:26
  Luis: So 2.7 more than what they were paying the year before.
• 5:31
  Luis: Now, you might be listening and say, hey, that number is lower than what it was a couple of years ago, and and that might be true, but what you feel, what we're feeling, is cumulative, right?
• 5:42
  Luis: When you buy groceries, it still stings, right?
• 5:46
  Luis: When you pay your light bill, it still stings, and then that just drags your budget.
• 5:52
  Nate: Right.
• 5:52
  Nate: And it's not just prices, right?
• 5:54
  Nate: Um you've got debt is a huge thing, right?
• 5:57
  Nate: Household debt, and it's a discipleship issue.
• 5:59
  Nate: Um the the New York Fed reported total household debt um in quarter two, so that was what's that, March to June of 2025.
• 6:09
  Nate: Was $18.39 trillion.
• 6:11
  Nate: Wow.
• 6:13
  Nate: Um and I'm looking at that trying to look exactly whether that's total debt would include like mortgages or if it was just credit cards.
• 6:20
  Nate: Um no, because credit card balances uh totaled one point two one trillion dollars.
• 6:26
  Nate: So that's just credit cards.
• 6:27
  Nate: Like you think like you swipe your card at the store and you don't pay that off at the end of each month, it just rolls over and so it accumulates.
• 6:34
  Nate: That's $1.21 trillion.
• 6:37
  Nate: That's a Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
• 6:39
  Nate: That was that was in quarter two of 2025.
• 6:41
  Luis: Wow, that's incredible.
• 6:42
  Luis: And when you think about it, that's that's a lot of pressure, right?
• 6:45
  Luis: And pressure always reveals what has been discipling us.
• 6:49
  Luis: And it's like when you squeeze a sponge, right?
• 6:52
  Luis: You you you do not create what is in it, but you just reveal what's in it.
• 6:57
  Nate: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:57
  Nate: It just comes right out.
• 6:59
  Nate: Um and so under pressure, many families drift into one of two errors when it comes to finance, financial pressure, right?
• 7:07
  Nate: One is fear.
• 7:08
  Nate: Yeah.
• 7:08
  Nate: Right?
• 7:08
  Nate: Yeah.
• 7:09
  Nate: We're gonna we're gonna clinch, we're gonna hoard, we're gonna stop giving, we're gonna just uh, you know, hold on to it ourselves.
• 7:14
  Nate: Um and you know, that's that's living like God is not faithful.
• 7:19
  Luis: That's a good thing.
• 7:19
  Nate: And he's not gonna take care of you.
• 7:20
  Nate: Yep.
• 7:21
  Luis: And then the other uh one is escapism, right?
• 7:23
  Luis: This is where spending for comfort, right?
• 7:25
  Luis: You use Amazon like therapy.
• 7:27
  Luis: Yep.
• 7:28
  Luis: Um I saw a really funny meme, I guess is that what you would call it, right?
• 7:31
  Luis: A meme.
• 7:32
  Luis: Uh a real.
• 7:33
  Luis: A real, maybe.
• 7:34
  Luis: Was it a video?
• 7:34
  Luis: It was um it would be a still picture.
• 7:37
  Nate: Real would be a video.
• 7:39
  Nate: It was a video.
• 7:40
  Nate: It was I just made that up.
• 7:41
  Nate: But that might be true.
• 7:42
  Nate: It makes sense to me.
• 7:43
  Luis: So it was a video of like this woman standing, like looking out the door, and like the Amazon guy delivering like boxes to her like camera.
• 7:53
  Luis: I mean to her um like doorstep, and it's one of those like ring cameras.
• 7:56
  Luis: And it's like, uh at this point, I don't know, I have no idea what the Amazon guy is delivering.
• 8:03
  Luis: And so, you know, like it's using Amazon like therapy, using restaurants as relief, and then calling it normal.
• 8:11
  Nate: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:12
  Nate: And and so we kind of need to talk about this consumeristic Christian trend.
• 8:16
  Nate: Right.
• 8:16
  Nate: That's a good word.
• 8:17
  Nate: Uh a lot of believers, they're sincere believers, um, but their money uh is not telling a story that's shaped by scripture.
• 8:25
  Nate: Their money is telling a story that's shaped by culture.
• 8:29
  Nate: You know, and I I I grew up um conservative, you know, Christian background here in the South, and you know, uh they I would hear a lot of times some version of the sentiment that, you know, you can tell what are your true priorities by two things.
• 8:43
  Nate: Yeah.
• 8:43
  Nate: Your calendar and your checkbook.
• 8:45
  Nate: Yeah, it's very true.
• 8:45
  Nate: We don't have checkbooks anymore.
• 8:47
  Nate: I do actually.
• 8:48
  Nate: I have one.
• 8:48
  Nate: I know that's not surprising to a lot of people, but you know, your calendar, where you spend your time, and your checkbook, how you spend your money.
• 8:54
  Luis: Do you still write checks?
• 8:55
  Luis: Absolutely.
• 8:56
  Luis: Like a lot?
• 8:57
  Nate: Oh, yeah.
• 8:57
  Nate: Really?
• 8:57
  Nate: Yeah.
• 8:58
  Nate: We've got uh my kids take lessons one place and we write checks.
• 9:01
  Nate: And the teacher is like, you know, you can Venmo.
• 9:04
  Nate: And we're like, nah, we're writing checks.
• 9:06
  Luis: All right, good.
• 9:06
  Luis: Old school.
• 9:07
  Luis: And look, it it it also shows up in what we expect from God.
• 9:11
  Luis: Lifeway research reported that 76% of churchgoers believe that God wants them to prosper financially.
• 9:18
  Luis: And then 43% strongly agree with that same sentiment.
• 9:24
  Nate: Wow, yeah, that's that's massive.
• 9:25
  Nate: And we have to be honest, right?
• 9:27
  Nate: Um when that belief takes root, giving becomes transaction, right?
• 9:33
  Nate: You think that I'm giving so that I will get in the back.
• 9:37
  Luis: If I give, God owes me, right?
• 9:39
  Luis: Yeah, God will bless me.
• 9:40
  Luis: And that's not stewardship, that's that's bargaining.
• 9:43
  Luis: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:43
  Luis: Uh, it doesn't work that way.
• 9:45
  Luis: Nope.
• 9:45
  Luis: And then this also connects to the generosity trend that we see, right?
• 9:48
  Luis: So Giving USA reported that total charitable giving uh for 2024 was uh a little bit under $600 billion.
• 9:57
  Luis: That's a really good number.
• 9:58
  Luis: That's a huge number.
• 10:00
  Nate: And then they noted that when we remember the debt in 2025 was 1.21 trillion.
• 10:05
  Nate: So uh almost double that.
• 10:07
  Luis: Almost, yeah.
• 10:08
  Luis: And they noted that when you adjust that number for inflation, giving to religious causes has actually decreased slightly year over year.
• 10:18
  Luis: And so we have a moment where families feel the pressure, debt is high, and then even Christian giving is being squeezed, and that's exactly why discipleship at home matters.
• 10:31
  Nate: Yep, yep.
• 10:31
  Nate: So we've been talking a lot and throwing out different terms, so maybe we need to take a second and define our terms for a second.
• 10:36
  Nate: Okay.
• 10:37
  Nate: So when people hear money and faith and and things like that, they often think one word, and that is tithing.
• 10:44
  Nate: Yep.
• 10:44
  Nate: Right?
• 10:45
  Luis: And tithing matters, yep.
• 10:46
  Luis: Right.
• 10:46
  Luis: But tithing alone is not the whole picture, right?
• 10:51
  Luis: Because stewardship is bigger.
• 10:53
  Luis: And and we could have a whole conversation about tithing and what that means for for the church.
• 10:58
  Luis: Um but I don't think we have enough time for that.
• 11:00
  Luis: We do not try to get these in under like 30 minutes, right?
• 11:03
  Nate: That would be a a multi-sermon series or something.
• 11:05
  Nate: Uh we're not we're not going that way.
• 11:07
  Luis: Trevor Burrus, Jr.: So and so stewardship is bigger, right?
• 11:09
  Luis: Stewardship says God owns it all, and I get to manage it.
• 11:14
  Nate: Yep, that's right.
• 11:15
  Nate: Um you know, so Lewis, just really quick, give us the simplest definition you can for stewardship.
• 11:20
  Nate: Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Here's my two dollar definition.
• 11:22
  Nate: Two dollars.
• 11:22
  Nate: Stewardship is that I made you owe God twenty cents.
• 11:25
  Nate: Twenty cents, uh tithe.
• 11:28
  Nate: It's ten percent.
• 11:29
  Luis: Well played.
• 11:30
  Luis: Stewardship is faithfully managing God's resources for God's purposes.
• 11:35
  Nate: Yeah, that's good.
• 11:36
  Nate: And that's it, and that's it, right?
• 11:38
  Nate: Um that gives us three clear anchors, right?
• 11:41
  Nate: Um, that can hold the def this definition.
• 11:44
  Nate: Okay.
• 11:44
  Nate: So the first one is ownership, right?
• 11:47
  Nate: So according to your definition, who owns everything?
• 11:50
  Nate: God owns everything.
• 11:51
  Nate: There it is.
• 11:52
  Nate: Right.
• 11:52
  Nate: It's God.
• 11:52
  Nate: It is God's things.
• 11:54
  Nate: Um but then there's accountability, right?
• 11:57
  Nate: Accountability is uh an important part of that, right?
• 12:01
  Nate: Is because God has given us the resources to use for his purposes, right?
• 12:08
  Nate: According to your definition you just gave.
• 12:09
  Nate: Right.
• 12:10
  Nate: So we then have to give an account for how we managed what we were given.
• 12:14
  Nate: Mm-hmm.
• 12:14
  Nate: Yep.
• 12:15
  Luis: And we see that in the Bible, right?
• 12:17
  Luis: So Psalm 24, one says, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the whole the world and those who dwell wherein therein.
• 12:24
  Luis: So everything belongs to God.
• 12:26
  Luis: Yep.
• 12:27
  Luis: We're responsible for managing it, and then we will give an account for how we manage it.
• 12:35
  Nate: Right, right.
• 12:35
  Nate: And just I think of these different things here because um, you know, there's different parables that Jesus told.
• 12:41
  Nate: Um and that they each have their own different interpretation and they're not necessarily about money, right?
• 12:47
  Nate: You've got the the parable of the talents, um, and there's there's different versions of it that Jesus told to make different points, so not to get into the, you know, exposition of those passages, but the whole idea is you have a a master who owns the things and gives the money to his servants for a particular amount of time.
• 13:04
  Nate: Yep.
• 13:04
  Nate: And then he comes back and says, All right, what'd you do with this while I was away?
• 13:08
  Nate: Yep.
• 13:08
  Nate: Right.
• 13:08
  Nate: And those that did something and invested and earned more were rewarded, and those who squandered it or did nothing were punished.
• 13:16
  Nate: Absolutely.
• 13:16
  Nate: And so we can just take that principle into our lives today.
• 13:20
  Nate: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 13:20
  Luis: And then the third anchor, right, is is mission, right?
• 13:23
  Luis: The resources are entrusted to advance God's purposes, not our comforts or our ideas.
• 13:30
  Luis: Aaron Powell Yeah.
• 13:31
  Nate: And this really matters for kids because kids don't come to be wise stewards automatically, right?
• 13:36
  Nate: Yeah.
• 13:37
  Nate: They become whatever we train them to become, or whatever we allow the culture to train them to become.
• 13:44
  Luis: and so if you don't disciple your kids around money, then the culture's going to.
• 13:48
  Luis: Yep.
• 13:48
  Luis: That's exactly right.
• 13:49
  Luis: And then the culture has one message that is repeated over and over, you are what you buy, right?
• 13:56
  Luis: And you strive for a particular uh image that you want people to see or portray, and so you spend, spend, spend
• 14:05
  Nate: Yep, that's exactly right.
• 14:06
  Nate: And so, you know, I don't know, depending on how you handle uh things like an allowance or a stipend or commission or whatever you call the money that you give your kids.
• 14:16
  Nate: Um, it's this whole idea of like if we're just gonna give our kids this money and let them do whatever they want without instruction, yeah, you know, we're giving them a very powerful tool and then just letting them squander it, right?
• 14:29
  Nate: Money is not neutral um in its effect, right?
• 14:32
  Nate: It amplifies what's already in our heart.
• 14:35
  Nate: Yep.
• 14:36
  Nate: And so we need to we need to train them in that direction.
• 14:39
  Luis: And so when we talk about tithing, right, tithing asks the question, how much should I give?
• 14:43
  Luis: But stewardship is asking who owns this money and what is it for?
• 14:48
  Luis: And when you have that paradigm shift, it changes everything, right?
• 14:52
  Luis: Not not just giving, but spending and saving and debt and generosity and contentment.
• 14:59
  Nate: Yeah, that's exactly right.
• 15:00
  Nate: So before we get into uh a practical tool to kind of as a framework to help our kids understand how they can use money, let's let's answer uh three specific lies that kids might be picking up from the culture and and the truths we should replace those things with.
• 15:19
  Nate: Okay.
• 15:20
  Nate: So so what are these three lies we need to talk about?
• 15:22
  Luis: And so, parents, when you hear these, you're gonna be like, oh yeah, like you know these, especially if you're raising your children in a Christian home, right?
• 15:30
  Luis: Yep.
• 15:30
  Luis: Line number one is this more stuff equals more happiness.
• 15:34
  Luis: Uh line number two, my money is my money.
• 15:38
  Luis: And lie three is giving is what you do when you are rich.
• 15:44
  Luis: Wow.
• 15:44
  Luis: So those are the lies.
• 15:46
  Nate: Nate, what are the truths?
• 15:47
  Nate: Well, truths, okay.
• 15:48
  Nate: So if instead of more stuff equals more happiness, uh it's this whole idea of contentment, right?
• 15:55
  Nate: Jesus is better, right?
• 15:57
  Nate: Yeah.
• 15:58
  Nate: Jesus is better than stuff.
• 15:59
  Nate: In Matthew 6, it says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, right?
• 16:04
  Nate: Your your heart follows your treasure.
• 16:07
  Nate: Yep.
• 16:07
  Nate: And so if you are valuing the stuff, um consumerism, your heart's gonna be there there too.
• 16:14
  Luis: I should be on a bumper sticker.
• 16:16
  Nate: Jesus is better than stuff.
• 16:17
  Nate: Jesus is better than stuff.
• 16:19
  Nate: Maybe that would be our next uh swag giveaway.
• 16:22
  Nate: We've got our equip for impact sticker and then Jesus is better than Jesus is better than stuff.
• 16:28
  Nate: So what's what's the second trick?
• 16:30
  Nate: Okay, my money is my money uh is the lie.
• 16:33
  Nate: So the answer to that is God owns, we manage, right?
• 16:36
  Nate: Again, it's stewards.
• 16:38
  Nate: We are taking care of something that is not ours, right?
• 16:42
  Nate: Yeah, um, we are managing it for him.
• 16:44
  Nate: Okay, so that's number two.
• 16:46
  Nate: And then number three, giving is what you do when you're rich.
• 16:49
  Nate: And honestly, a lot of adults believe this, right?
• 16:51
  Nate: Yeah.
• 16:52
  Nate: Well, when I get rich, I used to teach sixth grade Bible here at our school, and I would talk to kids about what they want to be when they grow up and try and angle it from a biblical worldview.
• 17:02
  Nate: And I couldn't tell you how many, just off the top of my head, I would say at least 50% of the students in my class would say, Oh, I'm gonna be, you know, fill in high, you know, high performing job, you know, professional athlete, you know, rich doctor, whatever, so I can give to the church.
• 17:20
  Nate: Yeah.
• 17:21
  Nate: And it was like that, it was a you know, cause and effect.
• 17:24
  Nate: I get rich, then I'll give.
• 17:26
  Nate: Yeah.
• 17:26
  Nate: And and adults believe that too, right?
• 17:28
  Nate: So the truth is generosity is obedience.
• 17:31
  Nate: It's not a luxury, right?
• 17:33
  Nate: Faithfulness is not reserved for high earners.
• 17:37
  Nate: So we just need to um, you know, replace these lies with the the truth that that is really found in God's word.
• 17:46
  Luis: And you have to be intentional, right?
• 17:47
  Luis: Because you can't just say be generous, right?
• 17:49
  Luis: You have to build generosity into a rhythm of your family and you have to connect it to the Great Commission because if kids think money is for comfort only, then they will see giving as as loss.
• 18:02
  Luis: But if they see money as a tool for mission, then they're gonna see giving as purpose.
• 18:08
  Nate: Yeah, that's right.
• 18:09
  Nate: And so w we promised a little framework here.
• 18:11
  Nate: So uh we're gonna give you a what we call the four bucket framework.
• 18:16
  Nate: You may have heard the three bucket um framework, but we'll throw in a fourth here as well.
• 18:21
  Nate: So, Lewis, walk us through these four what are the four buckets that we can teach our our children about?
• 18:28
  Luis: So the four buckets are give, save, spend, and oh.
• 18:33
  Luis: Uh and let's talk about give, right?
• 18:35
  Luis: So the first bucket.
• 18:37
  Luis: Giving is the first bucket because it puts God first in the child's mind.
• 18:42
  Luis: Uh not as a superstition, not as a transaction, but but as worship and mission.
• 18:47
  Luis: And so you might be wondering, what does this look like for different ages?
• 18:51
  Luis: Right.
• 18:52
  Nate: Because your your elementary student, especially a lower elementary student, is gonna be giving very differently than your high schooler who's got a job pulling a W-2, you know, and doing all of those things.
• 19:04
  Nate: So what does it look like for an elementary school?
• 19:06
  Nate: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
• 19:06
  Nate: Elementary, I think it's very simple.
• 19:07
  Nate: Like even with this whole framework, you can literally have, you know, three jars.
• 19:12
  Nate: Yeah.
• 19:13
  Nate: You know, a give, save, spend.
• 19:15
  Nate: Yeah.
• 19:15
  Nate: Um at elementary school.
• 19:17
  Nate: We're gonna talk later about the fourth, the O, and hopefully that doesn't exist.
• 19:20
  Nate: But we'll talk to them in a you know, so we're gonna have very simple, visible, a jar, and when they get their allowance or you know, commission for doing chores, that shout out to Dave Ramsey for that one.
• 19:31
  Nate: You know, whatever you're doing, you know, you very simply, you know, you put money in that first jar, and then on Sunday, you just bring it and put it in the offering plate or the off the giving box or or whatever, something like that.
• 19:44
  Luis: And and maybe let them place it right in the offering plate, right?
• 19:47
  Luis: Or if you give digitally, right, maybe they're the ones that are hitting the submit or you're walking them through that.
• 19:53
  Luis: So uh if you've got middle schoolers or high school students, right, so teach them categories, right?
• 19:59
  Luis: Uh Church missions mercy, uh, help them see that giving has targets, right?
• 20:04
  Luis: So we give to our church, we also give to support missionaries, uh, we also give to support specific.
• 20:09
  Luis: Um, and then maybe as your kids get older, so in high school, maybe you're you're inviting them into seeing real numbers, maybe not the full family budget, right?
• 20:18
  Luis: Because you may not want to show them that, but you can help them be a part of the decision making.
• 20:23
  Luis: So, like in our home, my daughter started working this summer, she started making her own money, and so pulling a W2.
• 20:29
  Luis: Yep.
• 20:29
  Luis: And so we started talking about, okay, so so we need to take a part of your money, and you can have this much percentage to spend, you can have this much percentage to save, and then a percentage of it that you're gonna be giving away.
• 20:40
  Luis: And and that was that was an interesting, unique conversation for the bigger.
• 20:43
  Nate: Yeah, and then I love that where they've got the targets because you know, you don't have to give everything in your give bucket to the church.
• 20:50
  Nate: Yep.
• 20:50
  Nate: You should give some.
• 20:51
  Nate: Yep.
• 20:52
  Nate: Um, I would say even predominantly to your church.
• 20:55
  Nate: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:55
  Nate: Um but there are things that come up randomly.
• 20:57
  Nate: Like I know in our family budget, we even create it, we just call it random giving.
• 21:02
  Nate: Because there's those random times, you know, somebody hits you up and says, Hey, we're doing this fundraiser for something, something, something.
• 21:09
  Nate: And it's just like, okay, well, we've got this money budget, you know, it's a bucket, and so we know we can give, you know.
• 21:15
  Nate: And if there's nothing left because we've already given it all, then you know, that helps you decide who, you know, what random things come up, opportunities.
• 21:25
  Nate: But if you don't plan for it, then you're like, you know, I've got a pinch here, pinch there.
• 21:29
  Nate: You you pre-plan to be able to give.
• 21:32
  Luis: That's really good.
• 21:32
  Luis: Because you're touching on a key point here, right?
• 21:35
  Luis: You're not just teaching a habit, but you're teaching them a worldview, right?
• 21:39
  Luis: Um now let's talk about the second bucket, right?
• 21:41
  Luis: So the second bucket is save, right?
• 21:44
  Luis: Uh now some families uh I know avoid this spiritually because to them saving means that that you don't trust God.
• 21:53
  Luis: But but saving is often wisdom.
• 21:56
  Luis: It creates margin, it reduces panic, it gives you flexibility to be generous, kind of like what you were just talking about, right?
• 22:02
  Luis: That you know, you s you set money aside for you you save money aside for random giving, and it helps you to be generous when needs arise.
• 22:12
  Luis: So Nate, what what do kids need to learn here?
• 22:15
  Nate: I think the biggest thing is some of that delayed gratification.
• 22:19
  Nate: Um it's planning, you know.
• 22:21
  Nate: They're probably not, especially if they're elementary, middle school, and they're just getting that allowance from you or whatever you call it, and they can't buy that nice fancy Lego set all at once.
• 22:32
  Nate: And so they need to have a plan, they need to have a goal, and they're putting off that gratification so they're not just immediately buying something right away.
• 22:39
  Nate: Um and they they build that muscle of I'm gonna work, I'm gonna do my chores, I'm gonna do whatever, I'm gonna save this money so that then I can get something better.
• 22:50
  Nate: That's good.
• 22:51
  Nate: Instead of spending it all at the dollar store with a bunch of junk that's gonna be thrown away very soon.
• 22:56
  Nate: Monster, Red Bull, and candy.
• 22:58
  Nate: Sure.
• 22:59
  Nate: Or food.
• 23:00
  Nate: Yes.
• 23:00
  Nate: In the talking cafeteria.
• 23:01
  Nate: Yeah.
• 23:02
  Nate: I don't even understand Takis.
• 23:04
  Nate: Have you had Takis?
• 23:05
  Nate: I do.
• 23:05
  Nate: I like them.
• 23:06
  Nate: You like Takis?
• 23:07
  Luis: Uh I like them, but I have to be careful with eating them because like now as I've gotten older, they don't they're not they're they're they're not the same.
• 23:13
  Luis: Because you are now over 40.
• 23:15
  Nate: I am that so yeah.
• 23:16
  Nate: Actually, I'm a year older and wiser since the last one the last time we talked.
• 23:20
  Nate: Wow.
• 23:20
  Nate: Look at that.
• 23:21
  Nate: Yep.
• 23:21
  Nate: Look at that.
• 23:22
  Nate: Yep.
• 23:22
  Nate: Uh anyway, okay, so that's your second one.
• 23:24
  Nate: So we've got give, we've got save, right?
• 23:26
  Nate: It's that muscle, saving, planning, putting things off for a better yes.
• 23:31
  Nate: What's our third bucket?
• 23:33
  Luis: So now we're gonna talk about s the spin bucket, right?
• 23:35
  Luis: And and spending is not sinful, but but your spending must be disciplined.
• 23:40
  Luis: Your spending is a way for your kids to see what's important to you, right?
• 23:46
  Luis: You said earlier, right?
• 23:48
  Luis: Your calendar and your checkbook, yep, uh, or your debit card now, right?
• 23:51
  Luis: And so spending is, I mean, you could say spending is a sermon that your kids watch, right?
• 23:57
  Luis: So you know, if you're telling them, hey, these things are important to our family, but you're not spending money on that, then then they're gonna see it because they're gonna see that you're spending money on other things that maybe aren't advancing the kingdom.
• 24:10
  Nate: Yep.
• 24:10
  Nate: Yeah.
• 24:10
  Nate: And even just even planning that spending, right?
• 24:13
  Nate: Um, because your kids do watch you, you know.
• 24:16
  Nate: Like if they're with you in the grocery store and they're like, hey, can we get that?
• 24:19
  Nate: Yep.
• 24:19
  Nate: And you know, I heard from a family um that their kids had been asking, you know, can we get that, whatever it was in the store?
• 24:26
  Nate: Um, and the the parents were always saying, No, it's not on the list, it's not on the list, they were sticking to their list.
• 24:31
  Nate: Yeah.
• 24:31
  Nate: Going to the grocery store.
• 24:32
  Nate: So then the kids saw the list sitting on the counter and they wrote what they wanted on the list.
• 24:36
  Nate: They added to the list.
• 24:37
  Nate: So then it was like, it's not on the list.
• 24:38
  Nate: Well, actually it is, you know.
• 24:40
  Nate: Um but if you're always just splurging on that thing, you know, that tells a story.
• 24:44
  Nate: Yeah.
• 24:44
  Nate: But but you do.
• 24:45
  Nate: You also need to teach like food costs money.
• 24:48
  Nate: You know, shoes cost money.
• 24:50
  Nate: Um and so we are gonna spend because we need those things, but we're not just gonna spend frivolously.
• 24:57
  Luis: Yeah, um and you can ask questions, right?
• 24:59
  Luis: Do I need it?
• 25:00
  Luis: Do I want it?
• 25:01
  Luis: Is it wise?
• 25:02
  Luis: Does this fit the values of our family?
• 25:04
  Luis: Does it crowd out generosity?
• 25:06
  Luis: And one thing that we've done before is we've actually physically done this with our girls when they're like, can can we get this?
• 25:12
  Luis: And we're like, Yes, but we have to put this back.
• 25:15
  Luis: Right?
• 25:16
  Luis: So if you want this thing that's ten dollars, then we have to put this other thing or these two things away because this one's five and this one's five, and that's gonna take the place of these two things.
• 25:27
  Luis: And we've had our kids before be like, um No, well, you know, like like we won't get that because we would rather have these two things.
• 25:34
  Nate: Yeah.
• 25:35
  Nate: Watching kids spend their money when it's fully up to them.
• 25:38
  Nate: Yeah, it's that's fun.
• 25:40
  Nate: It is, but also funny.
• 25:42
  Nate: Yeah, you know, because when they uh really feel it, you know, they're walking in with those, you know, dollar bills and they're gonna like actually hand it over for the thing that they want.
• 25:50
  Nate: Yeah.
• 25:51
  Nate: Like you see them like do a double take of like, do I really want to give this over?
• 25:55
  Nate: And you just let them see it and feel it themselves.
• 25:58
  Nate: Yeah.
• 25:58
  Nate: Um and it's good for them to see you, you know, think through those things.
• 26:02
  Nate: Which then that brings us to the fourth, right?
• 26:05
  Nate: We talked about the fourth bucket, and that's oh.
• 26:07
  Nate: Oh.
• 26:07
  Nate: Okay.
• 26:08
  Nate: So what is this bucket?
• 26:09
  Luis: We're talking about debt, right, right?
• 26:11
  Luis: You know, so so so really we don't want this bucket to have anything in it.
• 26:15
  Luis: Um and and and this is important right now because a lot of families treat debt like normal life, right?
• 26:23
  Luis: But but debt isn't neutral.
• 26:26
  Luis: Uh debt can enslave future freedom.
• 26:28
  Luis: In fact, Nate, what does the Bible say about debt and the lender and the borrower?
• 26:34
  Nate: The borrower is slave to the lender.
• 26:36
  Luis: Yeah, yeah.
• 26:36
  Luis: And so the numbers that we showed earlier that what that we talked about earlier, right?
• 26:40
  Luis: Household debt is at 18.39 trillion, credit card debt balances are uh 1.21 trillion.
• 26:46
  Luis: This is back in you know in March of June, March through June of last year, right?
• 26:51
  Luis: And so and so our kids are gonna see debt.
• 26:55
  Luis: I mean, I uh we're not naive to think that the families that we're talking to that that we're sharing this with don't carry any debt.
• 27:02
  Luis: I mean, we probably all have a mortgage, right?
• 27:04
  Luis: Which is which is a type of debt.
• 27:06
  Luis: And so our kids need to see early that when you borrow, when you take on debt, you're spending tomorrow's money today.
• 27:15
  Nate: Yeah.
• 27:15
  Nate: And I think that's the biggest thing is, you know, and I know we've mentioned Dave Ramsey at least in passing a couple of times.
• 27:20
  Nate: And of course, he's like a big no-no on any any type whatsoever.
• 27:25
  Nate: And um, you know, especially with kids, like you know, you don't want them to learn that they can do that.
• 27:32
  Nate: Um, and that's just wise, you know.
• 27:34
  Nate: It's not necessary spending.
• 27:36
  Nate: And so they want to buy that Lego set and they're like, oh, well, I've got my allowances due at the end of the week, and I'll just pay you back then.
• 27:42
  Nate: It's like no.
• 27:43
  Nate: Yeah.
• 27:43
  Nate: You know, he he Dave Ramsey would go so far as to say, you don't have it in your pocket, the answer's no.
• 27:48
  Nate: It's like, oh, but it's at home.
• 27:49
  Nate: Like we've done that before, where the kids are like, I've got it at home, we'll pay you when I get back home.
• 27:53
  Nate: Yeah.
• 27:53
  Nate: Yeah.
• 27:54
  Nate: I'm I'm not gonna go that far.
• 27:55
  Nate: If you want to do that as a parent, that's on you.
• 27:57
  Nate: But but you know, that's a good lesson for the kids, is that like you can't spend it and then wait till later or you know, once it comes in, like, here's your allowance.
• 28:07
  Nate: Oh, nope, this is mine.
• 28:08
  Nate: You know, those types of lessons they need to learn.
• 28:10
  Nate: Absolutely.
• 28:10
  Nate: Um and and it's best for them to learn it in a safe place with you instead of uh, you know, waiting till later and then learning it in a harder place when they've got a huge credit card balance.
• 28:22
  Luis: Aaron Powell Because debt is gonna limit your ability to obey quickly, right?
• 28:25
  Luis: Because it can choke your generosity, it can trap you into choices that you wouldn't make otherwise.
• 28:31
  Luis: And it's I've already spent that money, so I can't give it a money.
• 28:35
  Nate: Yeah.
• 28:35
  Nate: So as we come to the end of this, right?
• 28:37
  Nate: We talked about you know the lies, we've talked about some principles, we we've given that four bucket framework.
• 28:42
  Nate: But Lewis, as we we close this out, what encouragement would you give uh to the parents listening to this?
• 28:48
  Luis: Well, your kids will be discipled about money.
• 28:51
  Luis: Uh that's that's that's not optional.
• 28:53
  Luis: The only question, like with all of this, is who does the discipling, right?
• 28:57
  Luis: If if the culture is leading them, then your kids are gonna learn to consume first.
• 29:01
  Luis: They're gonna learn to give if there's anything left, and they're gonna measure life by by comfort.
• 29:06
  Luis: But but if you are leading, if the home is leading, then hopefully your kids are learning a kingdom mindset when it comes to money.
• 29:14
  Luis: They they're gonna learn that God owns it all, that we just manage it.
• 29:18
  Luis: They're gonna learn that every dollar becomes a tool for the Great Commission.
• 29:22
  Luis: And so here's my encouragement to you, right?
• 29:24
  Luis: What is what is one thing that you can do this week to help your family navigate their finances, for you to teach your children to disciple them when it comes to money.
• 29:36
  Luis: So start small, stay consistent, and and watch what God does in your home over time.
• 29:43
  Nate: That's great.
• 29:43
  Nate: So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and got some practical takeaways.
• 29:48
  Nate: Thank you all for listening to Equipped for Impact and happy new year to all of our listeners out there.
• 29:53
  Nate: If this episode encouraged you, please share it with another parent who could use this resource.
• 29:58
  Nate: We love it when people share this episodes out, and just more people can get these tools and be discipling their children.
• 30:06
  Nate: And please subscribe so you don't miss our next episode.
• 30:10
  Nate: But until then, keep leading the next generation to stand firm in their faith and influence the world for Christ.