When I first felt a quiet nudge to write about financial wellness, my immediate instinct was to turn and walk the other way.
I felt completely unqualified. I am not an accountant, a Wall Street trader, or an independently wealthy estate manager. If I am being completely honest, I carry my own scars from the school of financial hard knocks: a history of mismanaged debt, seasons of agonising over past-due notices, and giving much more than I had to meet people’s needs until it got me into debts.
For years, I bought into the subtle lie that because I wasn’t standing at the summit of financial perfection, I had no business talking about money. But God rarely calls people from pedestals; He speaks through us right in the middle of the arena. Biblical wholeness does not require us to fake total mastery before we dare to pursue truth.
Financial wellness isn’t reserved for the wealthy or financially accomplished. It begins the moment we stop hiding our financial realities in the dark and start inviting the wisdom of God into our daily decisions.
After all, true wellness extends beyond eating right, exercising, or caring for mental health. It encompasses how we manage our resources, reduce financial stress, nurture healthy relationships, and build long-term stability for our families.
Thankfully, the bible gives applicable instructions about having multiple investments, saving, giving generously, and most financial principles.
The Financial Conversations Every Young Couple Needs to Have
Whenever I sit down with engaged or newly married couples, I find myself returning to three core pieces of advice. These topics form the foundational bedrock upon which a peaceful and healthy home is built:
- Protecting Marital Intimacy as a Safe Harbour: Intimacy is often the first thing sacrificed when financial tension rises, yet it is the very connection that helps couples navigate difficult seasons together. Emotional closeness, affection, and mutual support are essential to your shared well-being.
- Aggressive Financial Planning Before Children Arrive: Babies bring immense joy, but they also introduce new financial responsibilities. Establishing a realistic household budget, building savings, and planning for childcare and education before sleepless nights arrive will prevent survival-mode panic.
- Elevating Money from Late-Night Arguments to a Shared Strategy: Few things create as much tension in marriage as conflicting views on spending, saving, and debt.
Couples often assume relational friction stems from communication styles or personality differences, but when you peel back the layers, money is often part of the picture.
One partner may view savings as emotional security, while the other sees spending as a celebration of life. One grew up in scarcity and clings to every penny; the other grew up in abundance and sees money as a renewable resource. When these unexamined financial worldviews collide, conflict becomes inevitable.
the one who holds on to every penny is the one who struggles to save and invest because they get security from seeing money in their account. Other times the one who sees emotional security as money may help people so much that they lose track of their finances as they try to solve everyone’s problem.
Financial issues can run deep and it’s not always a ‘one size fits all’ stereotypical conclusion about the one who is prone to save or spend more. The big question is, where does your financial habit and belief stem from? From trust in God’s providence, abundance, and grace in time of little or from fear, control, and pride?
Making financial alignment a priority means taking money out of the shadows. It means abolishing the midnight sleepless nights or where someone notices an unexpected bank transaction and starts an interrogation while both partners are exhausted.
Instead, schedule a recurring, daylight money date. Sit down with open notebooks, and review your numbers together without accusation. I often advise people not to vent to who they should share with. Do you find yourself venting and complaining whenever financial conversations come up, or do you intentionally create time and space to work towards financial wellness, just as you make time to exercise and stay physically fit?
Finances impact your emotional, physical, social, and spiritual wellbeing. They are connected to almost every aspect of life. Perhaps that’s why the Bible says, “Money answers all things.” I share more context on this scripture in the Financial Wellness chapter of The ABCs of Wellness.
Oneness in marriage is not just emotional, physical, or spiritual—it is also economic. When couples learn to manage money together, they reduce unnecessary stress and create a healthier environment for their family to thrive.
Keeping Money in Its Rightful Place
So, how do we appreciate the importance of money without becoming consumed by it?
There is a striking verse in Ecclesiastes that often catches readers off guard:
“A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money answers everything” (Ecclesiastes 10:19, NIV).
At first glance, that might sound cynical—like something painted on a high-rise finance wall. But King Solomon was not promoting greed or suggesting that we should make a god out of money. That would clearly be idolatry.
Yet, some people may unknowingly give money that kind of place in their lives. For instance, those who can only feel happy when they have money, or couples who seem happy only on payday, may need to examine their relationship with money.
Solomon was simply acknowledging the practical realities of daily life on earth.
Money is neither our ultimate source nor our savior, but sound financial stewardship can quietly remove an extraordinary amount of friction and health issues from our lives.
Consider how deeply money touches nearly every facet of our everyday experience:
- Your Environment: The neighborhood you live in, the safety of your surroundings, and the comfort of your living conditions.
- Your Family’s Legacy: The educational opportunities, healthcare, and practical tools you can provide for your children.
- Your Purpose & Generosity: Your capacity to support a cause, help a family in crisis, or give freely without constant fear of your card declining.
- Your Peace of Mind: The ability to sleep soundly at night without running anxious mental calculations over bills, school fees, or mortgage payments.
When we handle money poorly, financial anxiety consumes our thoughts and energy, leaving little room for spiritual growth, creative work, present parenting, or fulfilling our career, business and ministry purposes.
The ongoing stress of financial challenges can affect our sleep, emotional stability, relationship well-being and physical health. This is precisely why financial wellness deserves a prominent seat at the wellness table.
When stewarded with discipline and wisdom, money stops being a harsh master and becomes what it was meant to be: a tool that facilitates peace, stability, and generosity.
Breaking the Cycle of Financial Secrecy
The idea that faith and finances shouldn’t mix is one of the most damaging misconceptions in modern communities.
We readily discuss prayer, forgiveness, and personal growth, but the moment debt, spending habits, or money struggles come up, spiritual defensive walls immediately shoot up. Unless money is being spoken about from a more positive prosperity perspective people shut down. However, couples wallow in debts and the everyday realities of paying bills and making life changing decisions
Jesus spoke extensively about possessions because He understood how deeply our financial choices reveal the posture of our hearts. He even emphasised how you can not serve God and mammon which subliminally puts money (a thing) in an unconventional state of being compared with an Almighty God.
Our relationship with money directly reflects our attitudes toward trust, contentment, security, and responsibility in God.
If you are currently lying awake at night running endless calculations in your head, know this: you are not defined by past financial mistakes. You can start building a healthier relationship with your finances today.
Real transformation, however, requires moving beyond good intentions to practical steps:
- Total Financial Honesty: Print out your statements, examine your true expenses, and look at the full balance of your debt. Face the exact numbers—anxiety loses much of its power when brought into the light.
- Unified Action Over Ego: Married couples should have open conversations about spending expectations and financial goals. Commit to operating as a team with a shared vision.
- The Discipline of Boundaries: Create a spending plan that serves your future rather than impulse decisions. Focus on building savings, managing debt, and distinguishing between genuine needs and temporary desires.
Financial discipline isn’t about depriving yourself—it is about making intentional choices that protect your long-term peace of mind.
Why Financial Wellness Is Essential to Wholistic Living in Marriage
Who you marry is one of the most important and defining decisions of the rest of your life. My mother often says, “To know how lucky a woman is, look at the man she married.” Beyond luck however, marriage is a blessing from God. It should foster wellness and longevity, not pain, betrayal, and stress brought about by poor financial education and stewardship.
Financial peace isn’t determined by the size of your bank account; it is built on the quality of your stewardship.
Our understanding of wellness must expand beyond physical health to encompass our mental, emotional, relational, and financial well-being. These areas are deeply interconnected, and neglect in one inevitably impacts the rest.
When we align our money with biblical wisdom, we do far more than balance a budget. We lower daily stress, strengthen our relationships, safeguard our health, and free up energy to focus on what truly matters.
I explore this connection more in a dedicated Financial Wellness chapter of my book, The ABCs of Wellness Through Biblical Wisdom. Get your copy through Amazon or the relevant link for your region:
