The Case For Frugality In The Christian Life

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, `Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

(Prov 30:8)

The Book of Proverbs speaks of the many "traps" the disciple is to be on guard against. Traps against adulterous women (Prov 7); fear of men (Prov 29:25); laziness and deceit (Prov 26). Etc.

The wisdom of Solomon is in the order of things. Of course his father David, and he himself, was entrusted with kingdoms and riches, yet he writes, "give me neither poverty nor riches." Of course this squares with the example of the storing up (and rotting) of the manna in the wilderness in Exodus, and our Lord's words in the Our Father to "give us this day our daily bread." Our Lord gives us warning in the parable of the Rich Fool not to store up to much so that we can just "eat, drink, and be merry" lest we be caught of guard at the Judgment (Lk 12:19).

This is very much the attitude in the secular financial blogs I read--to work your tail off and make bank early, let compound interest and investments build momentum, retire at 40, and live the good life in travel and leisure, often at the expense of the decision not to have oh-so-expensive children.

Their strategies are often good, but for Christians we have a different mindset. All we have is a gift to be used and given back to God for His glory and the benefit of our brothers and sisters in need. That doesn't mean we "can't have nice things," but sometimes we take liberties with this to unwittingly 'entrap' ourselves with lifestyle inflation that we find can get sometimes put us in a pickle later on.

What do I mean? Well, often our difficulties in finances comes down to the discrimination between wants and needs. We also need to balance our faith in Divine Providence with prudential stewardship and planning for unforeseen events, retirement, giving, etc. We are still expected to manage our finances, but in light of the Gospel. For the family, this will look different than a religious, who like St. Martin de Porres or St. Francis, may have more liberties to give away everything he has to the poor to follow Christ. 

This is not as much a theological post, but a nuts and bolts primer on the sometimes touchy subject of finances in the Christian life. It's also just my personal perspective, what has worked for us and may not apply to everyone, but one may find some useful bits here and there on the how and why of frugality in the Christian life. 

1. True freedom is found in Christ. But prudent management of finances also holds a degree of freedom. Money is not "an interesting luxury, nothing more, " as Che Guevera once said (truly woke!). It is practically essential to our livelihood, and few can live without it. But since it is not money itself, but the love of money which is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10), we can regard it like the internet--a tool of neutrality, to be used for good or conversely, selfish purposes. 

My dad used to say, "Money means options." There is some truth in this, as long as you are not ruled by it. We all know the psychological studies of "choice paralysis" that have been done in supermarkets--sometimes too many choices, too many options, inhibits and paralyzes our faculties; limit choices to a few and it becomes easier. And, of course, as the Notorious B.I.G. said, "Mo Money, Mo Problems." Again, I think this goes back to the sensibilities of Solomon, "give me neither riches nor poverty." We neither want to forget our reliance on Providence, nor compromise our morals due to destitution.

2. Freedom in finances can free you up to more charity, more children, and more peace of mind. I have spoken to friends, and it was our story as well, that dual income/daycare is a kind of trap--most people realize daycare is not worth it after 3 kids, so people will unconsciously panic at having more when that's in the equation. Not to mention if you choose private school, you internally multiply it by how many kids and you get a little more...closed off to welcoming life. 

3. Hard work is a reward in it's own right. What happens when you sit around all day, not working, living a life of leisure? You get soft. You get spoiled. You get isolated. There is solidarity in work, and reward in labor. It feels good to put a hard day's work in, either with the body or the mind, so we are compensated not just monetarily, but with the satisfaction of contributing, producing, and being pushed a little beyond just eating, drinking, and being merry. Leisure is more appreciated, because it is partaken in in the shade provided by work. I have worked since I was twelve years old, and though none of my jobs were particularly high paying, I gained a lot of satisfaction in delivering newspapers, testing welds in a propane factory, editing blueprints for an architect, waiting table and washing dishes, working as a bike courier, a teacher, a swimming pool cleaner, and probably twenty other jobs I can't recall now. Work gives us perspective, and is central to a man's identity and sense of self. 

4. Living on one income as a family and budgeting accordingly is an admirable and necessary goal. This is an important one. It requires a good hard look at one's finances, budget, assessment of needs versus wants, and everyone being on board. It provides a buffer, ironically, against unforeseen circumstances more so than when both spouses are working. Even if both are, budgeting on one income can lead to a healthier emergency fund and frees one from other expenses and 'convenience buying,' which equates to less stress, which is healthier for a marriage and for one's health, and less financial precariousness. 

Think it can't be done, especially with a large family? Check out this Catholic family of 15 doing just that. 

5. Adjusting one's tastes and habits to acclimate to a lower threshold of expectation leads to greater enjoyment of the "little things." Have you ever wondered why so many superstars and wealthy tycoons are so unhappy? After a while, it just becomes a matter of 'zeros' (ie, the difference between $100,000,000 and $1,000,000,000) and you lose perspective on the value of money. I heard once some studies done was that happiness does not increase after a certain salary; a kind of 'sweet spot' for meeting needs and wants after which point the contentment factor levels off. 

Personally, I do not gain any enjoyment out of 'entertainment' that is marketed to me (ie, things like Disney World, resorts, etc). I don't like 'manufactured fun.' Over the years I have learned to tune out what I should be spending my money on into what I want to spend my money on. And I found that it doesn't take much, often. A trip to get ice cream for the kids can be as big a sense of enjoyment as a trip to the waterpark for kids that have been more or less trained in this way. Camping, a trip to the beach, or a hike in a local park can be as enjoyable an outing as something more commercialized that might cost ten times as much. 

The rich don't have this luxury (ironic use of term). There comes with wealth a certain expectation, and the rich who are attuned to it know that 'everyone is out to get something from you.' Of course much of the arts, culture, etc is financed by the rich, so they serve their place in society, especially for artists, laborers, etc., who would not have work were it not for the financers.  But there is sometimes, I suspect, an unhappiness and a desire to go back to the simpler days before they came into wealth when they could appreciate these little things that cost little to no money. Happiness is not dependent on money--probably one of the biggest lies we have been fed in our consumer culture. Which brings me to my next point.

6. Marketing will employ every means available, including psychology, to part your money from you. It is relentless, and you have to be attuned to it. We are trained to think we can not have a good time without buying, financing, or traveling to x place. We're subtlly led to believe that we love our kids more if we buy them nice things and shower them with gifts at Christmas, and that if we don't we are depriving them. It's all. A. Lie. When you are separated from your money, it cannot work for you, and a dollar spent today may be five dollars less you have a few years from now due to lost opportunity cost. 

7. Buy used cars. Sensible millionaires employ this, because they know that cars depreciate as soon as you drive them off the lot; let someone else take the hit. Don't finance. You also save on insurance premiums, because when you finance you don't have the option to go liability (with high coverage), but need to add comp and collision as well. Plus you don't have to worry as much if it gets dinged or nicked in the parking lot. Let's face it, if you have kids, that 'new car smell' will wear off pretty quick anyway. They only come to pillage and destroy!

8. Give. Ten percent if you can, less if you can't, more if you can. Everything we have is God's. Support your parish, support your brothers and sisters in need. No one says you have to donate to established charities (often with high overhead). We have organically written mortgage checks, electric bills, etc, for Catholic families we knew in need with money set aside for this purpose for families that may have had trouble getting assistance through more regulatory channels. Remember, everything you give, God gives back one hundred fold. Worry less about who is 'deserving' and just give it away like Zacchaeus (be prudent, of course). You'd may be surprised the blessings of a generous heart and a cheerful giver incurs in the spiritual economy.

9. Save (but don't make money an idol). You can't spend or give money you don't have. Learn to invest, and there are options for moral investments as well should that be a concern. Passive, low-cost index funds are a good option. Use a compound interest calculator to teach your kids about the magic power (it's just math!) of compounding and the importance of saving early. I told my kids as soon as they get their first job, in order to incentivize saving, that I would open up a Roth IRA in their name and if they max it out, I will give them twice what they invest, in addition to the money put away. 

10. Money is not an "interesting luxury," but a tool like all things to be used for good. Use it well. Give God control over your finances. Learn, watch YouTube videos, talk to other frugal people. Be on the same page with your spouse, and don't make money or finances a taboo topic. Cut out the emotionalism (this can be very hard for many people). Plan for worst case scenarios, but don't become obsessed by them. Cultivate generosity early, so that your kids can see what it looks like, and for the benefit of spiritual reward. Learn the difference between wants and needs. The things of the world are temporal. Marketers are relentless. Where your heart is, there your treasure will be. If you are given much, must will be expected. But the more you have, the more you can bless others.  Invest in relationships and "human capital." Who knows--at some point you may be the one who needs help!