Catching Up with Elliott and Andrea Johnson On Honoring God Through Your Finances and Finding Financial Peace

This month’s episode kicks off with Elliott and Andrea Johnson sharing their journey to financial peace and honoring God with their finances in their marriage. Elliott has been a coach for the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace course for 6 years and was officially certified in August of 2019.  Now he does it as a practice and is starting a financial peace podcast which you can follow @elliott_financialcoaching or schedule a consult with him regarding anything discussed in this month’s episode — schedule here.

we couldn’t buy groceries

In the first year of their marriage Elliott shares it was when Andrea, his wife, came to him saying they needed groceries and they had nothing in the checking account or savings that he realized something had to change. 
“It really broke me and I realized I really had no idea how to honor God with my finances. Because I didn’t know where to turn I began a process of prayer.” — Elliott. Something they weren’t doing and something 78% of the couples they coach and work with aren’t doing is a consistent budget. 

“It’s really hard to stay on task and stay on mission if you don’t know what the task and mission is.”

As Elliott was driving one day, he heard a man on the radio say, “The only way to know financial peace is to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus.” - Elliott

This was an answer to prayer. 

God began to show them through the Scripture His ways of managing the money He has given. 

“We are a manager of what God entrusts to us.” — Elliott

budgets

They’re saying once they set that budget, it empowered them to spend. A lot of people can feel it’s restricting but the truth is when they come together in agreement that this much money is going to “xyz” it helps a lot.

11:30 It takes time to work up to creating a budget and it takes time and grace.  They give couples 90 days to start and it’s okay if you mess up.  It’ll take 3 months to get the framework and foundation of your budget. 

peace and cutting up credit cards

16:50 the feeling of peace and freedom that came from cutting up their credit cards and not owing a single thing to a single lender.

tithing

18:00 we talk about tithing and offering. Tithing is biblical principle, not a marriage principle. 

21:00 thoughts on separate bank accounts in marriage.

“When you get married everything is one.  God says to be fruitful and multiply, 1x1 is 1.”

25:00 talking about having a budget meeting committee together and seeing where you can and cannot spend. “I had a pronoun issue, when I would say “I go to work and this is my account”.  It wasn’t just me myself and I. That wasn’t it.  God really had to correct me, it’s “us, we, ours, it’s together.” 

36:00 quick overview of how to even create a budget. You start with a quick start budget that has different categories and list of your debt and start plugging in numbers.

“You have to give every dollar a name, every dollar has to be on mission, on task, on paper, on purpose.”

Elliott goes into what the debt snowball is and how to celebrate some little wins and how to get the snowball to roll of paying debt off.  “When you begin to slay all those things down and cut them all down, you begin to see what kingdom of God looks like and feels like and the things you can do in His Kingdom and see it grow and flourish not just in you but how it’s going to propagate through the Kingdom 

conquering comparison and marriage

42:00 comparing yourself to how others live in marriage and the danger of that. “Don’t let the fear of man and comparison, drive your behavior.”

“Who are we going to honor with what we have? Is it going to be money, status and the pride of life that we’re going to be living for or to fear the Lord and the way He tells us to manage finances?” — Andrea

Click over to Andrea’s ministry page to sign up for her 5 day comparison devotional.

“This keeping up with the Joneses mentality has error, because the Joneses are most likely in debt to have all those nice things. You become a slave to their lifestyle.” “It’s not that we’re against nice things. I want you to have nice things, I just don’t want nice things to have you.” — Elliott

45:00 talking a bit about comparison in marriage and if men compare as much as women, and if they have the “hallmark” take of marriage like women do.  And do spouses compare talents, income and giftings?

“Income level is not a point where you should find your value, your value is in Whose you are in Christ” — Elliott

54:00 for those dating, when the financial conversation should start to happen and how and when your accounts merge, when to become one, for those who are dating, what to look for, when to have the finance convo.

Financial peace is not an oxymoron. It is possible. They’re walked through it, through the pain and tension and have been blessed get out of debt and help walk others through getting out too.

resources

Prayer and the Word of God
Millionaire Next Door by Tom Stanley
Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Love Your Life Not Theirs by Rachel Cruze