Ten Talents Financial Stewardship

I wouldn’t recommend my route into financial advice.

Not because I regret where I’ve ended up — far from it. I love what I do now. But when I look back at the journey, I genuinely don’t think I’d tell a young person to follow the same path.

“Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.” – Proverbs 21:20

More People Have Bank Accounts, But One in Ten Have No Cash Savings

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has just revealed some eye-opening truths about the UK’s financial wellbeing:

• 1 in 10 people have no cash savings at all
• 21% have less than £1,000 for emergencies
• 1 in 4 adults are financially vulnerable—struggling to keep up with commitments or missing payments

But here’s the good news: there is hope. And as Christians, we’re called to approach money with both faith and wisdom.

It may seem tone deaf to talk of ‘Stepping into Financial Freedom’ during a Cost-of-Living crisis. Fuel prices, grocery prices and energy bills are through the roof. Completing this perfect storm is the biggest interest rate rise in 27 years and the prediction of an upcoming recession by the Bank of England.

If I asked my fellow believers, “How many of you would like to go to heaven when they die?” I am likely to be met with a very passionate, “Yeah!!”. If I then followed up that question with, “Who wants to go to heaven tomorrow?”, I suspect that I would receive a rather more muted response!

In the Garden of Eden, God said to Adam and Eve, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’ Not long after, the first children Cain and Abel were born and babies have been born ever since.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that my hiatus coincided with the birth of my second child and first daughter Amira.

Undeniably, my wife Tola has been the heroine of this particular story during our daughter’s first year in this world, however the whole experience so far has made me wonder, ‘How much does it cost to raise a child?’

If at this point, you are expressing mock outrage that I have the audacity to state that ‘It all belongs to God’, then you have not been paying attention for the last few months! In a Christian finance blog written by a Christian finance professional, there was only one way this was headed right! Originally, this was going to be the first commandment but I didn’t want to scare people away who might not share my faith. The fact you’re still here is good news and if you’re still sceptical, keep an open mind and hear me out.

Friends, please take a moment to celebrate the return of the Prodigal Son, Cristiano Ronaldo back home to the great institution that is Manchester United Football Club. Continuing the ham-fisted Bible analogies, it is my firm belief that he has come back to lead us to the Promised Land of former glories, following our extended period in the (relative) wilderness.

While I was at secondary school, I had the pleasure of studying Shakespeare’s famous play, The Merchant of Venice. Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it but the summary is Bassanio, a poor nobleman in Venice, needs money to woo the beautiful heiress, Portia. He asks his friend Antonio for a loan, but Antonio has invested his funds in ships overseas. The moneylender, Shylock, offers the cash on the condition that he will take a pound of Antonio’s flesh (!) if the loan is not repaid within three months. Antonio goes bankrupt and is in very real danger of being mutilated in court until Portia steps in, disguised as a young male lawyer, to save the day.

Will Smith once said, ‘Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like’.

A profound quote but a very accurate assessment of the state of play in our social media obsessed generation. We live in a world where we have so many privileges and access to so much more than our generations before us, yet many are still discontent.