In late 2025 the Clark Howard Team wrote an article titled, The 7 Money Habits of People Who Become Wealthy. It caused us to think about how those habits lined up with the principles we take from the Bible around money management. Here’s Clark’s list:
- They Live Below Their Means
- They Pay Themselves First
- They Avoid Consumer Debt Like the Plague
- They Invest Early and Consistently
- They Continuously Increase Their Financial Education
- They Think Long Term
- Build Multiple Income Streams (Optional in Clark’s list)
Six Principles for Financial Success from Kingdom Advisors
1) Spend less than you earn (Proverbs 13:11) – This lines up pretty well with living below your means. And that means more than just ‘not spending’ all your paycheck each month. See #3 below to build liquidity so you can handle those unexpected events that we all know we can expect to show up like needing to replace the tires on our car.
2) Avoid the use of debt (Proverbs 22:7) – When we talk about avoiding the use of debt, we really do mean avoid consumer related debts - Spending money today for consumption of goods and services and presuming on God that he’ll keep providing the same or higher income. Taking on debt for investing in a business or asset may make sense. We suggest you talk through it carefully with a trusted counselor since we are all the best at rationalizing why we want to borrow money.
3) Build liquidity (Proverbs 6:6-8) – Here is where paying yourself first ‘pays off’. You can set something aside and build up for the future and you definitely are thinking long term when you do.
4) Set long-term goals (Philippians 3:14) – Realizing that we need to prepare for the future naturally has us thinking long term. Goal setting is the key, you need to be specific about what you want/hope/believe the long term will look like. If you write it down you have a much better chance of realizing it.
5) Believe that God owns it all (1 Chronicles 29:11) – While Clark’s team does not specifically talk about ‘who owns it’ there tenor is always about stewardship, taking care of what has been provided to you. Knowing Who is providing the resources you are stewarding should enhance how we think about our responsibilities.
6) Rejoice in Generosity (2 Corinthians 8:7) – Being generous speaks to how you think about what you’ve received and why. Did I receive it just to take care of me and mine? Or is there a broader purpose. How might I be a conduit to bless someone else after I’ve been blessed financially?
While they don’t line up one for one, I think together, these are great principles to keep in mind as you think about how to handle the financial resources passing through your hands today. Give us a call if you’d like to discuss how we can help you think through any of the above.
https://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/money-habits-of-people-who-become-wealthy