How to Start Saving: 5 Tips From the Bible
April 29, 2025
As is true with so many aspects of money management, saving money is simple but it’s not always easy. It’s simple in that you can open a savings account from the comfort of your home. Just go online to open an account and then electronically transfer some money into it from your checking account.
It isn’t necessarily easy, though, because there are so many other financial needs and wants tugging on your wallet. Saving may be easier if you consider the following five ideas.
1 – Saving money leads to blessings.
In the book of James, Jesus’ brother lays out a very simple approach to living a life of faith.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22, 25).
Hear God’s word, do what it says, and you will be blessed. When it comes to managing money, one of the Bible’s many instructions is to save.
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets” (Proverbs 21:20).
For a Christ follower, that should be motivation enough to save.
What are the blessings that will come from saving? Read on.
2 – Saving money helps you love others.
The Bible teaches that second only in importance to loving God, is our mission to love people (Matthew 22:36-40).
Living paycheck to paycheck is a stressful way to live, which hinders your most important relationships. Much financial stress can be alleviated by keeping some money in reserve.
3 – Saving money helps you manage risk.
The Bible says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (Proverbs 22:3).
For most people, unexpected expenses crop up regularly. Your house gets damaged and you, of course, are responsible for the deductible. A health issue leads to a big bill, and you’re responsible for much of it. In those moment, having money in savings will be a blessing indeed.
There are risks all around, which is why a savings account is often referred to as an “emergency fund.” Keeping some money in reserve will help you avoid taking on debt when those inevitable “unexpected” expenses occur.
4 – Saving money is all about how you prioritize money.
There are only five things you can do with money. You can spend it, use it for debt payments, save it, invest it, and give it away. The consumer culture encourages a spend-first way of prioritizing money, and then come the debt payments. If anything is left over, some might be saved, invested, and given away.
It’s far better (and more biblical!) to take a different approach where you give, save, and invest portions all income, and then you spend. This is a very simple, very effective, way of prioritizing the use of money. For every dollar that comes in, give a portion to God’s work, save and invest portions, and then see how much you can afford to spend on where you live, what you drive, clothing, vacations, and all the rest.
The best possible way to build savings is to automate it. Making the decision to save once, when you set up automatic monthly transfers from checking to savings, is much easier than having to decide to save multiple times throughout the year. Even automating monthly transfers of seemingly small amounts of money will add up over time.
5 – Saving money is about knowing yourself.
In Psalm 139:23, we read, “Search me, God, and know my heart.” This is a brave and humble plea.
On the one hand, as noted earlier, saving money is simple but it’s not always easy. The mechanical steps are simple, the heart steps might not be easy. So, ask God to search your heart and see if there’s something getting in the way of saving a portion of all that you receive. Is there more of a desire to spend than to save? Asking God to help you become a wise saver may be one of the most effective steps you can take toward building a sufficient emergency fund.
If you don’t have a savings account, why not open one today? When you do, be sure to set up automatic monthly contributions to the account.
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Matt Bell is the author of Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management. He speaks at churches and conferences throughout the country and writes the MattAboutMoney blog.
This article should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. You may wish to consult a tax or financial advisor about your individual financial situation.
