Franco Salvatori. Photo by Brian A. Yoder Schlabach.
Managing money doesn’t just have to be about paying bills and cashing checks – it can also be a meaningful expression of faith, said Franco Salvatori and Lyle Miller.
Salvatori and Miller, both Everence® stewardship consultants, offered a faith-based approach to financial literacy for youth and young adults in their seminar “Can you be a rich Christian?” at MC USA’s Follow Jesus ’25 national convention on Thursday morning.
Their seminar introduced four financial fundamentals designed to encourage thoughtful conversations about money within a Christian context:
- Spend less than you earn
- Save now, buy later
- K-N-O-W debt
- Live and give generously
“Spend less than you earn” is one of the most important principles of money management, said Salvatori and Miller. Understanding income – particularly paychecks and tax withholdings – and being able to manage expenses can be the difference between financial success and struggle.
Their second principle, “Save now, buy later” encouraged saving for both short- and long-term goals, like emergency funds and retirement. Miller and Salvatori introduced the concepts of risk and reward, and values-based investing, which allows investors to align their faith, values and investment portfolios.
In “K-N-O-W debt,” Salvatori and Miller shifted focus toward debt and how it works. They explained how interest rates, loan terms, and borrowed amounts affect repayment. They distinguished between revolving credit, like credit card debt, and potentially beneficial debt – installment credit like student loans or mortgages.
Finally, Salvatori and Miller urged those in attendance to “Live and give generously.” This includes making charitable giving a spiritual discipline and embracing an open-handed approach to life, rather than one driven by scarcity or fear, they said.
Together, with these four fundamentals, Salvatori and Miller offered a holistic framework for integrating faith with financial decision-making, empowering individuals to steward their resources wisely and generously in alignment with their faith and values.
Written by Abby King for Everence.