Get started: first steps of faithful stewardship
If you read only one lesson of this guide, make it this one. These are the steps I recommend to anyone who asks where to start. Work through them in order — none of them require special knowledge, and most people can get through the list in a few weeks. Each step links to a lesson that goes deeper.
Steward your education and career. Be faithful in your career and grow your income so you can save more and give away more. Your income-earning ability is your most valuable financial asset. See Career and income.
Prayerfully and faithfully give each week. The New Testament gives no percentage command; 10% of gross income is a good starting point, and the local church is the place to start. See Giving.
Contribute enough to your 401k to get the full employer match. This is essentially free money that can significantly boost your retirement savings.
Open a Roth IRA at Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard. Contributions grow tax-free, and you can withdraw contributions (but not earnings) without penalty in a pinch. See How to invest for what to hold inside it.
Pay off any credit card balances that are bearing interest. Negative compound interest works against you fast. See Use credit cards wisely.
Review your last 3 months of spending and start a budget. Use YNAB or a spreadsheet — the tool matters less than actually looking. See Set up a budget.
Get a credit card with at least 2% cash back, e.g. Citi Double Cash — and only if you can pay the balance in full each month.
Automate as much as possible — credit card payments, student loans, savings. Decisions you automate are decisions you can’t fumble in a busy month.
Open a Cash Management Account at Fidelity — a combined checking and savings account. I use it now as my main checking + savings account. You no longer need to transfer money from checking to savings in order to earn a higher interest. See The Finance Buff’s post on the Fidelity CMA, and the setup walkthrough in Set up your banking.
Don’t over-optimize. This shouldn’t be all-consuming. Be faithful and focus your energy and time on more important things: how to serve God and glorify Him.
Remember:
“…money can be as big an idol when you seek not to spend it as it can when you do nothing but spend it. Frugality should not be an end in itself but must be a means to a greater end of bringing glory to God and of serving others. Ever and always it is a matter of the heart.” - Tim Challies
From here, read the foundations in order, starting with Giving — or jump to whichever how-to guide your next decision needs.