When you hear the words financial freedom, what comes to mind?

Being debt-free?
Having six months of expenses tucked away in savings?
A certain amount in your retirement accounts?
Being able to travel without worrying about the cost?
Paying cash for a car?
Finally reaching the point where you don’t have to worry about money?

Those are all wonderful financial goals. I want some of them myself.
But lately I’ve been thinking about another question:

What if financial freedom begins long before we reach any of those milestones?

What if part of financial freedom is learning to recognize that we have already been given something to steward?

November is traditionally a month when we pause to give thanks. So this month, I want to try something a little different.

We’re going to talk about money.

But we’re also going to talk about gratitude.

Because I’m beginning to believe the two belong together more than we realize.

The Problem With “When I Finally…”

It’s incredibly easy to live our financial lives waiting for someday.

When I finally pay off the credit card…
When I finally make more money…
When we finally pay off the house…
When I finally have enough saved…

Then I’ll relax.
Then I’ll be generous.
Then I’ll enjoy life.
Then I’ll feel secure.
Then I’ll feel successful.
Then I’ll be grateful.

Except there is a problem with that.

There is almost always another “when.”

Pay off one bill, and another expense appears.

Reach one income level, and suddenly the next level looks attractive.

Upgrade the house, and pretty soon there’s something we’d like to change about the new house.

Reach one savings goal, and we immediately establish another one.

Goals aren’t the problem.

Believing that the next financial milestone will finally make us content is.

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Gratitude Changes the Starting Point

Gratitude says something very different.

Instead of beginning with:

What am I missing?

Gratitude asks:

What have I already been given?

That simple question can change the way we approach money.

Maybe you aren’t debt-free yet.

But you’ve started paying it down.

Be grateful for progress.

Maybe your emergency fund isn’t where you want it to be.

But you have $500 sitting there that wasn’t there before.

Be grateful for the $500.

Maybe you don’t have your dream home.

But you have a place where people you love gather around the table.

Be grateful for that table.

Maybe your retirement account isn’t where you wish it were.

But you’re learning. You’re contributing. You’re paying attention.

Be grateful that you started.

Gratitude doesn’t mean pretending that everything is perfect.

And it doesn’t mean we stop setting goals.

Gratitude simply changes where the journey begins.

Instead of saying:

“I’ll be thankful when…”

we learn to say:

“I’m thankful now, and I’m going to faithfully build from here.”

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Contentment Isn’t the Same as Complacency

This is an important distinction.

Sometimes we think that becoming content means giving up our ambition.

Why try to earn more if I’m supposed to be content?

Why pay off debt?

Why invest?

Why save?

Why build wealth?

Because contentment and complacency are not the same thing.

You can be grateful for your current financial situation and want to improve it.

You can appreciate your house and save for renovations.

You can celebrate the money you’ve saved and continue building your emergency fund.

You can be grateful for your income and pursue a better career.

You can thank God for what He’s entrusted to you and work diligently to become a better steward of it.

The difference is where our peace comes from.

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Paul Learned Something About “Enough”

One of my favorite passages for this conversation comes from Philippians 4.

Paul talks about learning to be content whether he had plenty or was in need.

I love that word:

Learned.

Contentment wasn’t automatic.

Paul learned it.

And perhaps we have to learn it too.

Our culture gives us plenty of opportunities to practice.

Every advertisement tells us something would make life better.

Social media shows us someone’s beautiful house, vacation, new vehicle, clothes or lifestyle.

Stores constantly tell us what we “need.”

And our bank accounts whisper:

You’re behind.

Gratitude interrupts that conversation.

It reminds us:

Life isn’t a competition.

Someone else’s financial success doesn’t diminish yours.

Someone having more doesn’t mean you have less.

And your current account balances don’t tell the whole story of God’s provision in your life.

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Take a Different Kind of Financial Inventory

Most financial inventories begin with numbers.

Assets.

Debts.

Income.

Expenses.

Net worth.

Those numbers matter, and we’ll talk about them.

But before we inventory our finances this month, I’d like us to inventory something else.

Our blessings.

Ask yourself:

What do I have today that I once hoped or prayed for?

Think beyond money.
Maybe it’s your home.
Your spouse.
Your children or grandchildren.
Your health.
A career.
Transportation.
Friendship.
A church family.
Food in the refrigerator.
A warm bed.
A cup of coffee sitting beside you.
Or maybe you’re walking through a difficult season and gratitude isn’t coming easily.

That’s okay too.

Sometimes gratitude isn’t about pretending the hard things aren’t hard.

Sometimes it’s simply deciding to notice the good that exists alongside them.

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Your Financial Freedom Journey Starts Here

For the next 30 days, I’m inviting you to join me in a different kind of financial challenge.

We’re not going on a spending freeze.

I’m not telling you to stop buying coffee.

We’re not calculating compound interest every morning.

We’re going to practice gratitude.

One thing every day for 30 days.

Some days we’ll talk about money.

Some days we’ll talk about people.

Some days we’ll talk about things money could never purchase.

And along the way, I hope we’ll begin looking at financial freedom a little differently.

Because maybe financial freedom isn’t simply accumulating enough money that we’ll never worry again.

Maybe it’s reaching a place where we can say:

I am grateful for what I have.
I know what matters to me.
I have a plan for where I’m going.
And I am learning to manage what God has entrusted to me well.
That sounds a lot like freedom to me.

This Week’s Challenge

Take five minutes today and answer this question:

What do I have today that I once prayed, hoped, saved, or worked for?

Write down at least five things.

Don’t rush through it.

Then choose one and write:

“I’m grateful for ______ because ______.”

You’ll be surprised how different it feels when you add the because.

Welcome to 30 Days of Gratitude: Grateful on the Journey to Financial Freedom.

Let’s get started.