Frequently Asked Questions
A financial advisor typically manages your money on an ongoing basis, usually charging a fee based on how much you have invested — the more you have, the more they make. I work the opposite way: flat fee, I never touch your accounts or sell you products, and the goal is for you to not need me anymore. You walk away knowing how to run the system yourself.
No. I provide financial education only, from a biblical perspective — not financial advice. I teach you the principles so you can make your own informed decisions, and you remain solely responsible for those decisions.
Coaching isn't how I pay my bills — I have a job. That's exactly why I can tell you that you don't need this, or that we're done and you don't need me anymore. I started Wise and Pure because I think money is one of the most talked-about subjects in Scripture and one of the least taught well anywhere, including in church. Nobody sat me down and explained how to manage money either. I want to help Christians build wealth without compromising their convictions.
No. I coach Christians from a wide range of backgrounds and traditions. What matters is a shared conviction that what we have is entrusted to us, not simply owned by us, and a willingness to build a plan around that.
No — they work in opposite directions. Gambling manufactures risk for entertainment: the odds are built to favor the house, and money changes hands without creating anything of value. Real investing means buying a share of an actual, productive business — companies that build things, hire people, and generate profit over years — and letting patient, long-term ownership do the work. It is closer to farming than to a casino: you plant, you wait, and consistency does most of the growing. Even the parable of the talents assumes the servants would put money to productive use, not bury it out of fear — the one who was rebuked was the one who did nothing with what he was given.
“Therefore you should have deposited my money with the money changers; and when I came, I would have recovered what is mine with interest.”
Matthew 25:27
That's one of the most misquoted verses in Scripture — it doesn't actually say that. Paul wrote that the love of money is a root of all evils, not money itself. The problem was never the dollar bill; it's the heart's posture toward it — anxious grasping, greed, or making it an idol. Scripture treats material wealth as something to be stewarded wisely and even multiplied, and it's full of people who were both wealthy and faithful. The goal here isn't to avoid money out of guilt — it's to hold it with an open hand instead of a closed fist.
“For the love of money is a root of all evils, because of which some, aspiring after money, have been led away from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains.”
1 Timothy 6:10
Contentment and ambition aren't opposites here — Scripture holds both. Moses told Israel plainly that it is God who gives the ability to produce wealth — not as a temptation to resist, but as a strength to steward well. Being poor isn't a virtue any more than being rich is a sin; the goal is a stable position — free of debt, able to help rather than always needing to be helped — because that position is what lets you actually serve your family, your church, and your community instead of just surviving. Pursuing wealth to hoard it or worship it is the danger Scripture warns about. Pursuing it to be in a position to help and to lead is what it's for.
“But you shall remember Jehovah your God, for it is He who gives you strength to gain wealth, so that He may establish His covenant, which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:18
Trusting God and planning carefully aren't opposites — Scripture asks for both. In the parable of the talents, the master didn't hand out money and tell his servants to do nothing and simply wait on faith; he expected them to put it to work and multiply it, and the one who didn't was rebuked, not praised for his faith. A budget simply puts on paper what you already believe about your priorities, trusting God with the outcome. A plan is not a lack of faith — it is what faithfulness with 'the least' looks like in practice.
“He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous also in much.”
Luke 16:10
Generosity and building wealth aren't in competition — done right, one fuels the other. In Luke 16, Jesus tells His disciples to use worldly wealth wisely and generously, so that it makes friends and does eternal good instead of sitting idle or being wasted. A portfolio that grows over decades isn't hoarding; it's a tool that can fund far more generosity over a lifetime than money spent or given away impulsively today, and Scripture never asks believers to be reckless — with a family, with debt, or with the future. The question isn't wealth or giving. It's whether your heart is holding either one loosely.
“And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.”
Luke 16:9
No — how much and where you give is between you, your household, and your own convictions. What I can help with is building a budget and a system where giving is planned and sustainable, instead of an afterthought or a source of guilt.
Think of it like a personal trainer. Anyone CAN be in great shape — the information about diet and exercise is free and everywhere. But not everyone will, because it takes discipline, motivation, and consistent habits to actually do it. Stewarding money works the same way. Anyone CAN do it, but not everyone will, whether it's a lack of financial knowledge or the discipline to stick to a plan, like a budget. I'm here to be that knowledge and accountability, the same way a trainer is for your body.
The coaching works the same way regardless of how much you make: the goal is a system — a clear picture of where your money goes, automated saving, and a plan you can run without willpower. Clients have started this process with as little as $500.
Reach out anyway. I offer a reduced rate for people who are on a tight budget or just starting out — students, single parents, whatever your situation is. There's no income cutoff or application; just tell me where you're at and we'll figure out a rate that works.
If you want stock picks, day trading, or a get-rich-quick scheme, I am not your guy, and I would rather tell you that now than take your money — that mindset also tends to work against patient, faithful stewardship. I also cannot do the work for you. What I ask is that you are willing to put in the effort and actually want results — not just hoping things work out on their own. If that is you, everything else here is learnable.
No. I've sat with people carrying five figures of credit card debt, and with people who earn very well and still had nothing saved, and neither one surprised me. Most of us were never taught this — school certainly never taught me, and few churches do either. Whatever your numbers look like, they are just the starting point.
Yes. What you share with me stays between us. I don't sell your information, share it, or hand you off to anyone who would, and I only need to see what's relevant to the work we're doing — you always decide what you're comfortable showing me. When I share a client's story on this site, it is only ever to show the kind of situation I have seen before. No names, ever.
Every session builds on the last. On the cash flow side, we work through your real numbers, find expenses worth cutting, and get your emergency fund funded. On the investing side, I teach the principles: how index funds work, how to evaluate fees, and how to think about risk. I don't recommend specific stocks — if one comes up, it's only as an example of what a risky investment looks like — so you leave able to manage your own portfolio with confidence.
My recommendation is almost always your budget first, even when investing is what brought you here — I want you invested for the long term, not forced to pull money back out because an expense caught you off guard. That said, it's your money and your call. Some clients come to me strictly for investing and that's exactly what we do; I'll just make sure you've heard the case for looking at cash flow first. It's paid off before — a routine budget review for an investing-focused client turned up real monthly savings that went straight into her portfolio instead of being spent.
Coaching is $100/hr, and you're only billed for the time we actually spend together. How long it takes depends on your situation — I don't put a session count on it, because some people need a couple of conversations and others need several more, and I would rather you get it right than get it fast. The free consultation is where we figure out what your situation actually calls for.
You're not on your own the moment sessions wrap up. I check in by text or call to see how things are going and fine-tune anything that needs it — most clients like a check-in around the two-month mark. If you want more than a quick check-in, just book more time.
Whichever works best for you. Some clients prefer to talk money face-to-face; others fit it in better over video call — I've coached clients out of state entirely by video. We'll pick whatever is most convenient for your schedule and location.
Sí. Every page of this site, and every coaching session, is available in Spanish. Use the language toggle in the header, or find the Spanish version at the /es links.