About the Book

Title: 5 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom

Author: Dan Willis

Genre: Finances/Christian living

Release date: January 8, 2019

Publisher: Whitaker House

As a young and naïve pastor, Dan Willis maxed out twenty-three credit cards and ruined his credit to support his ministry. It wasn’t until massive debt caused the cards to stop working that he realized that God never asked him to do this. Through his candor and honesty, Dan reveals the five steps God showed him to get out of debt: stop spending, create a budget, develop a debt payoff plan, begin saving, and repair bad credit. This led him to becoming a thriving and financially-free ministry. Now, Dan is on a mission to teach this to the world. Using biblical principles, but not relying on miracles or “name-it-and-claim-it” theology, Dan provides easy-to-follow, practical steps that can be used by anyone to escape financial bondage. Finally, he encourages readers to use their financial freedom to help others and advance God’s kingdom, and to use their newfound fiscal wisdom to store up wealth. Without shaming those who struggle financially, 5 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom is the perfect combination of spiritual wisdom and practical advice for those who desperately need it.

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My Review

I was interested in reviewing Dan Willis’s book 5 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom because I’ve been in a position where debt seemed like an overwhelming obstacle. It was years ago—different life, different marriage (different story!) But I remember the stress of laying awake at night, praying for deliverance from the financial situation my ex-husband and I created. We weren’t Christians and had no idea what God commanded about money. Dan Willis states in his book that “42 percent of marital issues come from finances and Sixty percent of divorces are because of financial issues.” I am a statistic. If financial issues weren’t a direct cause of the break up of my first marriage, it was certainly a component that lead to the break up. Thankfully, our God is a redeeming God and He blesses us when we are obedient.

Fast forward many years later. I married a man who was taught from a very early age by his wise father to not acquire debt. At eighteen, he was putting money away in an IRA. He didn’t buy what he couldn’t afford. That meant being satisfied with what he had and working hard for what he didn’t. I am here to tell you that there is a world of difference in how I sleep these days (even suffering through menopause!)

What I like about Dan Willis’s book, other than it being a very easy read (I finished it in a couple hours) is that he uses examples from his own poor spending choices early in his life and backs up his plan with scripture. He gives five simple steps (hence the title) to get out of, and stay out of, financial debt.

The first four steps are very basic—probably nothing we haven’t heard before. 1. Stop Spending; 2. Budget; 3. Follow Pay-off Plan; 4. Save. Each of these are self-explanatory, but if you need incentive, he gives a very thorough account of God’s Word on each of these. The 5th step was one I’ve never heard before. I will admit right here, I’ve never been through Crown Financial or Dave Ramsey’s Financial Plan because, as I stated earlier, I have a husband who has been extremely wise with his finances. So, it may be that Dan’s 5th step is covered in one of these two Christian financial plans.

Step 5 is Repair and Restore. It makes so much sense, I had an aha moment when reading this section. He states from the beginning that debt is not a financial problem but a spiritual problem. Dissatisfied people spiritually need to fulfill themselves somewhere else, and if it isn’t through God, it’s often through stuff. The repair and restore is about relationships. We cannot be blessed by God when we are dealing with broken relationships.

He also adds a section on Jesus’ parable of the talents. We all have gifts, and he suggests we use ours to increase our wealth—with the end result being that we’re able to offer it back to God in some form or another. I found this interesting, as well.

Now, I do have a couple things to point out that had me wincing. He wrote, “Debt is not a sin. You will not go to hell for debt. What the bible teaches us is that debt puts you in bondage.” Being a mature Christian, I could easily read that and just move on. But as a reviewer, I’m thinking of those who may be new Christians. They might stumble over the fact that he’s basically saying that we might go to hell if debt was a sin. Or that we may go to hell for sinning. Could be a little blip on the theology line of thinking. We don’t go to hell for sinning—we’re all sinners saved by grace.

The other line that had me wincing was when he wrote about the reader “running into that lady in stretch pants and blood-red lipstick in the department store” to entice you to get one of their credit cards. And then claims that she’s a “hot mess.” I’m afraid every department store clerk who’s ever offered a credit card to their customers has just been insulted. Poor woman is just doing her job.

If you, or someone you love, is in debt, this book is worth a read. The writing is conversational, and until he revealed his age, I assumed it was a much younger man writing. Not a bad thing, but not what I would expect from a sixty-something pastor (his picture is deceiving). There were times, reading the book, that I was confused because his line of thinking wasn’t clear. Examples that didn’t match his point or rambling on a different topic made it difficult to follow. Also, I would be hesitant to have a new Christian read this, only because there are some places where his theology and Biblical theology doesn’t exactly line up. The use of scripture was enlightening (and if you’re in debt, convicting) and he offers some very useful tools to strategize a plan for getting debt free.

I was given a free copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions are mine.

About the Author

As a young boy, Dan Willis’s dreams involved entering the medical field until that fateful day when, at age sixteen, he was called to “temporarily” take over the pastor position of a local church. More than thirty years later, Dan is still there, serving as the senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, Illinois. He took the small ministry of sixteen people and nurtured it into a thriving multicultural body of more than 1,500 people. Dan’s previous books with Whitaker House were Freedom to Forget: Releasing the Pain from the Past, Embracing Hope for the Future and Praise Is My Weapon.

Guest Post from Dan

Not 23 Ways to Money Greatness or 67 Options to Financial Well Being. Just Five Simple Steps to Financial Freedom. Why complicate this? Wipe out debt and create wealth.