How Financial Struggle Built a Stronger Faith
When Julie Haneline graduated from college, her dream was to own a business. But starting out, she had a low-paying job and $37,000 in debt she had to pay, including student loans, credit cards, and a car loan. She moved in with her parents to save money and she put herself on a tight budget.
“I basically just cut everything out. I'm so blessed by my parents because this really helped me pay off a ton of debt during this time," said Julie.
After a few months, Julie landed a better paying job and moved out on her own. She also started attending church where she rededicated her life to Jesus Christ. That’s when she learned about tithing.
“It says in His Word that we are to give Him the 10% and to trust Him and to test Him in this. It does build my relationship with God because it is hard. You know, I'm like, 'God, I need this money to pay off my credit cards. But if that's what you say in your Word, then I'll do it," said Julie.
Soon she began seeing God work on her behalf. Within two years, she was offered a job with the Chiquita brands company. The position came with a 30 percent increase in pay.
“I just remember feeling really excited. God has just given me a lot of favor," said Julie.
She quickly became a top performer and a year later, received a 35 percent raise. As Julie continued to tithe, she earned several bonuses and raises. Within three years, she paid off her student loans and all of her credit card debt. Now with only her car note remaining, she became interested in real estate and bought her first house with the intent to eventually rent it out.
“I just felt really blessed that I could buy a house. There is nothing like the feeling of going from apartments to owning your home and knowing that you're building wealth and equity in your home," said Julie.
Three years later, her company was bought out. Julie was going to lose her job and only had three months to find another one. Her search went on for weeks with no job in sight. Still, she continued to give.
"I kept being faithful and I kept tithing because that's what God told me to do," said Julie.
Julie was down to her last week at work—and it wasn’t looking like she was going to find a job. Frustrated, she began praying. Then she remembered a passage from .
“That was a really special moment with me and God and just trusting that, 'Hey, I have you. Like, I care about these birds and the flowers and all these things, and I take care of them, and I feed them. So how much more do I care about you?" recalled Julie
With just a few days remaining, God blessed Julie with another well-paying job. “I had a feeling He would show up at the last minute, and He did.”
Julie’s income continued to increase along with her real estate portfolio. “That was all God because I wanted one rental. And then I got three. Still to this day, it amazes me how this happened," said Julie.
In 2020, Julie felt led to start her own business coaching and mentoring through social media. She sold one of her houses and paid off the rest of her debt. She has no debt other than the mortgages covered by her tenants. Julie believes that all of her success is because of her commitment to tithing.
“I want to encourage people to help them manage their money better. It's so important to tithe because it's what God tells us to do. The 10% doesn't even touch what He's done for me," said Julie.
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