Hey everyone,
On the Memorial of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, we remember a bishop who would not keep a king's gift if a poor man needed it more.
King Oswin gave Aidan a fine horse. Aidan met a beggar, got down, and handed over the horse — saddle, royal trappings, and all. The king was angry. Aidan asked him a question that still cuts: was the foal of a mare more dear to him than a child of God?
That is not a cute saint story. It is a budget story. Most households receive "horses" every year — a raise, a bonus, a tax refund, a paid-off car — and quietly turn them into a heavier lifestyle. Aidan turned them into mercy.
St. Bede wrote that Aidan "never sought or loved anything of this world, but delighted in distributing immediately to the poor whatever was given him by kings or rich men." He did not wait until he felt generous. He treated surplus as already belonging to someone else.
When the king protested, Aidan pressed the point: the beggar was a son of God. The horse was a foal of a mare. Ordered love knows which one is more valuable. Status gifts are not sacred. People are.
Faithful FI is the practical way to give away the horse without wrecking the family. You name what is enough. You keep a buffer so one generous act does not become next month's panic. You give first from the raise, not after the upgrade. Then you put the true remainder to work so the household can keep giving.
Aidan walked most places so he could talk to people. He did not need the king's horse to do the work. A household that lives below its means has the same freedom: it can say yes to mercy because the budget is not already spoken for.
Look at the last "horse" that arrived — a raise, a refund, a side-hustle month, an unused item still sitting in the garage. Ask Aidan's question: is this more dear to us than a child of God? Move a real piece of it this week: tithe, a gift, debt payoff, or surplus investing.
After the gift is given and the buffer is safe, put the remaining surplus to work. Low-cost index funds are how ordinary families let the remainder grow for vocation instead of leaking into a nicer version of the same life.
Invest the remaining surplus on Robinhood →St. Aidan did not become free by keeping the king's horse. He became free by handing it over. Our part is smaller and still holy: stop upgrading the life, give the surplus, and build the margin that makes mercy ordinary.
Further reading
The Imitation of Christ — the same logic as Aidan's horse: what comes in is meant to pass through, not thicken the household.
Financial freedom really is for everyone — including your family.
– Dustin
Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange for event contracts (elections, economics, weather, and more). Sign up through this referral link; new users who complete a small qualifying trade often unlock a trading credit (amount varies — sometimes advertised up to $500).
Prefer email? Subscribe for occasional notes →
← Back to Blog