{"id":23755,"date":"2012-01-05T18:54:48","date_gmt":"2012-01-05T18:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=23755"},"modified":"2015-11-05T10:27:47","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T15:27:47","slug":"budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for the Frum Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In one of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan\u2019s books on Jewish meditation, he asks where meditation is mentioned in the Torah. He goes on to say that some things were so obvious to our ancestors, they did not have to be stated outright. The concepts were known to all.<\/p>\n

Finances are in the same category. Certain notions that are promoted as novel by
\ncontemporary finance gurus were once obvious to everyone. Our grandparents did not have to be told not to borrow money to buy things they could not afford, for example. They did not have to be told to save for retirement or to shop wisely. These ideas were self-evident. Today, somehow, they are no longer common knowledge.<\/p>\n

Where We Are Today<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Many\u00a0frum\u00a0<\/em>families are suffering financially. They cannot pay their bills. They feel that life is pulling them along and that they are not in control. In many of these cases, the problems could be greatly mitigated with proper financial education.<\/p>\n

Before our children get married, we educate them about\u00a0shalom bayit<\/em>. But we do not teach them about managing money\u2014despite the fact that the Talmud teaches that strife in the home is due to money problems (Bava Metzia<\/em>\u00a059a). We need to start getting educated about how to manage money, and we need to teach our kids how to do so as well.<\/p>\n

Most of us would be quite devastated if at our fortieth wedding anniversaries we realize that we could have had a million dollars in a stock account had we adopted simple steps and avoided waste. No one wants to look back and regret the thousands of dollars spent on frivolous purchases and credit card interest.<\/p>\n

What Can Be Done<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is needed is simple: family finance control.<\/p>\n

This kind of money management consists of three simple steps. At the outset, I want to emphasize that this approach will not enable a family to survive without a reasonable income. It is simply a guide for those families who should be making it but are not.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Make a budget<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s economic climate, budgeting has become a necessity. A family budget should include general categories and subcategories. For example, \u201ccar\u201d should be a general category. Within that category, one should include the following: car payments, gas, insurance, and maintenance. In order for a couple to create a budget they need to ask themselves what is important to them. Do they prefer to lease a car or to spend Sukkot in Israel? Do they prefer to use disposable dishes or to take an annual vacation to Yellowstone National Park? No one can make these decisions for you. When working out a budget, start with the expenses that are unalterable. For example, if you or your husband commute by car, gas should be one of the first entries in the budget. Additionally, every budget should allow for savings. Families need to save for retirement,\u00a0simchas<\/em>, cars and rainy days. (For a sample budget, visit www.ou.org\/jewish_action.)<\/p>\n

Step 2: Do Research<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read books on family finance. They will give you helpful tips on how to save on your day-to-day expenses. Meals, for example, should be planned with an eye for cost. Probably the best such book on the market is\u00a0The Complete Tightwad Gazette<\/em>\u00a0by Amy Dacyczyn. Amy\u2019s goals were to have a large family and be a stay-at-home mom. To manage financially, she analyzed every family purchase decision: appliances, baby products, family menus, utilities, et cetera. Her book provides countless money-saving ideas such as making sure your appliances are energy efficient (fluorescent light bulbs will reduce lighting costs by 80 percent); using real dishes instead of disposable and relying on hand-me-downs for children\u2019s clothing.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Tracking\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You need to track your spending. In other words, you need to record what you spend. The best way to do this is with a program called Quicken, a personal finance software, which enables you to record every check, credit card purchase and cash purchase. You can then run reports to see if you are achieving your budget goals. Without tracking your expenditures, you have no real idea where your paycheck goes each month.<\/p>\n

How much time does all this require? I suggest taking care of your finances once a week\u2014every\u00a0Motzaei Shabbat<\/em>\u00a0you could pay all your bills and enter your expenses into Quicken. It really does not take that much time.<\/p>\n

No doubt some people are afraid to budget; they think it is too confining to record and analyze every purchase. But in reality, the lack of a budget is confining. With a budget, you will have a line item for clothing. You can therefore spend that amount without feeling guilty. You can also spend on hobbies, recreation and travel. You will start to confront the simple concept of opportunity cost: If you spend less on item A, you will have money available for item B. Try this plan for six months and then ask yourself if you feel more financially in control and less stressed.<\/p>\n

\n

Eli Pollock is a self-employed CPA in Baltimore, Maryland. He can be reached at\u00a0<\/em>elipollock2@yahoo.com<\/em><\/a>. He is available to speak to groups and teach budget creation and expense tracking on Quicken.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in <\/em>Jewish Action<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A three-step plan to making the most of your income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":560,"featured_media":23758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money"],"yoast_head":"\nBudgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-05T18:54:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-05T15:27:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"849\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"565\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eli Pollock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eli Pollock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/\",\"name\":\"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-05T18:54:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-05T15:27:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/436d39f6daa3f1475d6d00034c49150c\"},\"description\":\"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg\",\"width\":\"849\",\"height\":\"565\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/436d39f6daa3f1475d6d00034c49150c\",\"name\":\"Eli Pollock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009a46662a2ab4479bd82427aecf165019df1b1edbcd22c1171b1ccf36a0c98d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009a46662a2ab4479bd82427aecf165019df1b1edbcd22c1171b1ccf36a0c98d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Eli Pollock\"},\"description\":\"Eli Pollock is a self-employed CPA in Baltimore, Maryland. He can be reached at elipollock2@yahoo.com. He is available to speak to groups and teach budget creation and expense tracking on Quicken.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/elipollock-me\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families","description":"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families","og_description":"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/","og_site_name":"OU Life","article_published_time":"2012-01-05T18:54:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-11-05T15:27:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":849,"height":565,"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Eli Pollock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Eli Pollock","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/","name":"Budgeting in the New Economy: Finance 101 for Frum Families","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg","datePublished":"2012-01-05T18:54:48+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-05T15:27:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/436d39f6daa3f1475d6d00034c49150c"},"description":"Certain notions were once obvious: our grandparents wouldn't borrow money to buy what they couldn't afford. A 3-step plan to making the most of your income","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/money\/budgeting-in-the-new-economy-finance-101-for-the-frum-family\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Budget.jpg","width":"849","height":"565"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/","name":"OU Life","description":"Everyday Jewish Living","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/436d39f6daa3f1475d6d00034c49150c","name":"Eli Pollock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009a46662a2ab4479bd82427aecf165019df1b1edbcd22c1171b1ccf36a0c98d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/009a46662a2ab4479bd82427aecf165019df1b1edbcd22c1171b1ccf36a0c98d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Eli Pollock"},"description":"Eli Pollock is a self-employed CPA in Baltimore, Maryland. He can be reached at elipollock2@yahoo.com. He is available to speak to groups and teach budget creation and expense tracking on Quicken.","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/elipollock-me\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51920,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23755\/revisions\/51920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}