[Be-Ahavah U-B-Emunah – Terumah
5773- translated by R. Blumberg]
Don't take
loans if you’re not sure you can pay them back. That is also a type of theft.
“The
wicked man borrows and does not repay” (Tehillim 37:21).
Do not
say, “I've got a lot of expenses, and I have no choice.” Certainly you’ve got a
choice. The rule is: Don’t spend more than you earn. Spend less!
Less! 1)
Because you must return all your loans. 2) Because you need reserve funds for
unexpected expenses, pleasant or unpleasant. An example of a pleasant expense
is a wedding. An example of an unpleasant expense is a washing machine that has
to be replaced.
You
therefore need a reserve fund.
Don’t
spend money you don’t have. That is morally licentious, even morally corrupt – living
off the money of others.
Our Sages
said that there are four types who are too impossible for words, and one of
them is a poor man who is arrogant (Pesachim 13b). This refers to a person of
little income who lives like a rich man.
As a rule,
don’t spend more than you bring in. Towards that end, here are several practical
pieces of advice:
A. Don’t
rely on your intuition. Rather, keep a precise budget that covers annual, monthly,
weekly and daily figures. Realize how much each item costs you, as with car upkeep
and cellular phones. Knowledge is power. Just as we must spiritually take
stock, so must we take stock of our holdings. That, too, constitutes taking stock
spiritually.
B. Use cash.
Don’t use a credit card or checks. Just use cash. That way you’ll know whether
you have money or not.
C. Limit
expenses and cancel unnecessary ones. Don’t envy others and don’t covet their
possessions. Jealousy, lust and seeking honor banish a person from the world.
Not just the world-to-come, but this world too. Get by with little. Who is
rich? He who is content with his lot (Avot 4:1).
Here are
some details:
1. When
you make a wedding, there is no obligation to invite so many people or to hire
an expensive hall, catering service, band or photographer. Don’t take loans that
are not based on what you own now.
2. The
same goes for the engagement party, the Shabbat festivities before the wedding,
the festivities during the week after the wedding, bar and bat mitzvahs,
circumcisions, kiddushs, etc.
3. Move to
a more inexpensive apartment. Avoid remodeling and expensive furniture.
4. Buy a
less expensive car. Or live without a car altogether. It is possible.
5. Limit
telephone use. There’s no need to talk so much.
6. Buy
simple, inexpensive, essential food.
7. Don’t
eat out. Bring sandwiches, fruit, etc. with you,
8. You can
smoke less… You can smoke not at all. Each year 10,000 people die from smoking,
with a sixth of them dying from passive smoking, and hundreds of thousands more
who get ill.
9. Limit
travel expenses.
10. Limit
electricity expenses. My late father-in-law, of blessed memory, received free electricity
as one of the perks of his important position in the Electric Company, yet he
still went around the house turning off every unnecessary light. He taught:
“Someone is paying for this!”
11. Buy
inexpensive clothing. Second- hand stores have an enormous selection of lovely
clothing in excellent condition at rock-bottom prices.
12. During
vacation time, expenses skyrocket. Don’t spend on anything you feel like. Keep your spending under control.
13. The
same applies at holiday time.
D. The
Consumer Culture: Steer clear of the consumer culture, and from going on shopping
excursions to malls. Don’t go in there! It’s a place full of unnecessary
temptations.
If you
must, plan in advance and prepare yourself psychologically not to be tempted.
Go to less fancy stores. Compare prices. And remember: shopping is not a
recreational activity, nor a treatment for depression.
E. Admit
the truth: If you’ve got a problem with overspending, admit it. It’s a sickness.
True, you’re not the only one. About half of the Jewish People live in
overdraft.
Yet that
is no consolation. Pal, you’re sick! Get a hold of yourself! Nobody will solve
this problem for you. Don’t expect others to come up with the solution, and not
the government, as they do at demonstrations. Rather, the only guilty party is
you. Because you are spending money that you don’t have.
F.
Redemption comes gradually. Save another hundred shekels, another ten shekels, another
shekel. One small saving and then another, add up to a great saving. One penny
to another adds up to a large sum.
G. No more
overdraft. Important rule: Have no overdraft. In the United States, it doesn’t
exist. If a person there is missing one dollar in his account, a thousand
dollar check will bounce. In Israel, the bank doesn’t allow overdraft out of
kindness, but because it makes a lot money from it, and your own debt balloons.
They say of overdraft that it is sweet at first, but bitter in the end.
H. No
loans. Don’t take loans. They’re not a wonder cure. Loans have to be paid off!
Don’t keep borrowing to pay off loans. In the end everything will collapse like
a house of cards.
I. Not
even interest-free loans. Even they have to be paid off. A free-loan is not a
gift. Other people are waiting for the
money. Don’t steal from Free-loan societies. Don’t live at other people’s
expense, not even to do mitzvoth, except for a few exceptions. Don’t be a
beggar. Don’t be a Schnorrer.
J. The
same applies to your children. Teach your children thrift. Don’t give in to
their pressuring you to buy them everything their heart desires. Don’t submit
to extortion. Such submission begets worse extortion. Show them your budget and
let them share in the responsibility. Start teaching them from age five, the
age when education begins. Handling money is part of education as well. Give
your children spending money on a monthly, weekly or daily basis. Let them
decide what to do with it, whether to save it or to buy items or to go out on
excursions. Let them take responsibility. They can get jobs as well.
