FINANCIAL RESET
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on April 13, 2018.
Having finished Pessach which thankfully means no more obligation to eat Matza, it’s time to set our focus on the next culinary festival, the holiday of Shavuot. While they both sort of just sit in your stomach and give you that heavy feeling, I’ll take cheesecake over a big round hand Matza any day. While some are counting down to a day of their favorite dairy foods, for those like me who are meat fans and don’t believe that favorite and dairy go together, others are busy counting up all the way to 49. As the Torah states in the 23rd Chapter of Leviticus, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first ‘omer’ of your harvest to the priest…..And from the day on which you bring the omer of elevation offering – the day after the Sabbath – you shall count off seven weeks.”
It’s time for Sefirat Ha’omer. There are many reasons why we count the 49 days between the 2nd night of Passover and Shavuot, Sefirat Ha’omer. The Baal Haturim gives a technical answer. He says that it’s so the workers will know when Shavout is: “There are those who explain that the reason for the counting of the omer is that [the days of the omer] are the days of harvesting and the people are busy [working in the fields] and are not in their homes. They could therefore not be reached by the messengers of the courts to be informed when the new month begins. God, therefore, commanded us to count the days.”
Another reason given is that we use these 7 weeks to spiritually ready ourselves for the receiving of the Torah on Shavuot. The Israelites were full into idol worship while in Egypt. They had reached the lowest level of spiritual impurity yet nonetheless they were redeemed. After the redemption, they did a quick 180-degree turn and underwent a rebirth spiritually which culminated in receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Not bad for just 49 days!
Start from scratch
If spiritual growth was so easy, we could celebrate one Shavuot and be done with it. But just like the Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur time for repentance, we are given this opportunity each year. Why? Because it’s hard. Just like growing spiritually is a slow process in which you put in the work and very small changes happen on a day by day basis, growing your wealth is similar. It’s not like you go to sleep one night with no savings and mounds of debt and wake up in the morning a multi-millionaire. Building wealth is a long-term process.
Use this time of the year to hit the reset button and start from square one. Don’t let inertia control you. Just because you may be off course financially doesn’t mean that that will be your lot in life forever. You can take control of your own financial situation and start implementing changes that will enable you a secure financial future.
Debt is the enemy
Despite commercials and other poor people who preach the beauty of taking on debt, the reality is that debt is the enemy of financial security. It’s a black hole. If you can’t pay off the first loan, you won’t have money to pay off successive loans. You sink farther into debt, and it becomes much harder to climb out of the hole. At some point, the music stops and you will need to pay, and if you don’t have the money you lose.
Live within your means
Get back to the basics. Nothing I am writing is rocket science. It’s just basic advice. You have an obligation to live on the money that you actually have. Keep track of all income and expenses. Once you know how much is coming in, you can create a budget to ensure that you live responsibly and don’t go into overdraft. I know that I sound like a broken record but don’t spend more than you bring in. If that means not eating out as much, or skipping the vacation to Eilat and going camping instead, so be it. Take 10-15% of your income and plow it into savings. Employer contributions into Pension funds and Keren Hishtalmut will really help. If you can put away more, go for it.
Use these 7 weeks to get back on course. Start making smart financial decisions, and get yourself on the path of financial security.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is author of the book Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel, and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.gpsinvestor.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
