Chasing the Fionist Dream

In 2019, our 15 year old Ford Focus broke down for the second time in a month. Rather than paying yet another 2,500 shekels to fix it, we made the spontaneous decision to put the car out of its misery and sold it to the mechanic for parts. We then walked into a neighboring makolet, bought ourselves some consolation ice cream, and cabbed home with our carseat and all of our worldly car possessions while we considered what to do next.

While we planned to replace the car, we didn’t want to be impulsive and agreed that we needed to research models, used car vendors and payment plans first. We were fortunate that we lived on bus routes that could take each of us to work, and Fiona could even walk to her office if she chose. We fully expected that we’d have a new car within a few months.

As the months passed, we diligently researched car makes and models. We read reviews. We talked about how we were going to pay for it. And then something neither of us expected happened. We got used to living without a car. Fiona, who had previously been using the car the most, discovered that she enjoyed the walk to and from work. We were still able to make it to gan pickup on time, and we discovered the pure joy of online grocery shopping. Our search for a new car took a back seat in our lives, and soon enough, COVID hit. The world locked down. Finn was out of work for five months. Fiona’s job became remote and eventually hybrid. We never ended up replacing the car. We walk, take public transport and rent or borrow cars as needed. Three years later, we’ve saved over 100 thousand shekels in car related expenses, including gas, insurance, parking, upkeep, and the car itself. Instead of literally burning through this money (as a car does), we invested it and thanks to compound interest, it is worth more today.

This is not a post encouraging you to get rid of your car. (Phew…).

We are all about keeping our minds open and recognizing opportunity when it presents itself. No one change works for everyone. We are all different with different needs and different life circumstances. But sometimes seizing a single opportunity, making one lifestyle change, can significantly alter the course of your family’s financial journey. When you see the effects of that change, you will be inspired to learn and do more. We are all constantly growing and evolving and there are always more skills to learn and habits to master.

In this blog, we will share our insider knowledge with you and show you the ways that we save, earn and grow our money in Israel. We will delve into: 

• budgeting and planning for the future
• how to never (or hardly ever) pay full price for anything
• traveling inexpensively — in Israel and abroad
• battling lifestyle creep
• Israeli worker’s rights
• how to read your tlush maskoret (payslip)
• plenty of tips and tricks on how to stretch your shekels
• the magic of investing and compound interest
• updates about our own journey
• and plenty more

Looking forward to sharing our journey with you!

What kinds of unexpected opportunities have you identified and embraced in your life? How did that affect you long term? Leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you.