Chasing the Fionist Dream

How do you decide what to spend money on?

Think about it for a minute.

Which, if any, of your monthly expenses would be lower or not exist if you didn’t care what other people think? Would you drive a simpler, less expensive car? Live in a smaller or older apartment or even a less expensive neighborhood or city altogether? Register your kids for fewer chugim? Stop dying your hair or waxing your legs? Some of these things may be genuinely important to you. Some might not be.

How much time and money do you spend doing things to because everyone else does them instead of doing things that align with your values and bring you joy?

What if not spending money on things you care less about – some of which may feel like necessities at this point – could free up money that you could otherwise redirect toward other expenses that are important to you? Imagine directing that money toward debt repayment, building up your emergency fund, investing, or building up a slush fund for next year’s vacation.

In case you missed it, we live in a consumerist society – even here in Israel – and are constantly bombarded by advertisements to spend, spend, SPEND. And if you don’t have enough money to pay for all of that, no worries – your bank, your credit card, or even your supermarket will be thrilled to give you a loan to cover it. And they remind you at every possible opportunity. Moreover, in case you missed it, Israeli credit cards now allow the option of minimum payments and good old-fashioned American-style credit card debt. It’s predatory and horrible. Stay far, far away.

At least for us, one of the advantages of getting older is that we feel more established in who we are, what we stand for, and feel much freer to be ourselves. Now that we have re-entered the world of bar and bat mitzvahs (as friends of the parents, of course), we have so much more fun wearing what we want and letting loose on the dance floor. Who cares what those 12- and 13-year-olds think of us? We are so much cooler than they are. 😉

In our household, we choose to live in a tiny apartment, go car-free and avoid buying a whole slew of things in order to free up money to enable us to reach our goals, namely the ability to retire early if we choose to do so, and building meaningful memories with our family today.

Get yourself a nice drink, sit down (with your partner if you have one), and create a bucket list of short term and long term goals that you would like to achieve. What do you really want from life? And what are you willing to do without to get there? Do you need more income in order to make it happen? Make a plan, believe in yourself, and make your dreams a reality.

Your life is yours to live. Live it for yourself and not for others. Being content with what you have and being true to yourself is a superpower that will get you far in life.

Do you feel pressured to keep up with the Cohens?

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