Chasing the Fionist Dream

Our journey to cut expenses, be smarter with our money and reach financial freedom by our 50s

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  • 5 ways to get “free” money from the government

    5 ways to get “free” money from the government

    While the Israeli government taxes us and takes our money left and right, it also has several programs you might not know about where you can get some of it back. Most people are not eligible for every single one of these, but as we say, knowledge is power. Even being eligible for one can […]

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    fionistdream

    November 22, 2022
    Seeking Opportunity
    government, knowledge is power, opportunities, working in Israel
  • When it’s chilly, make some chili.

    When it’s chilly, make some chili.

    Like many young couples thrown into the adventure of new parenthood, we were low earners, making slightly above 11K net combined, and suddenly had to stretch our same income to cover daycare and baby equipment. We had to figure out how to get the best deals on diapers, wipes and formula (which we only optimized […]

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    fionistdream

    November 16, 2022
    Recipes
    all year round, Budgeting, chili, frugal cooking, winter, yum
  • “Markets are DOWN. It’s a TERRIBLE time to invest.” (…or is it?)

    “Markets are DOWN. It’s a TERRIBLE time to invest.” (…or is it?)

    You may have noticed that your pension and keren hishtalmut have lost money this year – as have many other investments. It’s been a bad year for stock markets around the world. So… it must be a bad time to invest, right? Why throw my hard-earned money into something that’s losing money? If you’ve been […]

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    fionistdream

    November 11, 2022
    Investing
    ETF's, Investing, opportunities, planning for the future, recession, snowball effect, stock market, Stocks
  • Our 2000 shekel chol hamoed family vacation in Israel

    Our 2000 shekel chol hamoed family vacation in Israel

    As a few of us have birthdays in the fall and it’s off-season, that is generally the time of year we choose for family vacations. By September, we had built up a slush fund since we decided months ago that we wanted to vacation this fall, but we still hadn’t booked anything yet in the […]

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    fionistdream

    November 1, 2022
    Life Updates
    holidays, little kids, opportunities, quality time, slush funds, vacation
  • 5 money mistakes to avoid

    5 money mistakes to avoid

    We all make mistakes. Everyone does, even the likes of Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates. The most important thing is to recognize them, learn from them, and find ways not to do them again. Today we want to share five common money mistakes that might seem like no big deal now, but can […]

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    fionistdream

    October 26, 2022
    Seeking Opportunity
    Budgeting, mindset, opportunities, planning for the future, tracking
  • 10 basic rights that your Israeli employer must give you

    10 basic rights that your Israeli employer must give you

    Have you ever seen a job ad that promises “full social benefits” (“תנאים סוציאליים מלאים”) as a perk the company offers? These ads irk us to no end and are even a potential red flag.  Why? Because the company isn’t doing you a favor by giving you these benefits. Israeli law requires them to give […]

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    fionistdream

    October 18, 2022
    Employee Rights
    Employee Rights, Israeli law, knowledge is power, opportunities, retirement, working in Israel
  • Your financial life boat

    Your financial life boat

    In March 2020, COVID hit us by storm and the world locked down. Families across Israel  – including ours – and the world had one or both wage-earners furloughed or laid off. While the Israeli government paid extended unemployment benefits, no one knew how long they would last or what the future would be.  This […]

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    fionistdream

    October 6, 2022
    Budgeting
    Budgeting, emergency fund, planning for the future, saving, slush funds, summer camp, vacation
  • 8 secrets service providers don’t want you to know

    8 secrets service providers don’t want you to know

    We talk a lot about tracking your expenses and building a budget. But how do you actually bring your expenses down? All businesses have the same goal – making money. But equally important is retaining customers. While the companies on our list will never publicly advertise these discounts – ask and you (likely) shall receive. […]

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    fionistdream

    September 28, 2022
    Cutting costs
    Budgeting, lowering expenses, opportunities, saving, shopping, tracking
  • Rosh Hashana is upon us. Here are our New Year’s resolutions. What are yours?

    Rosh Hashana is upon us. Here are our New Year’s resolutions. What are yours?

    While we have always saved and invested, almost exactly one year ago we made the decision to increase our investment rate and actively pursue financial independence. We had both experienced challenges in our work situations, COVID-related and not, and realized that we don’t want to spend the next 30+ years of our lives in a […]

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    fionistdream

    September 21, 2022
    Holidays / Chagim, Seeking Opportunity
    Budgeting, Investing, New Year, opportunities, planning for the future, saving, shopping
  • Buying these “luxuries” costs us over ILS 70K per year (but we buy them anyway)

    Buying these “luxuries” costs us over ILS 70K per year (but we buy them anyway)

    After listing all of the things we don’t spend money on, we’re following up with the expensive things we DO spend money on, lest you think we’re stingy. 😂 Our Fionist lifestyle isn’t about living as cheaply as possible. It’s about changing our mindset and prioritizing our spending on things that are important to us. […]

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    fionistdream

    September 14, 2022
    Seeking Opportunity
    Budgeting, opportunities, planning for the future, shopping, spending
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"fake out" (1) all year round (1) banks (1) Budgeting (15) buyme (2) chili (1) cost of living (1) emergency fund (1) Employee Rights (2) ETF's (1) fake money (2) fake take out (1) FI (2) financial independence (2) first post (1) frugal cooking (2) frugal shopping (1) gift cards (1) government (1) holidays (4) inflation (2) Investing (7) Israeli law (1) kids (1) knowledge is power (2) LazyFI Dad (1) little kids (1) lowering expenses (2) mindset (1) negotiating (1) New Year (1) opportunities (14) paperwork (1) photography (1) pizza (1) planning for the future (12) quality time (1) recession (1) retirement (1) saving (12) saving money (1) shopping (8) slush funds (5) snowball effect (5) spending (1) stock market (1) Stocks (1) summer camp (1) supermarket (1) tax (1) Tlush (1) tracking (6) vacation (2) winter (2) working in Israel (2) yum (2)

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