It's What's On Everybody's Mind

Finances. This is a topic I feel very strongly about, as will become apparent.When I moved to Israel, I thought it would be easy to make it. After all, isn't everything cheaper here?

It didn't take me long to realize that no, it's not. Food costs more, housing costs more, toys and electronics cost more and all with the average income being just a smidgen of what it would be in America.
I picked up a small box of cereal in the grocery last week that cost 36 shekel. That's over 10 dollars. I put it right back. Basic food staples cost more here than in the most expensive European cities.
My son wants a certain Playmobil toy for his birthday. $95 at Toy's R Us, 1500 shekel in Israel. I can't even do conversion math that high without taking off my socks and shoes but it's roughly $440. Furthermore, bargain shopping is a concept unknown to Israelis. There's no Walmart or Target. No Payless or Sears. Sure there are cheap stores but you get exactly what you pay for. A cheap shirt or toy will rip or break before you can even make it to the check out counter.

And the salaries?

Minimum wage stands at a bit over $1000 a month before taxes and to be frank, the average salary, even for professionals is not much more. While food prices have risen 26% over the past few years, salaries have only gone up 2%. It's a system that doesn't make sense and leads to the unfortunate high rate of poverty in Israel.

I personally feel that the only way to be able to make it comfortably in Israel is to work very hard, and we do. My husband and myself both have 2 full time jobs each, 4 jobs altogether. It's not easy, but it's not magic. If you work, you will have. If you don't...well then what do you expect?

A friend's husband was complaining to my husband that after living here just a few years, they are already $30,000 in credit card debt and that making it in Israel is impossible. My husband asked him, "Well, what does your wife do?" He replied, "No wife of mine is ever going to have to work!"

I hate to break it to you sir, but many times in life there are no shortcuts. Be smart, responsible, and not lazy. That's the secret behind financial security.