Episode 28: Yael Trusch on Judaism & Money with Farnoosh Torabi

B”H

So happy to be back behind the mic. Today is Tuesday, October 17, the 26th day of Tishrei. Tuesday!? Yes, I took a day off! More than a day. I actually took Sunday and Monday, to regroup after the High Holidays of the month of Tishrei finished.

I mentioned to you last week, during my interview with Professional Organizer Rebekah Saltzman, that as Tishrei winds down, and we wave goodbye to the excitement and the exhilaration of the High Holidays, I have a need to get organized. So, I took the past two days, not so much to organize my space (although I did go through my kids closets and desks), but to do a lot of bigger picture planning, goal setting, strategize, analyze and so forth. It’s important for me to do that this time of year, because honestly there was no time for that during Elul and Tishrei. I just didn’t have the head space. My mind was elsewhere and my emotional, mental and physical capacites were elsewhere. They were in a good place, but they were elsewhere.

So, one of the things that I did during these two day hiatus is have a super duper Money Date with my husband. I’ve talked about the Money Date before on the show. I spoke about it first in Episode #1 with Bari Tessler, author and creator of The Art of Money. I learned about the concept first from Bari and it’s something that I wholeheartedly believe in. I’ve also discussed it here during Episode #8 with Financial Planner and Money Coach, Debbie Sassen.

So basically, since I knew we were going to need this time, before Chag started last Wednesday night, I blocked out both our calendars and I planned something for my kids to be out so we could have our super duper first of the year, Money Date. We had chocolate, we had pen and paper, we had tea, and we discussed, we planned, we set goals, we made plans, we assessed what needed to change, what’s working etc. These can be hard conversations, and many people are not used to discuss money openly with their spouses. Can I just say something? If you’re not discussing finances with your spouse – intentionally discussing finances and money – I don’t mean having an argument about a credit card payment or a late fee… I’m talking productive, healthy conversations where you discuss your values, how you want to get there, what are you doing to get there, your money tracking systems, your investments, your debt, everything… all of it… then let me just say this: What are you waiting for!? Think about how much better your relationship with your money and with your spouse, both, would be if you were open and on the same page about the big picture as well as the nitty gritty of dealing with your money.

So, since this was a big part of what I did over the past two days, I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you even more of what I think about Personal Finance and Money and in particular about the connection between Judaism and money by presenting you today with an appearance I had earlier this summer on Money Expert Farnoosh Torabi’s So Money Podcast. Back in the summer – seems like ages ago – I was a co-host with Farnoosh on her So Money Friday episode, Ask Farnoosh. I helped her tackle some of her readers’ questions on money and I got to share some of my insights and beliefs as a Jewish woman and from a Jewish lens.
I hadn’t shared this on the show, but I did share this on social media as well as on my blog’s newsletter back in the summer when the show first aired. By the way, if you’re not subscribed to my news letter, what are you waiting for? I don’t bombard you with too many emails, but I do keep you posted on things that you want to look out for, often things that don’t necessarily make it to the blog or the podcast, so if you haven’t done so yet, go back to Jewish Latin princess.com and subscribe. I’d love to have you there and connect with you in that way.

So just before I share with you some clips from that episode with Farnoosh, let me just tell you that you can go and hear the full episode on So Money Podcast Episode 587. I am extremely grateful to Farnoosh for giving me the floor to speak so openly not just about money, but about Judaism and I want to take this opportunity to thank again all the listeners who emailed me – Jewish and non-Jewish – to complement me on my participation, my confidence and my positive spin on a topic – or a combination of topics – that are rarely presented as such.

And one final note, ladies, women in general do not talk enough about money, money is still a taboo, it’s not something that we are taught about (at least intentionally), we learn about it either by osmosis or through terrible hardships and unfortunately, despite the fact that Judaism has much to say on this topic and despite the fact that in so many ways as a nation we have been blessed with tremendous opportunities and abilities to create wealth not just for ourselves, but for the world at large, I do feel like Jewish women are still today in 2017, in 5778 a lot in the dark when it comes to money and I strongly believe that for our personal betterment, and for the betterment of our families and our marriages, this should change.

The good news is that it’s very possible and it’s not that scary as you might think. In this podcast, I’ve already given you tremendous resources, interviews like Episode #1 with Bari Tessler, Episode #4 with Barbara Stanny, Episode #8 with Debbie Sassen and Episode #14 with Amanda Steinberg. I’ve even discussed the topic of money with motivational speakers and life coaches, Natalie Levy Riess on Episode #25 and with Devorah Sisso, on Episode #11. Go back and listen to those conversations, and take all that information, as well as what I’ve shared with Farnoosh and will share with you today, and start mapping out…. where you could be doing better and what actions you need to take to improve in that area, what baby steps could you be taking now? It’s a new year – fresh energy – it might be a great time to take some steps in this area.

Alright, that was a long introduction. I will say this: if after listening to all this, you think you might be interested in the Money and Judaism program I’m putting together – drop me an email now, as we are working not just on the content but on the structure and I’d love to put you on the list and keep you updated and let you know when the time comes. And really, now, here’s me and Farnoosh Torabi.