Check out this refreshing article on Forbes.com here…
An excerpt:
According to the 2013 survey by the Pew Institute, being Jewish, with all the associated customs, traditions, and laws, is extremely important to virtually all Orthodox Jews. It’s infused into every aspect of their lives. Consequently, any planning needs to start there. Being able to maintain a Jewish lifestyle is probably far more important to Orthodox Jews than simply accumulating the most amount of wealth or only saving for retirement.
In that vein, an important first step in the planning process is to draft an Investment Policy Statement (IPS). This will be helpful in identifying, and focusing on, the family’s actual goals. It should include a list of lifestyle decisions that are of utmost importance and specify where they are comfortable cutting expenses.
I recommend starting this process with a blank sheet of paper with two columns. One side should include what is important in their lives and the other side should include what is not. This may sound elementary, but it is an extremely effective method for identifying priorities.
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When the two lists are made, I ask my clients to prioritize each list. That means they rank the items from the most important to the least important. This exercise is particularly instructive.
One observation I’ve had with my clients, is that they tend to rank sending their kids to Yeshiva towards the top of their list of priorities and saving for college towards the bottom. The reason for this is not because Orthodox Jewish families don’t value higher education. However, there are many financing options available when it comes to paying for college. This includes various types of scholarships, student aid, and taking out loans. Furthermore, choosing a cheaper university is also a practical option. On the other hand, Yeshivas offer fewer financing options. This pushes college savings down from a top priority.
A key next step after completing the ranking is for the family to cut out the activities that are unimportant to their lives and reallocate those resources for things that are important.
The result is your “rich life”, where your cash flow is optimized so your hard-earned dollars are going towards things that are important to you and your family instead of being wasted on things that don’t enhance your life. After all, money is not a scorecard. Rather, it’s a tool to help you achieve the life you want. Ultimately, the exercise of creating an IPS is about aligning an investor’s money with their values.
See the rest here.