Virtual Money

Many, many years ago, money consisted of coins made from gold or silver, and their value was determined according to their weight.

With the years, people became more advanced technologically and it became inconvenient to walk around with these heavy coins in our pockets, so paper money was developed. The paper itself had very little real value but the paper money's purchasing value was determined by what was printed on it and until recently, the gold bullion that was kept in the government vaults supporting it. The technology for printing money has advanced with the times in order to protect the integrity (and thus value) of the money that is printed. Money related technology continues to advance. You can't stop technology!

Today, very few people actually go with money in their pockets or wallets. Paper money has been replaced with a little piece of plastic – the credit card – very easy to carry around and too easy to use. Our money is in the bank and we pay against the money that we (or our employer) deposited and the credit line that we managed to build. Money has become a virtual concept – no one sees it or touches it – even the banks keep limited amounts at hand.

We buy food and clothing with the credit card. We pay our bills with the credit card. We even take loans from the credit card.

What fun! How easy!

Really?

It seems to me that our financial problems stem exactly from today's virtual nature of money.

In those days long gone when we were paid in cash – coins or printed tender, we knew exactly how much money we had and we could only spend what we had. No more money, no more purchases.

What happens today? Most people are not really aware of how much money they spend because no accounting really needs to be made. All payments can be made with a credit cards! Can we really know how much we spend in the day? A week? A month? A year?

And then, unexpectedly, the credit card doesn't work. The computer did not authorize the purchase. We passed our limit. We didn't pay attention. But even though our money is virtual, it still has a limit.

So what do we do? We whip out another credit cards from our pocket or run to the bank begging for more credit!

How do we get out of this virtual money trap?

Neomi

Going to the Tax Authority

I had to go to the Tax Authority. Not a very enjoyable proposition, but nonetheless I had to go. While planning my "outing" I checked the Tax Authority's website for office hours so that I wouldn't waste my time. I noticed in the website that the address was incorrect and laughed to myself that these huge bureaucratic organizations are really inefficient.

Well, I went towards the end of office hours hoping that there wouldn't be a line. Right across the street from the main entrance, there was a parking lot that cost 20 shekels – not bad. However, I continued another 300 meters to a free public parking lot (SAVED 20 SHEKELS) and walked the 2 minutes to the main entrance.

Talk about being inefficient!!! I got to the main entrance and the guard brought my attention to the hand written sign on the door stating that the Tax Authority moved. Guess what! They moved to the same address that I saw on their website.

I walked back to the car, saw that I could still make it so I drove to their new (which were actually their old, renovated) offices. Across the street from the main entrance, I saw a parking lot that charged 15 Shekels – pretty cheap. However, I drove another 200 meters and found free curbside parking (SAVED ANOTHER 15 SHEKELS).

The renovated offices of the Tax Authority are pretty nice and easy to navigate. I got to the office that I needed and guess what! It was closed. This part of the Tax Authority in closed in the afternoons. "Come back tomorrow morning" a very nice clerk suggested.

That is exactly what I did. I arrived at the Tax Authority early the next morning and even parked in the same parking spot (SAVED ANOTHER 15 SHEKELS). To my surprise, there was no line at the offices that I needed to visit. I finished within 2 minutes and was told to continue on to another office. Also there, there was no line.

WOW! I finished with my dealings with the Tax Authority within 15 minutes (well maybe it was a couple of hours if I combine the total time invested during those 2 days) and everyone was really nice and helpful.

In addition, I didn't have to pay the Tax Authority a cent!!

Mindy

Conserving Water

My children and I are really concerned about the environment and, living in Israel, we are especially concerned about water. Israel has no water sources and very little rain, so every year we see our very important "water hole" the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) drying up. However, the need to conserve is not unique to Israel. Maintaining fresh drinking water is a global concern.

As part of our efforts to conserve water - which also saves us money - we sat down and made a list of things that we can do at home. We had a lot of fun brainstorming really silly ideas and I was really impressed with the kids' enthusiasm. I want to share with you our final list of 6 with you:

1. When drinking water, pour a 1/2 cup at a time.

2. When taking a shower, shut off the water while soaping your body and shampooing your hair.

3. Do the laundry only when the washing machine has a full load (the same rule holds true for the dishwasher).

4. Use the same cup to drink all day.

5. Leave a tub in the kitchen sink to collect the water that we use to wash various things (including our hands) and use the water in the tub to rinse the dishes that we put in the dishwasher (The dishwasher can then be programmed to a conservation/economy wash).

6. Collect run off water from the shower and use it to wash the floors and water the plants.

Are these conservation methods suitable for you and your household? Share with us your ideas for conserving water.

Mindy