“Living the Dream” – Spending Beyond Our Means

The speakers were extremely convincing and inspiring. My own life experiences verify everything said by Naftoli Horowitz.
When I was a child in Jersey City, my parents were extremely poor. The Yeshiva I attended had an ice cream truck that came during recess and the price for a small ice pop was five cents. I attended the Yeshiva for nine years but was probably the only child who never bought the 5 cents ice pop. However, I never felt deprived because we lived in a totally black neighborhood and I was considered well off compared to everyone else. The principal of my Yeshiva wanted to give me money but I said no, ‘We have what we need.” We went on a class trip to the Streits Matzoh Bakery and a hand shmura bakery on the Lower East Side. After the trip we went to a Kosher Pizza store on East Broadway and almost everyone in the class paid 20 cents for a slice of pizza. That was too expensive for me and I was the only boy that went without lunch but did not feel deprived. I felt so happy that I was able to attend yeshiva and felt so lucky when I compared myself to the other black boys on the block. My cousin moved to a fancy neighborhood and told me that she and her husband were very depressed because they could not keep up to the high life-style of their neighborhood. They said: “Following a life of gashmayos is a disaster.”
In addition, I am a CPA, who worked for the government for ten years. It is no secret that the government is auditing people who have a lot of assets. When I represented a client at a recent IRS audit, the auditor typed in the clients address and in seconds, was able to clearly see the outside of my client’s house including the fancy marble and waterfall in the front of their house. Another click on the computer and the auditor was able to see the make and year of all the cars they owned and all the real estate they owned. I am also a Certified Fraud Examiner and the first indication of fraud is “High Lifestyle.” When a auditor sees a high lifestyle and the tax return shows a low income, the audit is expanded to include almost everything. Living a less ostentatious lifestyle is a great plus to reduce the risk of audit and reduce the possible Chillel Hashem if the high lifestyle cannot be justified.

The high cost of making simchas (especially weddings) is one of the prime areas in which people are compelled to spend beyond their means. Even when making a simpler type affair, one is hampered by the extravaganza which is today considered mandatory, not to mention minimums imposed by the caterer…
Also, the imagined obligation to make a sheva berachos affair every night, often resulting in having to seek favors from family / friends to host them and people to attend!

I would suggest a shiur examining this issue,