1. Supply and demand. 1) Don’t take low paying jobs. 2) If you want more security and are not the type to open a business, get a masters degree so you can build your pay up. 3) become really valuable in your position; when you are invaluable you become irreplaceable and your employer will pay you more. 4) Daven for hatzlacha.

2. Do the best you can, and have Bitachon!

3. Very simple. The companies are hit by inflation also, all their costs have gone up and they can’t afford higher salaries.

4. Every year of working somewhere I make less and less money. The same per hour, but now it’s worth less.
   So the grocery can raise their prices but I can’t.

5. I’ve been saying this for a while…
   It’s a huge problem.
   The only ones making more money are the businesses… They have raised their prices… shuls have raised their membership fees, Grocery store have raised their prices and the schools are doing the same all in the name of inflation. While we the employees are getting paid the same/underpaid?? Really?
   It will hit the businesses soon, they will need to raise the salaries as people cannot make ends meet with all the rise in costs.

6. Rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

7. For food: buy all or most of your food in Walmart, Aldi’s, Trader Joe’s, Costco, etc.
   Don’t keep the unnecessarily Chumrah of Cholov Yisroel.
   Eat less red meat and more chicken, buy it wholesale.

   For tuition and homes: move to state with tuition vouchers and cheaper homes like Ohio, and even New Hampshire if you have enough people to buy a large area in a place with helpful zoning and build new homes (existing home prices are high, but land can be cheap), there’s quite a few other states like that.

   If it bothers enough people and they get along with each other and they have people with experience, intelligence and wisdom to a certain degree then they can get together to set up entire new communities and live affordably.

   Why is that not happening mostly?
   Because people really mean that they want to live in the same place and go to the same schools, but they just want to do it much more affordably.
   That’s not possible as the community at large is too disorganized, that’s why smaller groups need to go elsewhere in a more organization fashion.

   My understanding is that some of the larger Chasidishe communities are organized enough to be able to send groups of people to set up communities in more affordable places like Arizona for example.

   Ignoring the fact that no human should have to live in Arizona, it’s still an admirable accomplishment and others can learn from that specific aspect of them.

   • Your perspective is wrong. Cholov Yisroel is not a chumra. Eating Cholov Stam is a kula

     • A gallon of low-fat chalav Yisrael milk at a kosher supermarket is $7.58. A gallon of chalav stam at Walmart $3.77, HALF the price!!! And don’t tell me that producing the former has additional expenses… I get it! But to the tune of DOUBLING the price??? Are the mashgichim making $300K/year?

       Sorry, but on my retiree fixed income I’ll stick to the Walmart brand milk. (I’ll maybe do a little extra for my esrog, which is only once a year. But I go through a gallon of milk every week, and that’s living alone, without a passel of kids). (And now let’s hear from the holier-than-thou folks who’ll call me out for not being sufficiently yiras Shamayim).

       • I didn’t say anything about the price. Halacha is clear chalav aku is assur. R Moshe was mechadesh a kula, which you may defiitely rely on, and I have no problem with you relying on it, that chalav stam is mutar, but don’t delude yourself into thinking it isn’t a kula.

         • The following is excerpted from an OU article about Cholov Yisroel by R’ Avrohom Gordimer, citing R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l (Igros Moshe YD 1:47-49):

           “Since the government inspects dairies and makes sure that milk from non-kosher species is not present in the milk supply, our knowledge of this fact is the halachic equivalent of a mashgiach witnessing it… all domestic commercial milk therefore satisfies the halachic requirement that a Yisroel supervise it. Such milk is commonly referred to as cholov stam.

           “Furthermore, it is clear as day to anyone who visits a commercial dairy farm that the only animals on-site are cows… and the Halacha is that if a farm has no non-kosher animals, the mashgiach need not witness the actual milking, as even if he is stationed outside of the milking parlor… and verifies that no non-kosher animals enter, the milk is kosher/cholov Yisroel. (Avodah Zarah 39b, Shulchan Aruch ibid.)”

           Bottom line for me: (1) cholov stam is “EQUIVALENT” to cholov Yisroel, and (2) the mashgiach doesn’t even need to witness the milking on U.S. commercial dairy farms. Ergo, the mashgiach adds not much of anything vis-à-vis kashrus, so his presence is clearly a chumra.

           If people are guilted into paying double for their machmir cholov Yisroel minhag, then so be it. But for a family with numerous children, providing this essential staple only makes the financial burden needlessly more crushing. Does the extra stringency of paying for a mashgiach on a cow-only dairy farm justify cholov Yisroel being DOUBLE the price? Maybe somebody needs to do a deep investigatory dive into the industries true additional costs and profits.

         • I see R’ Shua that no matter what I say you are deluding yourself. I feel sorry for you. The word “equivalent” is yours, and not a word that R’ Moshe used.

         • The following is excerpted from the CRC website consumer.crckosher.org/publications/chalav-stam-nowadays/
           “Rav Moshe numerous teshuvos on the topic of chalav Yisroel, and in EACH” (emphasis mine) “he notes that it is PREFERABLE” (emphasis mine again) “for people to drink chalav Yisroel, but it is, nonetheless, PERFECTLY PERMITTED” (one more emphasis by me, last one) “to use (what is colloquially known as) chalav stam, due to government inspection of dairy farms”

     • Please note that The facts which r moshe has based his response has changed dramatically It is debatable if his reasoning still exists. OU at one point of time we’re not sure but now they decided that it is still valid. (I don’t have the exact details but it seems the government no longer inspects farms so the farmer does not have to really be worried about anybody looking over his shoulder do your homework)

8. HaRav Zev Smith has beautiful advice on how to daven to Hashem for Parnassa or a different issue.
   Almost all of us are trying very hard to fight this bombardment of Pritzus that is coming from the non-Jewish. Rabbi Smith said that we can ask for Parnassa and tell Hashem that we want to put a lot of light into this dark world and we need Parnassa in order to succeed in adding a lot of Kedusha into this world and Rabbi Smith is 100% convinced that this is a legitimate Tefillah.

9. What’s sad is that a few of those salaries are above average.

10. Just do what you are supposed to do, take a job, and pray to God for help. Say Birkas Hamazon with thought. God helps in hidden ways, like initiating the creation of bread from underground where you can’t see “Hamotzi lechem min haaretz”. So too He will help you where you least expect it.
    In this weeks Parsha, Yaakov Avinu was also afraid (38:2) just like you are, he did what he was supposed to do physically and also prayed in the very next verse.
    Some years back I was complaining to an older man about the overwhelming responsibilities I was facing. He didn’t hesitate to answer: “Too bad on you! Just do what you’re supposed to, stop complaining and pray to God for help!”
    It was good advice then as now.

11. Years ago only the husband had to go to work daily to make enough money for his family to make ends meet. Today for a long time already it takes 2 working spouses to just enough to cover their family bills.

    Welcome to the new generation of today where people are throwing THOUSANDS of dollars down the drain on completely unnecessary items and then want to know why they are in debt. 1)Do YOU HONESTLY REALLY NEED 3 cars to live? Don’t you still remember wheb everyone lives with one carcin their driveway and managed as a family to get everyone around to wherever they needed to go.
    2)do YOU honestly need to go out to the restaurant 2 or 3 times a week and throw hundreds of dollars down the drain or is obceca week enough for date night?

    Problem of today’s generation worldwide is we are currently living in denial when issues come up and don’t know how to FACE REALITY and deal with the issue immediately.

    Let’s talk about this financial issue from a financial advisor

    1) immediately start making a budget lan where every income and expense is written down and accounted for so that at the end of the month/year YOU will know if you are Boruch Hashem just making ends meet or are you able to put some money into savings for your child’s upcoming Simcha in a few years or vice versa chas VShalom you are going into dept?

    2)Then look at all your expenses from throughout the year and see if they are really family needs or is alot of it coming from unnecessary extra of fancy expensive clothing and other unnecessary extra items that instead could be put away into a savings account for when REAL FAMILY NEEDS come up like a family Simcha or a down payment for a house.

    (For many other financial tips feel free to email me at theteshuvamovement@yahoo com)

    A financial advisor

    • When my parents had a lot of children who drove, they had a lot of cars. Now it’s just the two of them so they are down down to one car.
      We are now looking for another car because my daughter needs one. If you think she does not, can you explain how she is suppose to get to work and back with mass transit not available for the times she needs nor goes to were she wants to go?

      I am tired f people saying it’s all spending on fancy restaurants or clothes. What about the people who had not set foot in a restaurant in years or only buy clothes on sale?
      Are they not allowed to have $$$ problems only people who spend money in restaurants?

      • If your daughter is working, shouldn’t she be paying for her own car ?

    • Nice suggestion to cut out the unnecessary stuff – but on salaries that are being offered it doesn’t meet the BASIC expenses like shelter food and tuition and other BASIC must pay bills before the extras. So many in our town are not even getting to the extras because they can’t cover rent and tuition!!!
      True that some people spend on luxuries. But this letter is about living and paying bills before luxuries.

      It doesn’t add up.

      But good advice for those that spend on extras also.

    • Well, let me break the news to you: my husband & I both work. We do not own/lease a car, we do not go out to eat. We do not buy takeout food. We do not own a summer room.We have five children in school/yeshiva, we
      pay tuition, we pay a mortgage (small NY condo), we pay for food, insurance, camp and taxes and we still can’t make ends meet.

12. maskim

13. It’s not so hard to learn how to trade futures (like stocks)
    you can start with $2,000 and do quite well!!

    There are free courses that show you a somewhat safe strategy to start investing.

    I can be contacted through the Scoop

    Pinny the daytrader

    • Which courses?

    • Huh that the most risky advise I have ever seen. No course can help with that. Stay away from those risks. I know you are flying high now because the market is doing well. But you’ll make a few bad bets and its all over. Or a 2007 crash will come. Readers do not do this. If you invest its long term and diversified.

14. We have to face the reality that Lakewood is no longer affordable. 10-15 years ago, if people had a choice between Brooklyn and Lakewood, they chose Lakewood because the cost of living was less (housing, tuitions…). We have priced ourselves out of Lakewood and it’s time to move on to whatever town is next.

    • You still get a bigger bang for your buck in Lakewood. A $1M house in Lakewood is alot larger than the little hut you’d get in Brooklyn for $1m. And you can find cheap houses in the area for $600K. Can’t find any of that in Brooklyn

15. I’m living like that the last 30 years.
    Don’t think about it too much, you’ll never figure it out.
    HaShem has a way of keeping g it all together.

16. lol, those are really good salaries for jobs that range from minimal to no skill. You get paid for what you’re worth. Those salaries look on par with inflation in my opinion.

17. @pinny the daytrader, how can I touch with you? Would love to hear more info. Thanks

18. Be careful day trading
    I know people who have lost money on it.

19. TYH That’s It

20. Stop voting for Democrats that how we do it and NJ need stop trusting filthy Democrats.

21. Rents need to be reduced.. Why a 1 bedroom apartment is $1600 to $1900 a month is ridiculous

    • My husband is self employed, has a very busy business in the service industry in Monsey BH. He works long hours. I teach boys and get paid very well while working ten hours a week. We don’t do big vacations, we pay lots of tuition and pay for healthcare and all food and therapies for the kids etc. Recently, my husband has been talking about leaving his business and applying for welfare. Under the current administration especially, living independently has become almost impossible. It seems that today the only way to make it is to rely on government programs. The profit margin of the business is shrinking as supplies and labor escelates. Food became a luxury. For years, people complained about those living off of the government and that they should get a job and get a life. We have worked really hard to do just that but it is no longer sustainable. My husband was thinking about going back to kollel and our financial strains would be much easier. Our daughter who is living in Lakewood has more money than us likely by the end of each month. Why not sit and learn all day, is it just something reserved for our sons and sons in law? I’m not insinuating that all the people living on welfare are wealthy but I know that my sister is telling me that she would love to work but can’t find a job because she would lose her programs and not be able to make ends meet. I used to think it was a loser situation but now I see that there’s no other way to sustain one’s self and ones family. I placate myself in knowing that the Kol yachol decides what we will have and not the Biden administration. This nisayon isn’t easy. Being told by our children schools that we should pay full tuition because we have a business, is not only stressful but also highlights our predicament. Tuition, health insurance (did you know that people who pay for health insurance have a tremendous amount of copays and deductibles in addition to the monthly fee?), kids therapies, food, clothing (think Chinese clothing not local stores beginning of season matching for the kids) and car maintenance …all these are so stressful. I have no answers, only questions. Hatzlocha rabbah and good Shabbos

      • Hashem should help your family in all ways and Hashem should bentsch your family with lots and lots of good health together with the rest of Klal Yisroel.
        I wrote earlier a comment about the advice of Reb Zev Smith. His advice is for the entire Klal Yisroel even a person who has zero issues with
        קדושת העיניים
        I mean to say that if a person is 100% perfect in the area of
        שמירת העיניים
        he or she can still use this precious Tefilla from Rabbi Zev Smith.
        His speech is called “the legacy of Mama Rochel.”
        I think the speech is about 3 or 4 minutes.

22. I currently don’t have money to go grocery shopping for Shabbos and already bought on credit twice this week and wondering how to swing it. It’s tough and a constant nisayon. This is with 2 parents working full time, 1 car and small home. I’m so jealous of those who manage to get food stamps.

23. precisely! as per my message above!!!!

24. There is one solution to this, a permanent solution. Your husband should start a business, and you should stay home and raise your family. The chassidim don’t have this problem, neither do the sephardim.

    • Speak for yourself. We all have the same issues.

25. Vote Democrat. They have the formula perfectly. Take money from anyone who has it and give it for free to everyone else. Free money then causes massive inflation which makes you vote democrat again. True in 10 or 20 years there may not be any money left in the system… but at least the democrats will have those 10 – 20 years of power to deeply care about you.

26. First off these salaries that you’re saying are starter salaries there are many jobs out there paying $35+/hour after a couple years of experience. That said for a young girl or couple just starting to work the expenses should be fairly low, which should give the opportunity to save as much as possible so that you don’t start sinking once you have kids etc…. The first eitzah is to take advantage of every government program at your disposal, whether it be medicaid, WIC, food stamps, hud, or chs, or even check out get covered New Jersey to get subsidized insurance (if someones income is close enough to the limits, think about contributing to a 401k or ira to lower your taxable income{speak to a accountant about the legalities of this}) 2 is make a budget, see where your moneys going, be conscious of how much money your spending on takeout, restaurants, kitchen 1, vacations etc…. its not a problem to have some discretionary spending, its just many people are not conscious about it. i.e. premade dips, challah, baked goods etc.. while all very convenient its burning a deep hole in ur pocket buy a jar of mayo or a bag of flour and save all that dough. Its sad to say or think but grocery stores are full of conveniences and luxuries that tempt us from the second we walk in, we’re blinded by what’s a need and what’s a luxury(I once heard a guy in kollel complaining that skirt steak was $60/lb when meat spiked). The main thing is save when you’re young because its not going to get easier when you have multiple tuitions and what not. if you have a hard time with living within you’re means then shut down all you’re credit cards and unsubscribe from all the deals groups, its not a deal if u don’t need it. lastly stock up on non perishables when they’re on sale, prepay your car insurance with paperless and what not to maximize the savings and finally if you’re still not managing speak to a recruiter don’t try to find a job on a WhatsApp group. or if ur in a job and u think ur underplayed speak up to your boss and ask for a raise, worst case they say no and u find a job elsewhere, just know your value. that said if u maxed

27. To understand why, look up the “Phillips Curve.” It is the tool used by economists. Lower unemployment often means higher wages. In turn, with higher incomes, people spend more, leading to more pressure on prices to inflate.

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