Finances, Food and Clothing – Preparing for the Yom Tov Season

This is the first year we will be staying home for Rosh Hashana.  Can you believe it?  After almost 10 years, we’ve decided it was high time we make it on our own.

While I’m not nervous about the actual days of Yom Tov, I do get nervous about all the preparation.  I am still working full-time and feel like every day is packed with things to do.  And sometimes I’m just too tired to do more.  Surely you know that feeling of, “I. JUST. CAN’T.”  It sure has a funny way of creeping up when there really are a ton of things we know we need to do.

So, since I know that Yom Tov is coming and I know that I can prepare in advance, I am choosing to do just that.  There are so many things to do, so many things we’ll need and I don’t have to wait until the last minute… knowing this and doing this are certainly two different things.

I’ll try my best, but can’t promise anything.  I hate that last minute feeling of needing to rush and spend extra money because I wasn’t organized and didn’t plan in advance.  I do that all the time when it comes to Shabbos and last minute grocery items I need during the week and it definitely impacts our bottom line.

There are so many ways to plan in order to have a great Yom Tov.  Finances, food, and clothing are three things I need to get in order to have a successful Yom Tov.  Here’s how I’m hoping to plan:

1 – Finances

It is so easy to charge everything on your credit card and then forget about it… until the bill comes.  Then it can be stress city!

I recently came across Debbie Sassen’s website and found an awesome FREE resource for planning the financial part of Yom Tov.  It’s called 7 STEPS TO CREATING FINANCIALLY SANE JEWISH HOLIDAYS and it comes with great advice and a spreadsheet.  Who doesn’t love a spreadsheet to keep things organized and pretty looking – even if the numbers aren’t.

This free guide includes:

  • Thoughtful questions with room for you to write your own personal answers
  • Many, many words of encouragement for those on a budget
  • Practical advice for everyone- even those who are anti-budgeting

2 – Food

We definitely can’t have Yom Tov without food.  For this I hope to menu plan and cook for my freezer.  Need I say more?

Menu planning and freezer cooking are two topics that are near and dear to me.  Here are some helpful links to help you get started:

So far I’ve decided that we will have guests for one lunch meal and that I want to make some kugels.  Don’t know much more… but we still have some time to plan.

3 – Clothing

I don’t usually buy a whole lot of clothing before YT, but I need to make sure me and my boys will have everything they need.  Some things I need to do:

  1. Bring DH’s suits and shirts to the cleaners — and remember to pick them up 🙂
  2. Make sure my boys have Shabbos shirts/pants/shorts
  3. Buy DS1 his first suit!  He finally asked for one and I’m excited to buy it for him!
  4. Have my shoes fixed.  I debated if I should just buy new ones, but since I like the ones I have, I want to have the heels fixed up.

Now that I’m working near a mall I make sure to visit it often.  Since I can go during my lunch breaks, I don’t really need to spend any more time on myself.  I already stocked up on stockings and shells, so I’m all set.

I haven’t decided yet if I will have my shaitel done.  I sometimes do and sometimes don’t- it really depends what I can fit into my schedule.  Sometimes I miss the flexibility I had with my old job.

So that’s what’s going on here.  I’m excited to make Yom Tov and I think it will really be great.

How do you plan in advance for Yom Tov?

Until next time,
Shaindy

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