Fitness of all kinds is crucial in this day and age. But with a recession on and students well known for not being the most thrifty, financial fitness is increasingly high on the agenda. Hugue Nkoutchou is a SAUJS member at UJ doing his masters in finance and is a certified financial planner. This the first of a series of articles where we will examine this topic.
Planning your monthly budget: what you should know
To budget is to balance one’s income and expenditures. This is usually done on a monthly basis. Budget planning, properly done, can prevent an individual from living beyond his/her means. It is associated with monitoring one’s expenses. The reality is, many individuals are not planning their monthly budget nor keeping track of their expenditures. This fact can partly be attributed to the time and constraints involved in budget planning; individuals’ tendency to mentally keep record of financial activities and lastly the lack of motivation to plan. The latter is a very important factor as the motivation to plan is needed in order to start the process of budgeting. An increased number of individuals are acknowledging the fact that budget planning is vital. The question that arises is why are they not budgeting?
Budget planning usually follows an individual desire to save money for a purpose. Alternatively, an individual may track down expenditures in order to save money for something that really matters to him or her. From the above discussion, it is evident that one should have a goal to create the motivation to plan. But this should be a medium to long-term goal for the motivation to be enough to encourage one to start a budget. For example, a student may plan his or her monthly budget to save money to buy a car in two years time; a salaried person may start a budget plan in order to track down expenditures in order to provide for their children’s education, and so forth.
In practice, budget planning can be done following several steps. Typical budget planning can be summarized as follows:
Step one: Historical data is needed to have a good estimation of what your average monthly expenditures are. Track all expenditures for, at least, the past 3 months. This tracking can be done by keeping all invoices or writing down money spent without having an invoice in return. If one wants to work things out quickly, it will be a very good idea to use an Excel spreadsheet. If this is the case one should first use two columns: item name and current expenditure.
Step two: determine your average monthly expenditure and compare it with your monthly income. Even if the latter is more that the former, this does not mean that one is spending wisely. If the monthly expenditure is more than the monthly income, it means one should do more to reduce their expenditures. A way of doing this is to only spend on things that you need (thing that are adding value to your life) and save on things that you want (things that are not adding any value to your life).
Step three: Add a third column for the maximum expenditure per item for the following month. Some items may be fixed or some may be not applicable to that particular month. For others, set a maximum spending for that particular month depending on your monthly income and your saving goal (this is very important as you may wish to save for example 10 percent of your monthly income for retirement).
Step four: track your future monthly expenditures and make changes where necessary. It is also important to make provision for unforeseen, miscellaneous events.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Failure of Never Again - Daniel Schay
Hi All
Below is the next in the series for Yom Hashoa.
On Yom Hashoa 2005 18,000 people from differing backgrounds stood together united in Auschwits-Birkeneu. In front of them stood a stage with guest speakers ranging from the Prime Minister of Poland to Former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Lau and also included Elie Wiesel. Scattered throughout the crowd were big screens emblazoned with a candle and the words “Never Again”. I was privileged enough to be one of those individuals there on that day.
The words “Never Again” have become synonymous with Holocaust Remembrance but have we ever really thought what does “Never Again” mean? I think now’s the time to do so.
Does “Never Again” refer to just the Holocaust of Jews or genocide in general. If we say it refers to genocide generally than we don’t have to look very far to understand its failure. Since the Holocaust we’ve seen genocide in Rwanda and continue to see genocide in Darfur and furthermore I dare say that we may be seeing the first seeds of genocide developing in Nigeria. With all these examples what has been done to prevent any of them, nothing. The United Nations continues to fail at one of its core duties and is almost unwilling to attempt to rectify that.
If we’re still searching for a success of “Never Again” we’re going to have to define it specifically deal with Jews. Now we need to decide whether it applies to Jewish lives or Jewish souls. If we say Jewish Souls than the majority of us have all heard by now of the Silent Holocaust which is the loss of millions of Jewish Souls to assimilation all over the world. While once this problem was considered to be monopolised by American Jewry, it is no longer the case today. In South Africa the figures are higher than anyone dares to disclose and can longer be ignored. With this said “Never Again” has failed with reference to Jewish Souls.
We’ll continue our search for a success of “Never Again” by defining it to Jewish lives only. Whilst you may propose that we have yet to experience a loss of Jewish lives on the scale of the Holocaust since the World War II and therefore in this definition of “Never Again” we have a success, I’m going to differ. I differ as the fact that we haven’t lost 6 million of our brethren since the Holocaust is not enough for me, for the potential for a nation to stand by and allow elements from within it to commit genocide against Jews is still in existence. This potential exists throughout the Palestinian Territories; we need not to look further than Palestinian Media to understand this. Whilst not every Palestinian Citizen is a willing murderer, there are elements within their population that will be, and for as for the rest of the population there’s been very little evidence shown (through their inability to control terrorist groups within their midst) that leads me to believe that they will try stop these elements if the opportunity was presented to them. The Holocaust was perpetrated by the Nazi’s and their collaborators but it was those who stood by and turned a blind eye that allowed it to occur. Given the opportunity Hamas and other terrorist groups would happily commit a Holocaust and the rest of the Palestinian population wouldn’t so much lift a finger to stop them. So as you can see within the Palestinian population we have a potential Holocaust and for me that is enough to say the “Never Again” has failed in reference to Jewish Lives as well.
To understand the true extent of the failure of “Never Again” we also have to understand that the Silent Holocaust and Potential Holocaust are 2 forces that are rapidly merging thus creating a much larger and more urgent threat to world Jewry. All over the world we are beginning to see victims of the Silent Holocaust who have lost connection to who they are and where they come from, that they no longer can or want to feel any connection to their people, to Judaism or the Global Jewish Experience. For these people it is easier to align to sympathise and to side with the Palestinian cause without really understanding either side of the conflict. By these “Jews” showing their support for the Pro-Palestinian / Anti-Israel Camp they give this side legitimacy to continue behaving as they currently are, the legitimise the hate-mongering that is spread through the media and they legitimise the terror used against innocent civilians. Whilst they continue to legitimise the Anti-Israel cause they also delegitimize Israel and therefore limit its ability to respond to legitimate threats against her sovereignty. These “Jew’s” actions give legitimacy, at least according to the world media, for terror to continue against Israel and the Jewish population within it. Furthermore this gives legitimacy to the Potential Holocaust. Thus due to the combination of these two forces we are rapidly approaching a situation very similar situation to the Evian Les Baines conference where the Holocaust could be committed and no one would lift a finger, the only difference is that the world refuse to help, not because they don’t want, but rather because they would believe that the cause of this Holocaust would be legitimate and therefore no action needs to be taken. With these 2 forces merging we find ourselves almost back in 1939 with a single exception, that exception being that world Jewry relies on the very State that is being used as a stick to beat it with, for its protection.
The pamphlets for this year’s Yom Hashoa service read “The Next Generation Remembers the Six Million”, but do they really? Remembering the Holocaust does not mean going to a ceremony once a year. Remembering the Holocaust means actively preventing the perpetuation of the cycle that World Jewry finds itself in. It means doing whatever you can to hold on whatever aspects of Judaism you currently perform and maybe even adding to them. It means teaching your descendants about the importance of a strong Jewish Identity and instilling that identity upon them. For it is up to the current generation to stall the Silent Holocaust and thereby retarding the Potential Holocaust, for without legitimisation the Palestinian Cause will need to rethink their policies on education and media. The fate of World Jewry lies in the hands of the current generation, and it’s a responsibility that we should not take lightly.
Below is the next in the series for Yom Hashoa.
On Yom Hashoa 2005 18,000 people from differing backgrounds stood together united in Auschwits-Birkeneu. In front of them stood a stage with guest speakers ranging from the Prime Minister of Poland to Former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Lau and also included Elie Wiesel. Scattered throughout the crowd were big screens emblazoned with a candle and the words “Never Again”. I was privileged enough to be one of those individuals there on that day.
The words “Never Again” have become synonymous with Holocaust Remembrance but have we ever really thought what does “Never Again” mean? I think now’s the time to do so.
Does “Never Again” refer to just the Holocaust of Jews or genocide in general. If we say it refers to genocide generally than we don’t have to look very far to understand its failure. Since the Holocaust we’ve seen genocide in Rwanda and continue to see genocide in Darfur and furthermore I dare say that we may be seeing the first seeds of genocide developing in Nigeria. With all these examples what has been done to prevent any of them, nothing. The United Nations continues to fail at one of its core duties and is almost unwilling to attempt to rectify that.
If we’re still searching for a success of “Never Again” we’re going to have to define it specifically deal with Jews. Now we need to decide whether it applies to Jewish lives or Jewish souls. If we say Jewish Souls than the majority of us have all heard by now of the Silent Holocaust which is the loss of millions of Jewish Souls to assimilation all over the world. While once this problem was considered to be monopolised by American Jewry, it is no longer the case today. In South Africa the figures are higher than anyone dares to disclose and can longer be ignored. With this said “Never Again” has failed with reference to Jewish Souls.
We’ll continue our search for a success of “Never Again” by defining it to Jewish lives only. Whilst you may propose that we have yet to experience a loss of Jewish lives on the scale of the Holocaust since the World War II and therefore in this definition of “Never Again” we have a success, I’m going to differ. I differ as the fact that we haven’t lost 6 million of our brethren since the Holocaust is not enough for me, for the potential for a nation to stand by and allow elements from within it to commit genocide against Jews is still in existence. This potential exists throughout the Palestinian Territories; we need not to look further than Palestinian Media to understand this. Whilst not every Palestinian Citizen is a willing murderer, there are elements within their population that will be, and for as for the rest of the population there’s been very little evidence shown (through their inability to control terrorist groups within their midst) that leads me to believe that they will try stop these elements if the opportunity was presented to them. The Holocaust was perpetrated by the Nazi’s and their collaborators but it was those who stood by and turned a blind eye that allowed it to occur. Given the opportunity Hamas and other terrorist groups would happily commit a Holocaust and the rest of the Palestinian population wouldn’t so much lift a finger to stop them. So as you can see within the Palestinian population we have a potential Holocaust and for me that is enough to say the “Never Again” has failed in reference to Jewish Lives as well.
To understand the true extent of the failure of “Never Again” we also have to understand that the Silent Holocaust and Potential Holocaust are 2 forces that are rapidly merging thus creating a much larger and more urgent threat to world Jewry. All over the world we are beginning to see victims of the Silent Holocaust who have lost connection to who they are and where they come from, that they no longer can or want to feel any connection to their people, to Judaism or the Global Jewish Experience. For these people it is easier to align to sympathise and to side with the Palestinian cause without really understanding either side of the conflict. By these “Jews” showing their support for the Pro-Palestinian / Anti-Israel Camp they give this side legitimacy to continue behaving as they currently are, the legitimise the hate-mongering that is spread through the media and they legitimise the terror used against innocent civilians. Whilst they continue to legitimise the Anti-Israel cause they also delegitimize Israel and therefore limit its ability to respond to legitimate threats against her sovereignty. These “Jew’s” actions give legitimacy, at least according to the world media, for terror to continue against Israel and the Jewish population within it. Furthermore this gives legitimacy to the Potential Holocaust. Thus due to the combination of these two forces we are rapidly approaching a situation very similar situation to the Evian Les Baines conference where the Holocaust could be committed and no one would lift a finger, the only difference is that the world refuse to help, not because they don’t want, but rather because they would believe that the cause of this Holocaust would be legitimate and therefore no action needs to be taken. With these 2 forces merging we find ourselves almost back in 1939 with a single exception, that exception being that world Jewry relies on the very State that is being used as a stick to beat it with, for its protection.
The pamphlets for this year’s Yom Hashoa service read “The Next Generation Remembers the Six Million”, but do they really? Remembering the Holocaust does not mean going to a ceremony once a year. Remembering the Holocaust means actively preventing the perpetuation of the cycle that World Jewry finds itself in. It means doing whatever you can to hold on whatever aspects of Judaism you currently perform and maybe even adding to them. It means teaching your descendants about the importance of a strong Jewish Identity and instilling that identity upon them. For it is up to the current generation to stall the Silent Holocaust and thereby retarding the Potential Holocaust, for without legitimisation the Palestinian Cause will need to rethink their policies on education and media. The fate of World Jewry lies in the hands of the current generation, and it’s a responsibility that we should not take lightly.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Holocaust survivor speaks to SAUJS
Hi All
With the on set of Yom Hashoa we will be having some pieces on the blog relating to the subject. The first is a letter sent to us by Holocaust survivor and Clinical Psychologist who will be visiting South Africa in the coming days.
Dr. Nathan Durst Clinical Psychologist Herzlyah Israel.
Dear Friends of the South African Union of Jewish students
I am writing these lines during the Chol Hamo'ed days of Pesach.
You feel the mood of the holyday in the street, everywhere.
I do suppose, that also in your country, the majority of the Jews are in someway or another, participating in this chag. Here in Israel, even the most liberal-ones visit each other, have a festive and meal and sing songs about Freedom. Together with Yom Kippur, Pesach belongs to that part of our calendar, which makes sense. All of us understand the deeper meaning of the saying: "We have been slaves in Egypt" The yearning of being a free person is deep seated in all of humankind.
But why, or where-for, do we still need to remember Yom Hashoah?
For the few survivors, those who are still among us, for them, remembering their family members who were killed will be a natural act. A kind of "yohrzeit"
But who the heck needs another day of atonement, another mourning day in the Jewish calendar? We have enough of them, don't we?
The point is that throughout history, there have been wars, all over the place, and in our long Jewish history, we had many occasions when Jews were massacred. That is not new.
What is new is the way, the scale of, where and how it was done. Nowhere in history have we encountered a people being so persecuted, despite living thousands of miles from the perpetrator, and with such enthusiastic
cooperation by so many other civilized nations.
And this was done by so called "humane, cultured, enlightened people".
As a consequence of this tragedy, we should be alert for, and take action, when we encounter, racism, antisemitism or xenophobia.
Humankind, should learn to take responsibility for what happens to the "other", and take action if necessary
No more Auschwitz means: To give an answer to the question that God posed to Adam: "Adam Ayeka" – Man, where are you? No more being a passive bystander: be alert, be involved, and become responsible.
Chag Sameach. I do hope to meet you.
Nathan Durst.
E-mail: durstnatan@gmail.com
With the on set of Yom Hashoa we will be having some pieces on the blog relating to the subject. The first is a letter sent to us by Holocaust survivor and Clinical Psychologist who will be visiting South Africa in the coming days.
Dr. Nathan Durst Clinical Psychologist Herzlyah Israel.
Dear Friends of the South African Union of Jewish students
I am writing these lines during the Chol Hamo'ed days of Pesach.
You feel the mood of the holyday in the street, everywhere.
I do suppose, that also in your country, the majority of the Jews are in someway or another, participating in this chag. Here in Israel, even the most liberal-ones visit each other, have a festive and meal and sing songs about Freedom. Together with Yom Kippur, Pesach belongs to that part of our calendar, which makes sense. All of us understand the deeper meaning of the saying: "We have been slaves in Egypt" The yearning of being a free person is deep seated in all of humankind.
But why, or where-for, do we still need to remember Yom Hashoah?
For the few survivors, those who are still among us, for them, remembering their family members who were killed will be a natural act. A kind of "yohrzeit"
But who the heck needs another day of atonement, another mourning day in the Jewish calendar? We have enough of them, don't we?
The point is that throughout history, there have been wars, all over the place, and in our long Jewish history, we had many occasions when Jews were massacred. That is not new.
What is new is the way, the scale of, where and how it was done. Nowhere in history have we encountered a people being so persecuted, despite living thousands of miles from the perpetrator, and with such enthusiastic
cooperation by so many other civilized nations.
And this was done by so called "humane, cultured, enlightened people".
As a consequence of this tragedy, we should be alert for, and take action, when we encounter, racism, antisemitism or xenophobia.
Humankind, should learn to take responsibility for what happens to the "other", and take action if necessary
No more Auschwitz means: To give an answer to the question that God posed to Adam: "Adam Ayeka" – Man, where are you? No more being a passive bystander: be alert, be involved, and become responsible.
Chag Sameach. I do hope to meet you.
Nathan Durst.
E-mail: durstnatan@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)