Economic Advisor Zvi Silver Introduces Revolutionary Method: "Struggling to Make Ends Meet? Don't Try to Cut Back!"

Our conversation with economic advisor Zvi Silver is a surprising one. You can imagine that many couples consulting with him are equally surprised when they seek advice on how to make ends meet more effectively, balance the family budget, and perhaps even save a bit.

Zvi offers them straightforward advice: "Don't start cutting back and trimming expenses; that's not what will help you. Instead, you should teach yourself to increase your income." And for those who still struggle with this, Zvi suggests the unbelievable: "Increase your expenses, too. Want a vacation? Allow yourself that ; your wife wants a new sofa? Buy it for her."

Does this sound absurd to you? Are you utterly confused? Come hear how Zvi Silver reached these conclusions and the origins of his revolutionary method, recently published in a popular book titled 'The Psychology of Money'. Maybe in the end, you'll be able to benefit from this unique approach, too.

"I Began to Reject Cost Cutting"

Zvi attributes his fascinating economic work to his parents unequivocally. "I absolutely 'blame' them, in the positive sense of course, for everything I do today," he says, "because I grew up as the eldest of 12 children and from the moment we were born, we all received a disciplined education in all areas of life. It was reflected in every detail, all with positive thinking. That's what my parents were like.

"My first encounter with money was when I was an 18-year-old young man at the Hebron yeshiva. Along with a partner, I established a summer camp project for junior yeshiva students. I remember coming home with bags full of cash and checks, sitting in my room trying to see if I had enough to pay all the suppliers, and if there would be any profit left over, as that was our goal. I was trying to do a 'balance sheet', though I didn't know it was called that. But the accounts never worked out right, until at one point I started to cry. My father came into the room, understood what had happened, and suggested I speak to a good friend of his—a professional accountant.

"That friend," Silver recounts, "taught me the basics of bookkeeping in a nutshell. I went through a real two-day course with him, and since it was real and not just theoretical, it stuck quickly. That was my first interaction with money."

At 21, Zvi Silver married and began real life. "I was given life on a silver platter. But I began making financial mistakes, like everyone does. I learned from experience what to do and what to avoid. At one point, we even needed loans, and I realized how dangerous they could be. Thus, I gained life experience, and I began advising my close acquaintances."

(photo: shutterstock)

And then, he notes, the initial connection was made between him and the organization 'Mesila – For Financial Sense'. The organization needed someone to advise families on financial matters in the Haifa area, so they approached him. "I went through a short course, and upon its completion, I started accompanying families. Later, I also started advising businesses in the northern region, including a famous supermarket for the ultra-Orthodox population in Haifa, with a turnover of 800,000 shekels a month. For a beginner advisor like me, that was huge, and so I gained a lot of knowledge and experience."

After accompanying families and businesses, Zvi became the manager of the Mesila branch in Haifa, later the head of the training department of Mesila, and even traveled to deliver courses on behalf of the organization overseas, until eventually, he was appointed the organization's CEO. "Throughout the way," Silver emphasizes, "even in periods when I served in senior positions, I made sure to continue accompanying families closely, believing that you can't instruct others on what to do without actually meeting these families and being part of their lives."

About seven years ago, Zvi left 'Mesila' and established a private office called 'Skill', through which he provides all financial and economic services. Here, he comes to his personal confession: "During the first eight years I worked in the field, I mainly operated from an approach of reducing expenses. When families came to me, we’d sit together, compile a list of all the family’s monthly expenses, and then think about where we could cut back and which items we could remove, with the aim of balancing the family budget. I worked under this method for quite some time, but over the years, I began to reject it because I met many families who told me: 'We really don't have any extra money, we have nowhere to cut back.' And when I sat with them on the account balance, I saw these were families that could teach even me what saving is. So how could one tell them to reduce expenses? This led to the development of a method that teaches how to reduce expenses, and conversely—how to increase income. For several years, I adhered to this method and then completely rejected any expense-cutting approach. I concluded that the only way to achieve a correct balance is solely by increasing income, and this is the one and only method I've been using for the past years."

And Zvi even astonishes when he asserts: "I am not afraid to look people straight in the eye and tell them: 'You don't need to save, and even more so—at the beginning of the process, it might even be necessary to start spending more money than you're used to because that's exactly what will lead you to the need to increase your income.'"

Stay Away From Gifts and Loans

To those who find Silver’s method to be a 'backwards shuffle', they’re invited to continue listening to the fascinating explanation: "At the initial stage," he says, "I ask the couple sitting before me to make a calculation, and together we check how much money exactly they need each month to succeed in recovering. Of course, we make sure it’s really the exact amount, with no calculation mistakes.

"After that," he notes, "we’re ready to move forward, and I tell the couple: 'From this moment on, you stop trying to cut back. Want a new sofa? Buy it. Want to go on vacation? Go. But remember all the time: To fund these expenses, you're not using three things whose acrostic is MEZ—Matznot (gifts), Ezra (cutbacks), and Zechovot (loans), because they are exactly what prevent wealth creation. In other words, if you want to go on vacation, you have to work to earn the money and fund the holiday, but you can't use gifts from parents, or bank loans, or cut back on something else and do it at the expense of your other needs. You must do it with the money you have actually earned."

Silver even takes a piece of paper and writes on it a commitment in this language: "I, Zvi Silver, commit to Family X, that they will successfully increase their income by the amount of ___ per month, and I take responsibility for it, provided they meet the agreed conditions," and he also clarifies—"I am not afraid of legal claims."

(photo: shutterstock)

But what’s the actual logic behind this process?

To understand the logic, Silver says we have to take a step back and understand the motives that lead us to generate money. "Every working person can testify that what prompted them to earn money was a process involving several stages. The first stage is 'the need'. They had a strong need to bring money home and required a salary. The second stage is recognizing their strengths and abilities. Only after having a need and awareness of capabilities does the third stage come—finding a job and putting their power into action, and subsequently, the final station—earning money. Everyone goes through these stages during the money-making process.

"Now," he says, "we can understand the operation method I presented because if the first thing leading us to money-making is a need, and only when there is a need, we manage to earn money, then at the moment we decide to cut back expenses, at that moment, the engine of money generation stalls. At that moment, as if we are telling ourselves: 'We don’t need money because we can reduce.' Or: 'We don’t need money because we’ll get it through gifts, or through loans.' These are precisely the things that prevent us from the initial stage that leads to money generation, and if so—clearly we won’t succeed in increasing income."

A Method Suitable for Everyone

But perhaps we might also not manage to bring in money, which could lead us into financial stress and a spiral.

"It really is stressful, yes," Silver agrees, "but it’s a good stress because it stimulates and propels us forward. It’s different from debt-induced stress, which can genuinely break a person. Money-making stress is a push towards the future, and therefore it always succeeds with siyata d'shmaya (heavenly assistance) and there's no need to fear a financial spiral. I'm confident that those keeping the MEZ conditions actually face, for the first time, the necessity to make money. I always tell couples seated with me—when will you know you’ve found the right track? When you start asking yourself: What am I doing to create the money I lack?"

What can you say to people already working full-time and have no way to add to their current income? What can you offer them?

"It’s incredible, but I’ll tell them exactly the same because this method suits everyone. Not long ago, a person came to me working several jobs earning 19,000 shekels a month. He came to me and said: 'Listen, I know your methods, but they can’t work for me. I wake up at four in the morning, go to work, and only return at seven in the evening. Increasing income is not feasible for me. The problem is, I hit a financial crisis, and I have to cut back my expenses, that’s why I’ve come to you.'

(photo: shutterstock)

My response was clear: 'If you want to cut back on expenses, you might want to find other people to help you with that, but if you want to hear about my way, I suggest we sit together and calculate how much money exactly you need each month.' He decided to try, so we sat and calculated, arriving at a very high sum of another 10,000 shekels in addition to the existing salary. I admit it was a heavy challenge for us, but eventually, we found various ways to help him increase his salary, with his wife also pitching in, and they had special divine assistance thanks to which they managed to recover and stabilize themselves."

Here, Zvi wants to emphasize the most important thing: "I have already accompanied very many couples through this process and each time, I saw how once a couple decides to increase their income and make an effort, then salvation comes in surprising ways. Just as it says in the verse: 'You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living being.' The question is—why does the word 'desire' appear? It seems unnecessary at first, yet, as mentioned in the Midrash Rabbah, the Creator gives to every creature according to the amount it desires. Meaning—it all depends on our desire. Once we know what we want and ask that of Hashem, He will help us receive it. But if we don’t even know ourselves how much we want, how can we expect to get it?"