The Yom Tov Crunch: How to Avoid Financial Stress

Yom Tov season is an incredible time filled with family, joy, and spiritual meaning!
But let’s be honest, it’s also very expensive.
Between Lulav/Esrog, building or upgrading your sukkah, preparing multiple seudos, clothing, travel, and gifts, the extra costs can sneak up and create a serious cash crunch! Especially if you’re not financially prepared.

Imagine Stress-Free Spending

Now picture this: you enter the Yom Tov season with enough money already sitting in your savings account to cover all the extras.
No guilt, no scrambling, no credit card debt—just the freedom to shop and fully enjoy the beauty of Yom Tov season.

How’s That Possible?

It starts with a simple plan:

1️⃣ Track Your Spending This Yom Tov
Keep a record of what you spend on Yom Tov-related expenses this year. For example, take your food bills and subtract your average grocery spend to see how much extra you’re spending. Mark down how much you spent on your esrog and sukkah preparations etc.

2️⃣ Calculate Your Total
Add up all the “extras”—from daled minim to travel and gifts.
Throw it all in there, even if it hurts.

3️⃣ Divide by 12
Divide your total for Yom Tov extras by 12.
This breaks the expenses up into a monthly amount to spread over the year and prepare for next year's season.

4️⃣ Set Up a Monthly Transfer
Starting right after Yom Tov, transfer that monthly amount into a dedicated savings account each month—and don’t touch it.
By next year, you’ll have the cash ready and waiting right at the start of Yom Tov season.

What If You Can’t Afford the Monthly Transfer?

That’s okay, you’re still ahead of the game.
Now you have a defined goal for how to close the gap on your Yom Tov bills.
You can look for a targeted side hustle, take on extra work, or adjust your budget to make it happen.
Even if you do come up short, having partial savings and just knowing your number will reduce stress and help you feel more in control.