Women Hear From Advice Panel

Hundreds of women came out on a cold night in December to get inspired.

Jr. N’shei presented an intriguing three-part line up of Professional Organizer, Financial Coach and Sholom Bayis guru.

Living in tight spaces in Brooklyn can lead to a lot of clutter and a lot of clutter can lead to a lot of problems. Professional Organizer Mrs. Chani Miller delivered some quick-fix, easy-to-apply, organization tips for every area in the home. She stressed the importance of organization on our psyche as women, wives and mothers. Because we often spend a lot of time in our homes, we need to make our space the type that sparks joy. Mrs. Miller shared humorously about the importance of giving things away and making your sanity a priority.

Financial coach Mr. Benjamin Rapoport touched the hot topic of budgeting and saving for the future. Saving money under your mattress? Not a good idea. Saving it in a Roth IRA? Much better plan. With their practical view on budgeting, taxes and inflation, the financial coaches helped the audience begin the journey toward successful savings and overall better spending. Mr. Rapoport explained the difference between needs and wants in budgeting and provided a spending worksheet to help members of the audience understand their own spending habits in order to make any necessary changes. “Habits become behaviors,” Mr. Rapoport warned, “You want to understand your spending habits so that you can tweak them if necessary.”

Now came the real test: armed to de-clutter and ready to budget, how does one spouse introduce these ideas to the other in a way that is well-received? Enter Mrs. Devorah Krasnianski of Adei Ad Institute. Mrs. Krasnianski engaged the audience with some gentle reminders of how not to start important conversations with a spouse and then went on to share helpful tips on how to do it well. Reminding the audience of the importance of the couple unit or family unit, Mrs. Krasnianski stressed that the heavy conversations we have with our spouses need to be ongoing, comfortable and respectful. “Before you tackle a problem together, make sure you both see the same problem at hand,” Mrs. Krasnianski advised. “You may say one thing and he may hear another – not because he isn’t listening, but because he is hearing it from his own perspective and experiences.” In a healthy relationship you can successfully work together to throw out the ugly platters you received as gifts, find a safe spot in the house for the toolbox, and make practical decisions about life insurance and how much to spend on containers. It’s all in the “how might we….”

The evening ended off with a question and answer session directed to the three members on the evening’s panel and a deliciously warm soup bar, complete with take-home containers to share with the husbands back at home.

A brief survey sent to all Junior N’shei members determined that financial peace and an organized home are of utmost interest to the Crown Heights community. Plans are already being made to highlight these 2 topics in an more expanded fashion.