Lesson 105: Personal Finance
Beyond paying at the till, real fluency means discussing money in the abstract — budgets, savings, and expenses. This lesson gives you that vocabulary and a useful verb pattern for “managing to”.
A money talk
אַתָּה מַצְלִיחַ לַחְסֹךְ כֶּסֶף?
ata matsliach lachsoch kesef?
Do you manage to save money?
לֹא קַל. יֵשׁ לִי הַרְבֵּה הוֹצָאוֹת.
lo kal. yesh li harbe hotsa’ot.
It’s not easy. I have a lot of expenses.
כְּדַאי לְךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת תַּקְצִיב חֹדְשִׁי.
keday lecha la’asot taktsiv chodshi.
You should make a monthly budget.
אַתָּה צוֹדֵק. אֲנִי מוֹצִיא יוֹתֵר מִדַּי.
ata tsodek. ani motsi yoter miday.
You’re right. I spend too much.
תַּתְחִיל לַחְסֹךְ עֲשָׂרָה אָחוּז מֵהַמַּשְׂכֹּרֶת.
tatchil lachsoch asara achuz mehamaskoret.
Start saving ten percent of your salary.
Grammar: “managing to” do something
A very common pattern is לְהַצְלִיחַ (lehatsliach, “to succeed / manage”) + an infinitive:
- אֲנִי מַצְלִיחַ לַחְסֹךְ ani matsliach lachsoch — “I manage to save”
- לֹא הִצְלַחְתִּי לְשַׁלֵּם lo hitslachti leshalem — “I didn’t manage to pay”
The two opposite verbs of money are לַחְסֹךְ (lachsoch, “to save”) and לְהוֹצִיא (lehotsi, “to spend”, literally “to take out”). Both pair naturally with the nouns below.
Tip: הַכְנָסוֹת (hachnasot, “income”, lit. “things brought in”) and הוֹצָאוֹת (hotsa’ot, “expenses”, “things taken out”) are perfect opposites — note the shared roots.
Vocabulary
Budgeting
| תַּקְצִיב | taktsiv | budget |
| חִסָּכוֹן | chisachon | saving(s) |
| הוֹצָאוֹת | hotsa’ot | expenses |
| הַכְנָסָה | hachnasa | income |
Money verbs
| לַחְסֹךְ | lachsoch | to save |
| לְהוֹצִיא | lehotsi | to spend |
| לְהַצְלִיחַ | lehatsliach | to manage, succeed |
Banking
| חֶשְׁבּוֹן בַּנְק | cheshbon bank | bank account |
| הַלְוָאָה | halva’a | loan |
| מַשְׂכֹּרֶת | maskoret | salary |