Ep 112The Incredible Rebbi Who Has Saved Jews Millions of Dollars
His $15,800 credit card balance was going to cost him $70,000. So I paid it off.
Reb Mutty Zeiger
The Incredible Rebbi Who Has Saved Jews Millions of Dollars
with Reb Mutty Zeiger
Every single person could live on debit only.
More moments · 4
Try this · top 3
Quotes
“A rebbe cannot live off his salary from leaving at 2:30.”
“I have 0% of people that did not pay back.”
“It's much harder to swipe for a $400 pair of shoe[s] if it's a debit card than for a credit card.”
“You will see if you stop using credit cards a significant amount of savings. You will have money at the end of the month.”
“Every single thing that we have was given to us on loan to do the right things with it.”
“You're not a freak if you take medication.”
Takeaways
- 1 Zeiger holds about seven jobs: seventh-grade rebbe for 14 years, afternoon mentor, day camp head counselor, tutor, storyteller, seasonal seller and gemach founder. He says a rebbe can't live on the salary alone.
- 2 His gemach started with his own maaser money and a friend's $20,000. It has since lent more than $2 million, mostly to pay off credit card debt, with no defaults.
- 3 The first case: a rebbe with $15,800 on two cards was paying $500 a month in minimums with about 11 years left, and would have paid over $70,000. With the loan, he was debt-free in about two and a half years at the same $500.
- 4 Loan rules: the borrower must be back on their feet and making minimums, have two vetted co-signers, and use no credit cards for the length of the loan.
- 5 The top cause of the debt he sees is credit cards. Debit limits spending to what you have. Many borrowers change their habits after feeling what it's like to be debt-free.
- 6 A family with no money raised funds for wedding upgrades just to keep up with the wealthier other side. Honest talk between the sides could have spared them.
- 7 Money and talents are on loan from Hashem. Past givers who now need help should feel no shame.
- 8 Kids can learn giving by collecting tzedaka. Incentives are fine in moderation, not 40-50% prizes.
- 9 There's no set number for tipping a rebbe. Give what you can afford for what that rebbe does for your child, and add a real thank-you.
- 10 Zeiger openly lives with anxiety. After years of cardiac tests and panic attacks, he urges treatment without embarrassment, and says it drew him closer to Hashem.