

Jewish Money Matters
Yael Trusch
Want to discover the secrets to Jewish wealth? Gain practical and spiritual tools to break free from the shackles of financial worry? Design the joyful, rich life that your soul desires? Welcome to Jewish Money Matters Podcast, hosted by award winning Podcast Host, MBA, and International Speaker, Yael Trusch. This is the podcast where Jewish wisdom & spirituality meet your money and your business.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 8, 2025 • 14min
444: Ask Yael — Can I use Maaser funds to pay for my daughter’s Jewish education?
B”H
Download Yael’s Free Debt Repayment Tracker HERE
Today on Jewish Money Matters, Yael answers listener’s question on:
Taking a loan against a 401K, or refinancing one’s home to tackle$115,000 in credit card debt.
Is Maaser paid from before or after taxes?
And, can one use Maaser funds to pay for daughters’ Jewish education?
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Aug 4, 2025 • 54min
443: Moshiach Is Not a Fringe Topic with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
B”H
We’re just coming out of Tisha B’Av, when we mourned for the Temple. Today, we can shift from mourning to yearning — to anticipation, to active participation in the rebuilding of said Temple and in Moshiach’s coming.
And to help us step fully into that mindset, I’m joined by Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff, author of The Future: A Guide to the Jewish Messiah, Israel, and the End of Days. Rabbi Hajioff is going to pull back the curtain and take us deep into one of the most fundamental – yet surprisingly overlooked – topics in Judaism: Moshiach.
Rabbi Hajioff, is a full time faculty member of Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. His very popular credited courses include courses on Jewish Philosophy, Mashiach, Jewish holidays, Shabbat and many others. He received the “Professor of the Year” award in Judaic Studies from the senior year students at Stern.
He’s also the best selling author of two other books: Jew Got Questions and Will Jew Marry Me?
Today, we’ll explore what Moshiach really means – not just for the Jewish people, but for the entire world – the signs we might already be seeing, and most importantly, how we can be active participants in bringing this era closer.
And if you’re wondering where your money fits into all of this… stay tuned. There is a lot you can do with your financial resources to help make this reality happen. Remember: Moshiach arrives in this physical world. Before you, G-d forbid, reject materiality, listen closely – you might find that you don’t need to give up what you have right now… except, maybe a mindset…
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Aug 1, 2025 • 27min
442: Ask Yael — Top 5 Things To Teach Your High School Child About Money
B”H
Download Yael’s Mindful Spending Plan at yaeltrusch.com/msp
Today on Ask Yael, a listener asks what are the top 5 things Yael would want high school kids to know as they start making money and soon head out into the adult world. Also, Yael answers a listener who wants to know how to teach teenage kids to manage money when going out with friends. Plus, what is an adult sibling’s role when it comes to another adult sibling who is being financially irresponsible?
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Jul 27, 2025 • 50min
441: Game Changer for Jewish Education — The $1,700 Federal Tax Credit You Can’t Afford to Ignore
B”H
Check out income eligibility per state HERE.
Stay up to date on everything regarding the federal scholarship tax credit by visiting https://agudah.org/schoolchoice
Yael Trusch is in conversation with Rabbi A.D. Motzen, National Director of Government Affairs for Agudath Israel of America, and Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, Director of Government Affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois. They are discussing the newly permanent $1,700 federal scholarship tax credit that you quite literally can’t afford to ignore.
You may have heard that the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump on July 4th included a historic provision: a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for taxpayers who donate to educational scholarship granting organizations.
What does this mean for you? Whether you already have children in Jewish day school or have been dreaming of giving them a Jewish education but found the cost out of reach — this episode is for you. We’re breaking down how this tax credit can dramatically reduce tuition, not just for your family, but for thousands of others — at no cost to the donor.
In today’s conversation:
What this federal tax credit is and isn’t
Who qualifies (spoiler: probably you — even if you’ve never qualified for financial aid before)
How schools and parents can work together to make this a success
And why this moment marks a paradigm shift in Jewish education funding
If you’ve been skeptical or confused, I think you’ll walk away inspired, informed, and deeply grateful — to our guests, to the advocates who made this happen… and ultimately, to the One orchestrating it all from above.
This is a tax conversation you’ll actually be glad you tuned into.
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Jul 18, 2025 • 23min
440: Ask Yael — Resenting charity because husband gives a lot of money away
B”H
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In this episode of Ask Yael, Jewish Money Matters Podcast Host Yael Trusch responds to a listener who wants to know how to deal with her resentment she feels towards giving because her husband is a “big” giver. Another listener wants to know how to let her husband “lead” when she feels “forced” to work by the financial situation, even when it’s stressful and too much for her. And finally, a woman wants to know how to deal with the monthly deficit. That is their expenses are much higher than their income.
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Jun 20, 2025 • 47min
439: Ask Yael — Where Should I Invest My Kids’ Money?
B”H
In this episode of Ask Yael on Jewish Money Matters, Yael answers a listener who wants to understand if trust in G-d causes G-d’s abundance to flow, then how come there are people who don’t trust in G-d and have tremendous abundance? Also, what are the best free budgeting apps? And where do I invest my kids’ money? Tune in for a very comprehensive episode on all of these topics.
Download Yael’s Mindful Spending Plan at yaeltrusch.com/msp
Sign up for the Career Path Summit for Free at https://careerpathsummit.com
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Jun 16, 2025 • 1h 11min
438: Jamie Geller, Chief Communications Officer at Aish Global
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Jamie Geller, Chief Communications Officer at Aish Global, joins Jewish Money Matters for a beautiful conversation that balances the practical and the spiritual. We delved into Jamie’s current role, financial challenges she’s faced, and the things she’s done that have helped her through them. We also talked about the masculine and feminine energy in a marriage and the risk of women taking on too much of a masculine energy, pushing men to take on a more feminine role and vice versa. Of course, we spoke about the number one way to combat antisemitism and the need to put more dollars into it. Here’s Jamie Geller.
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Jun 4, 2025 • 1h 29min
437: Laughing Through Adversity with Esther Lev
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Comedian and activist Esther Lev shares her inspiring journey of using humor to uplift her community, herself and more recently, even confront antisemitism. Esther Lev is a rising comedy star in Costa Rica, and the antisemitism in her home country is giving her the push to spread her wings outwards. How did she get started in comedy? How does she monetize it? What were some of the money lessons she learned growing up? From personal stories, all sprinkled with a heavy dose of humor, to the importance of spreading light through laughter, Esther reminds us how resilience and comedy can go hand in hand even in the darkest times. Here’s Esther Lev.
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May 30, 2025 • 43min
436: Ask Yael — Women carrying the home’s financial burden & having children vs fiscal responsibility
B”H
This week on Jewish Money Matter’s Ask Yael, Yael tackles the mix up of the feminine and masculine energies that happens when women are carrying the financial burden of supporting their households, one that G-d assigned to men. Yael also addresses factoring financial considerations when deciding to have more children, or not.
Watch Yael & Matt’s life story HERE.
Listen to Yael on the Wealth of Wellbeing HERE.
Listen to Yael on having more children and financial considerations HERE.
Read the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s perspective on family planning HERE.
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May 20, 2025 • 1h 14min
435: Jack Miller, CEO of Gelt Financial
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I’m in conversation with CEO of Gelt Financial, Jack Miller. Gelt Financial has been a non-bank lender helping real estate investors with their capital needs since 1989. How and why did Jack start Gelt Financial? Who does he credit for his business success? We talk about pivots, challenges, tips to deal with stressors in your life, as well as inspiration to go after a means of livelihood that capitalizes on what we love to do, and are good at doing. Jack happens to love personal finance, too, so we get into that as well. And of course, we talk about the wonderful work of the Gelt Charitable Foundation, of which Jack is the Chairman. Practical and inspiring, here’s Jack Miller.
To learn more about Gelt Financial head over to geltfinancial.com and also check out the Gelt Charitable Foundation at geltcharitable.foundation.
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