About the Project

Reimagining personal finance through the lens of human needs.

The Creator

Eli Mandel

Financial Educator & Developer — LinkedIn

My journey in personal finance began as a rabbinical student seeking answers about money. I earned my Bachelor’s in Talmudic Theology from Telshe Rabbinical College and my Master’s in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Along the way, I devoured every financial guru I could find.

I traveled to Israel for training in financial social work at Mesila (Hebrew for “The Path to Financial Stability”), then founded Mesila Cleveland, housed at Jewish Family Services Association, helping hundreds achieve financial stability through education. Since then, I’ve continued researching the links between psychology, behavioral sciences, and money.

I later provided outsourced bookkeeping for nonprofits in NYC, developing budgeting systems that revealed a truth: the gap between numbers and human behavior is where real change happens. That insight led to ZenoBudget and now Hierarchy Budget—tools that treat money not as just math, but as a reflection of human needs.

The Philosophy

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy suggests that human needs are arranged in a pyramid. We must satisfy our basic needs (physiological, safety) before we can fully focus on higher needs (love, esteem, self-actualization).

“It is quite true that man lives by bread alone—when there is no bread. But what happens to man’s desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled? At once other (and ‘higher’) needs emerge.”

— Abraham Maslow, 1943

Hierarchy Budget applies this framework to your finances. Instead of “Groceries” vs. “Dining Out,” we ask: “Is this for survival? Or for connection?” This shift in perspective reveals whether your spending is actually supporting the life you want to build.

Research & Resources