i am married, living in israel for about 13 years. 4 kids- monthly tuition is about 600nis a month. Will go up soon to about 1000nis a month. me and my wife work, spend little and live in a 3 bedroom apt. No one should move to Israel to move up in life financially or wanting to live with luxuries. Those are both not reason to move to israel. With that said, a simple middle class life style (i have no debt, and pay my bills in full each month with leftovers), own a home, no car- but if i wanted i could afford one. I have gone back to the states for summers for the last 8 years, i found food to be much more expensive there. Tricks to making it work - starting here when your young if possible, dont be afraid to start off with a low paying job and work hard to move up. If you can take a USA job to israel (via the internet etc) that is one of the most solid ways to make aliyah. family of 6 - we live on about 16,000nis a month, without being stingy on expenses but living simply. I go out to eat, travel, vacation etc.