Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
How to Make Money in an IRA
When you withdraw money from your IRA (or if you inherited an Individual Retirement Account from someone and take yearly distributions), don’t fool yourself.
Just because you withdraw money from a retirement account does not mean that you actually made that money. Rather, you might just be pulling out your principal. … Read more
What Happens to Your IRA Account When You Make Aliya?
What should you do with your American IRA account (Individual Retirement Account) when you live in Israel?
Your initial thought might be to cash out your IRA account and transfer the funds to Israel. But considering the tax-deferred nature of an IRA, that might not be the wisest move.
Moving your retirement account to Israel may be expensive
IRAs are good vehicles for retirement saving because they let you defer paying American taxes on capital gains,… Read more
What You Need to Know about Moving Money
Moving money from one financial institution to another, or from one country to another, is not as easy as it sounds.
Even though the money may be legitimately yours, financial institutions can make you jump through hoops in order to gain access to it.
Moving money in and out of accounts can look suspicious,… Read more
One of the Most Common Side Effects of Receiving an Inheritance: Anxiety
One of the most common side effects of receiving an inheritance is anxiety. This anxiety can be caused by the desire to honor the memory or wishes of the deceased, or fear of making a financial mistake. It should be comforting to have more money, but sometimes the cash infusion only increases financial worries. … Read more
How Much Money Can You Afford to Lose in a Risky Investment?
If I asked you, “How much money do you want to lose in a risky investment?” you would probably think this was a strange question. However, you must consider the risks before you invest.
When you put money in the stock market you give up the certainty in return for the potential reward of growth…. Read more
How Memory Loss Can Affect Your Money
What happens to your finances if you suffer from memory loss?
Memory loss can have negative financial repercussions beyond not knowing where you misplaced your checkbook.
Time to hand over the reins
If someone you love finds it hard to remember things, financial tasks may slip through the cracks. Not paying bills in a timely manner could incur late penalties,… Read more
Here’s When to Stop Supporting Your Children
My clients, “Mr. and Mrs. Generous” and “Mr. and Mrs. Enablers,” both wanted to help their children. As their financial advisor, I told one couple that it was fine to help their daughter on a regular basis. But I advised the other couple to stop helping their son as they were enabling him to continue with bad financial habits…. Read more
Why Are Dividend-Paying Stocks like a Paycheck?
Dividend-paying stocks can provide steady income in the form of regular quarterly cash payments. Two ways investors earn a return on a stock investment are capital appreciation and dividend payments. Ideally, you want your stock to appreciate in value, but if it doesn’t, an income-paying stock still provides you with regular income,… Read more
Do Simple Investments Generate Higher Returns?
Simple investments can help increase your returns.
When Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated,” he could have been alluding to the fact that using complicated investing strategies can reduce your overall performance. Simple investment strategies (like diversification and dollar-cost averaging) may have the best chance to lead to long-term success…. Read more
How to Protect Someone You Love from Financial Abuse
If you have elderly parents or other loved ones, there are concrete steps you can take to make sure they stay financially safe. While we may think of a stranger as the “bad guy,” sadly, some caregivers (even relatives) exploit an older person’s health situation for their own benefit.
Be alert for possible signs of financial abuse
- Changing a will or power of attorney with no explanation.