Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
Unlock Your House
A few years ago, I met with a couple who needed more cash flow. I suggested that when they retire, they should consider selling their spacious house and getting a long-term rental. Selling the house would provide a lump sum of cash, which would enable them to achieve their retirement goals of traveling and helping the kids…. Read more
What is Your Replacement Rate?
The “replacement rate” is the amount of retirement income you’ll need post-retirement to replace your salaried monthly income. Analysts tend to think that the replacement rate is 80%. They believe that by determining your replacement rate, you can surmise how much you need to save, in order to reach a withdrawal rate that equals 80%…. Read more
Does Your Relationship with Money Affect Your Relationship with Your Spouse?
In my capacity as a financial adviser, I often see the financial effects of divorce. I meet with couples both before and after divorce and have realized that money is often a major factor in marital disharmony, not necessarily due to the lack of it, but rather due to the way that it’s handled…. Read more
Does Signing a Pre-Nup Mean You Don’t Trust Your Spouse?
While investigating pictures for my newly redesigned web site, I searched photography sites for images that conveyed security, strategy, and trust….all of which are important traits for a financial advisor to have. There were the usual images of handshakes, business meetings, vaults, and golden eggs in nests. Visit my website to see which images I chose…. Read more
Here is a Quick Way to Start Dealing with an Inheritance
Many movies are made about the simple guy who suddenly becomes rich overnight. Very often, like the hero of Brewster’s Millions, he receives a sudden inheritance with strange conditions attached to it, or like in Half a Sixpence, he inherits wealth and his whole life changes…. Read more
The #1 Reason You Should Buy Stocks Now
Grocery shopping may be easier than investing. An empty pantry dictates that now is a good time to buy more food, but how can you know when is a good time to buy stocks? Most people tend to make their investment decisions based on historical performance. But imagine if you always traded that way…. Read more
What You Need to Know in Choosing Where to Invest
Last week, I mentioned an investment ad I had seen on a flight that pushed people to invest with a certain bank because of the bank’s location (Switzerland), its secrecy policies, and its “unique” investment schemes. I argued that none of these were sufficient reasons to work with them…. Read more
What Everyone Ought to Know About Getting an Inheritance
Oftentimes, when a person receives a windfall, such as an inheritance, he suddenly discovers many long-lost relatives, and various “old friends” who crawl out of the woodwork after years of silence. All of them come knocking on his door, either asking him for money “because I am in a desperate situation,” or they may tell him about an amazing investment opportunity that is “perfect” for him…. Read more
Is Retirement a Beginning or an Ending?
How do you visualize your retirement? Is it the end of your working career or the beginning of being your own boss? Will you spend your retirement enjoying the fruits of years of hard work, or will you constantly worry about outliving your savings?
If you plan properly, retirement can be a time to look forward to rather than a time of dread…. Read more
The Art of Diversification and Laddering
The principle of not putting all of your eggs in one basket applies to life in general, and particularly investing. You don’t have to be an egg farmer or a Nobel Prize winner to understand the sense in planning your finances carefully and not putting all of your money in one place in order to spread out the risk…. Read more
