Sometimes getting the best deal isn’t just about where you go, but when you go as well. Once a year, lifehacker.com puts together a list of the best time of the year to buy everything. I think most of the items in this article apply here as well. What items do you think have a [...]. Read More »

If you’re like most Americans, you tell your relatives who send you packages not to declare that anything is new or has a value over $5. You do this because one time a relative sent you something and the post office held it hostage until you paid some sort of ridiculously large tax/fine/payment that is [...]. Read More »

This past summer, hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered to protest for social justice, an end to the widening economic gap plaguingIsrael’s poor. The demands of the Israeli public were simple: cut down on the government corruption and monetary policy that works in the favor of big businesses and begin taxing the rich and redistributing [...]. Read More »

I am happy to publish the updated version of my two financial tools – the Israeli Tax Calculator and the Job Payoff Index. For your convenience, I packaged everything into one excel file with 3 tabs. I took some advice from my readers and dated the file and listed what is changed in this version. [...]. Read More »

This past week, I was sent my doctor to the ER for treatment of a boil. I’m doing well, thank you, but it was a huge pain. Certainly more of a pain than wild animals, but not as much of a pain as hail; overall, I’d give it a 6 out of ten. When I [...]. Read More »

As a general rule, withdrawing your pension early is a terrible idea.  In addition to the natural consequences of using money that will be needed later in life, a worker who withdraws early from his pension will pay a hefty fine and lose the ability to invest the withdrawn money tax free. But there are times when early withdrawal is justified. Read More »

Years ago, when governments needed money to help their respective economies, their options were limited to taxing their own people and invading other countries.  Such measures were difficult; after all, people generally dislike taxation (with or without representation) and other countries have a nasty habit of defending themselves. Read More »

It’s a common story.  You sit at your desk in the full belief that your finances are in order when in walks a man from an insurance company.  He’s not employed by your company, but he works on behalf of your company’s insurance company to assist workers in planning for their retirements. Read More »

Have you ever wondered why your incompetent boss makes so much more than you?  Well, economists have an answer, tournament theory .  Developed about 30 years ago, tournament theory suggests that most offices are a tournament where differing workers compete for a prize, which is usually given in the form of a promotion. Read More »

A couple of weeks ago, the AACI sent out a link to what I believe is one of the most disastrous examples of journalism I have ever seen in my life.  The article, which was printed in Ha’aretz on August 8, shouts, “Buy Now, Not Later. Read More »

A few months before we got married, my wife and I began searching for some furniture for our new home.  Luckily, we had friends and family with an extra computer table and even a dining room table.  The only thing we had to pay for was our bed.  Unfortunately, the only decent bed we could afford was a child’s bed with a second pull out high-riser. Read More »

If you ever read or saw Gone with the Wind , you had a first hand look at one of the most peculiar economic phenomena of the 1800′s.  During the American Civil War the Union (North) had surrounded the Confederacy (South) with a naval blockade aimed to cut off the Confederate States from trade. Read More »

A few weeks before I got married, my wife found a small place for us to live in Petah Tikvah.  Upon seeing it, I remarked that this small apartment, all of 35 meters, would be okay for the first year of our marriage, but then we’d surely move. Read More »

I cannot believe I am in agreement with an Op-Ed from Haaretz.  In the following piece, Nehemia Shtrasler does a fantastic job explaining Bibi’s response to the current protests, that government control is the problem and removing it is the solution, and why students are shooting themselves in the foot by not embracing this simple fact. Read More »

Hi.  In keeping with the last post’s ending about the importance of keeping a budget, no matter how simplified the budget, the following guest post was submitted outlining a few steps to get going in the right direction.  In the next post,  we’ll get back to housing solutions. Read More »

Unless you’ve been living in a tent Unless you’ve been on the street Unless you’ve been secluding yourself voluntarily from the news this past week, you have probably heard about the current tent protests.  Students have taken to the streets in an effort to demonstrate to the government the urgent need for affordable housing. Read More »

Welcome back.  It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted.  I hope to go back to posting once or twice a week, learning and discussing new financial and economic topics in Israel and all over the world.  So, without further ado… Perhaps the biggest ongoing economic saga in Israel this year is the housing crisis. Read More »

I am not sure at what point after I began trying to take control of my finances that I realized I had no idea how to know if or when I would actually attain the control I was seeking. Read More »

Golda Meir is famously credited for saying, “Moses dragged us for 40 years through the desert to bring us to the one place in the Middle East where there was no oil.”  Her statement, although made in jest, hits on an important note for those who believe in the sanctity of the land and see it as a blessing from God. Read More »

A recent article in the marker tells consumers that they can ₪ 2,400 a year by ditching their TVs, getting a DTT converter for the Israeli channels, and relying on internet for the rest. Read More »