New priorities for a New Year
In another era the shortening days and pomegranates ripening on the trees would take me to place of anticipation and even excitement as we approach Rosh HaShana, and the holidays of the month of Tishrei. Despite the seriousness of the time of year, including the preparations in Elul, there was always a feeling of almost […]
Financial redundancy
How about a different focus for a change? My usual theme often contains direction and tips to enhance your savings, by checking that you aren’t being financially irresponsible, duplicating management fees or insurance payments. However, in this article I want to discuss why it might pay to also have a degree of duplication in some […]
Making your home in Israel – as a purchase or rental?
Since October 7th the world has become a different, often less secure, place for many Jews. At Labinsky Financial we have seen a significant spike in the number of olim inquiring about Aliyah and the financial implications on their future. Whereas there was always a unique pull for Jews to come to Israel, choosing to […]
Can you guarantee your secure financial future?
We all want to be financially secure, although how much money we need to satisfy our needs will certainly vary from individual to individual and family to family. However, especially in our current reality of instability and rising prices, it would be very appealing to cross off ‘financial stability’ from our to do list. What […]
Why is it so hard to do the right thing?
Unlike other species, humans have the ability to see themselves, through a combination of memory and imagination, in the past and the future. We would think that with such an ability it would be easy for us to make wise, long-term decisions – whether it is regarding our physical health, mental health or financial health. […]
A bird’s eye view
A few days ago, while in my kitchen I was distracted by a very loud, high-pitched chirp that emanated from a tiny, violet bird. The bird was perched on our window’s bars, staring into our house. The bird was not distracted or disturbed by my presence, but when I followed its line of vision, I […]
Overcoming inertia
Objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion continue in motion, unless acted on by outside forces. In other words, inertia. This physics principle also impacts on people in the psychological sphere. We all have the momentum of our lives, the routines that keep us grounded and prevent us from being […]
Turning things on their head
The month (or in the case of this year – months) of Adar are traditionally associated with the Hebrew phrase Venahafokh hu, which has become part of the modern Hebrew lexicon. It alludes to the many miracles that occurred in the Purim story, which came about when countless elements were turned on their head. At […]
The empty part of the glass
While contemplating what to write about this month, my thoughts have taken me in many directions but they all seem to come back to the current predicament we find ourselves in during this war that is impacting on so many people. I’d love to be able to write about something else, but my individual and […]
How full is that glass
Recently I had a serious conversation with a very close friend about the current situation and what the future might bring. He shared many real concerns ranging from the physical safety of the citizens of Israel, the rampant antisemitism, the potential increasing isolation of Israel as global support peters out, to the current economic situation […]