US EMBASSY MOVE, JERUSALEM DAY AND YOUR RETIREMENT
As originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post on May 11, 2018.
Next week will be special for Jerusalem. Starting on Sunday we celebrate Jerusalem day. Much to my chagrin, outside of Jerusalem, the day passes without notice sans maybe hearing Shuli Natan sing Jerusalem of Gold on the radio. It’s a shame that other than the religious Zionist community who celebrate, the 28th of Iyar is neglected. Though it’s a significant fulfillment of 2000 years of Jewish yearning in exile, it’s become such a hot potato that people would rather just forget about it.
I personally love the day. Seeing tens of thousands of teenagers singing and waving Israeli flags at the annual Jerusalem Day flag parade, gives hope in a time period where taking selfies and sitting around on a smartphone have become the national pastime. It’s refreshing to see Israeli youth still celebrating something that is greater than themselves, something that is a national victory. While some see this parade as a display of extreme nationalism, I think it’s beautiful. Have certain sectors in our society become so jaded that “nationalism” has become a 4-letter word to them? What’s wrong with some Israeli pride?
Monday will be a day that goes down in Jewish history. Whereupon President Trump’s instruction, the US embassy finally moves to Jerusalem and the holy city becomes officially recognized by the Americans as the capital of Israel. Say what you want about the US President, but from his decision on pulling out of the Iranian nuclear deal to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, his ability to see things in a clear manner and focus on what is the truth and then act on that is truly refreshing. I think that it’s his ability to cut to the chase and do both what’s right and what he promised which is behind his increasing popularity.
Retirement
What does any of this have to do with your retirement? It’s because people need to stop fooling themselves regarding their financial situation. It’s imperative that individuals start looking at their finances clearly. When 25% of those surveyed proudly proclaim that their entire retirement plan is to win the lottery, or when survey after survey shows that nearly half of all Americans have no way to pay for a sudden $1,000 expense – it’s time to worry. Alessandra Malito writes in Marketwatch, “Here’s the bad news: Other studies suggest Americans are not prepared for retirement, even those closest to retiring. One in three Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement, and one in five have no savings at all, according to the recent 2018 Planning & Progress Study by Northwestern Mutual, which surveyed more than 2,000 Americans 18 and older. A third of baby boomers, the generation nearest to retirement, has between $0 and $25,000.”
It’s all on you
Don’t think the government is going to take care of you. Bituach Leumi isn’t even enough to pay for your food bill, let alone your week-long vacation in Eilat. You need to to be honest with yourself and start figuring out if you have enough to fund the kind of retirement that you dream about. If you are on track, fantastic. Keep on doing what you are doing, saving, investing and rebalancing your investments. If you don’t have enough money, now is the time to get serious about saving. Remember that time flies so don’t keep delaying. Investing can only help so much. The real chore is to save as much as possible. As you get closer to retirement there is a good chance that your kids may be out of the house which means that you can save on tuition, food etc. You may have to sacrifice on your lifestyle, but you have no choice. You need to save everything possible. Take all of your newfound savings and get it invested.
Take control of your finances, and be honest with yourself. The more you try and fool yourself, the worse it will be during retirement. You still have time to create a financially secure retirement. Start making order today.
The information contained in this article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates.
Aaron Katsman is the author of the book Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to A Secure Financial Future with Global Investing (McGraw-Hill), and is a licensed financial professional both in the United States and Israel and helps people who open investment accounts in the United States. Securities are offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. (www.prginc.net). Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. For more information, call (02) 624-0995 visit www.gpsinvestor.com or email aaron@lighthousecapital.co.il.
