The Insurance Doctor

Tag: family

  • 5 little known tidbits about Hanukkah

    5 little known tidbits about Hanukkah

    Since it’s Hanukkah time and my sister in law is Jewish, I decided it was time to deepen my knowledge of the holiday. The holiday with the most different spellings I have ever seen. Happy Hanukkah, here’s what I found out;

    1 ) Spinning the dreidel was originally done by students illegally studying torah . When Greek soldiers would make a surprise raid , students would whip out a dreidel pretending to play a gambling game . dreidel

    2 ) The war of the Maccabees was the first ideological war, fought by a small band of pious Talmudic scholars who engaged in cunning stealth warfare. ( In Israel you can visit the caves they hid in )

    3 ) Hanukkah is celebrated 8 days even though the miracle of the oil was only 7 ( the first day’s lighting shouldn’t count – it’s natural ) to teach us that everything in the “natural” world is really a miracle caused by God .

    4 ) Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. There is no significance to giving gifts during the holiday. But there is a tradition to give gelt ( money ) to give kids an incentive to learn torah . ( Hanukkah also comes from the word “Hinuch,” education. )

    5 ) Around 17.5 million oily doughnuts ( sufganiyot ) are eaten in Israel during Hanukkah , commemorating the miracle of oil . ( Not a good time to start a diet! )

  • 5 Things to do on a Budget in New York City

    5 Things to do on a Budget in New York City

    5 things to do on a budget in NYC New York City

    NYC is a great place to visit however it can burn a hold in your wallet

    Check out these options!

    1. Top of the Rock Observation Deck and MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). You can get a combination ticket to visit both for $44 total and can even go on different days.
    2. Museum of Moving Images. in queens just went through a multi-million dollar upgrade with the most collectible from tv/film. Adults $15 and kids get in for $9 ages 3-17.
    3. Coney Island. home of the new Luna park where a 4 hour unlimited wristband can be purchased for $40, fixed date in advance for $29. While there you can see a Brooklyn cyclone baseball game for $20 or less and the aquarium with the new shark exhibit is currently half price $15 for adults, $12 for kids.
    4. Rockaway Beach. Admission is free and parking at Jacob Riis park is

    $10/day and $65 for the summer.  Ride the waves, sunbathe, baseball basketball and various activities are available with no charge.  Hidden gem.

    1. Central Park. entrance is free and there are a variety of things to do or just relax or picnic on the great lawn.

    Contact Robert today for your personal review of your budget, financial plan & financial freedom here today.

  • 10 Fun & Not So Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

    After 20+ years I just spent a week at the El San Juan and learned that it’s not what it used to be.  Here’s what I found.

    The streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico
    streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico

    1. Leave your passport home: PR is a U.S. territory hence, you can ditch your passport!  Bring a valid / current photo ID though.

    2. The drinking age is 18 and currency is U.S. dollar    :  It makes things very easy to buy what you forgot to pack.

    3. There are 5 Miss Universe winners from PR: Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of them at the beach.

    4. PR has 270 miles of beaches and is an archipelago: which means there are more islands to explore.

    5. The west coast of PR has some of the best surfing and diving in all of the Caribbean: A hidden gem for sure.

    6. PR has some of the best coffee in the world: Having been on 5 of the 7 continents I rate them in my top 5.

    7. PR is the home of the world’s largest telescope: It’s called the Arecibo Observatory.

    8. PR is almost always between 70 to 80 degrees year round: Weather is steady but no guarantee.  We were just had 2 of 7 days that were sunny.  We did find that the humidity seemed lower and less bugs than before.

    9. PR is in deep debt that is currently $72B: Old town San Juan was noticeably run down with many closed businesses and less people.  There was actually a shortage of luggage earlier this year because so many people are leaving the island.

    Zip line fun in Puerto Rico
    Zip line fun in Puerto Rico

    10. Currently, PR has no bankruptcy protection: PR is in a deep recession and there’s no guarantee that the USA will bail them out.  They are having elections in may and corruption is rampant.  The relationship between the U.S. and PR is a “tricky” one.  We shall see how it plays out.

    In summary,  PR is still a fun place to visit.  That being said if you were there years ago like us you will notice the difference and might be disappointed!

  • 6 Tips for your Financial New Year’s Resolutions

    6 Tips for your Financial New Year’s Resolutions

    Six out of ten American’s will make some type of financial based New Year’s resolution for 2016. Usually there’s a triggering event like receiving your December 2015 credit card bill or spousal pressure to name two. Follow these tips;2016-resolutions

    1. Consolidate Financial accounts: Close 1 or 2 existing financial accounts that you are not tracking or have insignificant monies in. This will save brain space, reduce statement clutter and avoid paying unnecessary fees.
    2. Increase your 401k/employer retirement contributions: Raise your contributions 1%/year minimum. You won’t feel the difference however over time it can make a major impact when entering retirement.
    1. Develop a budget and/or expense statement: Review credit card, bank and checkbook statements to get a handle on inflow and outflow of money. Start using a program like quick books or if old school draft a budget by hand and hang it up where you can see it. This can cause heavy emotional denial however better now than later.
    2. Set up a system to save systematic money: Either something informal like putting the $20 you are saving in gas on fill-ups in a jar. Formal ideas like buying a cash value life insurance policy or setting up an Eft thru your bank account.
    3. Protecting your health saves your wealth: We all know about the escalating cost of health insurance and health care in general. Renew that gym membership, yoga studio or dust off that treadmill in the garage.
    4. Bring balance to your life: Take that vacation you have been putting off. The rest and rejuvenation will impact you health. Statistics show that one who works 46 weeks/year will out produce a 52 week/year worker. It will give you something to look forward to and forces one to be very productive before leaving and when returning home. Use frequent flyer miles if need be.

    Contact Robert today to help achieve your New Year’s Financial Resolutions

  • Summer Travel Tips

    Summer Travel Tips

    Having set foot on five of the world’s seven continents I have learned much. With solid planning I was able to do 3 weeks in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia this January with one carry-on bag and one computer bag.

    summer travel tipsMy top travel tips are:

    1. Call your credit card companies in advance: and tell them where you are going and what dates. I have had cards frozen because companies see a string of out of town charges and they think your cards were stolen.
    2. Think in body sections when packing: I do this in the morning while getting work ready and start from feet to head. It can be stressful the last days before a trip so you don’t want to forget anything so do the same with the kids.
    3. Pack a change of clothes in your carry-on bag: 29 million bags are lost/delayed each year. Be ready when it happens to you!
    4. Buy a guide book if going overseas: I cannot stress this enough. Advanced research prevents issues which can ruin a trip. For example my research told me that in Myanmar and Cambodia they accept US dollars however not with folds or wrinkles. I went to the bank in advance and withdrew $500 of new bills in 1’s, 5’s, 10’s and 20’s. I like “lonely planet” and “rough guides” the best. Look for the most recent edition.
    1. Read negative reviews on hotels: I prefer Trip Advisor and Agoda for international travel.

     

    1. If touring by car get a tune-up and GPS: Nothing worse than getting lost or having your car break down. GPS your destinations in advance for proper time planning.

      Contact Robert here today for a free consultation.

  • The Belmont Stakes: 5 Lessons Learned

    Saturday I had the privilege to watch history in the making at the Belmont Stakes. Here are five lessons I learned in the process.

    1. Dress to impress and with comfortable shoes: Lots of walking and fantastic people watching. Best variety of hats and sundresses that you will ever see!Belmont Stakes, leisure, travel tips
    2. Leave the kids at home: It’s a long day, not much for kids to do and because of the heavy foot traffic it’s easy to lose somebody.
    3. If driving get there before 10am: First come first serve with parking and it takes forever to get out. They booked the Goo Goo Dolls to play after the race so people wouldn’t all leave at the same time. Taking the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) is a better option especially if arriving after 10am. Wait an hour before leaving either way.
    4. Walk both inside and outside: Regardless of where your seats are take a walk outside also. Great vibe and more room. You can even bring a blanket and picnic on the lawn while race watching.
    5. Get your tickets either very early or last minute: There was ticket chaos on race day as it was announced that no tickets were being sold at the track and on-line ticket sales ended at 11:30am. That changed to a 4:00pm deadline and $1,000 tickets were available for $250 from noon-3:00pm. At 3:00pm it imploded and the system crashed with so many people using internet on their cell phones at the same time.

      Contact Robert today to learn how to win in the horse race of retirement and personal finance.