Expert Voices Today

Making Sense of Supplements

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We are shareholders, but....

Here is what I plan to ask my Congressman: Sir, Typically, shareholders have three ways to influence the corporation in which they own stock. 1. They can vote with their feet, if they are unhappy. That is, they can sell their shares. 2. If they hold onto their stock, they can vote at the annual meeting. 3. And if all else fails, they can sue. Now that I own (as a taxpayer) preferred stock in some of the nation's largest financial institutions, do I have any of these options? And if I don't, why not? More…

Traveling with a Demented Elder

Welcome back all my caregivers! Recently I was so dismayed to see a sweet little elderly lady (obviously suffering from dementia) and her devoted adult daughter, being delayed and searched at an airport checkpoint. The daughter was a bit heavy and apparently her underwire bra kept setting off the alarm, which finally embarrassed her to tears. The mom, seeing her daughter getting so upset, got so frightened and confused that soon she was in a frenzied panic. More…

We Might as Well Share in the Rewards

From today's Wall Street Journal: 'The U.S. government is expected to take stakes in nine of the nation's top financial institutions as part of a new plan to restore confidence to the battered U.S. banking system, a far-reaching effort that puts the government's guarantee behind the basic plumbing of financial markets." You can make the case, as I have, that the government should not be in the bailout business. (It simply isn't the way capitalism is supposed to work.) But, if taxpayers are going to be on the hook for guaranteeing loans to AIG and bailing out the banks, we might as well share in the upside. More…

Money for Nothing

Here are a couple of random thoughts, while waiting for the market to open. Should the L.A. Dodgers play the Red Soxs in the World Series, the Soxs will be paying for Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez to beat them. (Part of the trade that sent Manny from the Red Soxs to the Dodgers during the season required the Soxs to continue to pay all of Manny's salary for the year.) It gets better. If the Dodgers win, not only will Manny get a World Series ring, he will get two bonus checks. The first, for being a member of the winning team. And, the Sox will pay him a pro-rated share of what the losing team receives to cover the time he played for them during the season. Sure beats trying to make money in the market.. More…

Let Nature Be Your Medicine – Herbs That Heal

What most people don’t realize about herbs are that they are what we call, “food stuff.” Herbs are plants and as such they provide a variety of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the body uses to both nourish and heal it’s self. Records show that Herbs were used by the Egyptians, Romans, Persians, and Hebrews as medicine to treat a host of illnesses. In fact the early pharmaceutical industry was based upon the ability to isolate medicinal ingredients from plants and make them available in purer form. Nature however synergized the ingredients within plants to create an overall supportive effect. Therefore true herbal medicine makes use of the essential elements of the whole herb. More…

Sometimes it is Good to be an Ostrich

If you are convinced your retirement money--and your other funds devoted to your long term goals--are allocated correctly, here's a suggestion: Don't look at the value of those accounts until sometime next year. Otherwise, the relentless drops in the market could make you do something you will regret. I don't plan to check the value of my retirement accounts until December 31 of this year. More…

How Successful are You?

In every religion, there are certain times when the people of its faith are more focused on reflection. In the Jewish faith, we have just celebrated the New Year and at the time of this posting will be observing Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During these eight days we are to look back at the past year, ask for forgiveness, and pray that we be inscribed in the Book of Life for the next year. As I did my own reflecting and listened to something the Rabbi said in his sermon, I was motivated to share some of my thoughts with you. I feel that given the current state of our society, they are particularly significant. Are you happy? More…

Are you Rethinking your Retirement? (Drop me a line and you be featured here.)

The stock market has fallen more than 33% since last October. Even more depressing, collectively we have lost something like $2 trillion in the value of our retirement accounts. That has gotten me to start rethinking my retirement plans. I am wondering if it is affecting yours. I am not so much curious about people who are thinking about cutting back. Rather, I am wondering if you—like me—are seeing this as a chance to make lemonade out of lemons. The fact that our retirement accounts are plummeting means we are going to have to work longer. But that doesn’t mean we necessarily have do the same sort of work we are doing now. Are you using the current downturn to rethink what you will do for a living in the future, once you reach “retirement” age? More…

What Are You Going to do Next Time?

The current crisis will end, of course. But you can be equally certain that we will see another some point in the future. Everything has a lifecycle. So, the next boom time will end in a bust as well. The question is what have you have learned this time around that you can apply next. That is what wisdom--something we are supposed to gain as we age--is all about. More…