Questions tagged [israel]

to be used for any question within the geographical region of Israel.

43 questions
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3 answers

When and how should I pay taxes on ForEx trades?

I am an Israeli citizen. I've bought BitCoin (let us agree for the sake of discussion it is a currency) using US dollars. Let's also assume I never convert the bitcoins to any other currency (but instead use them to purchase goods and services…
ripper234
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How to incentivize a real-estate broker to find me a cheap house

I am looking for a house to buy. Most real-estate brokers that I know of represent the sellers. This means that they get a certain percentage of the selling price. This means that they have an incentive to offer more expensive houses, and for a…
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6 answers

How do I find an ideal single fund to invest all my money in?

Suppose I wanted to follow the advice on this blog post: An ideal bal­anced port­fo­lio would be a sin­gle fund. This forces you to look at your invest­ments as one big bucket, elim­i­nat­ing men­tal account­ing. It ensures you rebal­ance …
ripper234
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1 answer

How to save house down payment as expatriate US Citizen

I am a US expatriate living in Israel and I am trying to save up in the next 7-10 years for a down payment on a house/apartment. The prices here are what some would call a "bubble" here but even if they come down the banks still require 30% down…
6
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1 answer

As a beginner investor, should I start investing with mutual funds through my bank, or with an online broker?

I would like to give my first try in investing. So far, I found many useful materials to start with on the forum, so now I need some practice. For me there are two options to start investing. Investing through my bank. My domestic bank has an…
user10756
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How to donate to Palestinians while making sure none of the proceeds go to Hamas?

I'm more neutral on the conflict, and though I've already donated to Israeli charities, courtesy of Reddit, I've yet to find one that can make sure no money goes to Hamas. I've seen many reports of charities that have had their donations stolen by…
eep
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4
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2 answers

Missing wire transfer from Israel to United States

Over one month ago before I left Israel, I wire transferred funds from Israel to US Bank. As of today, US Bank stated that they have not seen the transfer. I have contacted the bank in Israel several times by e-mail, but they stopped responding…
4
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1 answer

Do you need to pay taxes on cash poker games?

My father is a poker player and only plays cash games, that is poker games where you only play with you own money (vs tournament where you pay a fixed fee and can win up to millions). We currently live outside of the US. When we tried to cash in…
solalito
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The hotel manager took a photo copy of my debit card. Do I have a reason to be worried?

Last week I visited Turkey. I came to a hotel my traveling agent has reserved a month before, but the reception officer didn't let me in because he said my voucher was cancelled. After an hour of arguments, I talked with the manager on the phone,…
4
votes
1 answer

Dormant account in an Israeli bank

I have an account with Bank Leumi in Israel. I'm not using it; the account has a minimum sum in NIS which is dwindling due to maintenance fees. So, what's going to happen when it reaches zero? There are three options: My account is cancelled by…
sigil
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Prepay a loan options: reduce monthly payment or shorten loan period?

I have a mortgage, fixed interest rate, 25 years. I saved some money and I want to prepay part of the loan. The bank asks me to choose between 2 options: Keep the monthly payment the same, and reduce the lifespan of the loan. Reduce the monthly…
Itamar
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What's a cost effective way to invest in foreign stocks/funds in Israel?

I would like to diversify, and not have all my investments tied to the NIS, and so I would like to purchase some foreign index funds. I just checked with my bank, and if I understood them correctly, the mere act of depositing or withdrawing dollars…
ripper234
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4 answers

Automatically splitting payments between people

My girlfriend and I have decided that we want to split expenses 50/50 (or whatever ratio). Currently, we alternate payment, but that means that we have to remember who paid last time, how much, etc. and that makes this issue more salient than we'd…
Jonathan
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International Wire Transfer Currency Conversion

If I wire money internationally say from my Israeli account to a US account does the money currency change from ILS to USD after the money have been sent? Or does it stay in the same currency unless I request something?
Rani Faris
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Legal age for investing

What year of age is required to open a brokerage account and start trading? Is it 18+ or 21+? I live in Israel, but am interested in trading in the U.S. markets.
Rani Faris
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