Every dollar invested is money working for you. Here’s how to start on your own

Investing for Beginners

Tsippi Gross and Rivky Rothenberg

Ready to invest? Even if it’s a small amount, it’s a great habit to build. Every dollar invested is money working for you. Here’s how to start on your own:

IF you plan to use the money you’re investing within a year, you likely won’t want to risk the stock market going down and potentially losing the money you put in. Instead, put your money into a high-yield savings account or even a CD (certificate of deposit) rather than a regular bank account, which only pays interest at 1% or less.

A high-yield savings account is typically with a non-brick-and-mortar bank such as UMB Bank. It functions like a bank (just make sure it’s FDIC insured), but doesn’t have a physical branch, which is how they can afford to pay higher rates. One way to access UMB Bank is through the Empower dashboard, so you can open accounts and track your money all in one place. You can connect it to your regular bank to transfer money. Right now high-yield savings accounts are earning between 3.75-4.75% interest annually, but please do your own research before investing.

A CD is a guaranteed loan to a financial institution. For example, you can get a CD through Chase Bank — that means that Chase Bank is borrowing your money, so it’s tied up and not available for a certain amount of time, such as three months to ten years, and you’re guaranteed a certain interest rate. It pays to compare offers from several institutions before making your final decision.

If you don’t need the money in the short term (e.g., you’re saving to help a child with a future down payment on a house or even retirement), you could consider investing in the stock market, specifically via index funds or ETFs (exchange traded funds).

Investing in the stock market has an opportunity for earning more than an average savings account, but can also experience dips. Given the history of the stock market, you can expect anywhere from a 6-10% rate of return over the course of time, depending on what you’re invested in and how long you can let your money sit.

Here are several tips to keep in mind if you’re a newbie investing in the stock market:

The longer you leave the money in, the more potential it has to grow.

Invest a bit at a time. You don’t need to put the entire amount into the market at once. Spread it across several months to take advantage of potential dips in the market, as it’s better to buy when the price is low.

Understand your risk appetite. If you invest $10,000 today and the next day, see it’s worth $9,000 and panic and take out the money, you’ll be making a big mistake. Only invest if you’re willing to ride out the ups and downs.

Don’t look at the value often. Choose a fund and then leave it for a while. Don’t become a day trader.

Do your research before investing anywhere. Take advantage of sites like Morningstar, which provides ratings for funds. Speak to someone you trust.

Don’t invest in anything that promises you’ll get rich quick. Understand what you’re investing in and get advice before taking the plunge. (This is especially true in regard to investing in real estate and Bitcoin and other types of digital currency.)

Don’t wait for later to start. Do some research, pick your path, and get started. When later comes, you’ll thank yourself!

Tsippi Gross is a business consultant and Rivky Rothenberg is a CPA. Together they started Ashir, a nonprofit that provides financial training for communities and families.

Rise to Their Level

Hadassah Eventsur

IF you have ADHD, chances are you have one or more ADHD children, as it tends to run in families. You may notice an uptick in their negative behavior during Shabbos and Yom Tov meals or during family gatherings, which puts a lot of pressure on you and your spouse.

Many people attribute these behaviors to a desire for attention, but this is often not the case. ADHD children (and adults) have a lack of blood flow and dopamine to their brains, so when they are understimulated or bored with all the adult conversation around them, their brains will seek higher levels of dopamine. Evoking intense reactions in others is one (immature!) way to get that, and so they’ll annoy others and start fights.

You may struggle with shame and frustration as you try to manage these behaviors in the presence of other family members. If you find yourself in this type of situation, instead of punishing or chastising, try to match your child’s need for intensity by giving it to him in positive ways. Get on the floor with him as he describes, in detail, his latest Lego creation. Become animated about a story she’s sharing (no matter how uninteresting it may be). Ask her to bring you a pack of plastic plates and to balance it on her stomach as she crab walks to bring it to you. Employ multiple family members to partner with you in this endeavor.

When we take the time and effort to meet the needs of our neurodivergent children, we’re more likely to keep calm and create positive memories surrounding family time.

Hadassah Eventsur, MS, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist and a Certified Life Coach. She is the founder of MindfullyYou, a program that supports Frum Women who struggle with Executive Functioning.

Strep Sighting

Dr. Jennie Berkovich

There are three main tests for strep throat: rapid tests, cultures, and PCR. Rapid tests give quick results but can miss cases. Cultures are accurate but getting results can take several days. PCR looks for bacterial DNA, with results coming in one to 24 hours, depending on the office and lab.

While rapid tests are often used first for convenience, they can’t distinguish between carrier status and active infection. They also vary in accuracy depending on the swabber and the test itself. As much as possible, it’s important to get care in a place that will send a culture or PCR to a lab, and can keep track of how often a child is getting strep throat.

Throat cultures are the preferred test when trying to distinguish between an old infection, a carrier state, or an active strep throat that requires treatment.

Dr. Jennie Berkovich is a board-certified pediatrician in Chicago and serves as the Director of Education for the Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association (JOWMA)

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 929)