http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross RSS Feed for DN Col Harry Gross en-us Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:33:10 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110708_Harry_Gross_.html ECONOMIC conditions are tough. They are especially tough in the area of the print media. As a result, this will be my last column. I have enjoyed my many years at the Daily News more than my vocabulary can describe. I always operated without any editorial restrictions on my opinions, for which I have always been grateful. That goes for more than 10,000 columns! http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110707_Harry_Gross_.html Dear Harry: My father is 84 and in very good health. He has a modest estate and a very decent pension. He has three children who are all making it on their own, but no big shakes. For many years, he had life insurance to protect my mother, but he did not http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110706_Harry_Gross__Careful_of_revealing_too_much_on_the_Web.html Dear Harry: This recession almost ruined me. I lost a job that I worked in for 32 years, advancing each year. Since then, I have worked at far less-skilled jobs (four of them) and earned about 70 percent of my last decent salary. We have stopped our IRA c http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110705_Harry_Gross_.html Dear Harry: I have been intrigued by your recent columns on options. What is your view of my buying call options on the stock of a company that I feel certain has a good future? If I buy the stock, it will cost me about $5,000 for 100 shares. If I buy opt http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110701_Harry_Gross__Robbers_stake_out_funerals.html Dear Harry: We made a terrible mistake when my father died. At the time of the funeral, we left his home unattended. Robbers got into the place and took all kinds of valuables. They also took several life-insurance policies that named my mother as benefic http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110630_Harry_Gross__Safe-deposit_box__Good_place_to_store_gold__etc_.html Dear Harry: I have been seriously considering putting a portion of my investments in gold. I think the gold bugs actually have a weak case in linking gold prices to inflation, but our exploding national debt practically mandates printing more dollars. Eve http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110629_Harry_Gross__How_to_be_sure_Mom_s_house_goes_to_him___not_his_brother.html Dear Harry: My mother is 74 and owns two houses, which she recently remortgaged for $96,000 and $93,000. The larger mortgage is on her home. She got herself into some trouble because she has been helping my younger brother who is a sponge. I have taken ov http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110628_Harry_Gross__He_has_their_money__hasn_t_done_the_work.html Dear Harry: I got myself into a handshake agreement with a window contractor. He was to install 12 double-hung windows in our home for $3,800. Payment was to be for $2,500 up front for him to purchase materials with the remaining $1,300 when the job was c http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110627_Harry_Gross__Can_he_get_a_tax_break_for_being_in_jail_.html Dear Harry: I am incarcerated. We had an income-tax discussion last week in which a fellow inmate told us that every penny we spend in the commissary here is deductible on our federal income-tax returns. This applies to everything we buy, even candy bars, http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/harry_gross/20110624_Harry_Gross__An_alternative_to_a_reverse_mortgage_.html Dear Harry: I've gotten myself into a bind. We bought our home in 2006, and the monthly payments of $1,344 were a breeze because we were both working at good salaries in pretty secure jobs.