The Credit Union Perspective
By: John Normandeau, President/CEO
BestSource Credit Union
Business & Pro essiona,
MEMOS
It's Time to Make Your Financial Resolutions
for the New Year!
I
It's the beginning of a new year, which is a great time to
make resolutions regarding your financial life.
Here are a few areas to look at: Take a look at your sav-
ings. Do you have an emergency fund? It's important to
have at least three months worth of living expenses set
aside for those unforseen situations. The best way to do this is to setup an automatic
transfer (payroll allocation) into a special savings account. You won't even miss the
money this way and before long you'll have the emergency fund you need.
John Normandeau, CEO
Do you know where your money is going? There are several free websites to help you
track what you're spending and on what. They can help you monitor spending patterns,
set up budgets, send you warnings when you are about to overspend and help you iden-
tify areas where you can cut back.
Which leads us to reducing your bills. It's a great time to examine all your regular bills.
Revisit everything from your cable, cell phone and electric bills. There are websites that
will do a comparison for you or call your providers directly and find out what you can do
to reduce your bill.
If your like most americans you are carrying credit card debt. Wouldn't it be great to be
debt-free? Make a list of all your debts and figure out which you can pay off the fast-
est. Pay the minimum on every card except the one you are working to pay off first. By
eliminating your smaller debts first you'll see that's possible and have the drive to tackle
the larger debts.
At BestSource Credit Union our mission is to improve our members' financial lives.
Stop by a branch or give us a call at 800.666.4500 to see how we can help you achieve
your goals. For more information, visit www.bestsourcecu.org .
BEST SOU RC E
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F D I I
Best Lawyers has
named Keefe A.
Brooks as the
Detroit Area Best
Lawyers' Ethics
and Professional
Responsibility
Lawyer of the Year
Brooks
for 2011. Brooks
is a founding partner of Brooks
Wilkins Sharkey & Turco PLLC, 401
South Old Woodward Avenue, Suite
460, Birmingham, MI 48009. Brooks
Wilkins Sharkey & Turco lawyers
have more than 130 years of corn-
bined experience handling complex
litigation and bankruptcy issues.
Todd J. Stearn of
Beverly Hills of
the law offices of
Todd J. Stearn has
been named one of
the top lawyers in
the Super Lawyers
Magazine for 2010.
He practices per-
sonal injury, criminal defense and
business litigation law.
CALENDARS FOR
COMPELLING pgqpAA
Bick
HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
Why We Must Know
and Why We Must Care -
Are Our Children at Risk?
Bridgette Carr
Professor of Law, University of Michigan
Director of the Human Trafficking Law Clinic at the University
APRIL 14, 2011
9:30 A.M. - NOON
JEW SH
WOMEN'S
FOUNDATION
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SUPPORTED BY HONIGMAN, MILLER, SCHWARTZ & COHN, LLP • U OF M DEABORN
For more information, please contact the Jewish Women's Foundation
248.203.1483 • wwwjewishdetroitoreiwf
■•■
4 2411F.: 1645870
••••• ■■■ .,..
26 January 13 •
2011
IAN
Labe
Several attorneys
from Williams,
Williams, Rattner
& Plunkett, P.C.,
in Birmingham
have been selected
for inclusion in
Law and Politics
Rattner
Media Inc.'s list
of "SuperLawyers 2010." The listed
attorneys include: Robert S. Bick
of Franklin, a partner whose law
practice focuses on corporate law,
mergers and acquisitions law, real
estate and business law; Robert B.
Labe of West Bloomfield, a partner
whose law practice focuses on busi-
ness law, estate planning, estate and
trust administration, tax law and tax
planning; and Richard D. Rattner of
Franklin, a partner whose law prac-
tice focuses on real estate, land use,
zoning and corporate law.
Dr. Jay B.
Hollander, direc-
tor of the residency
program for the
Department of
Urology at Royal
Oak's Beaumont
Hospital for the
past 25 years, was
honored at the June graduation of
residents and fellows. A check for
$171,200 will be directed to the Jay
B. Hollander MD Endowed Fund for
Excellence in Resident Education. The
funds came from alumni to honor Dr.
Hollander and will be used to offset
the educational needs of the urology
residency program.
Waxenberg & Associates PC certified
public accountants merged with the
firm of Klein and Hinson to form a
new firm: Waxenberg & Klein PLLC
at 25900 W. 11 Mile Road, suite 240
in Southfield. The managing partner
of the new firm is Ben Waxenberg.
The firm provides accounting, tax
and financial consultation services to
individuals and businesses in the area;
(248) 352-3630.
Help HELP Assist Hispanics
When Ann Mandelbaum emigrated
from Castro's Cuba as a young Jewish
teen, she experienced the challenge of
learning English. Years later, armed with
a Ph.D. in Latin American literature
from Wayne State University in Detroit
and years of teaching experience,
Dr. Mandelbaum has started an ESL
(English as a Second Language) pro-
gram to aid Spanish-speaking adults.
Since 2007, hundreds of immigrants
have benefited from her program,
Hispanic Education for Life-Skills
Project (HELP) in Pontiac. Mandelbaum
offers her services at no cost and is sup-
ported by more than 20 volunteers.
The tuition-free HELP School
primarily enrolls mothers of young
children. Outside of the classroom, the
women struggle to raise their children
while working minimum-wage jobs.
The need is critical to bring more
Hispanic families to the classes,
Mandelbaum said, but lack of child-
care keeps some mothers away. HELP
is seeking funds to hire a care provider
to supervise children onsite while par-
ents focus on their classroom studies.
Tax-deductible contributions may be
sent to: HELP, do Ann Mandelbaum,
32560 Colony Hill, Franklin, MI 48026.
The website is www.helpOaldand.com
or contact Mandelbaum at (248) 971-
0207 or ana@helpoakland.com .