views Ask Attorney Ken Gross about… Credit Your Card Financial Debt is Issues for openers A Tale Of Two Margies W really afford dinner out? hen I was a teenager, It wasn’t always like this. My mother- I could have written a in-law recently introduced me to her babysitting manual. I had babysitter — not the one she paid $5 it down to a science: First play with an hour to watch her kids, but the kids (the more they love the person who looked after her you, the more jobs you’ll when she was a baby, almost 70 get), then make sure they go years ago! to bed (parents love it when My mother-in-law, Margie their kids are sleeping). And Burstyn, was born in a then, finally, raid the kitch- displaced-persons camp in en, being super careful to Bergen Belsen, Germany, scrunch up cookie packages to two Holocaust survivors. so it looks like you never Rochel Burstyn In the same building as the touched them. young family was a 13-year-old Fast-forward a few years survivor, also named Margie and suddenly I find myself (now Burdowski of Commerce in the role of one who pays Township) and Babysitter for a babysitter whenever Margie used to babysit Baby Margie. I go out. And it’s not a measly $5 an I was fascinated to meet Babysitter hour anymore. Oh no, in the years Margie and I asked her: Where did since I toiled at babysitting, that fee the young parents go when you were has quadrupled. The stock market babysitting? What did you do with may have taken a beating, the hous- the baby? And, of course, the knuckle- ing market may have crashed but, to biting question of parents everywhere: date, the highest paid laborers in the How much did you charge? land are teens who do nothing more Babysitter Margie, now a great- than arrange themselves comfortably on the couch in the general vicinity of grandmother and with a memory clear as a bell, shared that in those your peacefully sleeping child. days parents didn’t “go out” like we do Remember those complicated old today. The young parents in question math problems from school where weren’t off to the movies or dinner; they you had to work out how fast the were just doing stuff around the apart- train was traveling? Suddenly its real ment. But they had no family to rely life, only the question is: If you’re pay- on, so Babysitter Margie pitched in and ing the babysitter a small fortune and pushed the baby around in the stroller you only earn a regular wage, can you … After all, Baby Margie was a very cute baby and it was her pleasure. And charge? Nobody got paid! She did it to help the young couple out. Just a little chessed (kindness). Eventually, Baby Margie reached the shores of Detroit and Babysitter Margie settled in Ohio. On a visit to Detroit, Baby Margie’s mom introduced Babysitter Margie to the man who would become her husband. Years passed and, in that time, both Margies grew and built their respec- tive families. Throughout the years, the two Margies kept in touch and still get together on occasion to reminisce about an era long gone. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? When so much money is involved, it just somehow cheapens the interaction. I mean, after forking over half my sal- ary to a modern-day babysitter, I really don’t want to see them too often! It’s only chessed that lasts forever. • letters Immigration Problem In Israel It seems there is an immigration problem in Israel, too, that has been brought to the attention of Detroit Jewry (“#Blacklivesmatter in Israel, Too,” Feb. 1, page 5). The State of Israel has a challenge no other nation has — to maintain a homeland for world Jewry, facing the mostly hostile Middle East and a mostly hostile world, represented in the United Nations. Israel, like the United States, is a wonderful country with many out- standing contributions to the world but with problems achieving total justice. It is the responsibility of Israeli citi- zens to work on their problems; it is the responsibility of American Jews to work on our problems. There are two kinds of Zionists: citi- zens of Israel and supporters of Israel. raised largely with no parent at home until dinnertime. Thus, they are so dependent on social media. We need to get everyone focused on this crisis. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you have $40,000 of credit card debt. You’re not happy about it, but you say to yourself, “I can handle it. The minimum payments are only $1,000/month and each month I’m paying $500 extra so it will go away.” The problem is that it does not go away! When you pay the $1,500 every month, you leave yourself cash short; so when you need to purchase something, you charge it! The result – the balances don’t go down – in fact they continue to creep up until you’ve tapped out your available credit. If the cards are at 18% interest, you’re paying $7,200 per year in interest. Over 20 years = that’s $144,000 toward your retirement that you’ve forever lost – plus the interest you would have earned on that money while you were saving it. Don’t Make this Mistake. You need to get rid of the credit card debt – and the sooner you do it, the sooner you begin saving the $1,500 per month – for every month going forward. Call us, we’ll show you how it’s done. Harvey Bronstein Southfield Shoshana Wolok West Bloomfield Teen Mental Health Thank you for beginning the year- long series on teen mental health. I am relieved to learn of the massive effort both by the Jewish Federation and by the Jewish News. We can’t solve this entirely, but we must do everything that we can. Todd Krieger’s column (“Anxious Times, Growing Concerns,” Feb. 1, page 6) touches on all of the causes but one. Today our children are being Financial Cancer CORRECTION Jordyn Gudeman In the story “Go Nuts For No Nuts,” (Feb. 8, page 46) the wrong photo was used. This is Jordyn Gudeman, who owns Eddie G’s Cookies, www. eddiegscookies.com. THAV GROSS has been solving its clients’ business, tax and fi nancial problems since 1982. Be sure to tune in to the Law and Reality – Sunday mornings at 11 AM on TV20. thavgross.com ‡ lawandreality.com 30150 Telegraph, Suite 444 Bingham Farms, MI 48025 jn February 15 • 2018 5