A few weeks ago, the podcast “Living L’Chaim” interviewed a rabbi from Lakewood who was lamenting materialism. He said that he once gave some teenagers a ride to the airport for winter break and overheard one tell the other, “Going to Florida is really dumb but you can’t stay in Lakewood for winter vacation.”

It is well known that winter break has turned into head-to-Florida season. Now I am sure that going to Florida can make sense and be a good choice in some instances. But whenever I sense that something is becoming a fad, I become a little skeptical. One thing is for sure: Whether summer, spring, fall, or winter, if you are heading to the theme parks, you will be paying a lot for a man-made attraction.

When I meet youngsters heading off to school in Israel, I give them a bracha: “May you be hungry and lost and in desperate need of an invite, and may this suffering last for a full five minutes, and may someone then come along and invite you.” During those precious minutes, this young person will learn a valuable lesson. He or she will learn what it feels like to be in need, something that those born with a silver spoon in their mouth might not be aware of. Those few minutes can lead them to an amazing resolve in life.

I want to propose a new chesed program. Baltimore is known as a city with a multitude of chesed organizations, yet there is one profound mitzvah that is being overlooked in our community. Especially now, when we are going through the current war in Israel, we are all aware that chesed and Jewish unity will carry the day.

As we approach the end of the year, we should be thinking of income tax planning.

1) Itemizing: Typically, people with a mortgage can itemize. This is because the standard deduction has risen to approximately $28,000. For those who do not itemize, consider giving double charity every other year, a strategy known as “bunching.” In Maryland, it can be very beneficial to itemize.

2) Medical: Medical expenses must exceed 7.5% of your income before they start to be deductible. Consider a FSA or HSA. These are medical savings accounts that create a tax deduction.

3) Childcare tax credit: Up to 28% of $6,000 is allowed for preschool and day camps up to age 12, a savings of $1,680. You need to list the caregiver’s name, address, and ID number. 

4) Children: Every child under 17 is worth a tax credit of $2,000. Age 17 and over are only worth $500. Once a child turns 19, they typically have to be a student to be claimed.

This year, a Pesach hotel program collapsed shortly before the holiday, causing countless problems for guests and a tremendous loss of money. The reason given was a fake email from the hotel to the kosher syndicator that provided a false bank account number to wire the money to. It’s pretty surprising that a sophisticated businessman would wire hundreds of thousands of dollars to an unconfirmed bank account. But that’s how scams work – through trickery and deception.

I am sure you are all aware that scams have been increasing. The title of this article is perhaps misleading as scams are getting more sophisticated, and not only the elderly are falling for them. For example, yesterday I received a phone call from a well-known New York yeshiva. I gave the lady my credit card number to make a donation. Was that safe? She sounded frum, so I did it. All ages should pay attention, but the elderly remain prime targets.

As an accountant, I talk to a lot of people about their finances and the difficulty of covering their expenses, and I am often asked about what is the best way to obtain a car: new, used, or leased?

Cars are, without question, the most expensive consumer item – not counting houses and tuition, that is. Clearly, the smoothest way to buy a car is to buy one brand new. There is no worry about who owned it before or if it has problems that were covered up. It will certainly drive nicely (and have that new car smell). The only downside is that it is the most expensive option. Therefore, if one is trying to save money, he or she will buy a used car. You see, many people keep cars for three to ten years and then sell them, often back to the dealer in the form of a trade-in. The dealer then resells that car – hence, the enormous business of selling used cars. Here is how it works: The original owner trades in a car to a new car dealer. That means the car owner is selling the car to the dealer for, say, $5,000. The dealer then resells the car to a used car buyer for $10,000. In this example, $5,000 is the wholesale price, and $10,000 is the retail price.

Another year is coming to a close and, that means thinking income taxes. As always, we need to see what can be done before the close of the year. Let’s go through a checklist:

Child Tax Credit: Children up to age 17 (it was 16 in the past) receive a $3,000 tax credit. (Under age six get $3,600.) This credit is fully refundable. If a family earns $40,000 and has five children, they will get back about $20,000 from the feds and Maryland, which includes the child tax credit and the earned income credit. This money is tax free. They will also get free health insurance with zero deductibles. Of course, there are also food stamps, worth maybe $1,000 per month. Doesn’t seem like a big incentive to work hard and make more money. This child tax credit is reduced for any money you have been receiving since July as that money was an advance of this credit.