Of children's allowances & eggplant/mushrooms

That which you see & hear, you cannot help; but that which you say depends on you alone. – Jewish Zohar (a mystical work)





HANDLING CHILDREN’S ALLOWANCES:

Some folks prefer to give their children allowances that are not tied to “chores.” Others feel differently. Let me be up-front about my bias. I think that a child should share in the work of a household without the work’s being rewarded with crass coins. I think that the child should make contributions of his or her time in solidarity with the rest of the family, without what may be felt by the child as “bribery.” But you may feel differently. I’d love to run another piece, gathering your opinions about why & how paying for chores is better -- & how you have arrived at a pay scale that you & your child feel is equitable.

Whatever monies children receive – gifts, allowances, income from work – should be saved, in part. Decide with your child 6 or over what would be a fair percentage – something between 10 & 30 percent would probably be equitable. Younger children should have, in my opinion, all the money gifts that they receive be saved for them.

Have the child decide what she or he is saving for. (Perhaps this would be a used car if the “child” were a teenager – or a new bicycle for a younger child.) If the amount to be saved is on the high end – 30% instead of 10%, it might be a good idea to divide the saved pot in half. One-half would be for short-term savings, & the other half towards an adult goal – college or a down-payment on the adult child’s first home. (If a child puts 15% of all monies the child ever receives into long-term savings, these goals would not be absurd. Naturally, these larger sums should be invested carefully. Tax considerations are crucial, particularly if the child is receiving income for his or her help in a family business. The state “529” tax-deferred savings accounts for college would often be the most appropriate vehicle. Finally, liquidiy & safety of the investments are the paramount issue.)

Many people calculate allowances as $5 or $10 times the child’s age. This is simply ridiculous for pre-teens in my opinion – how can a 10-year-old responsibly handle $100 or even $50? (If $1 is used as a multiple for the youngsters instead, how would it seem fair to the child for that multiple to be increased at a given age? What IS the big difference between 8 & 9, for example?)

But, if the parent & child agree that, as a teenager, the child should provide out of his or her allowance for all needs beyond (i) shelter, (ii) food at home, & (iii) health care, (or from the allowance plus his or her earnings), the $5 or $10 per year of age formula makes more sense.

A back-to-the-nester, in my opinion, should not be given an allowance but should be asked to pay rent. I would define such a child to be anyone who is not disabled from working, who is over 18.

So, my friends & readers, add your voices to mine & let’s speak together about this important issue!





HELPFUL HINTS:

If you need to fly cross-country, consider purchasing tickets to & from Las Vegas. The casinos are almost always inducing the airlines to provide special deals to that destination, so you often will pay less on your trip by utilizing this method.

Here is a way of saving on toiletries that are thick such as deodorant: just turn the container upside-down between uses.

In the specific case of colored nail polish, dilute it with a base coat/topcoat as it is used up. You can use the cheapest kind of base coat/topcoat to keep a more luxurious brand of colored polish going for many, many months.

To save big dollars on your car insurance, cancel your collision coverage once the car’s market value is less than 10 times the premium for the coverage.

When you MUST use a paper towel – a cloth just won’t do, such as to pick up a dead fly, which carries disease – tear off the least possible amount feasible for your purpose. This may be as small as a 2” square.





RECIPE:

Here is a second recipe suitable for use during Passover, when no leavened products are used by observant Jews. (For example, baking powder & yeast are prohibited foodstuffs.) The holiday won’t be here for a week, but it’s necessary to plan menus in advance, in order to know what to shop for. Nothing that has been used year-round can be used on the holiday (which lasts for 8 days), if a family is observant. Note that the carrot custard in last week’s issue is also suitable for the holiday.

Eggplant & Mushroom Bake:

Both eggplant & mushrooms are pricey, but, hey, Passover is a major holiday!

Prepare a 9x13” casserole dish like Pyrex® with cooking-oil spray.

¾ lb. mushrooms, sliced (you can use an egg slicer to make this easy)
1 to 1-1/2 lb eggplant, cubed (cut into 1” cubes)

Place attractively into the casserole dish.

2 T olive oil
½ large or 1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp (1/2 T) marjoram, if you can get it Kosher for Passover – or, substitute oregano
“lots of” freshly-ground black pepper, or 1/2 tsp ready-ground black pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the onion & celery in oil until lightly browned. Add seasonings & stir thoroughly. Remove onion/celery/seasoning mix from Dutch oven & place into casserole dish atop other the eggplant/mushroom mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 T olive oil
2 T matzo meal
2 c milk

Prepare a white sauce:

In same Dutch oven, heat remaining oil. Add matzo meal slowly, & stir until it has browned. Slowly add milk (2/3 cup at a time), stirring constantly. Stir intermittently until mixture has thickened.

Pour the sauce over the veggies in the casserole dish.

3/4 c matzo meal

Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes. Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes to brown the matzo meal. (Watch carefully, to ensure that the meal does not burn.) Serve to 6..