TO OUR READERS

FINANCIAL WISDOM FOR EVERY AGE

LIKE ANY RESPONSIBLE STRIVERS, my husband and I are committed to teaching our 5-year-old the fundamentals of financial literacy. He is such an apt pupil, and we are so organized, that he has already mastered one (!) of these three important money lessons: n Under no circumstances are you to put money in your mouth. No, not even the really clean bills from Grandma. n The dime may be the smallest, but it’s still worth more than the nickel and the penny. n Theoretically we could buy all those cool Paw Patrol books.

But maybe let’s just go to the library instead?

Spoiler: We’re still explaining that nickels are worth less than dimes and fending off requests to buy Paw Patrol books.

It is our sincere hope that the next generation will improve on the last. We will know he has succeeded if he can master these surefire truths before he’s in his late 40s: n If you want the refund, it’s not enough just to tell Amazon you’re going to return the item. You’re going to have to box it up and take it to Kohl’s or The UPS Store or wherever. n A physical trainer is pricey. If you’re going to work with one, you’ll get a better return on your investment if you heed all her instructions for healthy living outside the gym. n You’ll probably never make time to do the yard sale, and even if you did, it probably wouldn’t be worth it. So just post all those things in a Buy Nothing group or take them to Goodwill.

I acknowledge that these instructions are a little more narrowly tailored than the ones you’ll encounter in “The Smart Money” (page 70), our feature on navigating financial questions at different stages of life. Former Bethesda Beat reporter Bethany Rodgers contacted experts (many of them cited in “Top Financial Professionals,” page 76) to glean their insights into inflation, cryptocurrency, prenups, a potential recession, Montgomery County’s housing market and more.

As someone who’s not a financial expert herself, Bethany described the experience of talking with the pros as personally helpful and empowering.

“I think that anxiety about finances and money, and just feeling like that’s a complicated world that’s difficult to understand and awkward and anxiety-producing, keeps people from learning about it or financially planning,” she told me. “I learned from myself that fear of money and thinking about money and talking about money is probably my biggest problem. And it probably is for other people.”

She also was heartened by the idea that, when it comes to investing and prudent financial decisions, late is truly better than never.

“It was really comforting that it’s never too late. No matter when you start planning and thinking about it, you’ve never missed the ‘deadline,’ ” she says. “There’s no point at which it’s too late and it’s not to your advantage to start.”

This issue also addresses how to invest your money and time in ways that benefit our whole community. There’s a lot in our annual Guide to Giving (page 130): 59 nonprofits, in fact. That’s just a sampling of the many local organizations that are working to give kids a better chance at life, feed the hungry, shelter the unhoused, provide health care, protect domestic violence victims and much more.

I encourage you to take the time to read into these groups to see what dovetails with your skills, interests and passions. These organizations are vetted by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Catalogue for Philanthropy and the Community Foundation.

For inspiration, check out Mimi Brodsky Kress (“Building Bridges,” page 124) and how she applies the mission of “tikkun olam”—“repair the world”—in her support of Habitat for Humanity and local theater artists.

If you volunteer or donate money, please tell them Bethesda Magazine sent you.

ANNE TALLENT EXECUTIVE EDITOR