Serene Karplus, Nederland. Money is life energy.

For every dollar we earn, we trade our most precious commodity – our time and energy. Our culture has trained us to value time through a filter of money, but the life value of time is the same whether we are the CEO or minimum-wage staff.

While a squirrel hunts for nuts in the woods, we invest our energy into acquiring the means to pay another human to harvest nuts and bring them to us. Instead of scurrying for days to build a nest, we work for decades to pay those who build and maintain ours.

When the squirrel finds abundance, he caches the excess for future lean times. His survival relies on the safety of his food cache and his ability to access it and make it last.

Humans cache cash. Our survival relies on the safety of our money and our ability to acquire it and make it last. Without it, we lack food and shelter.

Our social system has imbued money with the power over life and death.

Our quality of life hinges on our ability to pursue our interests and desires above a basic infrastructure we must maintain, one that grows increasingly complex throughout our lives.

How we manage money matters. Most of us were raised to understand the importance of looking both ways before crossing a street, of eating our vegetables, of cleaning our teeth. Yet many of us were never introduced to the imperatives of squirreling away our nickels and knowing how and where to store and parse them.

As we launched into our adult lives, some of us read, watched, and studied others to learn skills of handling money. Others continued to live one nut at a time, frantic that each may be the last, fearing we will shiver to death, starving, under a bridge.

Understanding the mechanics of money is as important as knowing the wheels, buttons and knobs that control the vehicle we drive. Whether driving a car or managing our personal finances, we must comprehend at least the basics to handle the simplest maneuvers and add on to our skill set to learn to change lanes, exit a freeway, stop or go.

For those of us who recognize that our skills with money are less than we need or would like, we can learn. The Nederland Community Library hosts a special workshop series beginning in one week, running five Thursdays, 7:00pm-8:00pm.

Guests may attend any or all of these free workshop seminars. The classes are somewhat sequential, but we can also select only those that fit our needs and schedule. Former community college accounting and economics professor Wes Stiefer, who currently owns and operates an income tax and accounting firm in Nederland, will lead the workshops.

Seating is limited.  Please register by calling 303-258-1101 or emailing Jay Mann at jaymann.ncl@gmail.com.

* March 24 “Goal Setting and Financial Planning”

This class centers on basic money-management skills such as creating a budget, calculating net worth, tracking expenditures, and setting realistic savings goals.

* March 31 “Key Investment Concepts”

Investment terminology is central to understanding the world of investing: risk/reward, diversification, total return, and allocation are a few of the terms that will be discussed and applied to personal investing.

* April 7 “Retirement Saving Vehicles”

Learn some of the many ways individuals can use tax-advantaged investing to protect their long-term savings, especially as they plan for their retirement.

* April 14 “Common Investment Types”

Focuses on a thorough, but easily understood, discussion of cash, stocks, and bonds, the core investment types that most people include in their investment portfolio.

* April 21 “Managing Money During Retirement”

Will bring all the prior information together as the discussion centers on how to use all this knowledge to ensure financial assets last through retirement years.

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Everyone is invited to luncheons every Monday and Wednesday at Noon and dinner on fourth Fridays at 5:00p.m. at the Nederland Community Center. Please call two days ahead for lunch reservations to 303-258-0799 and a week ahead for dinner. (Missed the deadline? Call anyway.)

Monday, March 21: Baked Fish w Lemon, Peas, Roasted Potatoes/WW Roll, Applesauce

Wednesday, March 23: Chicken in Milk Gravy, Broccoli/Cauliflower, Cornbread, Waldorf  Salad, Cookie

Friday, March 25, Mountain MidLife Dinner: Four Soup Feast: Chicken Tortilla, Curried Lentil, Clam Chowder, Mediterranean Vegetable, Breads, Cheeses, Greens Salad, Apple Cake