Last summer, we had three college students interning at MAKING BREAD, two seniors and a graduate student. Their energy, enthusiasm and youthful perspective

shine throughout the July/August 2005 issue, and I will miss the lively discussions we had about money and life and magazines. Their fearlessness and curiosity impressed me so much. Facing an economy in transition, about to be shaped in strange new ways by technology and global forces, good and bad, they still hope to find work that challenges them and that they enjoy.

 

            Money is a big concern for them, and their ability to pinch their pennies is impressive. Yet they never let limited resources stop them from having a good time. Emily Shebak’s “$aving & $pending” column, “Low Budget Girls’ Night Out,” was inspired by her roommates’ misadventures in search of cheap eats.

 

            When we sent them on a mission to interview men about women and money—a task they handled with charm and diplomacy—we were all pleasantly surprised. What Danielle Bullen found especially encouraging was “that the men are okay with their wives or girlfriends making more money than they do.” Nicole Pugliese was disturbed by the impracticality of some of the men: “Most said that their biggest fear is not having money to support their family. Yet many also said they would propose to the woman they love even if they didn’t have a dime to their name. That’s really romantic, but also kind of scary,” she said. “I think it would be better to wait until you are both financially stable.”

 

            Bright, ambitious, practical, caring, extraordinary individuals, these three young women have so much to offer, and I have no doubt that each will find a path to her individual definition of success. Confident, at times vulnerable, they are so clearly in their formative years. But aren’t we all in our formative years, as long as we don’t stop growing and learning? From Danielle, Emily and Nicole, I have learned to look at life with renewed fearlessness and curiosity.

 

            Speaking of curiosity, aren’t you dying to know what the men who participated in our “Men Dish on Women & Money” poll said about us? Pass go, and click straight to this story for a fascinating glimpse into the minds of some articulate members of the opposite sex. Pondering Martha Stewart’s fate prompted us to assign “You Gotta Know When to Hold ‘Em—and When to Fold ‘Em,” offering an expert’s tips for figuring out when to sell your stocks. Too bad Martha didn’t hold onto her shares of ImClone just a little bit longer.

 

            Danielle spoke to union officials and workers for her solid report on “Why You Should Consider ‘Wearing the Union Label,’ detailing the bigger paychecks and better benefits that accrue to women who belong to unions. And Emily cast a skeptical eye on the growing trend in celebrity marketing in “Celebrity Products Are Coming to ‘GETCHA, GETCHA, GETCHA’!” Nicole’s beat this summer was travel and beauty bargains. Visit www.makingbreadmagazine.com   for her great reporting on those subjects.

 

            Reaching across the generation gap, we round out our feature stories in this issue with advice from a nonagenarian. Contributing editor Elizabeth Kaminsky asked one of her best friends, who happens to be 90-plus years young, to share her wisdom on money and love. The result: “How to Pick a Winning Stock—and a Loving Husband.” Turns out the same advice applies to both!

 

            Finally, I am very sorry to report that this will be the last issue of MAKING BREAD for a while. So many of you have asked for an edition that you can hold in your hands, and it had been our hope that we would be able to find an investor to help us take our digital magazine to print. This nifty little digital edition served as a showcase for what we might become in print, as well as a demonstration of the versatility of a format that we believe will someday (soon) overtake print. Subscribers will receive an e-mail from us shortly, detailing how we will compensate them for the remainder of their subscription to the digital magazine.

 

            We will continue to look for investor dollars. More importantly, we will also continue to post fresh content on www.makingbreadmagazine.com, so please visit often! Be part of making our Web site a vibrant online community of women seeking and sharing financial advice and inspiration. Like our interns, MAKING BREAD is in its formative years, and, like them, we hope to find our way to success in the very near future. With your continued support and participation, I have no doubt we will do just that.

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