We must teach our community a thing or two about money management.
Until I was 43, I never knew how much money I needed to live and run my household.
I knew I was always broke and two maybe three checks from calling a park bench “home”.
Reading every bit of financial literacy information that I could, I stumbled upon the concept of creating a Spending Plan and a Spending diary.
A Spending Plan states where you will spend your cash.
A Spending Diary is an account of what you actually spent money on.
When you compare them a clear picture emerges which allows you to make necessary and productive decisions.
Once you determine a clear pattern and revamp your money habits, it is time to obtain your credit score.
Your credit score is not the sole determinant of your personal and spiritual worth.
It does determine the type of loan you get for a car, the mortgage for a home and in some cases the type of job you get.
Whether eliminating debt (outflow) or increasing income(inflow), the result is the same.
We learn to handle our financial affairs by being honest and understanding the difference between a want and a need.
We spend billions of dollars thinking we will look like Halle Berry or Denzel Washington.
We spend millions of dollars a year purchasing a dead women’s hair and can’t find $50 or $100 to invest monthly in a no load mutual fund that would yield a healthy savings and investment fund.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good or loving luxury.
As a race, we have become confused.
We’ve decided that looking good is better than feeling good about our life choices and the futures that we secure when we handle our financial affairs.
We can turn this around by observing and incorporating the financial wisdom of other cultures.
We must realize how stupid and pointless it is to buy an 8 month old Jordans and a gold chain.
A wiser choice would be to purchase an outfit at Goodwill and place the difference in a college fund.
Most importantly, we can take our young people to financial institutions so that they are not afraid of money questions nor intimidated by unfamiliar financial vocabulary.