Today I heard a story from a friend about a young African American couple with a six year old. Their household income was about a half of million dollars per year. Needless to say they were doing well financially. But I was disturbed because they said the six year old, only child, had an iPhone 14 Pro Max, a new iPad, and the over the ear AirPods Max on his person. At home there were so many toys and things they had to designate a whole room in the house just to hold them all. On the way home, the father had to make sure he stopped to get the child snacks, because they were running low. So he ran into a local gas station and purchased over $80 of snacks. No sooner did he get back in the car did the child begin devouring the snacks. When the father told him to stop, that he had already had more than enough, the child told the father "NO!" and smacked the father in the face.
Yesterday I sat in on a webinar where these two caucasian fathers were passionately talking about the need, the way and the means to make their children and grandchildren millionaires by the time they become adults. The contrast of the African American father and the two Caucasian fathers was astounding, on too many levels.
When will we understand that we as African Americans MUST start thinking and planning long term. It has been well established that white men hire and help white men. Remember, that was the whole reason we needed Affirmative Action in the first place. Because we were not being hired without some sort of substantial incentive for them to hire us. So now that we have jobs and own our own businesses, we need to make the sacrifice to pay it forward. We need to leave an inheritance for our children and grandchildren. Wouldn't you like to see your loved ones do better economically than you did? Isn't that the the goal? So if you had the opportunity and ability to make your grandchild a millionaire, and still be able to provide for your family, why wouldn't you do it?
In the Webinar, yesterday, the Caucasian fathers were saying that for the cost of a Starbucks Latte everyday, you could make your grandchild a millionaire. Now, I don't drink coffee, so I rarely go to Starbucks, but if the cost of a cup of coffee is $5-$6, then you are looking at $150 to $180 per month. That may be steep for some. But guess what, if you can give your grandchild a half of million dollar start, that would still make a completely significant difference in their lives. Whether they used it for college, starting a business, or purchasing the right investments, you would have done your part to change the trajectory of your bloodline. You would have been instrumental in leaving a legacy of love for your grandchildren.
I don't have to tell you how African Americans are disproportionately affected in critical areas such as housing, healthcare and financial development or banking industries. This is because we don't own real estate, banks or hospitals.
Black households have lower income and wealth. Despite being 13.4 percent of the US population. They accounted for just under 10 percent of the nation’s total spending on goods and services in 2019. Because Black workers bring home smaller paychecks, they have less money to work with every month, especially after accounting for debt. The steadily rising costs of housing, healthcare, and higher education—needs that are foundational to the quality of life and the possibility of future mobility—are eating up a larger share of household budgets for all poor and middle-class American families, particularly for Black households: the share of expenditures Black households direct to these three categories rose from 38 percent in 1984 to 45 percent in 2019.
As the old saying goes, "If you keep doing what you are doing; you will keep getting what you got." We have to do better to get better. It should start with us. We need to stop buying things that are guaranteed to depreciate and consume over time, and buy things that actually APPRECIATE overtime. Apple and Samsung expect and prepare you to keep buying their products every three years. That's why electronics are considered obsolete or vintage after five to seven years. It's designed to get you to continue to buy new every five years. Software like Quickbooks and Microsoft now sell licenses instead of CDs so they can control how often you purchase them. You can't change the game if you keep playing it. Consuming cars, clothes, shoes and cell phones are designed to keep you in the rat race of poverty. Start small. Take a portion of that consumer expense and put it away in a whole life policy or an Indexed universal life policy. With the volatility of the market, I recommend a whole life policy that is structured for cashflow growth, while building your death benefit.
It is always my passion and goal to see our people do better, because I know we can. If you would like to talk to me about creating a legacy for your children or grandchildren, contact me via email at sharan@creatingbestsolutions.com, or via my website at www.creatingbestsolutions.com or you can call me at (404) 965-2878. I promise to be honest, patient, and hold you accountable to setting and reaching your goals.
