"The White man is holdin us down!"
"Niggas aint gon neva have shit!"
"Man when I get older, I'ma have a MANSION!"
Ever heard any of these phrases?
I have. Hear 'em all the time as a matter of fact. I've got three responses to those statements.
"No he's not. He's holdin them UP."
"Not if we make a change."
"True. But you need to read this blog first."
So as you know, we as a people have a problem with money. We make the least and we spend the most. Troy has mentioned it on this site before. Aylin wrote the amazing post under this one which tells precisely why wealth is so hard to acquire in the Black community. What we need to learn how to do is live below our means. Step one on a journey of a thousand.
The "black bourgeoisie". "Uppity Negroes". Both terms used to describe our middle class. Our middle class likes to show off. They like to "keep up with the Jones's". Well the other day at work (a financial services firm), I was having a conversation with one of the loan officers, and he told me something simple, yet truer than true. I tweeted it like right after he left my cubicle: "Most millionaires were typically working people who made good money, but emphasized saving." That's it. Most millionaires aren't CEO's, CFO's, and athletes. They're CPA's, doctors, and engineers.
I'll tell you a secret. You've probably been standing next to a millionaire at least 20 times before, and never had a clue. They're the most "regular looking" people ever. They drive Honda's. Us? Our people who make "decent money"? They drive Benzes. You see where I'm going with this?
At work, I've actually seen this wealth that our parents try and tell us about! I've seen doctors who have $2.5 million conservatively invested across a diverse range of categories, who's money MAKES HIM $85K a year on a bad year like '08. That's what he live's off of. He doesn't touch his $2.5 million. His life savings. That's for his kids. So they too can go to John's Hopkins. It's crazy.
If you're reading this, you're probably in college. You're probably within a year or two of graduation. You're gonna be in the real world soon. Just do me this favor. When you get finally get that salary you've worked oh so hard far, pretend nothing changed. Live with a roommate for a while. Bring your lunch to work. Because then you'll stack up. Like Leen said, screw corporate America for what it's good for. Start building some wealth for your future family.
This is step one towards the future.
-Sam
1 comments:
I appreciate this blog.
"Most millionaires were typically working people who made good money, but emphasized saving."
That's what I fear people do not understand. You don't gain riches over night. No matter how good your athletic abilities are or your rhymes...
Money doesn't come easy. And never will unless you put some effort and some thinking into it. And yes some hard core thinking.
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