If you come from the ghetto, aka urban or inner city dwellings, then you know that don’t nobody teach you about “saving” or better yet, “good spending habits”.

If you’re like me you come from a background where it’s more important to have the latest Nikes than it is to start a savings account. It’s more convenient to have a cell phone then feed your family. Its more respected to… ok you get my drift? I’m not trying to go all Bill Cosby on you, but I’m going to say things that need to be said in hopes of invoking some kind of change.

Shoes
I am disappointed in professional athletes such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and even Michael Jordan (that’s right I said it, even MJ). You know, they make millions upon millions knowing their most influential demographic is poor urban youth, and they continue to sell their dream-inspiring shoes for $160. I can’t believe you would want to cheat your own people, or worst yet, take advantage of their admiration for you. Its disappointing to me that teens rather where the latest Nikes, than save for college.

Cell Phones
How you are on welfare and own a cell phone is beyond my comprehension. We need to be taught about priorities. I blame our society for not seeing our faults and adapting to the change. Instead of making ourselves better, we are getting worst! At least in the 80s if you were on food stamps, you most likely didn’t have a cell phone bill to pay. Now we got cell phone bills, high-speed internet, and cameras in our phones. Where did we go wrong?!

Cars
I can see your car being a hobby, and hobbies have no kind of investing value whatsoever, and for them it’s about fueling the passion. But I blame you for blowing money on “20s” and don’t tell me cars are your passion if you got imitation spinners. Real car fanatics don’t like fake shit. And if you can afford real frictionless bearing spinners for your car and you’re still living in the hood, you got more issues than Vibe magazine.

I don’t want this to be one of those blogs that blames everybody and everything for problems and then doesn’t offer a solution. I want to teach you how to fish so that you can feed yourself from the sea of financial knowledge. My goal is not to make fun but to show tough love in hopes for a higher learning, which could in turn lead to a higher quality of life for you.

Let me break it down
Black people. Brown people. White people! Get your priorities straight. I come from where you come and I’ve put myself through college and struggled financially. You can change. I’m asking you to make better decisions for YOU and YOUR family.

Coming from Caribbean decent, I know first hand about pride. I understand the cultural influence to have nice clothes, shoes, cars and even a cell phone. But I have a college degree, I’m in my mid 20s, and within the last year have I only gotten a cell phone. You know why? Because I got priorities. It’s a waste of money for people who absolutely don’t need one and really can’t afford one! Just because you can make payments, doesn’t mean you can afford it. You could be saving for a house. Why pay rent all your life? It’s a waste of money. If your budget lets you, save for your kid’s future or save for your retirement.

Poverty is an economic black hole that just sucks the life out of everything around it. And it’s a vicious cycle that you may need to struggle with to break the trend.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of pride. And I want to see people coming from where I come, do as good as possible. I know no other way of addressing this issue other than through this blog and my personal interactions with family and friends. I would be so honored if I could look back 40 years from now to see an improvement in the quality of life for us.

Solutions
I can’t honestly sit here and tell you one specific action to do to change, but I can tell you it is a mindset. I’m willing to bet you know when your spending habits are ridiculous, trust your instincts. You will know when you have made a decision to change when you wake up and realize that the cultural impact of our environment has been hurting us. I’m not saying forget where you came from. I’m saying remember it, and learn from it. Never forget where you come from, so that you can become what you need to be, to get to where you need to be.

Just get your priorities straight. The person I want to change does not have a college degree, cannot depend on mom or pops, has a low paying job, and may have kids. I want you to see what I see. I’ve lived it and I’ve had the chance to step back and question my environment. Now it’s your turn.

I am not a financial guru, I am not Suze Orman, I am not Russell Simmons, but my drive for understanding is in my passion to learn about things that I have not been exposed to. Other people may hear terms like 401k and ROTH IRA from their parents, and that may be enough for them to set up accounts and achieve financial security for the next generation. We all do not have that pool of knowledge floating around at our homes, so we need to step to the plate and deliver in order to give the next generation of OUR people a fighting chance.

I just hope my emotional out pour floods the computer screens of the people who need to read it.

Awareness is the first step.

If anybody needs any help or advice, feel free to ask. If we can’t help you find the answer, we will give you the tools to find the answers you need. Our goal is to promote financial education and awareness through discussion and research.