P.I.F. Today

Today I will P.I.F ( Pay It Forward) to a blogger who is not only a fellow woman business owner but also someone who has posted good advice about making a living as a freelance writer. Her name is Yuwanda Black and her blog is found at inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com
Sometime late last year I found her blog after browsing for freelance writers. Her topics have ranged everywhere from trying to live a non-debt life to what you should be paid as a freelancer. Yuwanda has given some good advice and I encourage everyone to take a look at what she has to say, and if you are interested, sign-up for her newsletter as well.

Financial Empowerment

It is no surprise that many communities in the Black neighborhood are in a state of need. From our schools, neighborhoods, and income levels- we are have fallen behind. Yes, we have made succeded in some areas, but we still have work to do. Black Enterprise has created a written declaration to help us achieve in these areas. It is widely know that if something is written down, merely than spoken aloud, we retain the information better and we make more of an effort to achieve that goal. Last year, I decided to adopt the 10 practices in the Declaration of Financial Empowerment. And it goes as follows:

From this day forward, I declare my vigilant and lifelong commitment to financial empowerment and hereby pledge the following:

1. I will use home ownership as a foundation to build wealth
2. I will be proactive in managing my budget, credit, debt, and tax obligations.
3. I will maximize my earnings potential, live within my means, and commit to save and invest at least 10% of my income.
4. I will ensure that my investments are properly diversified and correspond to my current financial needs.
5. I will immediately commit to a program of retirement planning and investing .
6. I will preserve and protect my assets through proper financial and insurance planning.
7. I will ensure that my children receive a thorough education on financial matters and business issues.
8. I will ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations through proper estate planning.
9. I will actively support the creation and growth of viable, competitive black-owned enterprises.
10. I will use a portion of my wealth to strengthen my community.

I admit I haven't got a chance to put all of these to use. But, the two I am most proud of is that I purchased my first home least year and I started a 529 college plan for my daughter. As everyone says there is NOTHING like owning your own home. All the paperwork and stress has been worth it, because there is nothing worse than being on government assistance and the workers treat you like you are a third- class citizen, never mind that you go to school full-time and work.

Source: Black Enterprise