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:- I will use home ownership as a foundation to build wealth
- I will be proactive in managing my budget, credit, debt, and tax obligations.
- I will maximize my earnings potential, live within my means, and commit to save and invest at least 10% of my income.
- I will ensure that my investments are properly diversified and correspond to my current financial needs.
- I will immediately commit to a program of retirement planning and investing .
- I will preserve and protect my assets through proper financial and insurance planning.
- I will ensure that my children receive a thorough education on financial matters and business issues.
- I will ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations through proper estate planning.
- I will actively support the creation and growth of viable, competitive black-owned enterprises.
- 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
1 comment:
A great list of declarations from Black Enterprise, but perhaps a bit too ambitious for someone just out of the gate. I think it would be so much more practical for the list to be broken up into baby steps, maybe two goals at a time, like you did Paula - you got the house and started a college plan. Now you can pick two more to implement in the next year or two.
I am printing this out for my family to see which ones we've accomplshed and which ones need to be tackled.
Thanks!
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