You can’t budget your way out of poverty: Financial literacy and the BIPOC community

Take a guess: What’s the #1 personal finance topic that Black Americans are most knowledgeable about? [Group 935] {NAME}, Take a guess: What’s the #1 personal finance topic that Black Americans are most knowledgeable about? It’s not saving, or investing, or even spending. According to a 2019 study conducted by the TIAA Institute, Black Americans are most knowledgeable about… Borrowing and debt management. This isn’t surprising when you consider the fact that Black Americans have a significantly higher debt-to-asset ratio than white Americans, and financial literacy levels are significantly lower among Black Americans than white Americans. Now, let me be clear… We are not lazy. We are not deliberately making poor decisions about our money. This situation is not hopeless. The fact is, we live in a system that was designed to ensure our failure. On top of that, we traditionally haven’t been exposed to the education we need to help us make better decisions about our money. But we can take matters into our own hands. First, we need to learn how to manage our money and spend time looking at our finances on a regular basis. Here are 3 ways you can start doing that right now: - Take your money on a date. Schedule some time to really look at your money — you can do this monthly or quarterly. Review all of your account balances. Take the time to review the transactions in your checking account. If you’re in the US, sign up for Credit Karma to get a copy of your latest credit report. You can also get your free credit report once a year from the 3 major credit bureaus. I also recommend signing up for Equifax or Experian’s monthly credit tracking account. Make a current list of all of your debts and their balances. Make a list of all of your investments and savings, and note those balances as well. Notice any patterns in your earning and spending? During your date with your money, notice the feelings that are coming up. What limiting beliefs are keeping you broke or making you rich? Do you need to reframe some of your thoughts around money? Consider the decisions you've made about your money. Were they Million Dollar Decisions (MDDs) or Broke Ass Decisions (BADs)? What could you do differently to make more MDDs and less BADs? - Get solid financial advice from experts who aren’t cis, straight, white men. Because what works for them won’t necessarily work for us. Thankfully there’s now a wealth of finance and investment advice from women, Black and brown folks, queer folks, and other people from historically excluded groups. Here are a few great examples: Want a 10-step plan for finding peace, safety, and harmony with your money? Read Tiffany Aliche’s [Get Good With Money](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQcL3lScGV1-WJV7Cg-cFW5r65qL1SG5trW4l0CZj60ftQvW3t067D4d8QV8W4wDj3k2TZ9KqV2fMfk9kBYk8W3y8QSc584vrLW4lZQt539XwSLW2X18D12PW4VZW2NQpGL94KsQRVvtfWt6DvPpyW2JYzkV8L8r87W8LSz4166pvnBW3HLzs52-x5gQW7ZRv7z6pKVTGW84Mn0w8NJQj3W1snskQ7P9mH6W59VJbH3qhvKtW6HCyWG85BdVdVM0qcJ5Bv_2sW8LBDGn7XQdZmW4gpDfn7D23DNW8FLMRj5MhcrqW8KvvcR82Mz06W90Br6d4N7K-JW4MtPPS9hbJP0V67WRd4HhtdRW2K5pdp1QQ_hXMw3zZw2ZJYX3p7n1). Wanna learn how to invest your money in the stock market? Check out [Teri Ijeoma](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQby3lSbtV1-WJV7CgXZSW3rPmRM8HL871VjxdMp3X8g0TVfcb3q7l9m85W40yN-Q5jM8DkW8DNS8x16VyzjW8_5bKY73KjjDVPYfQr3xQCJwW3ZvN0f5cqB0ZW5xWHjg1gtng4W3WBS9j48K0sKV6cr5h6Ck4Q1N2SMkx2nLp4DW1VcjgZ5pFh7VW5ySf3F5Hw9M_W2Txpf43_Zxf2W52jr_Y18brRZW7S2cvr1bPm8PW4cPyFy111flkW6fttlH2l7VLZN7n2S4dKBZ-H3dNC1)’s or [Amanda Holden](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQbS3lSbNV1-WJV7CgQYnW5kcw5j2-17tfW3l56Fz9l5n8jW1lF8755Y9P5KW5_RBkk6_v1yzW53D7H56dy4vKW825y3J10YvKFW30yl2W6y59TGW6x39598g28RQW1FW7rn4h-lngW8ST7m28SD_ghW14zMbk6Vbdx7W99DG7f2NrT9vW1PhxRv5fnh6pVtNcfM1Nh-LYW21cCZR8pbWb7W8qPTKq5cQcKtW4nM7Ch63QYQQW2mY6wr8GcZ-0W5YzxYQ7CVzwQW6LNs2z79V2StW20HyY4823dvXW6QDTxY2f2x2Y39681)’s investment programs. Want to learn how I went from 6 figures in debt and a measly 5-figure salary, to clearing my debt, growing my business to 8 figures in annual revenue, and buying a horse ranch for me and my family to live on? [Read my bestselling book We Should All Be Millionaires.](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQby5knJGV3Zsc37CgWG5N49sDDYcDBpQW2w9hxg64KW8vW7VHQyl6jyS_vW8J8v3L4zTv_FW5vZTNS1qH2T3W1-hLz73pHT9zV8PhWN7_yYvnW3qcM4m8TLm6WW6sQwVH2D_snrW5st8Kg6D_dw4W5811XY4BzQw2W8XWnZZ2FdWqpW54HMZK80pw3vW4zHqb95SFB8lW5LHWZJ2p1wKRW8lYk_84Cqs8BW52CXrL7-jwmrN5FghvqBkGd5W23zLxB3yYjvVW90XJ5R6QmQc2W5BjK9b6-V-mzW3NZJ6V9knlW9W62vcyM9ctl7wW5S6Zs3867sntW4mdBqy3Ly-PDN10ktN4xNVBLW3zY6G22N9JVTW5M6bJ05LMjh2W1mlYr72pbWBjMQG8CJNzj1hW8dNwhy5LVXc4VBCSvC2N_LbSVzQnj22-51BpW9gvjnf6jbRGkW1FZTvm7xCYFHW8bXnMk1bd1_h34Nj1) There are also lots of financial education podcasts you can listen to that are specifically geared toward Black and brown audiences, like [Brown Ambition](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQbS3lSbNV1-WJV7CgBBQW3ls8rj3ttPt2W3xqBxZ5F8J6lW9hqWJs2B58SNTV6Xt6BrGkgW7swHPz7nrZ7CW8d8-mJ798rtWW74ZWBy1k3cvhW8k9VRJ5KD_BSDZpNXR4j03N74Rb8P-K7jXW4P5zNd3p02QnW6Z4trv99_3ljW8hgyhb1sXVvkVH9xDS47QZzKW71dydh42KvpZW2Gd0x-2ylSm1W36SYc67BXLpfW6L4Yj83Z2x_VW2wBPz_2XbJDrW8HpbC1835q-tW799YVm4Y0rpsW7V9xYp7jD_dL3km81) or [The His and Her Money Show](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQbS3lSbNV1-WJV7CgW2yW5MkwRT2j00ghW7G4hqY2vVwTHW2Z50zl3SXQx6W7-HcXw6xs5LYW6kYt8946QPC2W6h_l0g3GZhbFW1bj-tZ8jJmswW5M5R3X14M_0hW6BkQYy5g82QhW98dC6n7B4VJlW3PCvSH6GqwJLW86LLcn1yph8sVRvyDs5PcnrkN6gL1L3R2rm5W3gL0nz3FBXx-W1R6Rfg6CJPssW4c1NVz3LcCSVW4xyYrp6TFz1HW8Rnzc33s311KW89sNg-1LvwcjW7J_G1v4DXjypW3bqRqF9lCMf-3kkY1). Information is out there — choose what’s relevant to you and spend some time every week applying what you learn to your financial situation. - Talk about money! Yes, I’m 100% serious about this one. Our community is very reluctant to talk about anything that has to do with money because there’s a lot of guilt and shame around it. Our parents didn’t talk to us about money, and their parents didn’t talk to them about money… And if we’re not careful we’ll do the same thing and not talk to our children about money — perpetuating a cycle of suffering in silence. But we can break that cycle by simply choosing to be more open about our finances. You can talk to your parents about retirement and investing. You can show your kids how to save a percentage of their allowance so that they can make a big purchase in the future. You can join online communities that focus on financial literacy — like Twitter & TikTok — and benefit from the experiences and advice shared in those spaces. We might not know everything or have all the answers, but there’s so much we can learn by just starting a conversation. Now, learning about your money is an essential first step… It’s not all you need in order to make a financially rich future for yourself and your family. You can’t budget your way out of systemic poverty, and money won’t magically appear in your checking account just because you’re looking at it every day. You probably also need to earn more. You can’t save or invest if you’re not earning enough to begin with. And that is especially true for Black and brown folks, who have [consistently earned less than cis, straight, white men for centuries](113/d2M4P904/VXgRvM2YFswLW2V3xlh73tvjJW65wf3Z50FCrGN4dVQbS5knJZV3Zsc37CgJPHW72D3Sx3vMNQCW2SLFHH8ljQDKW3SGVtx4rzGTpW8cfBs-1VjtJpW11JJtX7wzT3zW270Vsk8T_bBcW3LtJvS2GNVH1W1R8CTd4svBBVW6Z8yrl4W33YzW35mRzK3g-Kt3W2nM_K-8p_3k-W4_YT4h4XdWdWW1ltn1S3pBRMrW7pDN8q95VgwqN1xRyK8J4WTYW632xZW6M94M-W4dtXlJ6jccdGVjxv1y4pmyrtW8zY1wB8SJ5R6W25KFPM1c80PlW6Z9NL12XlJRcW1DWDKp8Qy8TcV__-PD7Vl0DwW2dR9DB7Cq8g_W93kc4r1X8RgBW3kKgcn95YGptN1QJR5kl1Z-QW55cDv98Y47DhW6spjn21nkNS4W3h4zYF8Q-xyKW63Dz835fzXC6W1wh-Kr2TpjrgW4Zjb8G1fjjR2W4xvxyf8KtRCDW2dFvq76QRk1GW8Hk0ht8hZq3yN6jmrJ1RKYr_W3D7h9z5SBrLc35mz1). There are many paths to growing your income, but the one with the lowest barrier to entry for folks in historically excluded groups is entrepreneurship. This path doesn’t force you to cut back or spend less on the things that bring you joy — it shows you how to create more for yourself: more opportunities, more open doors, and more money. You can also try to work your way up the corporate ladder, negotiate for a salary raise, switch careers to something more lucrative, or start a side hustle to make more money. (The truth is, it takes you a longer time to build wealth with these methods, but entrepreneurship isn’t for everybody. Do whatever works for you.) And once you start making more money, you can begin to ask yourself: How can I use this extra income in a way that will benefit me in the long run? What’s the easiest thing I can start investing in today? How can I make this money work for me? Combine all that learning and earning, and you’ll be well on your way to your million-dollar life. xo, R P.S. Let me know some moves you want to make with your money before the end of the year. Even if you don’t have all the money you want right now, I want you to dream big. 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