They are not helping the black community.

Same

Pardon my language

True dat

Absolutely nothing for anyone but themselves

Don't call me racist. It's as valid an idea as systemic racism, implicit bias and some great white conspiracy to "keep the black man down." What if African Americans actually have some responsibility, and therefore control, over their lives?

We've been saying this for decades. There are plenty of us succeding, but few share secrets to success.

Plus, it's easy (for some reason) to try to keep us convinced that we're victims.

It’s always the white female liberals who throw a fit. I have not seen any minorities throw a fit

Most Americans, of any color, have very poor money management skills. For example: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/few-americans-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people having control over their own lives. The Democrat party has figured out that when that actually happens, they lose elections. That's why they are looking to replace their current 'permanent under class', meaning African Americans, with a new 'permanent under class' in the form of illegal aliens. Just watch; they fight like hell to let the in the country, but then won't do a damn thing to actually help them achieve the American dream.

That's why liberalism, especially in the direction it's going now (as in a straight line toward socialism) will fail. A foundation of socialism, and now it's way out in the open for liberalism, is having the govt control our lives, which is about as contrary to the American spirit and dream as it gets. We're rugged individualists who adapt and overcome and succeed. At least we used to be.

And btw, I believe that anyone can improve their financial situation. Anyone. Color matters not. Hard work and effort matter. For the record, there are just as many lazy white people as there are in any other identity bucket.

It sounds like you're equating poor money management with being lazy. Maybe that's not what you meant. But if it is, even people who make lots of money sometimes don't handle it wisely. Got any tips?? :)

If it landed with you that way, then I didn't write it very well. That's not what I meant. Being poor, which I was for a long time, means only that you don't have money at that time. I believe that whether you think you can improve your current 'poor' situation or not, you're right. And you're 100% correct, people with a lot of money can be very poor at managing it. They've fallen into the trap of spending what they make, and many live big paycheck to big paycheck.

Tips? Sure. #1 and most important, once you have enough money that you don't consider yourself poor, even if you don't consider yourself wealthy, STAY OUT OF DEBT.

Tip #2, Don't just cut up your credit cards, burn them. Don't buy anything unless you can pay cash for it. Houses are the exception, not cars.

That's just two easy ones. But you see my point; no matter what it takes, stay out of debt.

When I was poor, I even tried going to one of those debt consolidation places. They told me that in order to help me, I'd have to provide them with a list of my creditors. By that stage, all my bad debt had been sold to collection agencies. I had no idea who was after me, or even for what debt when they would call and harass me. I stopped answering the phone. I hope those services are better nowadays, because at that time, it took some serious self-convincing to go there and try to get some help. That motivation should not be wasted, but it was in my case. So yes, I definitely had poor money management skills. I was lazy too, but I don't think there was any causal relationship between the two.

Getting back to what I hope is the core of your original point, nobody taught me anything about managing money when I was in high school. I think that for high school kids, a course in money management (at least a full semester) should be mandatory. Don't try to brainwash them, but give them the facts about credit cards; the supposed benefits and absolutely the numerous pitfalls. Explain to them the insanity of the minimum payment. Of course, many will still go into debt even if they have a class like that, but then it's entirely on them.

I have only my mortgage. I learned the hard way about debt, and I agree with you.

Sorry for my rant there. I do have one more tip! Although clearly you don't seem to need any tips (I know you were just being conversational when you asked!) is to come up with a budget and stick to it.

So for all you kids at home, we can summarize by saying, do not buy anything you can't pay for with cash (meaning do not go into debt), avoid credit cards like the plague that they are, and stick to a budget.

Exiting ranting mode, now...

If I can butt in...I feel like it's worth pointing out that if you are on a low income, even if you have reasonable financial skills and even if you avoid debt, it's hard to avoid becoming reliant on false economies which obviously cost more in the long run. That's without even considering the consequences of possible health complications and the cost.

Excellent points JRBob. I think having some financial wherewithal and avoiding debt will help when hard times come. You're right about medical expenses. Thanks for mentioning that, because something like that can be a total disaster, particularly when they blindside you. By reliant on false economies, are you talking about something like a 401(k) riding high during a market bubble, that you just know is going to crash at some point? I'm pretty limited in terms of what I can do with mine, so I just ride it out when there's a recession or a crash. When the market tanked from the covid, all I did was up my contribution percentage (naturally, I was already maxed at what my company would match) so that when the market bounced back, I'd have more shares in whatever funds I'm in. And it bounced back nicely, but I have the lingering fear of that crash I mentioned.

Thanks, re. false economies, what you mentioned but also things like having to buy used instead of new because you don't have the money upfront. Buying a used car is likely to cost more money in the long run and you'll get less use out of it.

Having to rent your home if you don't have the money to buy will also cost you more and obviously you don't get the same security.

I suppose when people get into debt it's so they can have the sense of having money up front, of having options but of course it just becomes another drain on already precarious finances.

What are your views on universal healthcare?

Just curious..
What does the color of someone's skin have to do with how well they manage money?

The value of education and good decision making habits can be passed down through generations. Their skin color wouldn't necessarily be the cause, but might be a marker.

"The value of education" it's a good job that black children weren't ever excluded from schools because of their skin color then...oh wait.

I wonder if not having ancestors that have passed down wealth and cultural capital through the generations which they made from owning people and having access to further education and the workforce has meant that instead of some young black kids being able to continue with their education, they have to go get low paid jobs?

Regardless of how you get there, it seems like there is a missing skill set which compounds the problem. I' m not referring to the jobs they get, but how the money from the jobs is managed. I don't know many families that passed down wealth, outside maybe the Kennedys well known families like that. Certainly my family didn't, and I know personally any who did. "Cultural capital" is an intersting concept as an aid to mobility, but I wouldn't count too heavily on it. People like the Kennedys and Rockefellers would seem to have a hell of a lot more of it than I do. Disparate access to education could be part of it, though the access today is more than ever and in the end education is useless without an underrstanding of what to do with it. I know some people who've done more with a HS diploma or a bachelor's degree than those with advanced degrees. Recognizing that african americans could help themselves more by learning and practicing better money management is more pragmatic and empowering than just saying racism.

Just making an outdated bus joke, carry on :-)

Facts

"The only lives that matter are OUR lives not the ones of fellow blacks"- Actually BLM