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Category: Debt

14Jun

Young Americans are ditching credit cards By Blake Ellis (CNNMoney.com)

Posted in Debt, Education, Students | Leave a comment

The number of young Americans who are living without credit cards has doubled since the recession, according to new research.

About 16% of consumers ages 18 to 29 didn’t have a single credit card by the end of 2012 — up from 8% in 2007, according to data that credit score provider FICO collected from the credit files of millions of consumers.

As a result, credit card debt has declined by about a third among this age group — from an average $3,073 to $2,087 per person.

After watching older generations — like their parents — get hit hard by the recession, many younger Americans are shying away from credit and opting for debit cards instead, according to FICO.

Prepaid cards have also become attractive alternatives, said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com.

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23May

Class of 2013 grads average $35,200 in total debt by Blake Ellis (CNNMoney.com)

Posted in Debt, Education, Finance, Students | Leave a comment

The class of 2013 is in for a rude awakening this graduation season.

Between ballooning student loans, credit cards and money owed to family members, they are facing an average $35,200 in college-related debt, a Fidelity survey of 750 college graduates shows.

And for half of this year’s graduates, the amount of debt they racked up while in school comes as a shock.

“We’re tending to find people are still surprised at the level of debt they’re graduating with, which suggests we still have a long way to go in terms of having conversations about planning for college, saving for college and figuring out the best place to go [to college],” said Keith Bernhardt, vice president of college planning at Fidelity Investments.

The bulk of the class of 2013′s debt is in government loans, with graduates owing an average of $26,000. They also had an average of $19,000 in private loans, $18,000 in state loans, $13,000 in personal and family loans and $3,000 in credit card debt.

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17May

Appreciation Is an Important Key to Wealth and Relationship Success (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Business and Professional, Debt, Finance, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Comments Off

Why you should avoid investing in things & relationships that don’t appreciate

There aren’t too many people today who don’t desire success in the areas of love and money. Unfortunately, people struggle with identifying principles to generate success in both of these key life areas. In an attempt to assist with this dilemma, I have identified one word that is a key to achieving success in both wealth and relationships. Allow me to introduce you to APPRECIATION.

According to dictionary.com, the root word appreciate has multiple meanings: to be grateful or thankful for, to value or regard highly or to raise in value.

I could stop the article here because the definitions really speak for themselves. However, allow me to further elaborate in order to ensure the point hits home.

When it comes to finances, the world’s wealthy understand the power of investing in assets that appreciate in value. Their knowledge has allowed them to master the art of creating a Return on Investment (ROI). Very rarely do you see wealthy people amassing a lot of goods (e.g. cars, clothes, etc.) that don’t add value to their financial lives. Notice I said wealthy and not rich. Rich people generally make a lot of money; whereas, wealthy people create avenues to grow their money. Many of the wealthy individuals I know live very simple and money savvy lives. They don’t pride themselves in purchasing the latest shoes, purchase depreciating automobiles or maintaining a closet full of designer fashions. Many are quite frugal.

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15Apr

3 Financial Habits Your Future Spouse Will Appreciate (BlackEnterprise.com)

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Live happily ever after — at least financially stable

The divorce rate in our country is currently above 50 percent. That’s a staggering number. There are a number of factors contributing to this dilemma, but a number of marriage counselors and divorce attorneys will attribute this trend to money, sex and communication as the top three reasons. I personally believe communication is the underlying factor linked to all of the reasons, but I won’t address that point in this post.

Let’s focus on the issue of money in relationships. Unfortunately, too many people wait until after they get married before building a working knowledge of finances. Actually, one of the best times to gain an understanding about money and build positive habits is during your time of singleness. There are some great lessons to learn when you’re single and those lessons can serve as a great foundation for having the money conversation prior to marriage. Notice I said “prior to” marriage. The best time to discuss finances with your significant other is before tying the knot. Some of the financial issues couples experience can be avoided if a couple communicates openly and honestly in advance.

If you’re single, here are 3 financial habits your future spouse will appreciate you putting into practice:

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07Mar

What We Can Do to Eliminate Complacency in the African American Family [Part 2] (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Christianity, Debt, Life, Men, Women | Comments Off

More thoughts on fostering generational wealth for our families

In my previous article, Why Complacency Is Costing the African American Family, I posed a couple of questions in an attempt to initiate conversation about why African American men’s complacency is impacting the African American family’s overall wealth and ability to leave future generations in better positions financially. As anticipated, there was both support and opposition regarding the questions posed within the article.

Asking questions about education and career interests are very relevant to the discussion about generational wealth. I’d like to ask another very relevant question before offering-up some potential alternatives.

Why are we so quick to make babies, but unwilling to put a ring on the mother? In looking at the statistics, it is startling to see the rapid increase of single parent households. According to singleblackparents.com, 63 percent of African-American households are headed by single parents. Over 85 percent of the single parents are women and 46 percent of them have attended college.

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02Mar

Why Complacency Is Costing the African American Family (BlackEnterprise.com)

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Thoughts on generational wealth for our families

The African-American family is currently at one of the lowest points in recent history. Critics, media and community publicists all weigh-in trying to allocate blame to the cause of our societal and cultural demise. I agree that the liberated black woman movement has influenced a shift in how the family structure was traditionally built, but also recognize the desire for a woman to better herself should be seen as an asset and not a liability. After all it is not her fault that a number of black men have lost motivation to better themselves.

Despite the issues our black women possess today, you can often identify one of us (black men) as the source behind many of their troubles. Whether it’s abandonment by a father or mental/physical abuse in relationships…we are generally behind these unfortunate experiences, but I digress.

Let’s explore a couple questions that need to be asked regarding black men’s complacency and its associated financial impact.

1. Why are so many of us not finishing high school and opting to simply underachieve? It is not okay for this trend to continue, especially in a society that is demanding higher qualifications for some of the most basic employment opportunities. There is definitely a specific group of men that are better served pursuing alternative learning and skill development training (trade schools), but this should be the exception and not the norm. In health, we identify cancer as a disease that eats away at the various areas of a person’s body.

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