by Alonzo on August 27, 2010
The subprime mortgage crisis destroyed the hopes and dreams of African-Americans. Will for-profit education institutions do the same?
The subprime mortgage crisis that crippled the United States was particularly unkind to Black America. The fact that African-Americans hold a greater proportion of their wealth in the form of home ownership, made the economic devastation all the worse. Amaad Rivera of United for a Fair Economy estimates the crisis will cause the greatest loss of African-American wealth in modern U.S. history.
For many Blacks, this downfall was predicated on the mis-information, deceptive loan practices, and in many cases, blatant fraud perpetrated by unscrupulous lenders. In the most abusive of practices, mortgage brokers signed African-Americans to risky high interest subprime loans, even when they qualified for safer traditional loans – a fact highlighted in research conducted by the Center for Responsible Lending.
Yet, there’s an eerie feeling that the con game is being played out again, and once again its victims are frequently minorities who can least afford it.
The Next Wave of Exploitation [Read More]
by Alonzo on August 19, 2010
Our high cholesterol, high sugar, high salt diet is slowly killing us. But eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive.
New research reveals the rates of obesity in African-American girls continues to escalate, despite rates stagnating or falling among children of other ethnicities. The study, to be published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, examined the health data of California public school children from 2001 to 2008.
This finding is disturbing in the face of already high rates of adult obesity. As reported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 70 percent of black adult males and nearly 80 percent of black adult females are either overweight or obese.
To find out how “cheap” fast food is killing Black America and what we can do about it, continue reading this article at The Loop21.com
by Alonzo on July 31, 2010
Watch out for those parking lot warning signs. Someone’s watching you.
It happened so quickly. Out the corner of my eye I saw a young man sprint toward a silver truck parked nearby. He had appeared from nowhere.
In his right hand – a silver metal boot which he quickly attached to the left rear tire of the truck.
In less than 14 seconds flat he had booted the vehicle.
Fourteen seconds – just enough time to blink, twice.
What had the truck owner done to deserve a boot? How can you prevent the same thing from happening to you? [Read More]
by Alonzo on July 26, 2010
They say when the rest of the world catches the cold, the Black community catches pneumonia.
Such is the case with the current economic downturn. While the housing crisis has hit all of America hard, foreclosures have wiped out billions of dollars in Black wealth.
The current national unemployment rate hovers at 9%, but approaches a staggering 15.4% for Black America.
News from the recently released Ariel Black Investor Survey paints an equally grim picture.
According to the study which surveyed 501 Black and 505 White households earning over $50,000 annually, nearly half of all Blacks (compared to 31% of Whites) were forced to dip into savings in order to make ends meet during this recession.
Black households were also more likely to cut back on savings. [Read More]
by Alonzo on July 22, 2010
Anyone who’s tried can tell you. Losing weight and staying healthy can be a challenge.
Yet by making small changes in our eating habits, not only can we shed the excess pounds, but we can also save money in the process.
Here are some of the small ways we can slim our waist while fattening our wallet.
Watch Out For Those Liquid Calories
Liquid nutrition in the form of shakes, smoothies, slurpies, and energy drinks creates a clear and present danger to our waist line. Complex neurochemical pathways allow the digestive track to communicate with the brain. Unfortunately, it takes time for your stomach to signal that you’ve had enough. Typically about ten minutes.
Drinking our food causes us to consume calories before our stomach has time to tell the brain we’re full. The result – we take in too many calories.
Instead of drinking your calories, try water. EAT your calories instead. [Read More]
by Alonzo on July 17, 2010
Recently I wrote a piece at TheLoop21.com about the illusion of the American Dream.
Yes the American Dream – the myth that if we work hard, find a good job, and purchase our house with the white picket fence, we’ll have achieved financial success.
We’ve been sold the hype and we’ve swallowed the myth hook, line, and sinker.
See why and how we can achieve the real American Dream – American Dream 2.0 by reading my article at TheLoop21.com
by Alonzo on July 5, 2010
I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
It’s amazingly simple but holds the key to your financial freedom.
Sheep get slaughtered.
Sad thing, we’re all sheep – mindlessly following the crowd to our financial demise.
No one sets out to be a conformist, to emulate everyone else. It’s a natural by-product of being human. We’re social animals by nature.
While we may laud individuality, we crave conformity. There’s comfort in conformity. It’s easy. If everyone else is doing something, it must be OK.
The crowd defines the norm. Who are we to question? Who are we to buck the trend?
And so we follow the crowd making irrational financial decisions because the crowd has given these irrational behaviors a stamp of legitimacy. [Read More]
by Alonzo on June 30, 2010
Out the corner of your eye they catch your attention.
The sharp pair of designer shoes sits there calling your name. At first it’s just a whisper, then it turns into a seductive dialog, and finally morphs into a maddening roar of temptation.
And so the age old battle begins anew – the war between your rational brain and emotional brain.
Yes Ms. “Pay your bills, get out of debt and save some money” Rational Brain tries to keep you on track, turn you toward financial superstardom.
But Ms. Rational Brain finds herself undone at every turn, sabotaged by the perversions of Ms. Emotional Brain - the reptilian brain inside all of us that adores nice, shiny NEW stuff.
Ms Emotional Brian spends money like a drunken sailor, throws caution to the wind, and could care less about the consequences.
Yes she’s a silver tongued seductress. [Read More]
by Alonzo on June 24, 2010
Today I’d like to take a break from our 12 Keys to Black Wealth series and share with you a little story that frequently circulates self-help and financial empowerment circles:
Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of big city life, a family moved to the quiet country roads of a far flung suburb.
Each summer morning the father would take his small son on a walk around the neighborhood. Prime daddy – son time. Every morning they’d stroll past a neighbor’s old golden brown dog, howling at the top of his lungs.
Day after day the father and son would pass the howling old dog.
One day the young boy looked up at his father and asked, “Daddy, why does the dog howl like that?”
The father unsure replied, “I don’t know son, let’s find out.”
So the two strolled to their neighbor’s door and rang the bell. A weathered old man peeped from the other side of the door, “Yes, can I help you?” [Read More]
by Alonzo on June 14, 2010
This article is part of our 12 Keys to Black Wealth Series – (Key 5. Eliminate the Knowledge Gap – Never Be Taken Advantage of ).
They say knowledge is power. When it comes to major purchases, knowledge is everything.
Too often it’s the merchant who has all the knowledge and thus all the power.
The result – we pay way too much and get way too little for our money.
STOP. Think about this. Saving on purchases is one of the easiest ways to recoup the cash needed to build wealth.
Between our spending on food, clothing, electronics, appliances, automobiles, and household items, we lose tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of our lifetimes.
Yet all it takes to get more for our money is a little knowledge. With this we become skilled surgeons wielding a well crafted scalpel, cutting out cancerous overspending.
To purchase everything for less, you must understand the three P’s – Product, Process, and Payment. [Read More]
