Now, the Family Matter’s mom is not my actual mom but she looks prosperous right? Use the pic for reference. ha!

I love my mom to death but there are just some things I just can’t ignore anymore. For the most part, we learn our money values from our parents. For me, mine were the example set about poverty and just coming up on stuff by happen chance. I guess in some aspects, mines get a pass because they were foreign. My dad was still serving and though he was foreign to, he really didn’t need much. My mom, her first impression of America was living with a wealthy Jewish family. After my dad passed, her needs returned to home values and even with her Black American boyfriend, I was happy with the mere basics, him, not so much. Don’t get me wrong, moms was doing it big, for her first taste of independence in the US, while on Lee Street in Brooklyn.

But, it was when she lived with her Black America boyfriend, his perception of money, he inherited from his mother, became my mother’s inheritance of money values. She was young, and still learning about American ways and her start with the Jewish family that lived down the street from the Bloomberg family (I wish I was joking), might have not helped her taste, on a ale budget.

So it came down to this, I sorta picked up my moms view on money but as she fell into the trap of his mother’s values, I started noticing a trend and had to do something. At 10 years old and by the time we moved to Chicago, many women who ran the household but had HORRIBLE values in money surrounded us. I on the other hand, started a landscaping business cutting lawns and tending gardens. So ethnic of me, right? But, at 10 I was raking in $500 - $800 a month. Ya’ll figure that out, I’m good.

To make matters worse, the men, who were considered upstanding, educated, blah blah, had even worse values in money. Crooked I should say. I said, why is it in the Black community there is such bad money judgment. The first thing I was told growing up, “The White Man…” I think this is something people missed with my question. When I look around, I’m not talking about “Poor” Black folks, I’m talking about middle class, upper for that matter. I’m talking about, the people who feel they’ve arrived and made, $35K and up but who were living in eternal debt.

My first full time job, in IT, where I was grossly underpaid, I made $17K, with a degree. (Chicago is on some bullshit I know and I eventually quit). With that $17K, I worked an additional summer job to bump my annual to $19.5 K, cover my basic expenses and with that little money, started a business, paid off my jeep, paid off one of my credit cards and had enough to help my mom.

I was roughing it sure, but with $19K, it made me very unforgiving for hundreds of Black women I saw, who were making $45K and up, yet always crying broke. You would see them in St. John’s knits, frequent trips to the boat, their kids wore Jordan’s, etc. I mean, they are middle class right?

It especially made me annoyed helping my mom out who was now, fully assimilated in the Black Woman money management plan. At the time she was making $55K. Pretty good most would think, but here struggle, month to month had me think, okay, mortgage but after that, what is really going on.

When you look at a city like Chicago, many women run important things and most of the city outpost like the colleges and the public school system are ran by Black women with messed up views on what is needed. Yet they were making $80K and up at this point. Just sad.

Now before you think I’m generalizing, there are too many multiple examples around me to not think otherwise. We will never admit, our moms fk up money. They will never get called out, but I’m tired of diverting the real issue. Stop buying Shit you don’t need! Stop keeping up with the Jones, cause not only are they broke too, Jones are trying to keep up with the Jonesburg’s. These women who have jacked up checkbooks are responsible for million dollar budgets that affect the livelihood of a community. So when they spend $150K on furniture for an office of 5 and fire all of the 20 student workers….No, I’m not buying that the White man screwed anyone over.

The worse thing, if the assumed “majority” of the US was raised on bad money values, in general, imaging how bad it is in the Black community. I know one thing is for sure, once I get all my finances in full capacity, moms will not see a damn dime until a financial advisor coaches her. Yes, she dropped the jobless boyfriend, yes she’s making more but, it still persists. And I’m here to say, this here must stop…and you all know it, too.

Money Advice Runs Low for Minority Women [alternet]

Foreclosing on the Dead [Perezhilton]

Chicago Teacher’s Union Money Waste [Chicago Tribune]

*UPDATE*
Some people need to be foreclosed on [Byron Crawford]

Article Value: 38% [?]