"Mind Your Own Business": Teaching Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship to Our Children

Gimme Yo' Lunch Money

 I found it when I was nine. Farrah Gray, author of Reallionaire and Get Real, Get Rich found it when he was seven;  my third grade students found it last year.

The relationship between good financial hygiene and the pursuit of endless possibility. 

In fourth grade, I rented out my erasable pens for $0.25 each as the class transitioned from writing in pencil and in print to writing in script and in pen. By the time I was eleven, I had moved on to peddling posters from Right On magazine for $0.50 and $1.00, for small pictures and pull-out pictures of the then-hottest celebrities, respectively. Farrah Gray, the African-American mogul that become a millionaire by the age of fourteen, started selling home-made lotions door-to-door in the projects of Chicago's Southside. Last year, each of my third-grade students received a piggy-bank, which I expressly remarked was exclusively for contributing to their college funds. 

Awakening Their Financial Genius  

This proclivity for financial awareness and understanding of the benefits of entrepreneurship are direct indicators of financial literacy. Expert accounts of American households with average amounts of credit card debt as high as $9,000 in 2007, increases in the rental of shortage units, and the surge in the interest and number of housekeeping reality shows, however, point to the glaring levels of financial illiteracy throughout this country. 

Despite the severity of  this widespread and ever-deepening social problem,  mandatory financial curricula continue to be absent from most primary and secondary schools' core educational priorities. This means that teaching our children about money, entrepreneurship, and healthy spending habits has to begin at home:

1.   Watch television and flip through magazines with them to analyze the role that commercials and advertisements play to encourage 'group-think' and mass consumption.  Children and young adults in tune with much of pop culture turn a blind eye to the reasons why they buy certain labels at certain times.  They honestly believe that they purchase them  from their own volition. If at this stage in their development they profess their individuality and autonomy, why then, do many strive to look, dress, smell, and posture in identical manners to their peers? The manner in which they conform, that is-- what they consider worthy of buying, wearing, drinking, saying, and driving --comes from social cues orchestrated and controlled by seemingly innocuous suggestions and subliminal reminders of what should constitute their external identity and internal values. 

2.  Identify symptoms of  impulse buying and implement strategies to thwart its influence.

Many of us, including children and young adults, experience an increase in heart-rate, sweaty hands, and a trance-like state when we are overcome to buy on impulse. While it is important to acknowledge the sensation, it is of greater importance to implement impulse-related rules of engagement to spare your future of financial difficulties: Walk directly out of the store and to your car. Repeat your favorite money mantra.  Keep all ATM cards and credit cards in house before you leave the house. Give yourself a 48-hour rule: If there is a purchase over $20 that you want to make, think about for 48 hours. Once you have given physical and mental distance between you and the item, your impulse to buy would have waned or completely died all together. 

3. Educate them. 

For lower-elementary school students (K-2), books like It's a Habit, Sammy Rabbit celebrates a rabbit that saves its carrots and fosters early savings habits, while books like All For the Better follows  how a Puerto Rican family in El Barrio consistently saves money to support their extended family in Puerto Rico during the Great Depression is more appropriate for upper-elementary school students, (3-5). Similarly, The Center for Black Business History, Entrepreneurship, and Technology provides information on the four century tradition of black business activities from slavery to freedom in the United States for more advanced readers. 

4. Set financial goals and expectations for them. 

 Open a saving accounts with them and have them make bi-monthly contributions. Insist that they pay in full or in-part bills (i.e. cell phone, nails, entertainment, shopping). This instills a sense of responsibility. Having them play an active role in their financial lives will also streamline their priorities and understanding between a "want" and a "need" once they will not be getting it free. If you allot an allowance, maintain strict rules that restrict advances, discourage borrowing, and create  incentives to save. (i.e. providing matching funds)

5. Encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. 

 Our children possess an array of intellectual, artistic, political, and cultural  talents, passions, and interests. Allow these predilections to become  potential sources of income. If your child the teacher's pet? Let invaluable skills such as excellent reading, strong organizational skills,  reliability, and congeniality be the beginnings of an educational enterprise for her/him. Is your child particularly athletic, fashionable, handy? Allow him/her to train, design, and fix for a fee around the neighborhood.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Mogul

There are several programs available to elementary, middle, and high school students interested in learning about microenterprises, the workings of start-up companies, and the nuances of self-employment. Below are programs, agencies, and organizations that equip our youth with key entrepreneurial skills and opportunities to secure funding for their enterprises.

These opportunities make a great complement the financial instruction that you do at home.The resources listed below are by no mean exhaustive. 

• National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) teaches high school students how to start and run a small business. Students have the opportunity to gain work-based experiences, develop leadership skills, and boost their self-esteem.
  
• Junior Achievement focuses on preparing American youth for the demands of a global economy. Through age-appropriate curricula, activities, and training, students of all ages learn about the market economy, work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and money-management.  
• Black Enterprises Kidpreneur/Teenpreneur Conference targets African-American youth, ages 7-17 for workshops that range from increasing interest in business and creating business plans to managing and establishing microenterprises. 
• Students in Free Enterprise is an international organizations that grooms college-level students for socially responsible entrepreneurial endeavors. They provide credit-card counseling, free enterprise project implementation, and professional mentorship. 
  
• U.S. Small Business Administration Teen Business Link provides a slew of links and resources to mentoring programs, academic scholarships, and internship opportunities. 

Please post any comments or questions on http://girlgetyourlifetogether.blogspot.com

Which Came First? The Bible or the Nest Egg? Using the Bible as Financial Blueprint

Which Came First? The Bible or the Nest Egg? 

Who and what do we consult for financial advice? Michelle Singletary? Yes. CNN? Yep! David Bach? Ok. The Wall Street Journal? Sure. Farrah Gray? Why Not! The Bible? ---What?

Yes, the Bible.

Using the Bible as Financial Blueprint

For Christians and members of other religious and spiritual faiths, the Bible is chiefly viewed as a moral and religious text. As result, Christians overlook its financial dimension, while members of other faiths including (agnostics and atheists) resist probing its contents all together because of mutually exclusive understandings of the spiritual way of the world. This narrow categorization cheats Christians, members of other faiths, and adherents to the "scientific method" of the non-religious and practical financial lessons that the Bible has to offer, which pre-date and parallel the conventional wisdom of some of The New York Times best-selling financial coaches. Below are 4 key scripture verses that, like our most followed financial gurus, voice the importance of budgeting, avoiding debt, thinking for yourself, and goal setting. 

Money Principle #1 Create a budget and stick to it!

Bible Verse: St. Luke 14:28-29 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him."

Money Principle #2: Focus on Yourself, Not the Joneses

Bible Verse: Galatians 3:4-5 "But let every man prove his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man has his own burden to bear." 

Money Principle#3 Pay Off Debt in a Timely Manner/Avoid Predatory Lending

Bible Verse: Deuteronomy 15:1-2 "At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother..."

Money Principle # 4 Be persistent and follow through to reap the benefits of hardwork. 

Bible Verse: Proverbs 12:11 "He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread; but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding."

Any comments, please send to adjowa2001@yahoo.com

FUQs : Frequently Unasked Questions on Money and Finance

Nod and Smile
Scenario #1
Your best friend says that she is the personification Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, a helping of Lucky Dube and a hint of Erkyah Badu and Public Enemy rolled into one. One night, she invites you to bear witness to her lyrical prowess. Her art. Her craft. At a local poetry cafe. By the middle of the third poem, you realize that her poetry is not only contrived, but also uninspiring. But when she leaves the stage (exit stage left) and returns to her seat and asks the faithful question, "Girl, what did you think? How was it?"  You are tempted to ask her how many credits shy she is from completing her degree in Accounting, but instead, you muster a,  "Girl, you know how you do!" and seal it with a nod and (big)smile.

Scenario #2
Your sister-in-law invites you to a financial literacy seminar. At the seminar, the speaker speaks quickly, but nonetheless, eloquently about the current market forecasts, inflation, the climate of the housing market, and predictions on the future of US economic development. There is a wealth of knowledge, but not easily digested in one setting because the content is dense. Cognizant of this, the gracious speaker opens the floor for dialogue. Hands go up, all except yours. You think your question is too simplistic to ask. So, instead of posing your question, you posture with a nod and smile. For effect, you may throw in, " She was so amazing!" to a random registrant as the crowd files toward the exit. 

Why We Don't Ask and Answer Questions
We often do it to avoid confrontation. We also do it when we are scared to voice uncertainity, confusion, and express a need for help. Yes, our pride, beautiful and brazen, when not tempered gets in the way of us being our most evolved and informed selves. The crippling agent, fear, coupled with insidious societal need for conformity and latent need for acceptance dwarfs the rate at which we take risks, go against the crowd, and stand alone.
When it comes to elevating our financial acumen, we have to ask questions. And the more basic, the better. A solid financial foundation that is built on the mastery of seemingly trivial, rudimentary concepts and facts will allow you to easily incorporate the more complex, complicated ideas into your fiscal schema.

FUQs: 5 Frequently Unasked Questions on  Finance and Economics

Q. What type of economy does the United States have?
A: Technically, the United States is said to have a mixed economy because both privately owned businesses and government both play key roles in its growth. It, however, moves and acts like a free market or market economy. A market economy is characterized by an emphasis on private ownership, not government ownership. In fact, private business produces and distributes the majority of goods and services in the country. What also makes the American economy free-market in nature is its belief in the power of supply and demand to determine the prices of goods and services.  The prices of goods and services, in turn,  inform  businesses what should and should not be produced, making way for the entrance of businesses "competitive enough" to produce  and the exit of businesses unable to compete in the free enterprise system. 

Q: What is the Federal Reserve? Why is it so important?
A: The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. The Federal Reserve, as a central banking entity, is responsible for the country's monetary policies and decisions, which include monitoring, managing, and controlling the supply of money and trading it in the foreign exchange markets.  The former Chairman of the Federal Reserve was Alan Greenspan. The current Chairman of the Federal Reserve is Ben Bernanke. 

Q: What is difference between and stock and mutual fund?

A: A stock (also known as an equity or a share) is a portion of the ownership of one corporation or business entity. When you buy stock in a company, you have the right to a portion of the company's earnings and are subject to  mitigating its losses. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are companies that have fund managers that are responsible for investing a group of investors' pooled money toward a predetermined investment goal. Mutual funds provide diversity because it allows for investment in a number of investment tools (i.e. stocks, bonds) and allow the investors to have ownership in several companies. 

Q: What is an IRA? What is the difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA?
A: IRA stands for "individual retirement account." A traditional IRA is an account which allows individuals to make investments with tax-deductible contributions. This money can be invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles and grow tax-free until the person is 59 1/2 years old. Penalties are imposed for withdrawals made before this time. After 59 1/2, account owners are permitted to make withdrawals, but must make withdrawals by 70 1/2 years old. The withdrawals will be taxed at your current tax rate. 

On the other hand,  contributions to the Roth-IRA are made with after-tax dollars. They also are not deductible on your tax returns. Since you have paid tax on your money upfront, withdrawals from the Roth IRA will be tax-free. Additionally, unlike traditional IRAs,there is no distribution requirement (i.e. withdrawals) and  individuals can make contributions to their IRA after they are 70 1/2 years old. 

Both impose annual contributions limits. If you are 49 years old or younger, you can contribute a maximum of $5,000 in 2008. If you are 50 years old or older, the ceiling is $6,000 for the year.  

Q: What is a "rule of thumb" in terms of creating a budget?

A: There are different ways to allocate money for a budget; The most basic I have come across is  the "50/30/20" budget. Fifty percent of your income goes to "must-haves" (i.e. food, shelter, education, transportation), thirty percent goes to "wants" (i.e. clothes, travel, entertainment), and twenty-percent goes to savings. (i.e. retirement, emergency fund, college fund)

"Be Careful of the Education You Keep": Lessons from Carter G. Woodson

Black History is Not Only about Lives, It's About Lessons

During Black History month, we focus our collective energy on celebrating, honoring, and paying homage and respect to the accomplishments, struggles, and lives of black leaders, fighters, and survivors that challenged, revolutionized, and confronted America's oppressive, color-based system of disenfranchisement and white supremacy. 

What we must realize, however, is  that the power of Black History is not limited to the glorification of a few figures or the chronology of particular events or movements. The power of our history, rather, like the Ghanaian adinkra symbol, "sanfoka", a bird flying forward while looking backwards, illuminates the interconnectivity of the past to the present. The past has the  ability to continually influence, impact, and shape our present without our cognition. Conversely, when we actively access the past through oral history and research, we consciously rebirth the past and bridge the former and present dimensions.  That is, it is in the lessons channeled through the lives of the past and not just the lives, in and of themselves, that provide blueprints for how we as a people can overcome, improve, and succeed. 

As we approach the end of Black History month, it is fitting and imperative, then,  that we focus our attention on the bequeathed advice, warnings, and philosophies that Carter Goodwin Woodson, father of Black History month left, especially as it relates to our psycho-fiscal liberation and advancement. 

Be Careful of the Education that You Keep

"The mere imparting of information is not education." Woodson wrote this statement in the preface to his 1933 publication The Miseducation of the Negro to warn the newly liberated class of Africans of the dangers and futility of seeking social acceptance and financial wealth through the acquisition of European-centered education and values. During the post-Emancipation Era, blacks had unprecedented access to formal education at white institutions and white-replicated black institutions and ultimately found themselves in unchartered territory as it relates to constructing, forging, and solidifying divergent financial identities, occupational paths, and earning potentials independent of agriculture, sharecropping, and manual labor. 

With the introduction of  "formal education" as a tool toward socio-economic mobility, there simultaneously emerged a stratified and binary oppositioning of that which was associated with the black, land-bound, agrarian class and the white, institutional, elitist strata. The growing population of what Woodson termed the "highly educated Negro" blanketly embraced that which was  considered "white" and demonized that which was considered "black", thus elevating mind over body, institution over land, and convention over tradition. 

And often to their (our) financial and psychological detriment...

Did You Hear the One about the White Professor, the Negro Intellectual, and the Laundromat?

 The American educational system trained blacks to serve the economic interests of the white power class and implicitly, to work against, ignore, and sabotage the financial well-being of the black financial standing. For a people that were captured, enslaved, and indebted to servitude because of their superior and advanced understanding of land, nature, and agriculture and hired out as skilled laborers in woodwork, masonry, and domestic arenas  throughout the pre and post-Emancipation periods, embarking on entrepreneurial endeavors that exploited these gifts and strengths would make perfect financial sense. Woodson found, however, that "highly educated Negroes" leaving schools of business administration despised and  passed up the opportunities to generate wealth through "runn[ing] ice wagons, push[ing] banana carts, and sell[ing] peanuts among their own people" because they were trained exclusively in the psychology and economics of Wall Street, and not the financial dimension, structure, or nuance of the black financial belt. (Woodson, 1933)

This gapping hole in financial business sense and community pride afforded white ruling class to not only maintain, but exacerbate the disparity in wealth between these groups. Woodson drives this point when he recounts the distinct responses of a white professor and black instructor to being invited to run a laundry service for  blacks. The former resigned his position at a university and became rich. The latter considered the suggestion an insult to his intelligence and position and did not become rich. 

Re-educate to Elevate

Woodson wrote this call to consciousness for middle class black America seventy-five years ago. Its message, nonetheless, remains appropriate and timeless. Vanity and the desire for social acceptance continue to thwart our entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, and happiness:

• How many times have we allowed the promise of  title or prestige keep us from maximizing our financial potential? (i.e. Is making $1,000 in eight hours by  selling water on Eastern Parkway during the Labor Day Parade beneath you because you have a BA in Psychology, Anthropology, or Criminology?)
• How many of us only harness our entrepreneurial spirit during times of unemployment or underemployment and disengage it once we secure a job?
• How many of our family members view our decision to work for ourselves with disdain and scorn?
• How many of us place more value on working for a large corporation or firm than working for ourselves?

Each Man is a Revolution Onto Himself

Self-awareness, confidence, and the ability to problem-solve are indicators of quality, true, and pure education. As a people, we have the benefit of the oral and written traditions of well-known scholars and lesser known everyday heroes to guide, coach, and support us through our journeys.  This means that the process of re-education is possible, probable, and without pretense or mystery, thus allowing each man to be a personal revolution onto himself and his community. 

List of Works Cited 

Woodson, C. (1933) The Mis-Education of the Negro. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc. 

Single and Saving in the City

They say "love don't cost a thing", but we all know that dating sure does. Keeping an active social life while guarding your long-term financial goals such as property ownership, zero debt, advanced study, and a secure retirement don't have to be mutually exclusive. Incorporate a couple of these "single and saving in the city" tricks to balance the need to live life fully in the present with the reality that poor financial planning now creates an unlivable future.

1.Plan as many dates as you can around your next hair appointment. It costs a lot of money to take care of our hair and when we are dating we are more likely to splurge on a few extra appointments so we are looking our best. If you are currently seeing more than one person, schedule your hair appointments first and then the date, not the other way around!
2.Wash and wear. Keep that outfit that makes you feel the sexiest and most confident in heavy rotation. There is no need to continually buy new clothes when you are in market for a beau. The benefit of rewearing an outfit is that you already know how it hugs and hides, accentuates and flatters. Besides, it's new to them if they have never seen it. Keeping tabs, however, on what was worn and with whom is key to optimizing this strategy!
3.Kill two birds with one stone. Plan two first dates on the same day. A brunch and an early dinner, perhaps. These locations should be close enough as not to cost you more in the way of transportation, yet distant enough to maintain discretion. These dates should also be similar in price and nature to spare you unexpected ATM visits (and fees) and a wardrobe change. With the two-three hour cushion that you leave between dates, you will have enough to time to balance your checkbook, run errands, catch-up on your reading, or even schedule your next hair appointment!

Spilt Ends: Black Women, Money, and the Cost of Hair Care

Hairy Situation

Last week, I watched a rerun of the early 1990s situation comedy, Martin. The show features an all-black cast. Its underlying premise is that Martin, a radio/television personality and his girlfriend Gina, and their best friends, Thomas, Cole, and Pamela navigate life's blessings and challenges with love, humor, and kinship. While positive in its overall message of the necessity and power of black community building, Martin also has been a window into black America's unresolved ambivalence, shame,disconnect, and discomfort with one of its most salient phenotypic racial markers--hair. 

In the series, black hair is treated as both  a topic of ridicule and point of black female sensitivity/insecurity. Martin repeatedly launches vicious, hurtful remarks about the repulsion of Pamela's hair; her response is often silence. In the particular episode that I watched, Pam's obsession for long and straight hair culminates in the shirking of civic responsibility and mismanagement of money. In particular, Pamela risked imprisonment due to her failure to pay back-taxes because she wanted to have enough disposable income to "keep her edges tight" and finance her costly hair-care regimen. 

Pamela 's poor decision making and  psychological discomfort with her hair forced me to ponder on the state of black women, money, and the cost of our hair care.  An analysis of the show begs the question, "To what financial measures do we, as black women, resort to maintain a particular hair-care aesthetic and why?" 

Art Imitating Life

Next to Chinese restaurants, liquor stores, check-cashing spots, and churches, there is no dearth of beauty salons in working class and low-income black neighborhoods. Walk past any beauty salon on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon. You'll see it packed. Bustling. Brimming. --with black women waiting (sometimes hours) to have our hair permed, braided, twisted, locked, cut, conditioned, and extended. Buying. Comparing--the miracle products, best ointments, and sworn-by treatments. Talking. Scrutinizing. Stressing.--its "goodness", "badness", length, texture, strength, and beauty. Hair. Nappy-headed. Hair. Picky-headed. Hair. Bald-headed. Hair. 

Hair, a biological component of the human body, as are nail beds, gum tissue, and earlobes, is nonetheless considered an indicator of identity, beauty, and femininity in the African-American community. This socio-cultural phenomenon, ultimately, however, translates into a financial bottom line.  Black Hair Care is a multi billion dollar industry with annual estimated profit levels as high as $4 billion. As a community, however, we chiefly contribute to it as consumers and customers, not owners and investors.  An examination of the psycho-historical roots of our preoccupation with hair will contextualize, although not fully rationalize, the source of our collective discomfort and its economic implications. 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

There was a time in our history when our hair was just a matter of fact. As just a matter of fact as the sun. As just a matter of fact as the moon. As just a matter of fact as the ocean. A reality to be marveled, paid attention to, and accommodated without misgivings, shame, or explanation. 

Prior to our arrival to America as enslaved laborers to the "New World",  our ancestors; the Wolof, Mende, Mandingo, and Yoruba in West Africa, and by extension their hair, were the central focus in the construction of the dynamics of cultural aesthetic, meaning, and function. Hair not only communicated age, wealth, status, profession, and rank, its arrangement also served as spiritual markers, aesthetic mainstays and everyday art. The evolution of  these social norms, beauty standards, and metaphysical nuance evolved from an unspoken understanding that culture was aimed to celebrate, pay tribute to, harness, and accentuate that which was the righteousness, goodness, and uniqueness of the African mind, spirit, and body. 

Conversely, once introduced to the Western Hemisphere as chattel, we confronted a Eurocentric standard of beauty and sensibility which distorted, negated, and destroyed (and in most cases) replaced our African self-affirming one. These standards relegated all things African, (i.e. hair, skin, and features) as inherently evil, ugly, bad, and inferior, simply, because they were not white. The white power class solely established these arbitrary norms so that it could systematically justify centuries of sexual brutality and economic exploitation, quelch campaigns of resistance/rebellion,  destroy/dismantle connection to an African affirming self-image as a way to guarantee the steady supply of an oppressed, hopeless, defenseless, and impotent laboring class. 

Overexposure to European aesthetics solidified a collective self-hate and disdain for African hair. Hair that was once respected and loved, became heavily scrutinized by Africans themselves. We labored over its coil and length. We labeled its worth --goodness or badness-- in relation to its ability to mimic the flow, texture, and type of white folks'. Whites rewarded our self-hate, affording economic and social advancement to Africans that postured, groomed, heralded, and affected European style standards. 

Luckily, since the post-Emancipation era,  there have been waves of black nationalism at the beginning, middle, and late 20th century which sought to reconnect the African with his African self.  Marcus Garvey pioneered the Universal Negro Improvement Association (U.N.I.A.) and the Back to Africa Movement; Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party preached self-love through self-acceptance and black power; early Hip-hop artists and groups  such as X-Clan,KRS-One, Arrested Development ushered into public attention a dignity, intellect, and regality associated with African aesthetic alignment. 

Beauty Ain't Cheap

The struggles and challenges that our predecessors faced in search of a unique African-American hair standard and aesthetic left us with options. Many of us still prefer styles such as weaves and perms that are  European-inspired in texture, look, color, and length. While others have selected styles such as locks, twists, and braids which take advantage of the natural composition of black hair. Below are the annual financial breakdowns of our hair-care identities within the five boroughs. The cost of coloring, transportation, food, babysitting fees, gratuity, and supplementary hair-care products are not included. 

Hair Style #1: Weaves

Background: Weaves are usually redone every 3 months or four times a year. Many women prefer human hair because of its quality and often purchase new hair each time they replace their weaves. Some women relax their hair prior to the attachment of the weaves so there is congruity with the weave's texture. They continue to relax their hair every 6 weeks or close to nine times a year. In order to maintain a neat weave and clean scalp, biweekly visits (26 visits annually) are strongly recommended. 

1. Purchase of Human Hair (3oz). $100.00 x 4 times a year $400.00
   
2. Relax Hair to Match Texture of Human Hair $40.00 x9 times a year $360.00
3. Labor- $150.00 x 4 times a year $600.00
4. Bi-weekly Maintenance (Wash/Set) $25.00 x26 times a year $650.00

Average Annual Expenditure: $2,010

Hair Style #2 Locks

Background: Visits to the locktician vary. It generally depends on the activity-level of the individual, how fast his/her grows, and their personal philosophy with regard to the general appearance of his/her locks. Many enjoy a very groomed, meticulous look, while others enjoy a less manicured, liberated style, making trips to the salon as frequent as bimonthly and as seldom as quarterly. A general rule of thumb, however,  is that locks should be attended to once every 4-6 weeks or between 9 and 13 times a year. 

1. One-time fee to initially cultivate locks: $80.00

2.Monthly Maintenance (Wash, Twist, Condition, and Style) $70.00 x 13 times a year: $910.00

Average Annual Expenditure: $990

Hair Style#3: Braids

Background: Black women usually keep extensions in for 3-4 months, making their visits to the African beauty shop as few as three or four times a year. Synthetic hair or human can be purchased prior to a braiding session or will be included as part of the total cost of the braiding service.  On average, it usually requires between 5-6 packs of hair to braid a client's full head. In order to maintain healthy new-growth and prevent breakage once the extensions are removed, it is important that women wash and condition their hair every two or three weeks. This is usually done at home. 

1.Purchase of Synthetic Hair $3.00x6 packs: $18.00 x4 times a year: $72.00

2. Labor $150.00 x4 times a year: $600.00

Average Annual Expenditure: $672.00

Hair Style #4: Relaxer (Perm) 

Background: The beauty ritual for black women maintaining a relaxer is a six-week cycle. The chemical straightener is applied to the hair every six-weeks or nine times a year. In between each application or "retouch", black women visit the salon every two weeks or twenty-six times a year to wash,condition, and set their hair. 

1.Initial Application of Chemical Straighter $40.00 x9 times a year: $360.00

2.Bi-monthly Maintenance (Wash, Condition, and Set) $25.00x 26 times a year: $650.00

Average Annual Expenditure: $1,010

I Am Not My Hair

There is constant pressure placed on black women to acquiesce or conform to white societal norms and visual expectations. When we do not, we are targeted.  Don Imus' "nappy-headed hoes" reference surrounding the appearance of  young, female, black scholars and athletes at Rutger's University coupled with a Glamour Magazine staff member's disdain for the presence of afros in the professional settings serve as testimonies to the institutional terrorism we confront daily.  But fundamentally, we are not our hair and our money should be used more wisely, so as to enhance our quality of life, personal growth, and spiritual development. Here is a list of four things that $2,000 can buy you:

1. A Bigger Brain

Invest in your mind. Full-time tuition at City University of New York (CUNY) costs $2,000 per semester. Find a passion, a career, and interest. 

2. A Beautiful Body: Invest in your health. Membership fees are as low as $200 annually. Personal trainer sessions also cost as low as $20. Prevent major health complications. Have more peace and tranquility. Prolong your life. 

3. Peace of Mind: Invest in your spiritual growth. Fund a trip to the African continent or to a place you've  always been metaphysically connected to. 

4. A Piece of Property: Build a legacy of wealth in your family. Stashing away this amount annually will put you in a position to secure land within the United States and abroad sooner rather than later.  

"She Gets It From Her Mama": Parents and the Formation of Financial Identities

From the Cradle

Over the course of a life-time, we forge an array of relationships and kinships through a combination of choice, circumstance, and/or fate. The primary relationship, the bond between parents and child, however, is clinically considered to be one of the most important and influential in our lives. This is because we enter it without choice or preparation, and at the most vulnerable and impressionable stages of our human development-- infancy and childhood. As adults, we are pretty cognizant of how our childhood experiences with loved ones molded our sexual, racial, and spiritual identities. We may even be able to trace the foundation of our political leanings and political outlooks to certain experiences in our youth. But, what about our financial selves? How much do we think about the impact of our primary relationships on the development of our financial identities?

Baby See, Baby Do
During infancy, the principal role of parents is to create a world that is safe and predictable for a baby. They provide this by responding to an infant's basic caretaking needs (i.e. feeding, changing, caressing). The role of parents changes, however, once the baby transitions into toddlerhood and early childhood. Once children begin to walk and talk, they not only looks to parents for care, but they also look to parents for direction. Specifically, they look to parents for social clues-- how to be, how to think, and how to behave. With this new role as teacher, parents transmit their values, ideas, and understanding of the world through action, example, and explicit instruction. Children, in turn, internalize and ultimately, assume much of their parents' financial identities. As children venture through adolescence into adulthood, these centralized beliefs serve as behavioral reference points, which are either reinforced or rejected as adults categorize the sense of reward and/or punishment associated with their outcomes. 

She Gets It From Her Mama
I serve as the quintessential example of this phenomenon. I make a decent living, hold a number of degrees, and live (way) below my means. Nonetheless, I have a fear of being as broke a joke. Also, I find it difficult to lend out money to family members and to accept money from strangers and loved ones. Moreover, I just do not feel good if I do not have multiple streams of income. Furthermore, I shop wholesale and when I can, I buy it used. Finally, I love using my creativity to make money.

My financial identity as both a disciplined, diligent saver and creative income-generator  in my adulthood largely come from both the mistakes and genius that my mother exhibited in handling money as I was coming up. Here are some the things that happened and these are some of the things that I learned:

Many members of our family borrowed money from my mother and never repaid her. As a consequence, she often complained about not having money for what she needed.

• Lesson Learned #1: Money is scarce,(since everyone was asking for it and could not repay it), so hold on to it.
  
• Lesson Learned #2: Giving money to family can make you sad, so try to avoid it.
  
• Lesson Learned #3: People do not like to repay money, so don't expect it back.
  

We spent Sunday afternoons shopping in wholesale districts and outlets.

• Lesson Learned #1: Bargain-hunting is fun and recreational.
• Lesson Learned#2: You can always pay less for an item.
• Lesson Learned #3:Retail stores price gouge and should be avoided.

I was cashier in my mother's home-based boutique and worked in my uncle's grocery stores.

• Lesson Learned #1: Have an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Lesson Learned #2: Learn the consumer interests of those around you and cater to them.
• Lesson Learned #3:Pay your bills on time and keep a great history of credit, so you can expand your business easily.

Go Back to Your Financial Roots

 Understanding your financial identity is the cornerstone to financial recovery and financial self-awareness. Try the following three-part exercise to get you back in touch with your financial self:

Step#1: Uncover Your Beliefs about Money. Ask yourself the questions that reveal your unique perspective on money: Is money the root of all evil? Do I shop to feel happy and complete? Are expensive gifts a sign a love? What does money represent? Freedom? Power? Status? Security? Am I generous with money to friends and family? Do I abhor the wealthy? Is financial discipline deprivation? or smart thinking? Should my partner take care of me financially? Is paying bills on time important?  Do I think about saving for the future? or spend in the present? Do I hoard money for fear of being poor? Do I spend excessively now because I was deprived as a child? Do I lie about how much money I make to bolster my confidence? Is talking about money impolite and a sign of poor home-training? 

Step#2: Make a Financial Family Tree: Our perspectives on life, especially money, are created over time and with the influence of those around us, not in a vacuum. Create a family tree that lists all of the lessons (explicitly or implicitly) learned from those closest to you during your childhood.

Step#3: Make a Choice: Knowing who you are and why are you that way are key to self-acceptance and/or change. The things that we learned as childhood should be reevaluated and modified if they are not working to our benefit. Through conscious planning, reflection, and the help of others, we have the power to restructure, rebuild, and redefine the influence of the past.