Financial Literacy Awareness Month : Empowerment in the Pocketbook

April is Financial Literacy Awareness Month. Financial literacy can be such a cumbersome subject. Finances, in general, can be an uncomfortable topic for many groups and individuals.

My introduction to financial literacy started when I was a sophomore in High School. It was home economics. We learned everything from how to balance a checkbook to how to write a check. The basics of financial literacy were part of my educational experience. From that knowledge, I took on the role of financial manager in my household.

I can recall when my mother decided to go to the bank and open a checking account. My mother would tell me, “Laurie, I went to the bank, and it said I have $1,000.” Then I would remind her that we wrote checks to pay bills, and they had not cleared. During those times, it took a while for that to happen. As a result, she would receive multiple overdraft charges a month. I mean, it wasn't very good.

Fast forwarding in life, having what some have referred to as “street smarts” and not being trained or mentored further into the principles of financial literacy, I did what many of us have done. I fell into the cycle of spending and not saving. While focused on not keeping my checking account negative, I was not storing money into savings. I did not understand the concept of compound interest as a young adult and its importance to financial stability. 

It was not until I was fully in my adult years that I realized ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ was not the way to live. Today, I save money, invest money into stocks, invest in companies, invest in cryptocurrency, and a host of other means that grow money. I consciously store my money in various places just for it to sit, and I watch it go to work for me. That’s something I cannot say I would have ever done if I did not commit myself and my future to make financial literacy a priority in my life.

I desire to know more and gain understanding in every area of my life. Financial literacy is not exempt. Just as I depict in my book “As My Leaders Go … So Do I,” I have surrounded myself with leaders in various spaces that have allowed me to increase my knowledge in various subject matters.

Dr. Jewel Tankard and Deborah Owens are two women that I have attached myself with to gain more information, even today, on financial literacy information that goes beyond having a checking and savings account. These wonderful women elevated my idea of wealth. Wealth is the development of your seven streams of revenue. Knowing that some resources and tools can take me beyond has allowed me to reach heights that I always knew I could but did not know where to start

Now, that was my experience. I have always been self-motivated and comfortable with learning things that are outside of normalcy. That is not everyone’s experience.

A recent study from The TIAA Institute highlights new insights from the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index). The P-Fin Index measures eight critical areas of personal finance knowledge: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing and managing debt, insuring, comprehending risk and uncertainty, and go-to information sources. According to the report, African-American adults answered 38 percent of the P-Fin Index questions correctly, compared to 55 percent of white adults. African Americans scored highest in borrowing and debt management but scored lowest on questions relating to insuring. African Americans scored comparatively low on inquiries associated with comprehending risk, investing, and identifying go-to information sources.

The results of this study are identical to the wealth gap in the United States. Just as I Googled the results of this study, I encouraged the African-American community to use what many of us have in our hands, pockets, purses, and bags - a cellular device - to invest in our financial literacy. Just start researching. I encourage you all to read articles, watch YouTube videos, or listen to podcasts.

You can Google cryptocurrency today, and a wealth of documents and information will appear. Find a book and get to reading it. A primary key to my success in increasing my wealth and committing to financial literacy has been my conscious decision to monitor what I spend my time on the most.

What are you spending your time on? Are you playing solitaire on your phone? Are you watching a recap of your favorite reality television show on YouTube? How many times do you go on Facebook or Instagram in a day? I would not say eliminate those activities. However, I would say spend a week monitoring how much time you spend on things unrelated to you reaching your financial goals. You may be shocked to see how much time you are wasting.

Pick one subject related to financial wellness/literacy and spend a week researching and learning more about it. It may pique your interest and lead to opportunities. But you will never know if you do not invest in financial literacy. I can do this challenge with you. Something I would like to get more information on is actively investing in the stock market. There’s always the excuse that I, too, have made before “I don’t have time.” I get it. So for the remainder of this month, I will attempt to spend 15-30 minutes a day learning something new.

Like anything else, we must train our brains to adapt to a particular way of thinking. A specific form of financial literacy has also been a big part of my survival and sustainability. Even when married, I always wanted financial literacy to be a unified journey. In some cultures, financial literacy is not part of the woman’s role in society. However, the relationship between women and financial literacy is changing.

According to a Forbes article, projections indicate that women will inherit 70% of future wealth throughout the next two generations. That excludes the increasing amounts they earn on their own. Women already own more than half of the investable assets in the U.S., and by 2030 it's estimated that women will possess about two-thirds of the nation’s wealth.

This statistic signals a level of empowerment occurring in this nation that I hope women of all backgrounds are taking advantage of their benefit. Financial literacy is for everyone, and you must not fear the unknown. Financial literacy is about risk and opportunity. There are many opportunities available to us, but what level of risk are you willing to take to benefit our economic future.

 Cryptocurrency is different. The stock market is unpredictable. However, are you willing to learn and make the risk judgment for yourself? No matter which minority group you are part of, your mindset will determine your success level when approaching financial literacy.

As a business owner, I take calculated risks every day. My financial literacy in my finances and for my business is similar. However, I approach them differently. When I first started my business, I chose to learn about profits and loss, cash flows, business credit, and a host of other things related to business accounting. I wanted to be financially literate as a business owner.

Being financially literate can influence opportunities as a business owner as well. For example, when COVID-19 spread throughout the world in 2020, many businesses in the U.S. were financially affected by that. When the U.S. Federal Government decided to issue assistance, you had to be economically literate to qualify for many programs. You had to be able to show proper bookkeeping.

It is great to be an entrepreneur and business owner, but it is more to it than just earning money. As an employer, you are not only responsible for the success of yourself but your business and the people around you. My level of financial risk for my businesses is different than that of my finances. I believe it is my job to promote economic empowerment, encourage financial literacy, and be a resource to those willing to learn.

I choose to lead by example. Financial literacy leads to financial freedom.