Financial Literacy and Money – Page 138

Overcoming The Fear Of Business Failure

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A significant number of businesses fail within the first five years of their being started – something all entrepreneurs should understand when starting their businesses. To be successful however, each must overcome the fear of their business failing. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Overcoming The Fear of Business Failure.

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Ask a would-be entrepreneur why they haven’t started out in business yet, and chances are, you will receive one simple answer.

“I am afraid of failure.”

You don’t need to ask why they are afraid of failure, as this is something many of us feel in varying aspects of our lives. We are afraid of failing in marriage, education, and in our careers, as examples. But if you did ask the would-be entrepreneur why they were afraid of failure, they may answer in this way,

“Statistically, I am destined to fail.”

And this is true, according to statistics, the possibility of failure is relatively high. It’s little wonder, then, that many people don’t risk starting a business, despite the opportunity to escape the rat race of the 9 to 5.

But here’s the thing. While there is the risk of failure, there is also the possibility of success. There needs to be a change in attitude; a shift from fear to courage. Sometimes, the risk is worth it, as business failure is not always on the cards. It’s about turning fearful mindsets around; finding ways to bring a positive outlook to negative thinking.

So, what about you? Do you run a business, or have you taken the decision not to because the fear of failure has gotten the better of you? Aside from statistics, you may not have started out on your own because of the following reasons.

“I’m not good enough.”

Nobody’s perfect, so it’s unlikely you will be good at everything. But you can still improve matters. Look at areas where you are weakest, and rather than let these things undermine the possibility of you succeeding, conquer them. If you suck at all things money-related, hire an accountant or take a money course. Don’t know how to put together a decent business website? Hire a web designer or take HTML Training classes. Whatever your weakness, you can overcome it, whether that’s through outsourcing or building up your skill set. You’re not perfect, but then again, you don’t have to be!

“It’s a one-way ticket to poverty.”

Giving up your full-time job is a risk, so you may not want to begin something that could be a financial disaster. However, there are at least three ways to defeat this. For starters, don’t give up your job just yet. If you are reliant on the income from your career, begin your business, but start slowly. When profits do start coming in, only then consider resigning from your job. Secondly, do all you can to market your business to ensure customers know about you. Focus on branding, send the word out on social media, and broadcast your business in other places online, as well as talking about it to others offline. Lastly, know that many businesses struggle to make a profit within the first year, but this is why it’s important to find ways to cut costs in those early days. Financial wisdom is key, so don’t overspend and don’t splurge your cash reserves on anything you don’t need. This way, you will reduce the risk of financial collapse.

Something to think about.

Here’s something to think about if you do relate to the above. While you may face failure, you might also succeed. Statistically, many businesses don’t fail, so it may not happen to you at all. As we have said, planning is key, focussing on both your skills and your finances. And there are people to help you deal with any area where you may struggle. Surely then, it is worth the risk. You will never get anywhere if you don’t try, and you may later regret it if you don’t. Provided you don’t do anything dumb, there is every possibility that you will make it in business. And if you do screw up? Well, at least you tried, and that’s better than not trying at all.

Are you afraid of starting your own business? Consider our advice and think again. It may be a wise decision not to start out on your own, but then again, it could be the best decision you will ever make!

Why Have A Company Uniform?

Some of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. Many businesses and services involve the use of uniforms as a form of branding and image. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why Have A Company Uniform?

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Company uniforms can have a number of benefits. Here are just a few reasons to consider adopting a uniform for your business.

It can make you look more professional

Uniforms can ensure that you and all your staff keep up a professional appearance. Whilst some companies like to introduce a dress code, it’s often easy to bend the rules – the line between smart and casual can easily be blurred. With a dress code there’s little leeway to do this and you can have more control over the level of formality.

It promotes equality

By making your employees dress the same way, you can help to build a sense of equality and unity. Fashion after all can sometimes create a social hierarchy with people judging each other based on dress sense. Having a uniform forces everyone to be on the same level creating a greater sense of equality.

It can save employees money

By having to wear a uniform, employees won’t feel as pressured to dress differently each day and therefore won’t feel the need to keep buying as many clothes. This could save your employees money in some cases. When supplying a uniform, make sure that it is free for your employees – you should only ever charge money if somebody keeps losing part of their uniform.

You can use it to promote your brand

A uniform can be a good form of branding in some cases. You can look into making your own shirt with a company logo on it. Other options could include branded overalls, branded blazers or branded aprons. Branding will help to build awareness of your company and add to your overall brand consistency. It could even be a form of advertising, helping to bring in new business.

It can help clients identify staff

If everyone is dressing in casual clothes, it can sometimes be difficult for clients to identify who is a staff member and who isn’t. A uniform makes it easier to immediately tell who is staff and who is a customer. You can also use varying colours or designs to single out management staff so that customers who want to speak to someone higher know who to talk to.

It can be used to enforce health and safety

In some jobs, a uniform could also be used to help enforce health and safety. The most obvious example of this is the construction trade in which hard hats, hi-vis jackets and gloves all help to protect staff members from harm. Uniforms can have a similar function in other roles – in medical and cooking roles, short sleeves are now often favoured because they don’t get in the way. Consider ways in which you could integrate health and safety into your uniform.

If you take a look at workers compensation laws, you will see that PPE is something that is discussed a lot. A lack of PPE is one of the main reasons for injuries and subsequent compensation claims. Of course, if a worker has failed to use PPE in the way they are directed to, the fault would then fall onto their shoulders. Nevertheless, it is critical to understand how uniform plays a key role in terms of health and safety.

Five Branding Decisions Every Startup Needs to Make

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. A key aspect of starting a successful business is ‘Branding’. The following contributed post is thus titled; Five Branding Decisions Every Startup Needs to Make.

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If you are thinking about going out in the big world and starting your own company, you will need to get the market positioning right, or you will never make it in the competitive world of commerce. No matter which industry you are dipping your toes into, you will need to make some important branding decisions so you can communicate what you offer and what your company is about. We will cover five of them below.

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1. Business Name

One of the first things you should decide on is your business name. You might choose something catchy, unique, or creative, but make sure that you create a name search to make sure that there are no other companies using the same name, or you can get into legal trouble. For more information, check out https://www.qdosaccounting.com/choosing-right-company-name/ so you can make the right branding decision.

2. Logo and Website Design

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Once you have the business name registered, you will have to make sure that you are getting a logo and a website designed. However, you might not want to rush into the decision. In fact, an average college student could put together a good looking website. What really matters is how you engage with your online audience and how many customers your website generates automatically. You might be better off finding a local marketing expert who can take care of your design and branding at the same time.

3. Color Schemes

Once you have your logo, you will have to use the same colors throughout your site and your business literature. You might want to create leaflets, cards, and online banners for your social media sites that match the rest of your brand image and delivers a consistent message to your visitors.

4. Slogan

Without a slogan, your customers will have a hard time working out what your business is about and what you are offering. Many small business owners neglect the importance of a good business slogan. Your slogan will stick in your potential customers’ head. You might want to learn some branding tips from the big companies. We all remember Nike and McDonald’s, because they keep on repeating the same brand messages.

5. Mission, Vision, and Value Statement

If you would like to increase your brand value and connect with your potential buyers on an emotional level, you will have to find a way to communicate what you stand for and align your values with your market’s. While this requires a bit of research, if you get it right, you will be able to strengthen your brand’s reputation and attract the right clients to your business. You need to display your mission, vision, and value statement on your professional business literature, website, and it needs to be communicated through every piece of content you produce.

To start your company the right way, you will have to make some challenging branding decisions. If you get them right, you can create meaningful connections with your target market and increase your brand recognition fast.

Breaking Free From The Shackles of Debt

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. A key aspect of one’s financial health is controlling and minimizing debt. The following contributed post is thus titled; Breaking Free From The Shackles of Debt.

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If you’re in debt then life can start to feel quite gloomy, indeed, having a huge amount of debt can sometimes make people feel trapped like they are a prisoner confined in a prison where they are emotionally paying for what they might feel they have done ‘wrong’.

Yet, debt isn’t as dirty a word as some people feel it is, it doesn’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t even mean you are necessarily irresponsible. Life is unpredictable and we’re all just a few twists and turns away from being in financial trouble… the greatest challenge is the fact debt is often a slippery slope where one or two missed payments suddenly mount up, and escalate to the point things start snowballing out of control.

The worst thing, though often the most natural thing to do in such circumstances, is to bury your head in the sand. The challenge here is that this is the time you need most to take control and get a handle on the situation.

If your financial situation has snowballed out of control then all is not lost; even if you feel on the brink of despair in most western countries the option to declare bankruptcy exists, meaning you can have a second chance to get things back on track.

People often over complicate the process of breaking free from the shackles of debt as their emotions take over their logical thinking, in psychology this is known as an amygdala hijack where essentially the brain goes into survival mode, and when feeling such intense financial stress, a common response is to bury one’s head in the sand.

The greater challenge, however, is that people in debt often focus on the “debt” as almost a definition of who they are, it’s as if being in debt becomes their identity, and this is dangerous as what we focus on the most we become.

If we liken this to being a prisoner trapped in debt, it’s like looking down at the shackles around your feet, focusing on how trapped and impotent you feel to change the circumstances you’ve found yourself in – yet, it’s only when you stop focusing on the shackles around your feet, start looking up, and shifting your focus that you can get out of debt.

See, the fuel you require to get out of debt is money, as this is the source of freedom in that having money is the only thing that will help you break free from the shackles of debt – whether that’s in the form of a consolidation loan from The Ascent or by earning an extra income through business or employment activities.

When you are focused on the shackles of debt, your attention is not focused on doing the thing that is required to break free – therefore, the predominant thing you need to do to “break free” from debt is to stop focusing on the debt and start focusing on taking the required action to get out of debt.

A Small Business Branding Guide

Some of the key focuses of my blog are: Financial Literacy, Wealth Building, Business and Entrepreneurship. Many Entrepreneurs start off as Small Business Owners and a key aspect of starting a successful business is ‘Branding’. The following contributed post is thus a Small Business Branding Guide.

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It does not matter what sort of business you run, or how big or small it is, branding is pivotal. If you are to stand out from the crowd and achieve your business goals, you need to brand effectively. With that being said, read on to discover the steps that small businesses need to follow when branding their company.

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Put together a budget – The first thing you need to do is determine how much money you have available for your branding budget. A lot of business owners look into lending options for this, as branding is such a pivotal aspect of their company. Head to https://smallbusinessloans.co/ for some more information on this. Either way, it is vital that you know exactly how much money you have available.

Begin by defining your brand – What marketspace do you occupy? You can’t do anything in terms of branding until you define your brand.

Business driver – What drives your company? What is the purpose of your business? Who are your heroes? All of this needs to be considered carefully so that your brand has the right direction.

Think of your brand as a person – This can really help you in terms of making your brand feel like a tangible being, which people can relate to. If your brand was a person what would it be like?

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It’s more than your logo – One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of business owners make is assuming that their logo is their brand. This is a minute part of your brand. Yes, it is a vital part of it, but there is so much more to branding than merely slapping your logo everywhere.

Aim for consistency – Consistency is everything when it comes to having an effective brand. Head to https://www.meltwater.com/blog/5-ways-to-maintain-brand-consistency-as-you-grow-your-business/ for some good advice on this. If your brand is not consistent, you are only going to confuse your audience.

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Don’t copy – Yes, you can seek inspiration from the big brands, but you should never merely copy what other companies are doing. Not only could you end up with a lawsuit on your hands, but you need to have your own identity if you are going to have a strong business presence. The last thing you want to do is make it appear like you are simply a cheap copy of what is already out there.

If you follow the advice that has been presented above, you should be able to establish a strong brand image for your business. As a small business owner, this is imperative if you are to grow your business to the level you hope to.

The Three Biggest Sources of Money Stress

Two of the main focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. The following contributed post was written by Faye McDonald. It discusses The Three Biggest Sources of Money Stress.

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Most of us have felt it at some point or another. When you’re facing money trouble, stress becomes a real factor in your life. It can affect your sleep, your work, your relationships, and even your health. Here, we’re going to look at some of the biggest sources of money stress and what you can do about them. After all, the impact of money troubles goes a lot further than your bank account.

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Income
A lot of importance is put on getting a job with a good income. It’s true that if your paycheque is big, you’ll have an easier time managing all your costs and putting together savings for your future. However, while working on your career should be a focus, it shouldn’t be the only one. There are other paths to take to financial security and prosperity. It’s all about planning better with what you have. By creating a budget, it’s easy to find the little extra savings that you can contribute to long-term goals. These investments from Profitable Venture show that you can even start contributing them to strategies that can see them playing a part in growing your wealth outside of your job. Investments allow you to diversify not only your income but also your reserves for retirement and bigger investments in the future.

Debt
The fear of debt is often a lot worse than debt, itself. There are a lot of different strategies to try and handle it. None of them involve ignoring the problem and hoping you don’t get noticed, which is unfortunately what most people in a panic tend to do. There are options to help control it like debt consolidation loans from Buddy Loans, but you should always try talking to your creditors first and foremost. If you begin to suspect you will have trouble repaying your debts to the letter of the agreement, you may be able to negotiate it with them. You might not always have your debt reduced, but you can get your repayments restructured. Most creditors don’t want to have to turn to collectors just as much as you want to avoid them.

Insecurity
If you’re living on a low income, one of the biggest fears might be the risk that an unexpected cost could bring with it. If you suddenly have to pay for major car repairs, would it put you in debt? Besides insurance, building an emergency fund is one of the best ways to ensure that you at least have some safety nets to stop you from going into freefall. Contribute a little bit of your income every month towards a fund that can cover all of your expenses lasting three-to-five months. That way it can cover not only unexpected costs but some of the danger of being put out of employment, too.

Don’t forget that there are resources like the Money Advice Service that you can turn to when you can’t see any options that can help your financial situation. It’s easy to feel like you’re stuck in a downward spiral, but if you’re not a financial expert, there may be solutions and plans that you haven’t considered.

The Best Influence: Saving Money As A Father

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. The following contributed post was written by Emma Morgan. It discusses The Best Influence: Saving Money As A Father.

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When you’re trying to be a great dad, having little to no spare cash during the year makes it a challenge to stay positive, and money worries are often a cause of family quarrels and arguments. Therefore, it’s worth looking into ways you can be thrifty, and save money each day in your home and lifestyle. It’s never too late to begin making wiser, considered choices regarding your finances, so make plans as soon as possible to start making positive change.

You can put your excess cash into savings for next year and the future, or your money can go towards covering the cost of family life, and ensure that you and your kids want for nothing. Being smart with money is also a great thing to instill in your children; they’ll be influenced by your good habits. The following are some ideas, tips, and advice for fathers looking to cut back their spending, and ensure their outgoings aren’t too much, by making little lifestyle changes that will add up to making a big difference.

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Family Transport

Vehicles can cost a lot to maintain, so it’s worthwhile reducing the family’s car to just one, and figuring out how you can reduce using them regularly. It’s also worth checking out a car payment calculator so that you can get a better idea of your monthly outgoings regarding your car, for more successful budgeting.

Your daily commute might be costing you heavily in fuel, especially when you’re stuck in traffic. Therefore, many are choosing to cycle to work, and bikes are a common sight on the roads during rush hour. Public transport passes work out cheaper if you buy them in bulk, and many services will get you to work far quicker than if you were in a car on the roads, so this could be another option for you if you’re not confident when cycling.

Family Food

Often, it’s easy to get home and realize there’s nothing in the fridge to eat, and end up ordering an expensive takeaway. The same goes for when you’re out in the day; you can end up spending a lot of cash on food from shops and cafes. Therefore, when you write your weekly grocery list; make sure you meal plan each day for the family. If you have the ingredients ready to use when you get in or can create a tasty lunch to take to work; you’ll reap the savings every day.

Family Budget

Sadly, it can sometimes be easy to find yourself in debt, especially when you’ve had unexpected costs to fork out for, or you’ve got behind with payments on something. Therefore, it’s crucial that you create a detailed account of what you’re bringing each month and compare it to your outgoings. This is the best place to start regarding how you can make changes to improve things long-term, so make sure you include everything, right down to the last cent. You can begin to change your monthly budget and improve family life in the meantime, for a bright future as a father ahead.

The Signs You’re Carrying Far Too Much Debt

Two of the main focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. The following contributed post was written by Emma Morgan. It discusses The Signs You’re Carrying Far Too Much Debt.

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We live in a time of consumerism and most of us have a mindset of ‘I need it now’, which makes us impulsive when it comes to credit. The problem with credit, though, is that we can have whatever we want, and the consequences come later. While credit seems like a great idea in the moment, when you’ve got too much month at the end of your money and you can’t make your repayments, it becomes a big problem.

Debt is, for most people, a very unfortunate part of life. Buying a house, a car and even getting an education can put you into debt. While these are the debts you’d want to have, rather than because you couldn’t put the Manolo’s back at the store, it’s still not nice to have to deal with debt in that way. Having a house is a good thing, until you can’t make the mortgage repayments and you’re getting help from DoveBankruptcyLaw.com/chapter-13-bankruptcy to get you back on track. There are some signs, though, that can tell you whether you are carrying too much debt. It’s time to get your head out of the sand and start sorting out your finances, because they’re not going to sort themselves.

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1. The first sign you’re carrying too much debt is that this is where your money goes. You should have enough money to cover your mortgage, your bills and your savings before having a portion for disposable income. If your disposable income is covering the minimums on your loans and cards, there’s an issue. Working to pay debt is not living, and you need to start making some adjustments so that this is no longer the case for you.
2. The next sign is that you won’t ever pay off your debts early, because the money that you have can only cover the minimum payments. Get onto the creditors that you have and ask them to lower the repayment amounts for you. Creditors are not easy to deal with – in your head. In reality, if you have a good history, they’re usually more than happy to help you out. As long as they are getting paid, they will work with you and not against you.
3. Your health is important, but if the stress of debt is starting to manifest physically, you’re going to suffer. Your sleep, your happiness, the jumpy feeling you get when the doorbell goes? All of these things are not healthy, and they can be affected by debt.
4. Trying to get a consolidation loan to cover your debts is the move that most people make so that they can pay things off quickly. However, if you’re being turned down even for this, then you’ve got too much on your plate. The more debt you have, the harder it is to get credit.

It’s important to recognize when you are carrying too much debt as much as it is to know where to ask for help. Don’t suffer alone – get the debt help you need now to lessen the burden on your shoulders.

Seven Times You’ll Be Glad You Have An Emergency Fund

Two of the main focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy and Money. The following contributed post was written by Faye McDonald. It discusses the Seven Times You’ll Be Glad You Have An Emergency Fund.

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You can’t always predict what’s going to happen in life, but you can make your finances disaster-proof. The best way that you can do this is by having an emergency fund to back you up every step of the way. Ideally, you should already be managing your money each month and budgeting for savings, but you should also be paying into a separate savings account for emergency reasons. Obviously, you won’t be putting in the same amount each month because you need to be able to keep living the way that you want to live. However, there will be times you will be exceedingly grateful that you had an emergency fund to fall back on and below, you can find seven times in life you’ll be whispering thanks to yourself for your own forward thinking!

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Job Loss. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in your job, no one is safe from being made redundant or losing their job. Companies fold all the time due to tough economic times and you have to be prepared for this. Losing your job means that you will be behind financially, and your emergency fund can save you from that.

Divorce. There’s something horribly stressful about a broken marriage. Divorce is costly, and your emergency fund can back you up while you’re paying for lawyers.

Accident. Being in financial difficulty when you’ve had an accident is stress on top of stress. You can speak to Tenge Law Firm, LLC when you need to figure out if you are due compensation from your accident. There’s no need to get behind on bills if you don’t have to!

You Quit. Sometimes, you don’t lose your job due to the recession or the fact your company is folding. Personality clashes mean that you could find yourself out of work off your own volition and you decide to quit.

Disaster. You can’t control mother nature and she is a fearsome beast. An emergency fund can be there for you if you lose your home or are dealing with a flooded house after a disaster. You can incur costs when you go through a natural disaster, and your emergency fund can absorb those.

Supporting Spouses. If your other half is out of work suddenly, or takes ill, you are the main breadwinner. Your savings could keep you above water if your money isn’t enough to support the pair of you.

Widowed. If you find yourself in a situation where you are suddenly without a partner at all, and they have passed away, you will need to have your emergency fund supporting you through a funeral and the expenses incurred there.

You see, an emergency fund isn’t something that is an inconvenience. On the contrary, it will be there for you for when life becomes an inconvenience instead. Most of these situations happen to us in life, it’s important that you manage your own money and keep yourself safe at all times.

Should HBCUs Teach Their Students Financial Literacy And About The Business Of Higher Education?

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“A graduate is someone who gets a degree from an institution and never looks back. An alumnus is someone who gives their time and money back to their alma mater!”

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A Visit From Our School President

This piece was originally published on Dr. Matthew Lynch’s online publication The Edvocate back in May of 2015. It was entitled, Thoughts on Why HBCUs could use more Alumni than Graduates, and Financial Literacy. I decided to republish this story after the new President of my alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), recently visited our Washington DC alumni chapter to discuss his vision for the university which is currently on probation due to financial distress.

Paltry Alumni Giving And Its Effect On Corporate Giving

A lack of alumni giving has long been a major issue for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Something our new President Clarence Armbrister shared with us that I didn’t know, was that securing funding from Corporate America is difficult if alumni aren’t already giving significantly. Donors in fact inquire about alumni giving when deciding to give money themselves confounding the problem.

What’s at the heart of this conundrum? I think a major piece is that the concepts of wealth-building aren’t passed on in the ecosystems many HBCU students come from. When I say ‘ecosystems’ in this context, I’m referring to the environment the students have come from prior to matriculating into their particular schools – their home, their social circles, their church and the school systems they’ve come from – in some instances where the goal is simply survival.

The Importance Of Alumni Giving

Coincidentally when you start studying money, a common theme you see is the importance of giving. Since many of these students are not receiving this information from wherever they come from, perhaps our HBCUs should consider planting these seeds in their student’s minds before they graduate – weaving it into their curricula somehow. After all, higher education is actually a business, and it isn’t free as someone somewhere has to pay for it.

In a previous post regarding the Tax Reform and Jobs Act, I discussed my alma mater being on probation, and challenged other HBCU alums to take some of the money they’ve received from their tax break and pass it on to their alma maters – something which may have upset some readers. In this piece, I suggest that the HBCUs themselves should proactively arm their students with information which will not only empower them during their working lives, but also compel them to give support back to the places which gave them their start, allowing other kids to have similar opportunities.

A Lack Of Alumni Giving

Being highly involved in the Washington DC Alumni Chapter for Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU), I’ve become keenly aware of the issues facing HBCUs. As an education advocate and writer, I’ve helped promote the “Quotes for Education” collaboration between Allstate and the Tom Joyner Foundation the last two years. In numerous interviews with Allstate’s Senior Vice-President and Florida A&M University alumnus Cheryl Harris, the importance of HBCU alumni giving back to their alma maters was stressed. In addition to the other pressures these institutions are facing, one of the more significant problems is the lack of alumni giving.

At a recent Executive Board meeting, our Chapter President Robert Ridley shared with us an idea he read stating that, “A graduate is someone who gets a degree from an institution and never looks back. An alumnus is someone who gives their time and money back to their alma mater!” This was an important distinction that I’d never heard before, not even when I was a student at JCSU. It’s an important concept that arguably should be introduced from day one at our HBCUs.

Giving Future Generations A Fighting Chance

Why is it important for graduates to give back to their alma maters? The main reason is to give future generations a fighting chance to succeed. This is particularly important for Black America. Secondly, institutions of higher learning rely on state, federal and extramural funding from private donors. Many HBCU’s are “Land Grant” institutions and their funding has been decreased ironically under the Obama Administration, in addition to the tightening of the borrowing criteria for the “Parent Plus Loans” which many HBCU students and families heavily relied upon. Thus donations from alumni have become more important.

As unofficially told by an insider, for the 2014 fiscal year, less than 14% of my class of 1999 gave anything back to JCSU, a staggeringly low number. When our school President Dr. Ronald Carter gave an overview of the current health of the University here in Washington, DC, he cited low alumni giving as one potential threat to the University’s future. A key piece of that evening was encouraging alumni to consider cutting back on certain luxuries to free up money to give back.

Why Don’t HBCU Alumni Give Back In Greater Numbers?

Why don’t HBCU Alums give more to their alma maters? Why would only 14% of my class give back to the University? One reason is that many students who’ve attended HBCUs feel as though they’ve given enough of their money to their alma mater when pursuing their educations, and don’t feel inclined to give anything else after graduating. Another reason is hard feelings towards one’s alma mater. Many graduates feel bitter about their experience for one reason or the other as well. I’ve heard this personally and read about it in other articles.

Another piece to this puzzle though is socioeconomic. Of the many curses to being born black in the United States, a key one is starting from lower rungs on the economic ladder than our counterparts of other ethnicities. If for example, your parents planned ahead and saved a college fund for you, your economic burden will likely be lessened or non-existent upon graduation as discussed by Georgette Miller, Esq. in Living Debt Free. You’ll have less debt and more disposable income (some to donate) once starting your career.

“They just weren’t thinking that way,” my father said in a discussion about my grandparents in a discussion about mortgages. I stumbled upon the basics of financial literacy by accident (from books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Millionaire Next Door), and wondered why my parents didn’t teach me more about the vital knowledge shared in these books. They didn’t know themselves and I think this is true for a lot of African American families in the United States.

Low Levels Of Financial Literacy

Likewise, I hypothesize that many other college graduates from my community have a low level of financial literacy and that in part drives this lack of giving that we see from alumni towards their HBCUs. In other words, they know how to lavishly spend it, but not how to gradually save and grow it. If my hypothesis is true and many students are matriculating into our HBCUs with low levels of financial literacy, HBCU’s may do good to start educating their students on these topics from day one and also stressing that higher education is in fact a business. A good place to start would be Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU), or something similar.

I honestly didn’t seriously start giving to either of my alma maters until going through the FPU class taught at my church. In FPU, I learned that the greatest misunderstanding about money is that one of major keys to building and maintaining wealth is blessing others. Put another way, sustained financial health and giving are a function of one another, and in order for one to be able to give, one’s own financial house must first be in order.

Student loan debt can also help explain the lack of giving, but my suspicion is that there’s a percentage of graduates that once they get established, their finances aren’t situated so that they’re able to give back, or giving back just isn’t a priority. Coming from the African American community, there is truth to the myth that we as a community often collectively make poor financial decisions, particularly when ‘keeping up with the Joneses’, ‘signaling’, and trying to portray a certain image. For this reason, and because so many of us don’t get it at home, HBCUs once again may do good to expose their students to a financial literacy curricula such as FPU which ultimately stresses sound financial decision making and ultimately charitable giving.

Why Give Back?

So why give back? Giving back to our alma maters, especially HBCUs is important if we want to see future generations grow and thrive. One of the keys to advancement of the African American community in the United States is financial stability as a group. Likewise the community itself has a responsibility to give its younger generations a fighting chance to participate in our new global economy. In the United States, economic power influences everything else. Regarding my own graduating class of 1999, we can do better than a 14% rate of participation in terms of giving back to our alma mater, as can graduates from other institutions.

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