From Debt to Generational Wealth Part 1
If you ever wondered how a person got into debt and how they got out of debt, here is my story. From debt to generational wealth.
My name is Ruby my mother calls me “SunShine” sometimes lol. Okay, I will try my best to focus on the topic at hand.
In this series, you will learn how I went from over $250,000 in debt to almost $500,000 net-worth and growing. My goal is to build generational wealth to ensure our next generations continue to build the family’s legacy for the better.
So, here goes…
I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, I am the youngest of 8, and I have two amazing southern parents- they are North Carolina country lol. Growing up, my parents taught me 3 things about money: work hard, pay your bills, and give to others (church, family, and community in that order).
One major thing they missed educating me about was how to make money work for me and understanding what it means to invest and build assets and generational wealth.
The truth is their parents, parents-parents, and parents, parents, parents were unable to teach them because growing up black in America, the goal was to keep black families impoverished. Building generational wealth was never the focus, but building generational poverty was the focus of corporations and the government for many Black Families, including mines.
Racism and Oppression
Because of racism and systemic oppression, the financial system and opportunities were not a welcoming space for many Black Americans. Let’s not forget about the enslavement of my ancestors for hundreds of years, which created the criminal act of free labor. As America grew richer, many African Americans grew poorer.
This horrific history has created continuous oppression and a racial wealth gap that continues to increase. We must mention a small part of our history to understand yesterday’s historical measures on today’s present financial status.
Back to how I got into debt, since my family was not aware about IRA (Individual Retirement Account) or a Personal Investment account, I was not knowledgeable about it either.
On top of lack of knowledge, we had to help each other as a family. Since my family had to rely a lot on each other to make ends meet, buy a home, or help keep a family member from being homeless, their limited resources were continuously stretched. A common phrase in my family was “we have to rob Peter to pay Paul”. No worries, no one was actually robbed, but a bill may be missed to pay a more substantial bill.
This was how I grew up, and my financial foundation was never rooted in building but more rooted in survival. When we focus our finances on surviving, we never have the privilege of reframing and thinking of our finances as growing and thriving; that is what racism and oppression created.
So, when I went to college, you can not imagine how these principles created the beginning of my over $250,000 of debt. I will get into that next week. Right, now I needed to lay the ground work of how a girl from The Bronx with strong southern roots was underwater financially after graduating college.
And just like words from Maya Angelou’s “And Still I Rise.”
See you next week…
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