As we approach wedding season, countless starry eyed brides and grooms are planning the event of a lifetime.
The venues, gowns, flowers and favors have all been chosen. The guest lists are being finalized. The limos have been booked and the shopping for the all important honeymoon has begun.
At their very best weddings are sacred and beautiful. And men and women enter into matrimony with the best possible intentions as they blend their lives and families.
Having spent more hours than I care to admit planning my own wedding, I can honestly say that I have no regrets. Our wedding day was one of the greatest days of my life. The ceremony was touching, the food plentiful and delicious, and the party was a blast.
Thanks to my dear friend Sharon who insisted that I pack a pair of wedding sneakers, I was able to truly enjoy the celebration.
My husband and I are happily still together despite more than our share of challenges. Though I’ve acknowledged that our wedding day was great it has little if anything to do with the success of our union.
We are bound by our faith and our values and very simply, we made a commitment to take care of our family business long before we were family.
Once we were engaged and before any wedding planning began, life planning began. We took time to plan our marriage. We met at a restaurant, pen and paper in hand and we had a business meeting.
We discussed the fact that we felt very fortunate to have come as far as we had. Neither of us grew up wealthy but by our teens we had come a long way. At age fourteen, I took a job that paid about a hundred dollars a week and he took up tennis which led to national recognition.
My husband earned a Masters in Education. I studied Economics and was in the midst of earning my CFP® designation when we met.
In our meeting, we discussed our goals and dreams in a very practical way. Though we decided against it, we discussed a prenuptial agreement. We talked about, salaries, savings, investments, children, home ownership, joint versus individual assets, vacations and retirement destinations. We decided upon an appropriate amount of life insurance and decided when we would apply.
We’ve had many more meetings of that type since our wedding day and those meetings pen and paper in hand and hearts and minds open have made us a family. The time we’ve spent on them has created a marriage out of the foundation that we lay before our wedding day. I encourage those planning a marriage today to follow in our footsteps.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Three Year-Olds & Money
Children are amazing. They absorb everything (good or bad) and their excitement about life is contagious. As parents we want to foster and encourage that excitement.
Our two-year old loves trains and dinosaurs and asks for a new one nearly every day.
His “Oh Peese.” and “Thank you Mommy!” are nearly irresistible, especially when he follows up with a hug - nearly but not completely.
Lucky for him, I’ve lived with children before and know that handing him everything because he’s adorable and I want him to have all the things I didn’t have would do him a lot more harm than good.
Lucky for me, I’ve got a plan. I’ve already started decision training. I ask questions like, “Which color vitamin would you like today?” and “What would you like wear?” His decision making slows things down a little but it’s always entertaining and this training is critical because this year he’ll start making spending decisions.
Call me nuts but with a ten trillion dollar national debt, I can’t afford to waste a moment. I can’t count high enough to calculate what the national debt might be when he’s of age so his Personal Financial Management training needs to begin as soon as he can handle it.
He’ll decide if he wants the train or the dinosaur and whether he’d like to skip them both in favor of a trip to his favorite restaurant. Yes, he’s got a favorite restaurant but that’s a topic for another discussion.
He’ll earn his money by carrying out his assigned tasks and avoiding undesirable behavior. At age three he will only have three daily items and I have no doubt that one of those will be making sure that the cat’s tail stays attached to its body.
He’ll earn enough money to buy one train or dinosaur a month and he’ll be required to save some and give some to our church.
Based on my experience, I’ll also have to worry a lot less about the cat.
Our two-year old loves trains and dinosaurs and asks for a new one nearly every day.
His “Oh Peese.” and “Thank you Mommy!” are nearly irresistible, especially when he follows up with a hug - nearly but not completely.
Lucky for him, I’ve lived with children before and know that handing him everything because he’s adorable and I want him to have all the things I didn’t have would do him a lot more harm than good.
Lucky for me, I’ve got a plan. I’ve already started decision training. I ask questions like, “Which color vitamin would you like today?” and “What would you like wear?” His decision making slows things down a little but it’s always entertaining and this training is critical because this year he’ll start making spending decisions.
Call me nuts but with a ten trillion dollar national debt, I can’t afford to waste a moment. I can’t count high enough to calculate what the national debt might be when he’s of age so his Personal Financial Management training needs to begin as soon as he can handle it.
He’ll decide if he wants the train or the dinosaur and whether he’d like to skip them both in favor of a trip to his favorite restaurant. Yes, he’s got a favorite restaurant but that’s a topic for another discussion.
He’ll earn his money by carrying out his assigned tasks and avoiding undesirable behavior. At age three he will only have three daily items and I have no doubt that one of those will be making sure that the cat’s tail stays attached to its body.
He’ll earn enough money to buy one train or dinosaur a month and he’ll be required to save some and give some to our church.
Based on my experience, I’ll also have to worry a lot less about the cat.
The First
I’m especially excited to be launching my blog during Black History month.
I am trained as a Financial Advisor and generally when I write, it’s solely on the topic of Personal Finance so the idea of combining that topic with history (always a favorite subject) is exciting and interesting to me.
African-American history can be traced back nearly 400 years to a time when we were chattel; a commodity, property.
We’ve heard countless stories of that time and of far more recent times; stories of struggle and oppression. But there are other stories, stories that we’ve also heard over and over but that many of us, including me, have dismissed as exceptions to the norm.
Our history is deep and diverse. But there are certain constants. One is that as a people, we persevere. In the midst of bondage we were visionaries and in the midst of oppression there was always greatness.
In the midst of bondage, we were poets. In 1773 Phillis Wheatly published the first known book of poetry by an African American.
In the midst of bondage, we were physicians. In 1837 Dr. James McCune Smith became the first African-American to earn a medical degree.
In the midst of bondage, we were attorneys. In 1845 Macon Allen, became the first African-American admitted to practice law in the United States.
In the midst of bondage we were novelists. In 1853 William Wells Brown published the first novel written by an African-American.
After emancipation and still living in the midst of oppression, we were scholars.
In 1895, W.E.B. DuBois became the first African-American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard.
In the midst of oppression, we were diplomats. In 1901 Booker T. Washington became the first African- American invited to dine at the White House.
In the midst of oppression we were millionaires. In 1910 Madame C.J. Walker became the first African-American millionaire.
In the midst of oppression we were Aviators. In 1921 Bessie Coleman became the first African-American hold an international pilot’s license.
In the midst of oppression we were revolutionaries. In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King became the first African-American named Time magazine’s Man of the Year.
In the modern era we are members of presidential cabinets.
In 1977 Patricia Roberts Harris became the first African-American woman in the U.S. Cabinet.
In the modern era we are astronauts. In 1983 Guy Bluford, became the first African-American in space.
In the modern era we are captains of industry. In 1997 Don Peebles officially began what is now The Peebles Corporation a multi-billion dollar real estate development corporation.
In the modern era, an African-American family is The First Family. In January 2009 Barack Obama became the First African-American President.
The struggle and the oppression are a part of our history and if you’d asked me last year if African- Americans were second class citizens in the United States, I would have reluctantly said yes. Ask me today and I will say maybe I was wrong.
There will always be racism, sexism and countless other “isms” that we can focus but from now on from this year forward, my focus will be on the possibilities rather than the negativity of past.
Americans, our brothers and sisters of all races religions, creeds, and colors have spoken. We have spoken. We believed in the dream and now it is the reality and the question is what we will do with it?
In light of how far we’ve come and all the potential that we have talking about Personal Financial Management is even more exciting because there is truly no limit to our possibilities.
Those possibilities are about far more than money but as we know, there is and in escapable link between Personal Finance and many of the hopes and dreams that we have for ourselves and our loved ones.
I look forward to exploring that link with you in the months to come.
I am trained as a Financial Advisor and generally when I write, it’s solely on the topic of Personal Finance so the idea of combining that topic with history (always a favorite subject) is exciting and interesting to me.
African-American history can be traced back nearly 400 years to a time when we were chattel; a commodity, property.
We’ve heard countless stories of that time and of far more recent times; stories of struggle and oppression. But there are other stories, stories that we’ve also heard over and over but that many of us, including me, have dismissed as exceptions to the norm.
Our history is deep and diverse. But there are certain constants. One is that as a people, we persevere. In the midst of bondage we were visionaries and in the midst of oppression there was always greatness.
In the midst of bondage, we were poets. In 1773 Phillis Wheatly published the first known book of poetry by an African American.
In the midst of bondage, we were physicians. In 1837 Dr. James McCune Smith became the first African-American to earn a medical degree.
In the midst of bondage, we were attorneys. In 1845 Macon Allen, became the first African-American admitted to practice law in the United States.
In the midst of bondage we were novelists. In 1853 William Wells Brown published the first novel written by an African-American.
After emancipation and still living in the midst of oppression, we were scholars.
In 1895, W.E.B. DuBois became the first African-American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard.
In the midst of oppression, we were diplomats. In 1901 Booker T. Washington became the first African- American invited to dine at the White House.
In the midst of oppression we were millionaires. In 1910 Madame C.J. Walker became the first African-American millionaire.
In the midst of oppression we were Aviators. In 1921 Bessie Coleman became the first African-American hold an international pilot’s license.
In the midst of oppression we were revolutionaries. In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King became the first African-American named Time magazine’s Man of the Year.
In the modern era we are members of presidential cabinets.
In 1977 Patricia Roberts Harris became the first African-American woman in the U.S. Cabinet.
In the modern era we are astronauts. In 1983 Guy Bluford, became the first African-American in space.
In the modern era we are captains of industry. In 1997 Don Peebles officially began what is now The Peebles Corporation a multi-billion dollar real estate development corporation.
In the modern era, an African-American family is The First Family. In January 2009 Barack Obama became the First African-American President.
The struggle and the oppression are a part of our history and if you’d asked me last year if African- Americans were second class citizens in the United States, I would have reluctantly said yes. Ask me today and I will say maybe I was wrong.
There will always be racism, sexism and countless other “isms” that we can focus but from now on from this year forward, my focus will be on the possibilities rather than the negativity of past.
Americans, our brothers and sisters of all races religions, creeds, and colors have spoken. We have spoken. We believed in the dream and now it is the reality and the question is what we will do with it?
In light of how far we’ve come and all the potential that we have talking about Personal Financial Management is even more exciting because there is truly no limit to our possibilities.
Those possibilities are about far more than money but as we know, there is and in escapable link between Personal Finance and many of the hopes and dreams that we have for ourselves and our loved ones.
I look forward to exploring that link with you in the months to come.
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