Happy Black History Year (Month)! I’m kicking off this month of Black Excellence with a BANG! Last year I didn’t think too much about generational wealth because I thought was doing fine making a living. Then I saw an article that stated that the black woman’s network was $5. WTH! How can this be? I started to read more about generational wealth and how and why black people have a disadvantage. The biggest reason we have such a low net worth is because most of us started out as slaves. Slavery was only 150 (or less) years ago. That’s not that long. Our people were still fighting for our rights to vote in the south in the 60’s. My mom was a young woman at this time and live through it all. Yes, we have come a long way to go but we have to continue to work towards building real wealth.
Today you are in for a treat! I have the financial expert, Tonya Rapley from My Fab Finance sharing some important tips to building generational wealth. If you haven’t heard, Tonya is the shizzz! Tonya has been a “cover girl” of Black Enterprise, featured in Toyota campaigns, global speaker and also helped participants of her debt elimination challenge pay off over $400,000 in debt in 60 days. I told you she was the truth. I’m so excited that Tonya took time out of her busy schedule to share some important tips to building generational wealth. Please read this post and share! This is so important to us and our children and their children.
1. Set a good money example.
Your children are watching you and what you do will likely impact hem more than what you say. The relationship you have with money can shape your children’s perspective and experience and inherit a healthy relationship with money is invaluable.
2. Establish a Roth IRA for your Child
One of my colleagues, Dominique Brown established a ROTH IRA for his daughter and set a goal to max out contributions yearly. Currently, parents can contribute $5,500 to a Roth IRA if they are under age 50, or $6,500 if over age 50. Parents are able to make withdrawals on their contributions (not earnings) from Roth IRA accounts prior to age 59 ½ without incurring a tax penalty as long as the money is used for higher education expenses.
The money will accumulate tax-free just like it would in a 529 plan but if the child doesn’t go to college, gets a full scholarship or pays for school some other manner, the money will stay in the Roth and can be used for a down payment on a house, disability or jumpstart their retirement savings.
3. Purchase a Life Insurance Policy
Life insurance could be a valuable asset for parents who are asset poor. In the event of an untimely death, a permanent life insurance policy could replace your financial contributions to the household or enable your children to pay off your mortgage and other liabilities that you incurred. Aside from this, a life insurance payout could be used to fund a business or other investments your child might not have the income to invest in otherwise.
Keep in mind that a term life insurance policy is often cheaper yet expires after a certain amount of years. so if you purchase a 30-year term life insurance policy at 28, the policy will expire at 58 and you will lose all the money you put into the policy. A whole term policy is often slightly more expensive but does not expire.
4. Buy Stock or Request it For Birthdays and Holidays
The stock market is doing phenomenal and with new companies going public every day, purchasing stock for your children could be a sound investment that would become a valuable investment over time. You can set up a custodial account and ask for cash as birthday gifts for your children that will be used to purchase stock on their behalf in some of their favorite companies. It is a gift that keeps on giving after trends have expired and they lose interest in toys.
5. If all else fails, focus on your financial security.
Even if you aren’t able to set aside college tuition or investments for your child, one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is for you to become financially secure. In the absence of your financial insecurity, your child can focus on their dreams and establish a strong foundation for their household rather than financially supporting a parent. This doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t emotionally support you or take care of you in the event of the unforeseen, but it means that you wouldn’t become a financial burden.
Setting my kids up for financial security is high on my priority list. I’ve already started to learn more about 1Life Direct so I can get a life insurance policy that suits me and I’m grateful that Tonya took time out of her busy schedule to share these life changing tips. Tonya’s site is full of great tips and resources for financial freedom. I’ve been following her for several years and she is always on point. Click HERE to learn more about My Fab Finance.
I don’t come from money (not that I have any now) and my mom struggled at times to raise me alone. I watched my mom lose everything and build it back again. Just know that it’s possible to turn financial security around. I hope that you found these tips helpful and start to implement them. I’ve already started buying stocks for the girls and my niece this past holiday season using the site Stockpile. They make gifting stock easy. You can learn more about it HERE. I encourage you to share this post with your friends and family. It doesn’t take a lot to get started on building generational wealth for your family.
