From Publishers Weekly
While the basics of building financial security?budgeting, setting goals, using credit prudently, carefully selecting investments?are the same for everyone, African Americans have their own attitudes toward money. These views, according to the author, are at least partially to blame for the financial inequities that African Americans can face. Stephens urges readers to break away from such preconceptions as assuming that the stock market is only for white people or that "looking rich means being rich." In a straightforward style, Stephens says that all African Americans can take charge of their finances, provided they make conscious efforts to incorporate sound financial habits into their everyday life. She walks readers through the basics of personal finance: setting goals, working with budgets, getting loans, buying insurance, planning for retirement, etc. The advice is solid and easy to understand. She includes practical information such as where to find low-cost credit cards, the difference in monthly payments on a variable-rate vs. a fixed-rate mortgage and how to cut insurance premium costs. Interspersed throughout the book are profiles of African Americans as well as sidebars on black-owned companies. This historic and biographical material enhances what is already a first-rate personal finance guide. One minor criticism: African Arts is included in the "Investing to Build Wealth for a Lifetime" chapter, even though Stephens warns readers that buying these collectibles should be seen as a hobby rather than as an investment.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Back Cover
There are no secrets to building wealth. It starts with the right plan--and the right attitude.
The African-American community controls more than $400 billion in income. Yet we save and invest less than one percent of our money for the long term! Financial advisor Brooke Stephens, a Wall Street pro who regularly appeared on FX cable TV's Breakfast Time and America Online's Net Noir site, says we just can't afford to "think poor." For oursleves, our children, and our community, we must begin building wealth, one person at a time. Suprisingly, it isn't hard. Not if you're willing to apply a plan. And that, she says, begins with having the right attitudeand the right information. This is the book that will show you how to strengthen your financial position, step-by-step. It also offers a rare perspective on what African-American history can teach us about our financial freedom.
Using lessons drawn from the lives of black entrepreneurs and investors, the author tells how to:
- Get comfortable with finances
- Develop an investment strategy
- Save more money at higher returns
- Set goals
- Manage credit
- Get the most for your housing dollar
- Insure yourself wisely
- Save for college
- Form an investment club
- Retire with security
Brooke Stephens tackles controversial issues about how middle-class African Americans are made to feel as if we've abandoned our roots when we pursue wealth. . .why we tend to overspend on luxuries. . .how to overcome the emotional baggage of our economic history. . .and how to hold onto hard-earned prosperity. "Racism is still rampant in the U.S.," acknowledges Ms. Stephens, "but the opportunities for African-Americans to build wealth are better now than they have been in the last four centuries of our presence on these shores." This culturally rich guide tells how to make the most of every opportunity. And, at last, to take control of your financial destiny!
