Per the 2015 Asset Funders Network report, the median wealth of White single women was $15,640. The median wealth for single Black women and Latina women was $200 and $100 respectively.

The usual reaction to this is, “Not me”. We have to settle quickly into this new acceptance phase and dig through the actual statistics because Black millennials are simply underprepared.

For Black women, it’s not a just glass ceiling; it’s a thick platinum beam.

Table of Contents

Underpaid and Undervalued

Given the current direction of the black community, it’s time to rely on our individual strength and “Lift as We Climb”.

It is important to note that wealth in this country looks very different for white and black families largely because black families have been systemically shut out of wealth opportunities due to discrimination and lack of investment by policymakers on both sides of the aisle over several generations. This article will paint an overview of the issues affecting Black women while providing solutions.

Black women are the Poto Mitan (Haitian Creole translation: foundational pillar) of the family. With access to more resources, black millennial women are the most educated group in America. They are graduating with advanced degrees and taking on more roles while still being the most underpaid. In order to avoid being the cautionary tale, it is imperative to hold this sisterhood of color as our community’s most valuable asset.

Having grown up on E! Keeping Up with the Kardashians, America’s Next Top Model, The Hills, The Real Housewives (every version), and The Bachelor… Our adulting love language plays out similar to a Megatron music video; complete with expensive dinners, exotic locations, fake friendships, “situationships,” faux smiles, photoshop/filters, and photoshoots. All of which cost a pretty pink tax.

Hot Girl Summer equals Cold A$$ Winter for another Black Woman

It’s been a #hotgirlsummer indeed but one must fear the precedence we are setting for the next generation. Since the advent of apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, there has seen an increase in cases of body dysmorphia, isolation, and depression. We tune in for entertainment while young ladies tune in for instructions. The proliferation of brunch culture ran in stark contrast to the decrease in church attendance.

Not one season goes by without a new color-coordinated way to spend hard-earned money from Diner En Blanc where you have to bring your own chair, table, food, etc. to newer Angora Sneakerball or Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic opportunities, we are fueling someone else’s riches.

Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming hit the shelves on November 13, 2018.

Her 10-city U.S. tour sold out quicker than Rihanna can say free Fenty at your local mall. Tickets started at $29.50 for the nosebleed to say that you were breathing the same air.

The meet-and-greet starter kit went for $2,750+. Let me remind you that she was talking about her book. She walked in and sat down. And she walked out.

Michelle Obama is amazing but we got to admit that the tour was expensive and “we are becoming broke.”

Beyonce’s On the Run tickets sold on the secondary market for an average of $294 dollars. Her MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas had the highest-priced stop with tickets averaging $764 dollars.

This is way before you factor in travel, drinks, hair, makeup, and the new outfit. Yet again, Beyonce is the queen of entertainment, however, you could have caught Beycella (on streaming) for cheaper.

The Black travel movement (commonly associated with #TravelNoir) has increased in 2018 to $63 billion from $48 billion in 2010. Average spending per trip is between $1,345 – $2,078 which does not include pre-purchases on clothing, excursions, gym memberships, and more. When the funds are lacking, many are turning to the power of the almighty credit card. As a result, short-lived Summer travel “likes” quickly spiral into years of accumulated interest fees.

A staple in the black community, black women have cornered the ethnic hair and beauty market, ringing up a tab of $54 million of the $63 million total industry spend in 2017. This level of spending accounts for 85.65% of the market. It makes you wonder why there aren’t more black-owned retailers. Black women are accessorizing their way into debilitating debts while fostering fortunes for someone else.

Fast to market, Slow to Scale

In a bit of extremely positive news, according to The 2018 State of Women-Owned Business Report commissioned by American Express, while the number of women-owned businesses grew an impressive 58% from 2007 to 2018, the number of firms owned by black women grew by a stunning 164%, nearly three times that rate.

Even Forbes touts, “Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S.” However, obtaining adequate start-up capital remains a hurdle. Many, of said businesses, have trouble staying financially afloat or churning real profits. The “Imma be my own boss and it will fix everything” approach is a lot harder than it seems. For women of color, average revenue dropped from $84,000 in 2007 to $66,400 in 2018, while for non-minority businesses, revenues rose from $181,000 to $212,300. We need to step back and reshape how black women scale up.

A Rock Too Heavy

Black Love on the rocks. Marriage is another avenue that traditionally has been invoked as a means of increasing wealth for women. However, Black women often marry down which severely limits the wealth potential of the entire family. Average American weddings cost over $33,000; a sunk cost for less than 10 hours which threatens to torpedo any fledgling marriage in the first 3 years.

Reach out to a few friends, and have several drinks while drafting new plans and solutions to avoid catastrophe. This is where vision board parties come into focus. If the Road to Zero Wealth report by ProsperityNow and the Institute for Policy Studies found that “by 2053, Black households will have a median wealth of ZERO,” where are we now?

With access to more resources, being a black millennial woman means that you are the most educated group in America and the most underpaid.

The Current Net Worth of the average Black Woman in the US (as of July 2019)

Single black women without a bachelor’s degree:

Ages 20–39 have a net worth of $0 (or less).

Ages 40–59 have a net worth range of just $1,000 to $2,000.

Aged 60+ have a net worth of just $12,000.

Single black woman with a bachelor’s degree:

Ages 20–39 have a net worth range of -$23,000 to $0.

Ages 40–59 have a net worth range of just $6,000 to $9,500.

Aged 60+ have a net worth of just $11,000. Elizabeth White talks about “being over 55, unemployed, and faking normal.” The exposure is shockingly revealing. We are in a crisis.

The Implications, specific to the Black Woman

Single mothers, regardless of race, have virtually no wealth to draw upon in times of crisis or job loss – further dimming prospects for the next generation. Married white women without children have over $200,000 more in wealth than married white women with children and six times the wealth of black women who similarly have no children.

The typical single black woman with a college degree is at least $30,000 in debt. Many are carrying over $80,000 in student loan debt, $10,000 in credit card debt, and $12,000 in car loans. Married black women in their 30s and with college degrees are $25,000 in debt. If you don’t trust these numbers, please form an “honesty” circle and come clean with your struggles.

First-generation black women are finding it extremely difficult first being elevated as the family’s success story and then relegated to their parents for their lack of retirement planning. Can you imagine, finding out your parents have less than $25,000 saved for retirement and their home has been refinanced three times? On to top of that, they still owe at least $50,000 on the mortgage. There are levels to this.

Black women are more likely to find themselves taking care of family members financially. “This strips away about 27 percent of a Black family’s wealth,” says Anne Price, president of Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland. This forces some hard accounting. “The choice is, ‘What do I do: Pay off my student loan? Start to save for retirement? Put away money for my child’s education? I can’t do all three and take care of parents or siblings.”

Older, single black women with a college degree have a mere $11,000 in wealth, which is the lowest of all groups in that age range and is in stark contrast to the $384,400 in median wealth among single white women with a bachelor’s degree.

“If you look at postsecondary education attainment, business and enterprise development, rates of divorce, single-parent-headed households, and health disparities., you will see a dismal picture for African Americans Being Left Behind.” Dr. Vincent Adejumo.

When you see those feel-good posts/articles about Black women doing well; they are often just using them for Ad-generating clicks.

Dr. Kyra Gaunt coined the phrase, “(Re)Stigmatizing Black Girls for Clickbait.”

For a group that has been extremely marginalized good news often comes as validation of Black Girl Magic however contradicting narrative cannot exist. Ask your friends about their debts. And go back to your old community and see how much people are struggling. Be careful of the false sense of security. They’ve killed the dreams of far more with less. The following chronicles additional revealing facts.

Financial statistics associated with “Being a Black Woman in America”, as of 2019 with links provided:

While African Americans account for just 14% of the population of the US population, they bolster over $1.2+ trillion in spending power. It has long been my belief that the spending of Blacks and other minorities in America pulled America (and the world) out of the recent Recession. We were likely the only group prioritizing spending over savings and investments. When the investment tides raised all ships, we were not on board. We were present for every Millenium tour, expensive Becoming venues, and On the Run Tours. We were missing in action for ourselves.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 42 million black people in America (including multiracial African Americans). That means $1.2 trillion is about $29,000 in spending power per person. Simply put, we have the money. How are we using it? Most don’t even have a budget. Where did all your money go?

Average time spent on social media for the week: 15+ hours. Average time spent reading: 2 hours. According to the Nielsen report, African-Americans watch 37 percent more television than any other demographic, and their consumption proclivities are equally influential.

While the African American household earns less than the market average, their annual retail spending accounts for 87 percent of total market retail spending, demonstrating what the industry dubs as “hyper vitality and extreme resiliency.”

Billionaire Robert F. Smith’s recent historic promise to pay off approximately $40 million in student loans incurred by 2019 graduates of Morehouse College will be a game-changer for the 396 graduates. This breaks down to an average debt of $100,000 per student. This brings to question how much you owe. And did that number balloon in deferment?

Black students borrowed nearly $29,344 on average for a bachelor’s degree at a public university in 2012, $3,500 more than the average white student.

1 in 5 Americans (21%) has NO retirement savings at all. What’s worst, is that when we pass away we leave the financial burden to the ones we love.

1 in 3 Baby Boomers (33%) have around $0 – $25,000 in their retirement savings. The next 20 years set up the sandwich effect, a retirement disaster the community is ill-equipped to handle.

According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2013, the median white household had $13 in net wealth for every $1 in the net wealth of the median black household.

The median wealth of a young debt-free black household was just $4,500 more than that of young indebted white households. More than 85% said student loan debt was a major source of stress, and one in three said such debt is the biggest stress in their lives.

The average white family had more than $130,000 in liquid retirement savings (cash in accounts such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs) vs. $19,000 for the average African American in 2013.

The mean of black household wealth is $138,200—for whites, that number is $933,700.

1 in 10 African Americans works with a financial professional compared with 1 in 4 white Americans. Outside of company retirement accounts, only 37% of African Americans own wealth-building products such as stocks and mutual funds.

Eighty-three percent of African American seniors lack the retirement assets they need to last the remainder of their lifetime. African Americans are aged 62-70 have a median net worth of $46,200 as compared to $331,700 for whites.

According to the Federal Reserve, the average balance of African Americans in 401(k)s is only $23,000. And Social Security and the Racial Gap in Retirement Wealth found the average balance for African Americans in pensions and IRAs was $10,300, vs. $105,600 for white Americans.

Forty-six percent of African American seniors rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their income, compared to 35 percent of Whites.

Only Forty-two percent of African Americans owned a home, compared to 68 percent of Whites. African American homeowners are 86 percent more likely than Whites to have an underwater mortgage.

Only 54.3 percent of African American workers have employers who offer a retirement plan. Of the African Americans with access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, only 81 percent participate. (Missing out on around $70,000+ of matching contributions over 30 years before any market growth at 8% annually)

A member of a white family is twice as likely to receive an inheritance in comparison to a black family member, and the inheritance received is usually three times larger.

For every dollar of wealth owned by a typical white family, the median black family owns just five cents.

In order to grow richer, it is time to understand the information presented and most importantly take immediate action.

Takeaways

This information wasn’t provided, researched, and shared to shame or guilt Black women. The road is hard with no shoes. It’s beyond the realm of difficulty. However, Black women still find a way (out of no way).

To help get you on the right path to financial independence, Shavon Roman, a financial adviser at Atlanta-based The Piedmont Group offers this advice:

1. Financial education: It’s imperative to have a savings and spending plan, allowing you to tell your money where to go and keep track of it.

2. Financial planning and execution: So what should African Americans do before investing in stocks or other asset classes like real estate or starting a new business? Roman’s first suggestion is to do your research. Know your risk tolerance. Monitor the investment and its performance regularly. When it comes to achieving wealth-building goals, eliminate high-interest debt, reduce debt, and establish a savings fund.

3. Professional help: Seek advice from a financial professional equipped to help you establish and reach your financial goals. Check out their background, and references, and make sure they are licensed in the state they work in.

Simple Notes to get your finances kicking in full gear:

1. Grab my Net/Max Financial Plan. I have one for Singles, For Single Parents, and for Couples with or without kids.

2. Reduce unnecessary expenses so you can do what you absolutely love to do in life. Avoid unknown scope creep and cost creep. I ended up adding $10k to my student loans in 6 months through “deferment”.

3. Meal Prep is life. Brunch is the death of finances.

4. Lean off using the credit card.

5. Start learning as much as you can about finances.

I was asked, “How do we go about legacy building? The answer is simple and will always remain simple. Correct your personal finances. Marry a like-minded person who also corrected their issues. Raise kids with balanced values. Know your net worth.

Written by Lawrence Gonzalez and Edited By Ecclesiaste Guerrier, an Events Engineer, and University Operations Administrator. Also Featured on TheMogulMillennial.com