More TNFG Featured in Financial News and Other Collaborations
One of the best honors in the financial literacy space is to be Featured. It’s an opportunity to give all the tools so that others can live financially free.
When should you remove yourself as an authorized user? Written by Nicole Diekler
If you want to build your credit, becoming an authorized user on someone else’s credit card could be a good option. When you become an authorized user on another person’s credit card — whether that person is a spouse, a parent, or another close family member — you have the opportunity to benefit from the primary cardholder’s positive credit habits.
This is one of my most challenging featured moments. I had to research the best way to evoke financial information without steering people wrong.
Inequality and Financial Literacy as the Wealth Gap Increases written by Dori zinn
If you never believed you can achieve wealth or even financial stability, then you might not think you ever will, says Lawrence Delva-Gonzalez, Auditor and Financial Literacy Educator at The Neighborhood Finance Guy. “The main struggles are psychological,” he says. “If you have never seen or known other examples, it’s easy to think that wealth is not for you.”
According to a study from the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at TIAA Institute, there’s a lack of financial literacy among African Americans when compared to white individuals. When surveyed, Black people said they were less equipped to handle an emergency expense, and the study found low financial literacy rates among African Americans for topics including compounding risk, insurance, and investing. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to inequalities in financial literacy.
Click here to get a better sense of how the writer featured me.
SmartSaver – Unlock the Secrets to Building Wealth
Net worth is the total value of your assets minus the total of your liabilities. It’s a snapshot of your financial situation at a given point in time. Tracking your net worth can help you stay on track with your financial goals and make sure you’re on the right track to reach them.
Here are a few tips for tracking your net worth:
- Start by gathering your financial information. This includes things like your bank account balances, investment account balances, the value of your home (if you own one), and any other assets you have.
- Estimate the value of your assets. If you own a home, you’ll need to estimate its value. You can do this by looking at recent sales of similar homes in your area. For other assets, such as cars or jewelry, you can use online resources to get an estimate of their value.
- Add up your assets and liabilities. Once you have the value of your assets and the number of your liabilities, add them up. This will give you your net worth.
- Track your net worth regularly. It’s a good idea to track your net worth at least once a month. This will help you see how your finances are changing over time and make sure you’re on track to reach your goals.
How to reduce your monthly streaming budget | Written by Nicole Diekler
Cutting back on streaming services is good for your budget — and good for your health
According to an April 2022 report from Nielsen called State of Play, 21 percent of Americans spend between $20 and $20.99 per month on video streaming services—and 17 percent of Americans spend between $30 and $49.99 on streaming video.
Once you add in all of the other subscriptions that make up your monthly content consumption, from Spotify to Substack, you’re probably paying much more money than you realize.
Why not use this summer as an opportunity to cut back on streaming and start seeking out other types of experiences instead? Believe it or not, canceling your streaming services could be one of the best things you do for your budget, your health, your family—and even for the planet.
“Your goal should be to disconnect from screen time,” explains Lawrence Delva-Gonzalez, a financial literacy educator who runs The Neighborhood Finance Guy. “More screen time means more air conditioning, more snacking, and ultimately more bad health. It all adds up.”
My Brother Got Scammed Out of His $200,000 Inheritance
Retiring should involve clearing up liabilities and ensuring you’ll still have a source of cash flow after leaving your employer. I spoke with Lawerence Delva-Gonzalez from The Neighborhood Finance Guy about what you should do to catch up. Lawrence recommends using your savings account to pay off your wife’s student loan debt and any other outstanding debts you share, like credit cards or other loans. By paying off your debt, you’ll have less to worry about if faced with an income shortage.
“You should work to full or even max retirement age to get more money from social security,” Delva-Gonzalez said. “Based on your average expenses, add an extra 25 percent and multiply that by 25. This is a good baseline for how much you’ll need for retirement.”
To figure out how much of an income deficit you’ll most likely be facing, check with the Social Security Administration to calculate the estimated amount you’ll be receiving in benefits. Once you subtract your yearly benefits from your baseline amount, you’ll know how much cash you still need to supplement your lifestyle during retirement.
How To Manage All the Extra Debt You Piled Up in 2020 | written By Jaime Catmull
If you’ve piled on debt this year, you’re not alone. A survey conducted by Clever found that the average American has taken on an additional $7,512 in debt since 2019, and 54% have missed or deferred at least one payment in 2020.
“Having debt is not some kind of moral failing,” said debt expert Jackie Beck. “You are still a worthwhile person. Do what you can right now to get through things.”
Click HERE to read the full article.
Save: Americans’ Savings Drop to Lowest Point in Years
What is the American Dream Today? by Lindsay VanSomeren
The idea of the American Dream is as old as the country itself, even if it wasn’t expressly named. You can find it at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The American Dream has never been without controversy. Even in Adams’ description, he admits that people are skeptical that it exists at all. For a long time and many people (mostly women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [BIPOC]), it flat-out didn’t.
Click HERE to read the full story.
Haven Life featured Lawrence Delva-Gonzalez
How to rebalance your budget — and your life — during quarantine
The pandemic could be here for a while. Plan your finances, and budget your time, accordingly.
Budget time for healthy habits
Balancing work and parenting is hard enough under normal circumstances. It’s even harder under the stress of a nationwide pandemic — and harder still if you’re not making the time to take care of your physical and mental health.
Lawrence Gonzalez, government auditor and founder of The Neighborhood Finance Guy, advises busy parents to spend the last weeks of summer shifting to healthier habits.
“Start doing simple challenges like drinking only water in August. Move to get to sleep no later than 10 p.m. for a week or two. Start waking up early to walk, jog, or run.” Even a few minutes of light yoga or stretching in the morning can make a big difference.
Click HERE to read the full article…
Financial Literacy in the Black Community, written by Christian Simmons, Edited by Lee William
The racial wealth gap that exists in the U.S. today has grown over centuries, and it is far from a simple fix. While the most effective solutions would likely require systemic change at the highest levels, a better understanding of how the wealth gap has formed — and the ways it has negatively impacted the Black community — can help individuals to use financial literacy to make a difference in their day-to-day lives.
According to experts in the field, one way to combat the wealth gap is to begin talking more about it.
Lawrence Gonzalez, who is an auditor for the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General in Washington D.C., says healthy conversations about personal finance often don’t exist in Black culture.
“People never wanted to discuss money, understand it, or grow it,” Gonzalez told Annuity.org. “There’s almost a mysticism around it because not enough people understand the concepts.”
15 Black Personal Finance Podcasts Improving Financial Literacy Written by Dannielle Desir
Neither taught at school nor home, many people learn about money on the fly through trial and error. While things are progressively changing for the better, money is still a taboo topic in many circles, so podcasts have become an invaluable resource.
Through podcasts, learning to manage money and build wealth is available to anyone with an interest and willingness to tune in. Hearing honest conversations, inspiring stories, and learning how to make informed decisions can change your financial outlook.
Whether you’re interested in investing, frugality, affording travel, obtaining financial independence, or managing finances as a couple, there’s a wealth of Black personal finance podcasts to follow for inspiration, motivation, and education.
Click HERE to learn more about the 15 Black-owned personal finance podcasts to add to your rotation.
How to Start Saving and Investing, Written by Geoff Williams
“Personal finance is personal. Although that sounds tedious and mundane, the truth still carries legal tender even in 2021. Investing comes down to risk profile and risk capacity. When we mention beginners, there needs to be a full review of the person.
How old are they?
Do they have consumer debts?
Do they have high credit card balances?
There is a myriad of diagnostic questions that need to be vetted. However, if they have structured their monthly budget, and made use of employer-sponsored programs like 401k, 403b, and/or 457b, maybe it’s time to invest in a Traditional/Roth IRA.”
Read about more expert tips and tricks when it comes to Saving and Investing.
