Here’s a code Black fathers should commit to:
We will position our sons to be providers.
Many of us have struggled with streaks of unemployment and low cashflow that forced our wives to be the providers. We’ve handcuffed ourselves to mortgage debt. We’ve delayed our income generation with an extended discovery period to figure out what vocation we wanted to pursue.
That’s because so many of us grow up without fathers
The father’s job is to teach us life skills. Instead, we have to figure it out on our own. By the time we do, we’ve let 10 or 20 years of wealth building time go by.
My family and my wife’s family came from the south during the 1940s. Many of our grandparents came from families who had land. Our grandparents received property, land, or some kind of inheritance from their parents. But they squandered it.
Too many of us have parents and grandparents who worked for 40 years, but when they died they barely had saved enough to cover the funeral.
On average Black families receive less than $3,000 as inheritance when a parent dies. This is one of the reasons why many black households have the same or less wealth than the previous generation.
Scriptures About Generational Wealth
Proverbs 13:22
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 22:7
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
Proverbs 31:13-18
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
That means each generation has to start from scratch because the previous generation left nothing behind.
It’s not about building wealth to flaunt it. It’s about being self-sufficient and setting up a Biblical family structure.
My goal is that my children don’t have to spend so much time figuring it out on their own, like I did. I want my son to be able to provide for his wife and family on day one.
I don’t want my son and daughter stuck in the two-income trap, relying on a corrupt financial system for something as important as shelter. Then, if they lose their jobs, they’re in foreclosure.
I’m an older parent, but I’m committed to making sure that my children have a paid-off income generating property as a starter kit.
Here are 5 other financial tips for fathers from George Acheampong, an advisor for Melanin Money, about how he’s preparing his toddler to be wealthy:
What tactics are you pursuing to make sure your sons and daughters don’t ever have to fill out an unemployment or mortgage application? Share in the comments.
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