Sharecropper

I went to a meeting last Tuesday where there was a discussion about the state of Black Gay men and Black people in general. A question was asked if things have changed since the civil rights movement.

My answer was that history repeats itself. If you look really deep into what's happening in the world you'll see what I say to be true. Things have most certainly changed since the Civil Rights movement and slavery. The world is more sophisticated and technologically advanced. However, there is still racism, poverty, lack of education and desperation in the Black community. I know that my answer to the question might seem simple on the surface. However, I ended my answer by stating that the majority of us are still Sharecroppers today.

What did I mean by that? There are not many in the Black or Black Gay community that own their own successful business. It's not that we couldn't because most anything produced by the Black community is well received and sure to be copied in someway. So why are we continually volunteering our labor to the big corporations that have very little in upper management that look like us or benefit us? Because we are sharecroppers giving our talent and lessening our worth by working to make someone else the big dollars. While at the same time striving to feel comfortable in our homes by purchasing things that only temporarily make us happy and cause us more debt.

This behavior binds us to a cyclical journey of debt and dissatisfaction. There are few of us that are able to break the bind of this journey to venture into areas that will foster financial freedom and self-satisfaction. Why aren't those few teaching us the things that they know. Has this capitalistic society damaged our hereditary something so much that we have forgotten our instinctual willingness to support our own village. Somethings have not been erased for most. Like when you pass another Black person you instinctually greet them. At work I always get the question from white people, "Do you know all the Black people that work here." Let's get it back..so Look at that Nigger will only be able to post music videos that he likes.

Support Black Business

Ok here I go again preaching about supporting black businesses. The reason that I am so passionate about this is because the only way that the Black Community will be a financially viable group is if we support each other and diversify the types of business that we start.

Hence my promoting the following Black Business.

MyPhoneNet Communications.

It's internet phone service. If your looking for a new way so save costs on your phone service. This is a new technology that is emerging and convenient and most of all AFFORDABLE!

How it works:

Transforms your highspeed internet connection into a regular phone line. You simply connect your existing phone to your modem using an adapter. Then you can start making and receiving calls right away! That's all!

Comes with your own phone number and works just like your regular phone line. You can call anyone and anybody can call you. You even have the option of using the phone number that the MyPhoneNet Communications provides or be assigned a new phone number. Best of all it on average it is 45% cheaper than your current phone company.

You'll save a bundle on long distance. Any calls that you make or receive within your area is considered free. The calls are unlimited with in the U.S. and Canada. Not to mention that calling Puerto Rico and Europe is FREE! You don't have to pay any long distance charges. You can travel or even move to another country and call friends and family as if you were at home.

So check out MyPhoneNet Communications for complete details on this new way to call family and friends.

Now just imagine the power that we would begin to bring to the community with our hands in telecommunication on the cutting edge!

Anyway, that's my lastest black business plug. Hope you find it beneficial!

Money Money Money Money!!!!!

Playboy Adonis asked me if I was going to write about finances regularly on my blog awhile ago. I don't claim to know that much myself. I really just wanted to start Black Gay Men to think about money more. Think about what you're doing with it. Think about what you want it to do for you. So I decided that occasionally when I hear of something financial I will talk about it. Our community needs to be financially fit so I want to do what I can to support that.
So here are a couple of things to think about:

1. Where are you putting your money????

I'm not going to talk about 401k's, CDs or the Stock Market. I'm just not saavy enough in those subjects to discuss.

I'm talking about where do you put it. What bank are you putting it in. For me I'm trying something new. I created an account with HSBC Direct. It's an online account that earns you 5.05% interest. I won't tell you all the details of how it works you can see that for yourself on their site. I will tell you this though. You can open an account with as little as $1.00. Now I know we all can afford that.

You might remember when I wrote about saving money and how fast it grows if you just forget about it and do it regularly. These types of accounts can help you do just that and add a little more to what you put in. You decide how much you want to put in it. Oh yeah, there are NO FEES for these types of accounts.

Another account like this is ING Direct. You might remember seeing commercials from this company calling themselves the Orange Account. Sometimes this company even gives you money to open an account. I believe it's $75.00. That's free money!

2. How much are you paying in interest on your credit cards??

If you are lucky to have a credit card (or unlucky some may think) then you have to pay interest on these cards. The interest can vary. Credit Cards can mean big financial trouble! I mean big. It so easy to throw that plastic up on the counter and walk out the door. It almost feels like your purchase was free! That is until you get the bill. When you get that bill they have added interest on to what you purchased.

Example: You've see a outfit for $50.00 that you just have to have. Ya didn't need it but ya had to have it! Yall know what I'm talking about. So you purchase it using your Credit Card with the 18% interest. You sign the receipt for $55.13. You forgot about the tax didn't you. Tax in Calif is 8.25%! And you walk out the store feeling good.

Then comes the Credit Card Statement, that's where they tack on the 18% interest charges. Now you do the math. The manner in which finance charges are calculated has always confused me but I know it's money that I'm paying monthly because I didn't pay cash for my purchase.

If you keep paying the minimum payment on your statement, the price of your purchases goes up each month and you end up slowly paying much more for your purchase that you thought was such a good deal.

My advice either pay it off when you get the 1st bill. So you won't be charged the finance charges, or pay more than the minimum so the finance charges will be lower on your next statement.

3. What to do about those high interest cards?

Call the card issuing company and find out your interest rate. If you show a good history of paying your bill call them and see if they will lower your interest rate. If not, ask them how long it will take before you can get it lowered? Then you decide if this is a company that you want to stay with.

If you don't like their answer...Transfer that balance to a Credit Card with better interest. If you are unable to do that. Pay that dayum thing off as soon as possible and then cut it up and close the account.

My last piece of advice on Credit Cards is this. Try not to use them unless it is absolutely necessary or you know you will be paying it off within a very few months. ( I mean like 3 or 4 months no longer)

a Department Store Credit Cards - Do not even get these unless you are just getting credit and trying to establish a credit history. Once you have established a history get rid of these Interest hungry, money grabbing, financial fitness stealing pieces of crap!

And DO NOT let the.... "If you open a card with us you'll save 10% on your purchase today" sucker you in. How the hell much is 10% going to be on your $50.00 purchase. $5.00 but the interest on these cards could be anywhere from 18-25% . All that for one dayum purchase! I think not!

Take control of your money.

Financially Fit

I just have a word of advice for the younger brothers in blogland. Get your finances in order. I know that in Black Families we don't learn a lot about finances. That is usually a secret topic. As a child most of the time we just know what we have and what we don't have. However, we rarely learn what we can have and how to get it.

Get your self ready to purchase a house. It may not mean a whole lot to you right now but ultimately one day you will want to purchase. Real Estate is one industry that you can bet will not end. However, it does go up and down in value. Right now it's up and looking at the total amount to purchase a house can scare the hell out of you making you think I could never afford that. That can not be further from the truth. With rent at an all time high you could actually be paying more for rent than you would for a mortgage.

A friend of mine is looking for an apartment right now because the building he lives in is going condo. He's not in a financial position to purchase the apt and frankly doesn't want to. He's been looking around town for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment in decent areas of Los Angeles. The prices range from $1,300.00 to $2700.00 a month or more. Now why in the hell should you pay that much for something you don't own. My mortgage is more than half of that and I'll have much more space than he will find.

So get rid of the fear of buying a home by understanding what it entails. Even if your not ready to buy a house learn some of the basics.

How much would you have to put down for a house? That can be scary when you think 10% or more on a $200,000.00 home. (Don't move to L.A. cuz you probably wouldn't want to live in a $200k home. Now that's scary) At any rate if you start to save just a little bit of money each time you get paid you will have that down payment. You determine the amount. I can't tell you how much. Whether it's $50 or $100 you'll be surprised how quickly a year passes and you have saved from $1200.00 or $2400.00. In 5 years that's $6,000.00 or $12,000.00.

Just decide when it is that you want to buy a house and add that money up over that time period. You'll have your down payment. You'll have a mortgage that is more than likely less than what you are paying in rent.

There are many 1st time buyer programs out there that any bank can help you with. If your still a little nervous. Go to any bank website and look up mortgages and they'll have a mortgage calculator so that you can see what your mortgage payment will be. A word of caution that's not all you have to figure in. There will be those dayum fees that banks charge that could be from $3,000 to $5,000 in total. Don't worry that's just added to your mortgage. So $5,000.00 over 30 years is only $13.88. So add that and your taxes which could be about $200.00 a month. This will all help you remove that fear. Another thing you can get from these websites is terminology. They'll usually have definitions of all the terms.

My last word....Get rid of your credit card debt anyway that you can. Consolidate it into one card or whatever you have to do. It's good to have credit but it can also hurt you.

The only way Black people will have power is with financial fitness. Get fit! Even if your just saving $5.00 a paycheck.