Money Musings 💭 Intergenerational wealth
I benefit greatly from intergenerational wealth.
Intergenerational wealth is any type of financial support provided by the generation(s) before you.
This is a tremendous privilege. This means that not only have I received financial support from family, but also that I have not had to support them.
Having to support parents and grandparents is a financial reality for many.
I graduated without student loan debt. My parents paid for my college education and my living expenses for those four years - and all the years leading up to it.
My parents gave me a monthly stipend the first year I moved out on my own in NYC as I adjusted to managing my own money.
J and my parents paid for our wedding.
Both J and my parents have given us gifts to support us in everything from our first home purchase and help paying for E’s school to taking us on vacations and buying us gifts.
A few important things that come from this:
First and foremost, this opportunity for intergenerational wealth has not been available to much of the population. BIPOC families - especially Black and Indigenous families - have been stripped of their wealth throughout history.
Discrimination and racist policies have and continue to keep BIPOC communities from being able to build wealth and that impacts future generations. This needs to change.
At the same time, I have so much gratitude for our parents - for their generosity and what they've been able to build and share with us. I hope to be able to support E and M in similar ways.
My receiving the benefits of intergenerational wealth, while so many others cannot, highlights the bigger problem.
We have to call out our privilege or this is never going to change. It’s not okay to attribute our financial success to our actions alone.
Yes, I have made some great money moves. But we can’t keep pretending that we’re starting from the same place, or even the same universe. We’re not. We can’t keep ignoring the discrimination and barriers that BIPOC face along their money journeys.
Privilege and money are so intertwined. It’s time we call it what it is.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
CREATE YOUR VALUES STATEMENT.
One of the silver linings of this pandemic was that my life is a lot more simple. I was either working or spending time with my family (mostly in real life and sometimes on Zoom). And while I missed my family, friends and pre-COVID life terribly, I was able to reevaluate how I wanted my life to look as things opened up and we slowly transitioned back to life outside the bubble.
A couple of times per year, I go back to my values statement. It’s one sentence summarizing what’s most important and how I want to live my life (I know… no biggie). This is one of my favorite exercises because it makes it very clear how I want to be spending my time, energy, and money.
Go through the steps in this values exercise to create your values statement. It will evolve and change with time so don’t worry too much about making it perfect. Set a timer for a half-hour to get a good first draft.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
YOUR FAVORITE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
As I’m writing my next book, I’ve been interviewing some amazing experts. The conversations have been so incredible, and I cannot wait to share them with you! AHHH!
As a thank you for their time, I’ve been asking each person what their favorite non-profit organization is and then I have been making a donation in their honor. It’s felt incredible to be able to contribute to organizations doing meaningful work.
As I was learning more about each of these organizations and making donations, I was inspired to compile them into a list so I could share them with you.
I would love to add yours to the list. Do you have a favorite non-profit organization? Or is there an organization doing work you’re really excited about? Hit reply and I’ll add yours to the list.