Don’t Live Rich and Die Broke

Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) returned from a long retirement with an album that went platinum in less than a week. While it’s easy to assume this album is only about him cheating on Beyoncé, you’d be mistaken.

The 4:44 album also highlights the lack of financial literacy amongst minorities — many of whom have never been exposed to investing or wealth building.

“Generational wealth is the key. My parents didn’t have sh — so the shift started with me,” Jay-Z admits.

Every time I listen to the songs on his album, I learn something new about personal finances as it relates to black America. Yes, I know the words in his songs are pretty explicit, but they do get the point across.

Jay-Z took a subtle jab at people who tend to show off on social media: “Y’all on the ‘Gram holding money to your ear. There’s a disconnect, we don’t call that money over here.” It’s because there’s a pervasive belief hindering our generation. It’s the belief that if you APPEAR to be doing better than your colleagues, that’s all the matters. So, if an individual has a nice car, fancy clothes or even a house, and appears to be more financially well off than his/her peers — nothing else matters.

Unfortunately, looking rich is not the same as being rich.

And a person can’t pretend to be rich forever, especially if he/she has no investments. Pretending to be well off is the biggest threat to financial freedom. It encourages a person to allocate funds to his/her lifestyle today — which leaves NOTHING for tomorrow.

As a society, we need to shift our way of thinking. Don’t base your success on how fast you can accumulate material things. It’s not the goal. I’ve heard many stories of individuals who lost their true self in the pursuit of possessions. True happiness and fulfillment are directly correlated with the ability to build meaningful relationships.

The inherent need to accumulate more things is the reason most people never have enough money or any wealth to pass on to the next generation.

This has to change. But it starts with a change in one’s mindset and a willingness to learn about money.


The article was written by The Investing Tutor.

The purpose of The Investing Tutor is to make investing easy to understand. If you feel stuck or have no idea where to start, I offer a free 15-minute tutoring session.

The Investing Tutor

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I help professionals with careers build wealth.

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