• Movie Reviews
 • Music Reviews
 • Book Reviews
 • Shopping
 • Sports Talk
 • Inspiration

rentwood Public Library To Host Next Forum
Dollars & Sense
Mr. Phil Andrews

The information contained in the following article is for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific advice to any individual from 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc.

Financial Goal-Setting for African-Americans
Financial management for African-Americans must be centered around goals. What gets measured in life gets done. A goal is not a goal until it is set and a plan gets underway for its achievement. Time is one of our greatest allies along with faith in God. Now is the best time to start your financial goals. The first goal should be to become financially literate. Knowledge is Power. The old saying reinforces this concept, “a fool and his money are soon departed”.

The first ritual of wealth is to set a goal to pay yourself first, no matter how small the amount. Financial success is as much about discipline, character, and integrity as it is about large sums of money. In the financial world, small advantages have a way of adding up. How much value would you put on a sound financial education?

In the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, it is taught that we must acquire education, experience, and then we acquire excessive cash. Each of us has different goals, and our financial plan should cater to those goals.

We should develop a healthy passion for the financial goals we set which should be reinforced by our daily actions. Tithing, savings, and investing should be a ritual in our lives. A sense of stewardship over our resources is the highest way of dealing with our God-Giving blessing.

Financial goal-setting requires that we give a good accounting of our cash flow. The age-old adage that “As a man thinketh so shall he be” and “all that he achieves is a direct result of his own thinking. The cry of all of humanity should be higher yet! How many individuals in our community know the power of compound interest, but does that number equate to that number that follows its principles? Financial goal-setting requires that we develop a philosophy of success and achievement.

A millionaire once said that “Everyday that I find a penny , it is one day that I do not have to work for it”.

Do you value the pennies, nickels, dimes, and dollars that flow through your hands? The rich get richer because respect and proper use of money attracts more money. If you need verification of this fact, just analyze the mentality of a spender verses an investor. The investor says don’t spend your last dollar until you know where your next dollar is coming from, the spender spends everything and looks for money.

The richest man in Babylon's goal was to keep a part of all the money he made. Saving a part of all the money you make is said to be a secret, because so few people follow its principles but profess to know its premise. Knowing and doing are opposite sides of the same coin, but real financial power is gained through action. Remember it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep. It’s not what you know it’s what you do. It’s not what you are it’s what you become, what you become will determine what you make!

Winners are not born, they are made. The top 3% of all financially successful people are goal-setters, a financial plan and goals are the roadmap for an upwardly mobile African-American community.

Remember, time is one of your most precious allies. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. May you reach all of your financial, mental, physical, and spiritual goals with God’s speed. Let’s do it!

Phil Andrews is the host of the Power Networking Business Seminar Series. Email Phil Andrews at cbbookspr@aol.com to be placed on our list for upcoming Seminars and Networking events.

Black Star News listing of upcoming events
1) The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and its Minority Business Owners Committee cordially invites you to its Annual Black History Month Celebration honoring Mr. Samuel Dunston, President of the National Allotment Insurance Agency, Pamela Green, Executive Director of The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Ann Vanterpool-Brown, Executive Director and CEO of The Miracle Makers, Inc on Thursday, February 24, 2005 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Akwaaba Mansion 347 MacDonough Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant. For more information and corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact Maggie Beaute-Lucien at 1.718.875.1000 ext. 105, or visit us at www.ibrooklyn.com

2) A Power Networking Business Card Exchange will be presented on March 7, 2005 at the Williamburg Music Center located at 367 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, NY. The Business Card Exchange will begin at 7:00 PM and end at 9:00 PM. For more information, RSVP, and directions you may call us at 212.300.7895 or call the WMC at 1.718.384.1654. You may also reserve by emailing us at cbbookspr@aol.com or james@awarenessmagazine.net. Awarenessmagazine.net and the Power Networking Business Series are sponsors of this event.

To list your upcoming business event in Black Star News or to submit business articles you may email Phil Andrews at cbbookspr@aol.com Don’t forget to visit Black Star News web site at www.blackstarnews.com , and pick up Black Star News at your local newsstands.