the American Dream that you cannot afford to finance it.
If you don’t learn anything else from the current economic crisis, learn that on your list of financial priorities, “Bling” should not be No. 1, or even in your top 10. Eliminating debt, building up your savings, improving and protecting your credit scores, and accumulating assets (including the equity in a home you own) should be your priority, even if it means driving a hoopty and wearing the same outfits you wore two years ago. (You heard what I said. Do not roll your eyes at me.) Read the classic book, The Millionaire Next Door, and you’ll learn that truly wealthy people don’t focus their resources on maintaining appearances, they focus on accumulating assets. If you want to avoid a poverty trap, you’ll do the same.
Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com