Lets talk money for a second

Today's topic. Financial responsibility for the young black person.

Let me preface this article with two statements. The first; I have been learning about financial responsibility through my parents since the age of 7 and it has changed my life. The second; I have been down the wrong road out of what I thought was necessity, however I didn't realize a little could go a long way.

Any way to get into the article. The first thing that we must look at is the concept of the bottom line. There are two kinds of bottom lines that you have, well need to have. Your actual bottom line and your post-actual bottom line. The actual bottom line is the your net pay after taxes from your job. That is the number we either all google at or get upset at Uncle Sam for. The post actual bottom line is what I would like to focus on. Your post actual bottom line is one of the most important things you can have, if you manage it well. Post actual is based on savings.

Before anything, you need to deduct 10% from the top of your check. Meaning if you net $230. 97 you need to take about $24 and put it into savings. At the age we're at, that seems like a lot. And I'm not gonna sit here and preach to you like I do it all the time, but I try to do it as many times as I can afford to. That 10% should go into an account that you don't touch until a projected date(I am not talking about CD's here, although we will cover that later it needs to be an account that you can add to with out incuring a penalty). This should happen like clock work every time you get paid.

A good way of doing this is to open multiple accounts at multiple banks. For instance, checking and general savings can be done at a major national bank like Bank of America. They're all over the country and have the same retail banking products across the board. For your 10% savings you can go and put that in an ING savings account. ING's structure is not designed for retail banking, but long-term savings and investments. They pay a higher interest rate and will allow you to move your money a little more freely than a CD account.

If you are one of those people who has a hard time holding onto money then you may benefit from the CD account that I have been mentioning. CD accounts are available at most major banks nationally and internationally. The difference between a regular savings and a CD account is accessibility. Most CD's are what are called fixed term CD's, which means they work on a maturation system. So lets say you get a 6 month fixed term CD, that means you will have one week at the end of every 6 months to make financial moves with the money from the CD. Either adding or subtracting. Once that week is up you can not make any moves without incurring some kind of bank penalty. This will safe guard your money from you until those 6 months are up. At that point it is up to you to exercise some discipline for a week. CD's also pay a higher interest rate than a savings account at a national bank. Meaning you could be looking at 5% to 6% rather than 1%. But your work does not stop here.

Moving forward something us young black people must do is pay attention and invest in the stock market and mutual funds. Every one has seen or heard of the wall street journal, Bloomberg Television, CNBC or another network or media outlet that tracks the local and global markets. Most people find them intimidating/ confusing, however invest a week of reading the journal or watching the shows. It is nothing more than ESPN or the sports page, just in relation to money instead of your favorite team. Investing is not hard at all.

I got started at 15 by picking things, places, services that I and a lot of other people use every day. For instance, the very first stock in my portfolio is the Anderson Corporation or in other words Wal-Mart. Probably 80% to 90% of Americans shop, have shopped or frequent Wal-mart. So I took a shot there and ended up big. Wal-Mart almost NEVER has any huge negative drop, since it is a main stay in american culture. By investing in wal-mart, I created a solid base to my portfolio. I can't give away all of my trading secrets but that is a good one to get started with.

Back to my sports analogy. What to all the commentators on ESPN do...Predict. Thats all they do and thats all the market does. It is a living breathing creature. That is why we are all feeling the effects of this recession so much. But if you pay attention to the natural trends of people, because we are the living breathing things that make up the market, with a little practice, you can be making money in no time. Think. What is the time of the year where people make the most purchases?

A. Summer

B. Back to School

C. The Holidays.

If you guessed A or B, you were wrong. During the holidays people are buying products like toys; both for adults and children, food, and using services. So wouldn't it make sense to get in on the action? The market always experiences an increase during the holiday season. Depending on the financial time we're in, that increase can be small or large, but due to the action in the stores, the economy and the market see the effects.

To get on your feet you do need some money to invest, stocks are not cheap if you want to do it right, but I guarantee that you won't regret your decision to invest... AS LONG AS YOU DO IT RIGHT.

Mutual funds are also a good way to invest. Those are kind of like long term stocks where you are guaranteed a dividend or a cut of the profits a little further down the line. They are a safer option for all you non risk takers out there. Either way you are helping solidify your financial stability for the future and nothing can beat that.

Any way, if you would like t know more hit me up, or leave a comment, let me know. If there is enough feed back the I will do a part two dealing in more depth with topics like 401k's, the market and its parts, bank accounts and what to do, currency trading, or what ever y'all want to know about that I have an understanding of.

Nigga.... WHAT?!

Nigger. NIgga. Nucca. Niggy. Niggelo. Niggachu. Nig nig nig nig nig…. And any other way you wanna spell it or say it phonetically, this word has divided and separated. Showed love and showed hate. Shown trust and bonded and degraded and ashamed. How could this one word have so much power?

Nigger is a variant of the Spanish word negro, meaning black. It has since then taken on the racist connotation to degrade black people and bring attention to the “ignorance” they had. Horrible right? How can this word bring anything BUT negativity? I’ll explain later.

It has come to my attention by a friend of mine, I’ll call her Black Becky, that white people are still seeking to control the power of this word.

*** Side note: has anyone heard Plies song "Becky"? someone give THAT nigga a glass a bleach and tell him to sip slowly.***

nigga 1nigga 2

I was informed that while at a mixer Black Becky overheard someone using the omnipotent n-word. Black Becky then courteously asked the nice Caucasian people to not use that word because it offended her. This is when the white people got up in arms. They were upset that Black Becky asked them to refrain from using the word, derogatory or not, and they were confused as to why she could use it and they could not. She simply said, that word has a special connotation with me and I would prefer you not use it. (She told me this is how she said it be we know how coloreds can be, but I don’t think how she said it is the issue.) And why do white people always say why can you use it and I can't? You can't tell me what to do! Why people?!?!?

I think that the fact that she voiced her concern and opposition to the word should have been more than enough to silence all and let that be the end. The Caucasian male in the group, he was accompanied by two white females, then voiced that he and his friends all use the word in the privacy of their own homes all the time, and that they use it in the same manner as black people. “You my nigga!” does not mean the same thing when a white guy says it to his friends, white or black, versus when a black guy says it to his friends, white or black. Sorry. It’s true and it’s a double standard. It is what it is. Don’t argue cuz it’s not gonna change.

In our culture it has become taboo to use certain derogatory terms towards groups of people. For instance, in the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi, transsexual, queer or questioning) community certain words are unacceptable. Therefore to not offend them we practice discretion in case we might offend. We don't question, because it truly doesn't matter why it offends them. We accept that. I would never tell a gay person I use f***ot around my home because that's disrespectful and what i do in my home is my business.

Why do white people, and people of other races, want to say nigger? What grandeur do they see in having their “bros” become their “niggas”? This summer I worked at a summer camp and made some lifelong friends. But there was one, who was cool as shit, that wanted to refer to me as his “nigga.” I don’t want to be any white dudes “nigga”. That’s called slavery homie. I know a lot of white guys (it always seems to be the guys who wanna push the envelope) use the word nigga all the time around their friends and in their cars when they listen to the TI vs TIP or the 36 mafia joint unedited. I guarantee, if you’re white, if you play Jay-Z’s “Nigga What Nigga Who” in a room of white ppl at least one will say “nigga” when the time comes. I’ve seen it happen. Some do it totally on accident and look at me apologetically and some do it purposefully and look at me ostentatiously waiting for a riot. I will accept the apology but I will not reward you with the reaction you want you who push the envelope.

Some may disagree that we need to do away with double standards but this one is here to stay, and the sooner people realize that the better we all will be. I don’t think the power of the word comes from the fact that black people use it at all. Hell for years black people have been taking lemons and making lemonade or crusty powder in a pouch and making kool-aid, which ever you choose. Have you SMELLED CHITTERLINGS! They smell like hot crackhead breath with a hint of shit. Makes me wanna vomit, but that’s what the slaves ate and a lot of people think they are delicious. And now even white people eat them.

So many things blacks were handed disdainfully once Plymouth rock hit a nigga in the head, yet in many of these cases we’ve made due. The word nigga has held us down for years, but in today’s culture “my niggas” are the ones I would go to the end of the earth for. To me, they called black people “niggers” because we were not them, that we were beneath them, that we were ignorant, that we were different. Ok, but by that grouping and separation from them, we’ve become a strong culture (although we have been slippin’) that seeks unity and family from one another. The black woman being the cornerstone of this. So “my niggas” are my family. Hell one of my worse nightmares is waking up white and losing all of the culture I know and appreciate.

Now don't get me wrong, I can still say, "Look at that DUMB NIGGA!" and mean it negatively. Sorry it's too intricate to get into. But this is just another aspect of why I feel only black people should say it.

The power in the word comes from the people who detest it and try to strike it down at every chance they get. By acting like black people shouldn't use the word still gives it power over me. No sir. White people should not think they should say it and should just accept it. They’re ancestors gave it the negative connotation and we’ve chose to make it work for us in a totally different way. Nowhere in there do other people get rights to the word. Double standard? Of course, but let it go if you’re not black. LET IT GO! We got dibbs by right. If you say any variation of the word nigger and you’re not black we will take it differently and probably negatively. An explanation really isn’t necessary.

L’Chaim nigga..... just playin'…. P!ed P!per

HILARIOUS

They Shoulda Told Me

Have you ever done some dumb shit and the only excuse you can give is that someone else shoulda told you? I do it often. Say something I shouldnt have and find my size 11 1/2 in my mouth trying to get my ass out of a situation.

On that note let me tell you about this chick who had a big forehead. She just forgave me for what Im about to tell you. So I was sitting at the dinner table in this Chinese food restaurant back home YEARS ago. We were celebrating a friends birthday party and there were people there that I knew and didnt know. *flashback* (a couple hours prior some of the guys were talking about a girl with a big ass forehead but I had never met her...the jokes on this forehead were hilarious and I was anxious to see it) *poof back to regular time and shit* Anyway we were at this restaurant and I made a comment about the chick with the forehead. Something clever that was in context with the rest of the tables conversation. A laugh roared over the table and I was thinking damn was it that funny? I looked over the table and only one person wasnt laughing and neither was her big ass forehead. That wasn't my fault. They shoulda told me. It was some bullshit. I didn't know SHE was the chick with the big ass forehead. I would of not made a comment at the dinner table at my friends birthday celebration as she sat right in front of me. I was pissed and embarrassed and scared she was gonna slash my tires or some shit like that...I felt bad but damn they shoulda told me.

Chick with the forehead, if you're reading this I had to use you as an example...my bad.



<-----It was like this except it potruded a little bit more... I should have noticed it earlier.







One another note...I find myself thinking someone shoulda told me how much real life sucks when I was an undergrad...They shoulda had a seminar on this shit. This article is dedicated to the anger that I feel everyday that they didn't tell me that shit in college. It was the true inspiration for the post.

Vid of the Day

I like the song and the video is corny but I still like it mostly cuz the girls in this video are bad as hell...that is if you like the model type (I sure as hell do).


IMEEM Hot 10 Videos

orenthal

today's topic: orenthal

4th grade. i'm in mrs. asmond's class listening to the oj simpson verdict…. when channel 9 eyewitness news reported oj simpson was not guilty, a spirit of joy was among the classroom. my teacher ran down the hallway and gave a hi-5 to her best friend, a fellow teacher named ms. garvin. my classmates hugged each other and cheered as if slaves were being freed....however, not all was pleasant in room 113 at victory christian center. only two students were upset with the verdict. my friend regis james, and a lad named bob george....i did not understand why he was being set free. as a child, i knew there was something wrong with black people celebrating the acquittal of a murderer. oj had a killer look. he looked as if he would slash your tires and take your lunch money, if given the chance....i didn't trust oj; more importantly, i did not trust black people who celebrated his acquittal. black people had too many excuses and reasons as to why he could not have done it....however, it's all bullshit.

let me say this. if i stand on trial for murder, it would be in my best interest to hire the best attorneys possible, and say nothing during the trial. oj never took the stand. he simply showed up, tried on some gloves, flashed a killer smirk at the verdict, and went home...people say this was the trial of the century, and rightfully so. this changed the "celebrity trial" as we know it. before oj simpson, most of the trials dealt with white people doing crazy white antics. the most famous being charles manson's murder of sharon tate....oj simpson had money. he was an ex-football player. semi-actor. he played in naked gun and roots...fyi, roots is one of the funniest movies you will ever see in life. aside from the racism, roots is hysterical...oj was also black. he was the first black person to get in trouble with the law and had the money to surround himself with the right help. rodney king could've used the chip$$....first, let’s look at the players in this trial

lance ito: judge. a judge who had no control over the courtroom. essentially he was a figurehead.
marcia clark & chris darden: prosecuting attorneys. white woman. black man. during this time, the general public thought they were fuckin'. which only added fuel to the orenthal fire. this is when interracial dating was really frowned upon....waiting to exhale was the cherry on top.
f. lee bailey, robert shapiro, alan dershowitz, kim kardashian's daddy, gerald uelmen, and carl douglas: orenthal's team. oj's a running back, he needs a good line.

and then you have johnnie cochran. the michael jordan of lawyers. clutch. if you're in some shit, and black, he'll get you out. why? because of orenthal. just ask diddy, todd bridges, snoop d-o-double g, and of course michael jackson. all of these niggas went home without having to do jail time, and todd bridges was caught in the crackhouse?!?....johnnie cochran ran the courtroom. whatever he said, was law. if orenthal doesn't want to take the stand, the prosecution didn't protest it. if cochran wanted something in the courtroom, he got it....lance ito had no power. and clark and darden were too busy smelling each other to realize what was at stake for society....niggas on the street.

the oj verdict was not about him being innocent. it was more about clark 'n darden failing to prove his guilt, and cochran and his team proving his innocence. as a result, the jury did what any jury in america would do....they went with the stronger case. yes, the evidence was not in favor of oj... the dna samples. the bruno mali size 12 shoes. the motive. the blood on the glove....none of that mattered because the case was not presented in the proper way for a jury to make a strong decision. essentially, a failure for clark 'n darden....

so what happened to orenthal. just as a i predicted in 1999, in mr. king's 8th grade class…the same day sega dreamcast came out (9-9-99)….i said, orenthal will go to jail. over the next ten years my prediction would come true. he was in the media too much. playing golf, trying to sell a book "if i did it"....nigga, you did...orenthal had too much time on his hands, and we was itching to tell the truth. and white people were getting annoyed. hell, i was getting annoyed. i knew oj would get caught in some nonsense charge, like him stealing cable.......sure enough, he was sent to jail for stealing his own shit.... he tried to strong-arm some handlers who were selling his memorabilia, and he went with guns to get his merchandise. he is now doing 11 yrs. in jail. fuckin oj.


i don't know what the point of this article is. my love/hate relationship with orenthal runs deep. i love him because this was the first pop culture moment i vividly remember witnessing and having a strong opinion about. i hate oj, and the black people like him....in my eyes, these are the same "can't see the forest for the trees-ass niggas" who get caught doing silly shit, and expect someone to bail them out. c'mon son © ed lover. peace.

oh yeah….shoutout to the real steve smith.

kanye

some of the samples he flips well. others, it's a stick-up...otherwise known as a jack...

Topics for the week

5ivebruhs fans...Hope you had a great week. The Team just hit me up with the posts for this week.

Monday "orenthal"
by Bob George
Tuesday "Random"
guest blogger
Wednesday "They Shoulda Told Me That"
by Jonny Casanova
Thursday "Nigga WHAT"
by The P!ed P!per
Friday "Random"
by Dead Mike


And remember....You can FOLLOW US @5ivebruhs on twitter.... and you can be a FAN on Facebook here.

VIBRATIONS...

Women like things that vibrate. Expensive phones and toys. No, this is not about actual vibrations but more about the vibes we all receive as people. I for one am a person that follows his vibes to a T. If you don't follow your vibes and you fuck up, who can you blame? No one. So I'd rather not make that mistake.

Vibes and vibrations are all around us everyday. It's how we hear sounds and even see light. These things come in waves or also known as vibrations. We trust what we hear and see, so why not the internal feelings and emotions we get from initial meeting or introductions. I live by them.

Vibes tell us when to move forward with a female, when to make an advancement in our career or when to merge into the next lane. I have turned down a smorgasbord of opportunities due to said vibes and I've gotten this far. (Although I'm currently unemployed, another story)

I love the vibes i get. I was just watching a show called "Ninja Cheerleaders". What the fuck is that about? My vibes say to turn the channel... With pleasure. I'm pretty sure I'm not missing out on shit.

The main thing, like most things that guys think about, is women. Vibes govern how i approach women, and should do the same for all men. If you get a positive vibe from a chick you know you can go in for the kill and either get to know her better or smash. If you get a negative vibe, youza a fool ass nigga to try to make something happen that most likely will not. A vibe can make or break a situation, and women know what type of vibe theyre giving off, i think that they use that to their advantage, but men do not. Men just ignore women or say via some expression that they are not interested, women are a whole nother beast. They love using vibes to trick men and to lure them into a trap in which them and their girl friends can laugh at later. Bogus.

Men, i think if we took this approach we might have more control in these interactions and control these situations. Vibes can make or break an interracial coupling or a situation where the people may be in love with one another but society dictates that they do not fit together, and its tough to break these vibes. In these types of situations it takes either a crazy man or a very passionate man to break through this vibe.

So i'll close with this. Fellas, let's follow our vibes, not those of society. And ladies, if a man is giving you a good vibe don't just shut him down for no good reason, you never know what can come of it. Vibe on.


L'Chaim..... P!ed P!per