10 Tips to Color Blind Investing – How to Be Financially Free No Matter The Color of Your Skin
Today I learned that black people are more likely to be appraised lower than white people on the property that they own. Click here for Brookings Institute Research on How Racial Bias in Appraisals Affects te Devaluation of Homes in Majority Black Neighborhoods.
In the news I learned that in 2022 a black couple who owned property in San Fransciso were appraised a half a million dollars less that the property was worth the prior year.
They had a white friend stand in for them as owner and the property was appraised correctly, a half a million higher.
They sued and the case was settled in their favor in February 2022. CLICK HERE for details of how they were lowballed and had to white wash their home for a proper appraisal.
So the White House is pursuing measures to eliminate racial discriminitation from appraisals (CLICK HERE for the White House’s actions)…fascinating stuff.
Well, I can help you make money from your investments and it doesn’t matter what color your skin is.
7 Tips to Color Blind Investing – How to Be Financially Free No Matter The Color of Your Skin
1) Create a Written Goal for Financial Freedom
What do you really want?
Think about how you want to live in a Financially Free lifestyle. What do you want to do? What happens when you wake up in the morning?
What do you do during the day?
What do you care about and who are you with?
What is all your investing creating for your life?
After all it’s not the money that is the goal, it’s what the lifestyle that you want to achieve.
Write it down.
You know that you have completed this task when you have written it down.
If you have difficulty writing it down, then write about what’s stopping you. That will be the key to figuring out your resistance to creating wealth and prosperity in your life.
2) Calculate Your Financial Freedom Number
Figure out how much the lifestyle you want will cost.
When I first did this I figured the amount of income I would need would be equal to the amount of money that I make at my job.
Now I live a lifestyle better than my job and it requires less money than I used to make.
So, factor in where you want to live (and it could be rent, mortgage, or property tax and insurance, or a combination).
Factor in what you want to eat (want to buy groceries? eat out or cook? have a private chef?)
Factor in what you want to be doing (surfing, spending time with your kids, traveling, gardening, doing community service, starting an orphanage, adopting foster kids, and so on)
How much income do you need to accomplish this?
Do you have an ideal job that gives you income too?
When I first did this it was $3,000/mo in passive income to achieve financial freedom (where I live surfing is free, and the largest expense is rent or mortgage).
What is the number for you?
Write it down.
3) Do a Thought Check and Create Your Own Affirmations
Write down all the thoughts you have about wealth, money, income, financial freedom, passive income, home ownership, appraisals, you name it.
Good, bad, indifferent.
Just write down what you really think.
Do this for at least 5 minutes.
Then go back and read through and evaluate it.
Are any of these thoughts negative?
Do any of these thoughts take away your power?
For example, I recently had thoughts about how I was upset I couldn’t stay on my budget and buy all the healthy and delicious food I wanted to eat.
So I created a new thought “I can buy all the healthy and delicious food that I want to eat”
I created a whole list of these powerful and empowering affirmations, and I recorded them on my phone.
I play them when and say them every week…sometimes everyday.
This is a really fun and personal exercise. You can sing them, have music with them, whatever makes you happy and supports you!
4) Calculate and Keep Track of Your Cash Flow
Now that we have the “easy” stuff down, this step will be the first test of your attention to the details of your cash flow.
Write down all of your income sources. Do you have a job, a side hustle, a business?
Write down everything that makes you money and how much. Add that up and that’s your total income.
Then write down everything you spend money on, and how much per month.
The more accurate the better.
Add that all up and that’s your total expenses.
Subtract your expenses from your income and that’s your monthly cash flow.
5) Evaluate and Keep Track of Your Net Worth
Regardless of the color of your skin, you can evaluate your current Net Worth.
Add up the value of everything you own if you were to sell it today, and subtract all the money you own on loans, credit cards and other lines of credit.
The number you get is your Net Worth.
Everything you own (ASSETS) – Everything you owe (LIABILITIES) = Networth
If you own property, you may suffer from appraisal bias, however CLICK HERE if you need assistance with a correct appraisal of your property.
Once you have your Net Worth, you have a baseline to understand your own wealth. If you want to succeed at investing, the ultimate test is to see if this number increases with your actions.
What you focus on expands so if you start tracking your Net Worth, then your Net Worth will expand.
6) Evaluate and Keep Track of Your Passive Income
The key to financial freedom is to have money coming in from investments, for which you do not have to work for. Investments include interest, dividends, rents, royalties, income from businesses you own but don’t personally operate and so on.
Passive Income is the key to Financial Freedom.
7) Pay Yourself First
The key to financial freedom is to pay yourself first, before all others.
That means you set aside some money to grow your financial freedom before paying out money to anyone else.
I put aside about 15% of my income into investment accounts, savings and other investments.
8) Grow Your Passive Income
Create streams of passive income for yourself. Money that comes in no matter what is happening in your life.
Examples of Passive Income Include
Interest from high yield savings.
U.S. treasury bills and bonds interest.
Corporate bond interest
Dividends from stocks – ordinary and preferred
Rentals on properties
Royalties from books, movies, commercials
Website ad income
Business profits for businesses you own but don’t operate
9) Journal on Your Progress and Breakthrough Obstacles
Obstacles are anything that stops you from taking the actions needed for you to create financial freedom.
It’s important to journal about anything if you’ve noticed you haven’t taken actions.
What is stopping you?
What are you afraid of?
Are you making yourself busy to avoid your problems?
Do you feel like you’re not worthy?
Are you letting people around you influence you when you don’t have to?
Deep down inside, what is going on with you?
Then see if you can breakthrough the obstacle.
How can you tell if you have?
You will take the action.
10) Get Mentors
I have mentors who help me create financial freedom. These are people who have done what I want to do and are willing to help me.
What about you?
Ask around your friends and network. Who is Financially Free and like you?
I look for people who are healthy, in a happy family and also creating financial freedom.
Look for someone like you who is doing what you want and ask them if they can mentor you.
If you don’t have anyone, then I encourage you to join our Finance Freedom Mastermind program and get the mentorship you need. Click here, watch the free video and get started today!