(ThyBlackMan.com) According to a new Urban Institute report the typical white family had accumulated more than $134,200 in wealth in 2013, while black families scraped together a little more than $11,000 and Hispanic families $13,700, It’s yet another example of how financial inequality is pervading this country and it’s is only getting worse. Whites now have 12 times the wealth of blacks and nearly 10 times more than Hispanics. But in 1995, the spread was only 7 times for blacks and 6 times for Hispanics. The American Dream remains out of reach for many African-American and Hispanic families. Families of color, who will be the future majority population of this country, are not on a firm wealth-building path.
Generational wealth is what a family has accumulated over its lifetime along with those resources that have been inherited across generations. Generational wealth is not riches. When one is rich, they are materially content for the moment but not necessarily content in their private lives. One, who is just rich, will become a private failure but public success. In essence, riches are the 
successes of the world. On the other hand, wealth is generated through the family unit and is passed down generationally. Building Generational Wealth is about more than just money. It is about wealth in values, beliefs and traditions. There are 4 keys to Building Generational Wealth.
* Personal Power– The thinking and actions you take each and every day consistent with your values and beliefs. How your thoughts become your beliefs and then your actions. Do you take responsibility for what happens to you in life or do you blame others or circumstances? As I have moved through this journey in life, I have learned a very powerful lesson and that is that we create our world. Everything in our world is a construct of our own mind. How we perceive events, how we interpret them, the stories we tell. So if we create our own world and it isn’t what we like, guess what? We can change it. That is personal power.
* Business Prosperity. Everyone needs an income. For some it’s a job. For others it’s a career and for some it’s being an entrepreneur and building a business. Some people think they have a business when in reality they created a job for themselves. So how do we get Business Prosperity? Well, for one thing, we have to first look at the model we are going to use for that prosperity and once we have chosen that model then we can look at how we invest in ourselves and build a mindset of asset based thinking rather than income based thinking.
* Financial Wealth. Do you make money and spend money? What is your approach to money? Do you invest it in assets that generate income without you having to do anything for it? In the financial advising world there are really only 5 categories of assets you can invest in. Stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities and currency. That’s it. That is the universe of assets. Now of course, there are a myriad of strategies within each of these and we are told to diversify into broad classes of assets and categories within each class so that your portfolio as a whole can be protected. Understanding these different types of investments and then the manner in the way you will invest in them is important to building overall financial wealth. And don’t forget the rule of 72’s which says that over a certain period of time with a certain interest rate, your money will double. So at a 7% interest rate it will take 10 years to double your money. This of course assumes you can get 7% every year and also assumes that you don’t suffer a downturn. Sometimes not very realistic which means charting a course and adjusting is imperative.
* Tax Fortress. What type of plan have you created to preserve and protect your wealth by having an impenetrable wall against the IRS and creditors? We have found in all our work that most people approach this last area from a benevolent dictator position. Here is the money; I will be dead so what! I will suggest that while you are still here, having the right conversations with the family, creating a vision and a plan will cement the opportunity to build wealth and know that the family can achieve and accomplish more for themselves than they realized is possible. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have a mortgage payment. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to rely on credit cards. Making sure your money can provide benefits for future family members.
Generational wealth is what a family has accumulated over its lifetime along with those resources that have been inherited across generation.
Staff Writer; Amber Ogden
One may also view more of her work over at; AmberOgden.com.
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