Do you want to be a real estate investor? Do you want to own your own business? Whatever the case may be in your given situation I think a lot of people get into the habit of waiting until they have everything they need to finally start working on their aspirations and goals. I hear it all the time from people I talk to, “next year I’ll do that when I have more time”, or “as soon as my income tax return comes in I’m going to start investing”, or “I’m going to start on my goals next month right now I need a break”. The list goes on and on and these are actual statements that I have heard from people. The sad truth is that at one point I was also saying the same things and putting off what I really needed to do.

There is no more RIGHT TIME TO DO IT THEN NOW! Do it now, if you decide you want to be a real estate investor, start NOW, don’t wait until your credit score improves or you save up the money or you take the real estate course, etc. NO if you decide on something you need to move on that momentum and DO IT NOW. If you really want to be a real estate investor for example don’t wait for all the right things to happen or come to you, start going out and looking at properties in your neighborhood or other neighborhoods, start looking in your local newspaper in the real estate section and reviewing all the properties for sale, start talking to the sellers, call them up, visit the properties, start taking trips to visit properties if your interested in out of state stuff, stop by the local real estate agent’s office and talk to him about the area in which you want to invest. Guess what? ALL OF THIS COSTS NOTHING!!! And you are moving forward on your goals immediately at the same time learning and growing and further preparing yourself and most importantly TAKING ACTION. You don’t need to wait for all the right things to drop on your lap to get started no start with what you have at the moment and move forward.

This example goes for anything that you want to do in life, if you want to be a movie star, start acting like a movie star immediately, if you want to be a famous fashion model start looking feeling and dressing like it. The point is start immediately on your journey, don’t wait don’t wait don’t wait, because the sooner you start moving on your goals and dreams you will feel the energy and attract all the things that need to come to you and they will most certainly come to you at just the right time. I think about this everyday and it helps to keep me focused because I also tend to procrastinate on certain things….

The wealth of many ancient and medieval African kingdoms far surpassed anything in Europe. One 10th century Arab writer, Ibn Hawkal, described the ruler of Ghana as the, “wealthiest sovereign on Earth.”1 The empire of Mali, Ghana’s successor in the region, was likely the wealthiest nation in the world in the 14th century. Regarding the Middle Ages, Basil Davidson writes, “Compared to the poverty of Europe…the wealth of the Indies (Known from The Adventures of Marco Polo) did seem infinite and wonderful; and if the Indies, then why not Africa as well.”2

Arabs and Europeans were consistently impressed and sometimes amazed with the wealth of the black African cities and kingdoms. Mahmud Ka’ti, a medieval Arab scholar, wrote that Mali, “has some 400 towns and its soil is most fertile. Among the kingdoms of the rulers of the world, only Syria is more beautiful. Its inhabitants are rich and live comfortably.”3 An Italian merchant, Ramusio, wrote that Mali, “being…so much civilized and so desirous of the merchandise of Europe.”4

Idrisi recorded that the Uangara, a West African people, have “flourishing cities and renowned fortresses, its inhabitants are wealthy; they possess gold in abundance, and receive the products brought to them from the other remotest portions of the earth….they are altogether black.”5 Ibn Battuta, an Arab world traveler, recorded that, “Kilwa is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world. The whole of it is elegantly built.”6 Heinrich Barth, a 19th century German traveler wrote that the Nigerian town of Kano: “How great this national wealth is,” he proclaimed. “…a whole family may live in that country with ease, including every expense, even that of clothing.”7 All too familiar with the terrible conditions of the Victorian sweatshops in Europe, Barth continued: “If we consider that this industry (textile manufacturing) is not carried on here as in Europe, in immense establishment degrading man to the meanest condition of life, but that it gives employment and support to families without compelling them to sacrifice their domestic habits, we must presume that Kano ought to be one of the happiest countries in the world; and so it is so long as its governor, too often lazy and indolent, is able to defend its inhabitants from the cupidity of their neighbors, which of course is certainly stimulated by the very wealth of this country.”8

Concerning the East African coast, V.V Matveiev wrote: “The Portuguese were impressed by the towns, the appearance and architecture of which did not fall short of anything they had at home, and by the wealth of the inhabitants who came to meet them and were elegantly dressed in rich, gold-adorned clothes and in silk and cotton cloth. The woman wore chains and bangles of gold and silver on their arms and legs, and earrings set with precious stones.”8 Davidson reasoned, “In the matter of wealth and knowledge of a wider world it must have seemed a great deal more civilized.”9 De Gama, regarding the East African Coastal city Quilimane, recorded how the East Africans looked down upon the Portuguese and their inferior material wealth: “When we had been two or three days at this place two senhores of the country came to see us. They were very haughty; and valued nothing which we gave them…A young man in their company–so we understood from their signs–had come from a distant country, and had already seen big ships like ours.” The East Africans had actually seen much greater ships used to sail the Indian Ocean

I just wanted to post this to remind folks that we (African People) know what wealth is we have all the riches..living in America we need to free ourselves from all the trickery and retain what we already know how to do naturally be a force to be reckoned with and take simple steps to keep YOUR MONEY IN YOUR POCKET. Everyday someone is trying to take money out of your pocket, don’t believe that %#&@$! about money is evil because I tell you what if I have money I have freedom to live and do what I want for the most part!

I was searching the Internet and found statistics from 2003 but still a great reference on how my Black America spends and our buying power. Since this information is 4 years old I am certain the numbers have doubled. I will try to find some new data on what the statistics say for 2006-2007 but I really don’t need any statistic to tell me that Black People Spend A Lot of Money!

I found this information from here: http://blackinformant.com/2005/10/05/the-buying-power-of-black-america-detailed/

CONSUMER EXPENDITURE DATA
From “The Buying Power of Black America”

THE BUYING
POWER OF
BLACK AMERICA - 2003

This is the eleventh edition of Target Market News’ annual report on African-American
consumers. Again, most of the increases were in categories most influenced by women’s
purchases. The economic slowdown continues and surely have an impact on future spending.
In 2003 black households had $656 billion in earned income.

Apparel Products and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23.0 billion
Appliances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Beverages (Alcoholic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Beverages (Non-Alcoholic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 billion
Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 million
Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.6 billion*
Computers and Related Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 billion
Consumer Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 billion
Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12.3 billion
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 billion
Entertainment and Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 billion
Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.5 billion
Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 billion
Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.0 billion
Household Furnishings and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 billion
Housewares. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973 million
Housing and related charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145.2 billion
Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.2 billion
Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0 billion
Personal Care Products and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 billion
Sports and Recreational Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 million
Telephone Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4 billion
Tobacco Products and Smoking Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,8 billion
Toys, Games and Pets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 billion
Transportation, Travel and Lodging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 billion

What does Independence day really mean to African Americans and minorities of this country? Have we achieved total independence, freedom, equality, etc? In my eyes we are still a ways away… This isn’t a post to “Blame the white man” because we are our own worst enemies in most cases. In my experience I notice African Americans as major consumers but still exist in some of the poorest, crime infested neighborhoods in the country. Black people spend a LOT of money, on everything from cars to jewelry, to clothes, electronics, and when it comes to Independence Day July 4 we spend a lot on fireworks.

In my neighborhood (SE Washington, DC) I drove around on July 4th and noticed all the firework stands and plenty of folks purchasing stuff to blowup for the coming evening of fun. Don’t get me wrong I like fireworks but what I don’t agree with is that we (Black Folks) celebrate these holidays without really understanding if there is something to celebrate. Some would say we are lucky to live in this country and that we should be grateful. This is true America is one of the greatest countries in the world, but have we not paid a great price for living in America, have our ancestors not suffered, have we not sacrificed so much to help build and protect this country?

It’s time for a change, one important thing to note is that I don’t see most immigrants, be it Mexicans, El Salvadoreans, Nigerians, Chinese, etc out buying all of the crap that African Americans buy. For one they probably can’t afford it and they don’t fool themselves into thinking they can. If they can afford to spend the money they would rather spend on important things, like retirement funds, creating and building a business, investments, building their wealth. I have been a culprit of this many times and afterwards I feel like kicking myself, we have to stop spending STUPID MONEY and start spending SMART MONEY. I am merely using July 4 as a way to relate to everyday situations in which we really should be saving our money, playtime is over, seriously most if not the majority of African American urban communities are in a STATE OF EMERGENCY and everybody knows this and recognizes this fact except for those people that live in the neighborhoods affected. Save your money, and/or use it very wisely, if you buy fireworks on July 4th buy them in bulk and sell them yourself to the neighborhood kids, be a business man think about your money first and foremost and stop making other people rich. These are all old ideas and many many people have been preaching it for many years to mostly def ears, but buy from the community of business people that will hopefully keep the money in the community for it’s benefit. So as I end this excerpt I just want to say this isn’t about hating any American Holidays or hating white folks (because I do not hate anybody), this is about becoming a lot more responsible and blaming ourselves for the mess we are in and yes I am talking to myself as well, I have plenty of work to do myself (why do you think I’m writing this Blog, LOL)…