Adversity sucks. When we are going through it, we lose focus, any sense of direction, and can easily become pessimists when thinking about our future. However adversity doesn’t last. As the old adage goes, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
I think about those tough times often. Hell, I’ve even talked about how I shouldn’t be here and I’ve shared openly about how difficult this journey has been. But the reality is that journey is what has allowed me to succeed thus far.
I am not at my financial goal of $20 million in net-worth and thats okay. I am still young (relatively) and I still have a couple of decades of working ahead of me.
The reality is I am far from where I started and comparatively I am doing pretty well. I haven’t reached my goal, but I don’t need to be there to say that I am doing well.
The key is I didn’t stay in the situation where I began and it turns out I am not the only one.
Over the last 2 years we’ve been dealing with the COVID19 pandemic which placed a huge spotlight on the elephant in the room: The Wealth Gap in America. The pandemic gave us a televised look at it. All day, every day, as people were laid off, displaced out of the workplace, and had to figure out how to make ends meet, during an unprecedented event.
The Black community has been hit hard by the pandemic on top of dealing with an increasing wealth gap. According to the Brookings Institute, “in 2019 the median white household held $188,200 in wealth—7.8 times that of the typical Black household.” Over the past year, I’ve seen that number estimated to be closer to 11x.
That’s insane to think about, which is why I was encouraged to see that Black families over the last year have had a significant increase in their overall financial health.
Now this data was obtained via a survey, which always has its limitations, however I think this is encouraging. Although the Wealth Gap remains persistent, there is some evidence that we are making a positive shift towards closing it in disenfranchised communities.
This is type of change is hard to see daily so I am happy to see that we are doing better than we think.
We still have a long way to go, however I’d challenge you to look back to 2019, and ask yourself if you are better off financially today, than you were back then?
I am betting that you likely are.
As always if you have questions or concerns regarding creating an emergency fund, investing, real estate, insurance, or planning for the future, don’t be afraid to speak with qualified financial advisor. Smart Asset has a great tool to find an advisor in your area or feel free to email me (contact@surgifi.com) to help you on your path to financial independence.
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