5 ways Financial Grownups can honor black history month

 

Episode Description: Diane King Hall, from "Your Call with DK Hall" joins us with ways that all grownups can economically support the black community this month.

A little sneak peek into Diane King Hall’s episode!

Timestamps & Main Points:

  • 00:00 - Introduction

  • 02:48 - Support Black-owned brands or businesses

  • 04:48 - Help increase financial literacy in the black community

  • 08:00 - Being a sponsor, not just a mentor

  • 14:20 - Be careful about what you define as an emergency.


Diane’s Bio:

Diane King Hall is an award-winning broadcast journalist, and personal finance guru with 15+ years of experience as an anchor and correspondent for Emmy winning news networks, with significant expertise in business, financial, general and breaking news.

Reporting often daily directly from the floor of the NYSE, Diane served as the main on-air, morning markets and business reporter, covering global markets and interviewing C-Suite executives over the years like Jamie Dimon and other market leaders, celebrities, and experts. Most recently she was brought on at CBS News as the MoneyWatch Correspondent and soon landed on the anchor desk, anchoring the morning network news.

 
 

Links to resources mentioned in the episode!

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Full Transcript:


Diane King Hall:

A lot of times I find, particularly with people who have certain education levels in the Black community, they know this information and aren't necessarily applying it all themselves. So we can't just be libraries, we have to apply this knowledge.

Bobbi Rebell:

You are listening to Money Tips for Financial Grownups with me, certified financial planner, Bobbi Rebell, author of Launching Financial Grownups because you know what? Grownup life is really hard, but together we got this.

I learned a lot doing this episode and I'll be honest, this is not a topic that I've done before because, well, it just never came up. And that's something I regret not only because all of us should be talking about Black History Month, but also because as financial grownups there's a lot we can learn to be doing this month, and as you'll see in this interview, the rest of the year as well.

My friend Diane King Hall is our guest, and to her credit, it was Diane who suggested we talk about ways to honor Black History Month. Diane King Hall was most recently the MoneyWatch correspondent and anchor for CBS News. But more importantly, she is a fiscally fabulous financial journalist. She cut her teeth in the leading newsrooms in the country and embedded on Wall Street. King Hall has specialized in business news for the better part of nearly two decades with stops at the BBC. Reuters, that's where I met her, NY1, and CNN. I love the tips that Diane brought, but things got really interesting when she got candid towards the end of the interview and shares a little tough love. Here is Diane King Hall.

Diane King Hall, you are a financial grownup. Welcome to the podcast.

Diane King Hall:

Thank you for having me. Yes, I am a financial grownup.

Bobbi Rebell:

You are most definitely a financial grownup and I'm so happy to have you here. It's taken me years to get you on because you have been so busy with your dynamic career as a financial journalist. Tell us a little bit about the new things that are happening because you have some big things on tap.

Diane King Hall:

Right. Similar to you, I'm planning to launch a podcast. It's going to be called Your Call with DK Hall. It's a podcast that will delve into financial empowerment, financial literacy, economic empowerment, and just helping individuals to live their best and richer lives.

Bobbi Rebell:

One way to live their best and richer lives for financial grownups, this month we're recording this in February of 2023, is to find ways to support Black History Month. And you brought five ways that financial grownups can support Black History Month. The first one is something we hear so often, but I want you to elaborate on that. It is obviously we want to support Black-owned businesses, but tell us more.

Diane King Hall:

Yeah, so nowadays you can support not just Black-owned businesses, you can support brands and influencers and it doesn't just have to be about the dollars you spend. But yes, absolutely you can spend some dollars. One of the easiest ways you can do it is follow different individuals and brands on social media. I mean, I'm a big passionate believer in just supporting people. You can amplify their message. So for instance, you have people like Tiffany Aliche who is the Budgetnista. You can easily follow her and amplify her message or put that into your life if you need those tips as well. You have people like Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, who is the Money Coach, she's been around for years. Michelle Singletary, another individual that you can follow on social media.

Or in terms of brands, look for brands that are skincare brands. Like I have one now, this is not a sponsored plug at all. I've tried. This is an easier way you can get into supporting a brand, like try a smaller size of their item. This is a skincare item. It's Shani Darden. Actually, when I discovered this, I didn't even know she was a Black skincare brand. Then when I heard I was like, yes, I'm buying it and I'm going to try it. So this is kind of a part of my nighttime routine right now and I've heard I have great skin. Thank you, God, but also you have a little help.

Bobbi Rebell:

We all like a little help. And if you want to mention, by the way, Tiffany Aliche and Lynnette Khalfani-Cox have both been guests on this podcast. And Lynette, I want to point out, Lynette said something very interesting. I do follow her very closely, especially on LinkedIn. And she mentioned something that I do think we should also stress is that even though February is Black History Month and we focus on it, that's a time to be more aware maybe, but that doesn't mean that it all ends at the end of the month, and she pointed that out on LinkedIn. So definitely follow her and you, of course, on LinkedIn for those reminders.

All right, number two, we want to help increase financial literacy in the Black community. And this is something for everyone. And I also want to emphasize that I'm obviously not Black, I'm a white woman, but I think that we can ... But it makes sense to everybody. It's part of just supporting each other.

Diane King Hall:

Yes, I am. And even if you're not, you can help by volunteering for different organizations that do financial literacy, speaking at schools. Let's say it's an underprivileged school, or school that's in a community that's typically known to be more of an underprivileged community. Bring the knowledge and information you have to the classroom. I mean, and in general, not enough classrooms teach financial literacy. So it's a gift that you're giving. I mean your audience is financial grownups, so these are people who know what they're doing, and know how to apply it, and the onus is on us to teach it to the next generation. So search out financial literacy organizations that serve Black communities or African American communities.

One organization that operates really like a business in my mind that I like, and that kind of brings me to my next point, is Operation HOPE. You want to contribute to organizations that push economic empowerment and civil rights such as the Urban League, and they're addressing issues of financial literacy. Now, Operation HOPE's agenda is not just for Black people, but they're about financial literacy.

So that often ends up helping Black individuals, Black businesses. They do have a initiative right now that is ... Let me get this right. It is the 1 Million Black Businesses, that initiative is aiming to start, grow, and scale a million Black businesses by 2030. So that's an organization that's been around for a while that's led by John Hope Bryant. He's been at the forefront of kind of leadership with regard to economic empowerment. And I think it operates more like a bank though it's a 501(c)(3) organization. And you can see it stood the test of time, it's been around for 30 years. So that's one place you can support, whether it's your funds, or figuring out a way you can get involved.

Bobbi Rebell:

And by the way, I should say that was your third tip, which was contribute to organizations. I'm going down my checklist if you're just listening on audio, contribute to organizations that advance civil rights and economic empowerment. So number four, help your company. I really like this one. Help your company take actionable steps on DEI initiatives. Not just training, but hiring and what steps you can contribute to that. Because sometimes companies ... And this goes to many, what they call, affinity groups, which I'm not crazy about that term. But anyway, very often they have these groups, but they don't always fund them properly. They don't always keep them as active as they should. So talk more about that.

Diane King Hall:

So yes, the affinity groups are great in the sense that yes, you have these groups that can convene and talk about issues, whether it's Black affinity groups, or Asian affinity groups, or women affinity groups. They're wonderful. They're platforms that you could talk about things, but actionable steps could be within hiring, you know? How can you create one a target that you're aiming for with regard to increasing diversity, reaching out to people in your network who can bring in those Black individuals who have the skills that you know they have, and just helping to shepherd them. Being a sponsor, not just a mentor. Being a mentor is wonderful, but sponsoring these individuals, meaning using your capital, your social capital within your organization. Carla Harris uses that term a lot with Morgan Stanley, is just using your social capital to help bring in people and help elevating people.

So there are people who are doing well within your organization, but they may not have the access that you have, whether it's in the boardroom, let's say you're in the C-suite, but you know this individual could go further than they are. So using that social capital to help elevate people with regard to your DEI initiatives in and around them. So it's not just talking points that you all have as a business or within your business.

Bobbi Rebell:

Actions are as important as words. I don't want to say words are not important, but it is important to be actively involved and shepherd people along. Don't just connect people, get them hired, but also monitor them. Be there as a sponsor, not just a mentor.

The last point, number five is actually my favorite point I'm going to say. And this is because it really can apply to everyone no matter your background, your race, ethnicity, what have you. It is attend an event which educates people about the contributions of African Americans and Black people to the fabric of America. And I think you gave an example of inventor Garrett Morgan. So talk to me about that and then talk to me about the general idea.

Diane King Hall:

So I remember learning about Garrett Morgan when I was young, and this was actually through school. You had to do a school project and we had to pick someone to learn about. So a couple of inventions that he's known for. One is the smoke hood. That sounds like your stove. I'm sitting near my kitchen, that's why I say, "your stove," but that's not what it was. It was actually used for firefighters. Another invention that he's well known for is he had a patent for what's kind of the, I would say, the modern traffic light with three signals. And that came after seeing an accident that occurred. He sold to GE for, get this, $40,000.

Bobbi Rebell:

Okay. Garret.

Diane King Hall:

I know. I mean, if we measured it basically by today's standards, I don't know what that would be because I'd have to look back on when that was, so. But still, I'm like, "Ahh." I mean, because it's everywhere now. But increase your knowledge about these individuals who contributed to the fabric of America. So again, whether it's attending a workshop, a webinar, there are so many things done virtually now, listening to a podcast, helping your kid with a school assignment. Recently I helped my son and he picked a partner to work with. I love that it was a Black and a white kid, or African American, Caucasian American. I don't know what's the proper language nowadays, but I love that we got to participate.

And we know about different individuals like, say, Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks, but learning about different people like a Garrett Morgan or A.G. Gaston who was a big time businessman of his time, who helped put up Dr. Martin Luther King when no one else would. Or TED Talks, they're everywhere now. You can attend a TED Talk and increase your knowledge. That's one thing you can do easily. Knowledge, increasing your knowledge by attending a webinar, a workshop, an event in your local community, or following different individuals on social media. Those are such easy, no-brainer things that you can do. This month increase your awareness about Black businesses, Black brands, and just knowledge of inventions that Black people have contributed to the growth of America.

Bobbi Rebell:

So well said. I do want to bring up one more thing, and this was not planned, but one chapter of my book, Launching Financial Grownups, talks about the unique challenges of different cultures when it comes to money and the way that it influences behavior, habits, and goals, and priorities, frankly. Can you talk a little bit about that from the perspective of the African American community in a way that financial grownups can really both appreciate more the different challenges that African Americans may face and be more helpful?

Diane King Hall:

So a lot of times for African American individuals, a lot of times you see they're the first in their family. The first to receive a certain level of education, first to receive a certain level of economic growth, or having a certain income level. So they often become caretakers, and we hear this term, sandwich generation, I think this happens in immigrant communities as well where you're taking care of both your kids and your parents because of where you are and where you've advanced.

So a lot of times it can be difficult to advance even further because you're taking care of so many people. I don't want to cut against that because I'm a big believer in family, but you do have to set certain boundaries with regard to that. Take care of your budget and your household first before you try to take care of everybody else, even if you can. And set guidelines with regard to that help. And the reason I'm passionate about the subject with regard to economic empowerment within the Black community is because of the disparity with regard to the Black/white wealth gap and there's so much growth that needs to happen.

There's a stat that I found, I think this was from the Fed actually, where the latest information I have is from 2019. The median wealth in the US for Black households was a little over $24,000 compared to white households, which was a little over $189,000. So it's clearly more than room for improvement with regard to that.

So one of the things with regard to your subject of financial grownups, a lot of times I find, particularly with people who have certain education levels in the black community, they know this information and aren't necessarily applying it all themselves. So we can't just be libraries. We have to apply this knowledge, investing in your 401k, making sure you're putting up at least up to the company match. I know your audience typically doesn't need to tackle this, but maybe some people do, maybe some people aren't taking advantage of that. And I've heard of wealthy people tapping their 401ks, et cetera, for a loan, and you have to be careful of that because there's consequences of that. There's a family emergency and they feel like, ah, they have to, you know?

Bobbi Rebell:

Mm-hmm.

Diane King Hall:

Just be careful about what you define as an emergency. Yes, there are legitimate emergencies, financial life quakes that happen and then it's kind of like all the rules may have to adjust. I don't want to say go out the window, but adjust. And you may have a new starting point. And also don't beat up on yourself if you are not at the level you feel like you should be. If you're a Black household who's listening to this and hear that you're around that number, that wealth number, or even more than that, but feel like you should be even further, that's okay. Continue to listen to Bobbi's tips and other financial experts to help get you there.

Bobbi Rebell:

It's all a journey and it's a lot rockier than most of us will let on. But no matter what your income level, the truth is, we always have that financial stress. And that's something that we're working towards this year especially, we're focusing a lot on wellness on this podcast and more to come on that everybody, as you know. But it is a lot about making peace with where you are in your financial journey because we never really feel like we are there yet. And that's a little complicated. We'll tackle that more in a future episode. Maybe I'll have Diane back, but thank you so much for being here. Tell us where people can find you and your whole new platform. So much is happening.

Diane King Hall:

Okay, so you can find me on social media. It's the same handle, Diane King Hall, @dianekinghall, whether it's Twitter or Instagram. Yes, I'm on TikTok, but I don't do a lot there currently. And I'm also on YouTube. You can just search Diane King Hall there or it's also Diane King Hall Your Call, which will be leading me into the platform that I'm launching called Your Call with DK Hall. Which, again, will be a personal finance platform where you can gain knowledge, information, insight about how to apply personal finance principles to your life and live a better and richer life.

Bobbi Rebell:

Can't wait. Thank you so much.

Diane King Hall:

Thank you.

Bobbi Rebell:

A big thank you to so many of you that have already bought my new book, Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart. This book was not easy to write because I had to get honest with myself about what was working with my teen and young adult kids and what was not working, and I also had to be prepared to share it with all of you. So first of all, thank you for your support and your wonderful responses to it. There's definitely some things in there that you may not have been expecting to hear. By the way, I got a lot of help from my money expert friends, and also financial therapists, and parenting experts. I am really happy with how Launching Financial Grownups came out, even though it really was hard to be, like I said, that honest. And it was a lot of work, but I really love doing it, and I'm really happy with how it came out.

On that note, if you have not already, please pick up a copy of Launching Financial Grownups today. After you do, please share it on social media. Please leave a review on Amazon. Those reviews are super important because the algorithm picks up on them and that can make the book a lot more visible to more people. So I truly appreciate it and I really also appreciate all of your support.

So many great points in that interview, and I think one that really resonated with me, and also frankly, it's something that is getting more attention in general these days, is understanding the nuance between being a mentor and being a sponsor. Advice and listening and talking is great, but actually getting involved and lifting someone up with you is next level.

So what stood out to you? Get in touch on Instagram. You can DM me. I am @bobbirebell1. While you're there, by the way, take a screenshot when you're listening to this podcast and share it on your stories. Make sure to tag me so that I can thank you. Also, check out show notes for links to things that we spoke about in our interview. You can do that and get a free transcript of this and all of our episodes right on my website, bobbirebell.com. You can also sign up for my free newsletter where you will get tips and advice for financial grownups. Big thanks to my friend Diane King Hall for helping us all be financial grownups.

Money Tips for Financial Grownups is a production of BRK Media, LLC. Editing and production by Steve Stewart, guest coordination, content creation, social media support, and show notes by Ashley Wall. You can find the podcast show notes, which include links to resources mentioned in the show, as well as show transcripts by going to my website, bobbirebell.com. You can also find an incredible library of hundreds of previous episodes to help you on your journey as a financial grownup.

The podcast and tons of complementary resources associated with the podcast is brought to you for free, but I need to have your support in return. Here's how you can do that. First, connect with me on social media @bobbirebell1 on Instagram and bobbirebell on both Twitter and on Clubhouse, where you can join my Money Tips for Grownups Club. Second, share this podcast on social media and tag me so I can thank you. You can also leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Reading each one means the world to me. You know what? It really motivates others to subscribe. You can also support our merch shop, grownupgear.com by picking up fun gifts for your grownup friends and treating yourself as well. And most of all, help your friends on their journey to being financial grownups by encouraging them to subscribe to the podcast. Together we got this. Thank you for your time and for the kind words so many of you send my way. See you next time. And thank you for supporting Money Tips for Financial Grownups.

 

 
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