Young Black Professional Guide

[courtesy of irs.gov]

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One of the cornerstones of a happy and healthy life is one of spiritual fulfillment. At least, that’s what my parents always taught me. Making at least one day for the Lord seems like a doable thing, but I know that we all get that feeling early Sunday morning of just wanting to stay in bed.

My family is Methodist and before I went to college, we went to church regularly. Our services were pretty mild (read: quiet) and there were a lot of old people that attended. Most Sundays, if I wasn’t participating in the handbell choir or reading a passage, it was very boring to me. I’d fall asleep during the pastor’s message and really just looked forward to the usual Sunday breakfast following service. I don’t remember ‘gaining’ too much from those years, but I did enjoy the more contemplative service over some of the other livelier Baptist or non-denominational traditions or stoic Protestant ones.

When I was in college, I didn’t go to church at all. Maybe it was because I wasn’t in my home town, or maybe it was because I was just really lazy. I always relished Sundays because I typically did nothing. I was recovering from partying hard the night before, gearing up to watch football all day, or finally putting some time into my books and my bed. When I went home, I went to the ‘popular’ services (Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day). I always had this feeling in the back of my head that my weeks never reset to prepare me for the week, but I tried to compensate for that by having religious discussions with my friends and pontificate on how I felt really blessed and that God was a forefront priority in my life…despite my lack of attendance to His house.

Today, now that I am married and expecting my first child AND living in my old neighborhood, church is becoming that cornerstone again. I think my maturity has finally caught up to my ignored peace-of-mind, ultimately creating a craving for sanity every week. I sometimes think it is related to the new responsibilities I’ve been blessed with. It’s almost as if the world’s ills have created an environment that my soul begs to be protected from. While I still have my physical New Year’s resolutions, church has become spiritual exercise that now feeds my energy and outlook.

What about you? What challenges do you have in getting back to church?

What would you encourage other young people to do to find their spiritual safe haven? Have you struggled with going consistently like I have?

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Think outside the box. Of the top cliché’s of the past decade this has to be at the top of the list. But how often do you actually embrace this mantra? Over the past 2+ years some innovative minds along with the help of the internet have pushed traditional financing and investing options to the next level. Peer to peer lending is an intriguing model that has its roots in the old-fashioned handshake deals of the past.

Peer to peer lending is trying to re-establish the FFA(Family, Friends, Acquaintance) finance connection. Many a person, Richard Branson of Virgin for one, have received the startup money for their business venture, down payment on a home/vehicle, or just to get by money from an FFA. In a perfect world, all the deals done using the FFA model would work and everyone walks away smiling. The reality is that ISH happens. When it does, money issues can strain even the tightest of relationships. This is one of the reasons the traditional banking methods have become so common. If you don’t repay a loan to the bank, your credit will be damaged, but at least you won’t have to see your banker at the next family function.

For Borrowers

Sites like Zopa and Prosper allow you to create listings for your loan. This is where you tell prospective lenders your story. Then investors (lenders) will bid on the loan. If your credit is stellar, you receive the highest loan rating by that site which corresponds to a lower starting interest rate. At Prosper, the loans are 3 years, unsecured, with fixed payments. At Zopa, the loans are 5 year, unsecured, with fixed payments. When a lender bids on the loan, they only bid on a percentage, so the loan is held by a group of individuals all with varying amounts. Nifty huh?! Depending on your credit and the story behind your need for the loan, it is possible to get a better rate than at the bank.

Virgin Money works a little different than the above sites and is closest to the old fashioned hand shake deals. With Virgin, there is no bidding by strangers on the loan, you have to know the person doing the financing for you. Then, Virgin takes all of the dirty work out of FFA loans for you. They assist with drafting the loan agreement, payment processing, reminder emails, and year-end statements. This way, you can go to Uncle Roscoe to help finance your business idea and he will see that you are legit.

For Investors

At Prosper, the investors have several choices for their dollars. They can bid on portfolio plans that vary from conservative to aggressive. All are dependent on the risk profile of the borrowers in that plan. At Prosper, your investments are not guaranteed. This page lets you know about the default rates.

My personal favorite for investing options is Zopa. This is because Zopa partners with credit unions around the country to guarantee and insure the investment. When you invest through Zopa, you actually purchase a Certificate of Deposit from one of the Zopa Credit Union partners. You then decide, depending on the borrower, how much help you want to give them. If you know the borrower or think the idea they have is good, you can actually lower their borrowing rate. This may reduce your return, but it pays off with warm fuzzies. The ability to actually help someone AND get a guaranteed return is a deal that is tough to pass up.

Odds & Ends

–As an investor the returns that you make are taxable.

–Be sure to research the pros and cons of each model before investing. It is, after all, your money.

As always, for more info check out www.molifeney.com

[pic courtesy of zopa.com]

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The last few days have thrust two stories of Black men into the lime light. Both of their paths have trails reaching back, and both began with bad decisions. One has an ending that causes feelings of despair and anger, while the other sheds light to possibility and hope.

If you haven’t heard the story, Sean Bell was a young Black man who on November 25, 2006 at 4am, the day before his wedding, was killed by undercover police officers as he stepped out of a strip club under surveillance. The police officers shot at Bell and his friends 50 times, one officer even emptying his clip and reloading. Sean Bell had a record. He was also illegally intoxicated at the time, as he was celebrating his bachelor party. The trial of the police officers involved just finished, and all were found not guilty.

Marcus Dixon is also a Black man. He was a star athlete and consummate scholar in high school. As a senior living in Georgia, he had consensual sex with a White freshman girl. He was later convicted of rape and aggravated child molestation and sentenced to 10 years. This was the third reported incident with him while in high school. His full-ride to Vanderbilt was revoked. After much press and pro-bono help from a high power attorney, the State Supreme Court overturned his conviction after he had served 15 months. He graduated from Hampton University on with a football scholarship without incident. He entered the NFL draft hoping his past would not derail his future. After hard work, devout prayer, and support from his family (his parents are White), Marcus signed a three-year, $1.1 million dollar contract by the Dallas Cowboys.

Both of these stories give me serious pause. I can figuratively see the paths these two young men came to as I remember similar circumstances in my life. Any guy can tell you what happens at 4am at a strip club, just like any cat can talk about how the young girls like to push up on the older guys. Every single time that has happened in my life, the ominous words of my father glare in my head like a ‘No Vacancy’ sign: Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs. I suppose I’m very blessed in that way. I’ve had a person in my life that has been there and warned me of the decisions ahead.

However, the first question that popped up in my head when I read these stories was ‘What the f*!% were they thinking?!?‘

What good could possibly come from being out at an EFFING STRIP CLUB at 4am…before you get married? I mean, come on dude. You’re about to spend the rest of your life with someone (not to mentioned your children), but you just had to get that last little piece of booty in. For some reason, that just seemed like a good decision. And Marcus…dude. You admitted that your community looked down, scratch that, goes ape shit with the idea of a Black man having sex with a White girl, but the booty just could not be turned down? For some reason, that just seemed like a good decision.

Or maybe, they just ignored the voice saying ‘This is probably not the best idea’.

I then step down from my comfortable, suburban, and unbroken soap box and think about these human beings. No matter what ills someone has done, no matter how much we condemn another person’s life, the word of God is love. I cannot, in good conscience, be cynical or critical of the events that transpired with these men and take the Fox News approach of ‘its not our fault this happened to them’. The internet has caused us to see each other as headlines and YouTube videos. Our human connection is stifled by our racial and economic differences, ultimately distancing us from the horror of 50 bullets tearing apart human flesh or false imprisonment from teenage stupidity.

How many of us did dumb shit as teenagers? How many of us have been drunk at a club past 4am in the city? How many of us were in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and thanked God we made it home safely?

I know I have.

Everyone deserves our love and sympathy. Jesus taught us that the hardest thing to do is to do what we already know, not what we think we need to know. We know that we should love each other. We know that we should connect with each other. We know that we should pray for each other. After I followed who the Bears drafted the first three rounds, I anxiously watched to see if a team would pick up Marcus. I wanted so bad for him to have a second chance, especially as a Black man in America.

I have to disagree with Cobb on this one. When cops feel they need to spray into a car to justify their fear, its no different than an over-zealous prosecutor who is also afraid. The two parties didn’t see people. They didn’t have a connection. They didn’t think twice about their actions and they had the power to execute their dominance.

It’s just not right.

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