Talking Dollars & Making Sense: A Wealth Building Guide for African-Americans
One step to saving money is to NOT purchase this book. Through foolishness and bad judgment, The McGraw-Hill Companies decided to publish this trash. To help her establish some type of rapport with the Black Community, Stephens believed it was in the best interest of her book to decorate it with the overly hyped Kente design and a photo of her holding up a puffed up African-American Greek Sorority hand sign. She opens, continues and closes her book with contradictions and red herrings; and blames the Blacks for the errors of the world. Stephens truly believes that events happen in a vacuum. Only a confused sheep would agree with the mimicked thoughts in this book.
“Where we came from, where we are now” is a chapter filled with fluff and confusion. Stephens continues to misspeak and claim how Blacks found some form of financial awareness, yet they are afraid to be entrepreneurs. How can a group of people who strive when challenges are placed before them be afraid to balance a checkbook? Stephens proves to be not only a fraud but also a mentally challenged fraud.
Despite parroting Black achievements by Blacks, Stephens goes on to tell Blacks that some of the financial inequities are the fault of Black people. For one to go to great lengths regarding racial oppression and the few resources given to Blacks, Stephens creates more questions as to why she would tell this same group of people that this could all be called “emotional baggage?” It is as if this woman placed her name and face on a project that she herself has not read. I would not be shocked if there was a ghostwriter to this nonsense.
Stephens also misleads the reader with misused quotes. She also uses religion to entrap the minds of Blacks into the dispelling “African-American Money Myths.” Many of the “myths” listed are NOT race specific, but it seems that Stephens believes that only Blacks have fears of owning more money then they can handle and of showing off. As for the Ashanti “proverb,” that comment left many questions as to why would a tribe that has been around for centuries classify themselves with Westernized terms? One of the biggest lies (out of many presented by Stephens) is that White folks could care less about what Blacks do as long as it does not infringe on their financial gain. If that were the case then why the need to track all that Blacks do and hide past accomplishments from the new generations while wiping out elders who know the truth? All in all this poor “author” creates fake proverbs and expects them to fly.
Stephens even promotes the fraudulent insurance companies for those who seek to obtain wealth. Which wealthy person has insurance? Let me clarify my question; when I say wealthy I do not mean rich, I mean Oprah Winfrey wealthy. Which one of them has life insurance? Many know that whole life insurance is not worth the paper it is written on and the majority of wealthy people have no need for insurance period. Not only is it a rip off but a waste of time and should not be life long. Unfortunately many not capable of paying off their burial and bills are backed into the insurance corners.
To sum it all, the book is filled with financial advice that may be as old as Disneyland. Too bad creativity could not be the topic of this crap fest.
This book gets a negative 10 blades for attempting to have the reader make money it’s sole source of life.
