Recession Life, The

Crisis, The, Spring 2009 by Leftwich, Siobhan

[EMPLOYMENT]

The African American community makes changes during the economic downturn

These days, every penny counts. But the wrath of this economic downturn has hit the African American community particularly hard.

"We're all in a very vulnerable position," says Glinda Bridgforth, author of Girl, Get Your Money Straight! "You have to move your ego out of the way and do what's necessary to survive."

The author urges African Americans to minimize debt, create an emergency fund, maintain good credit and pay bills on time. She encourages people to create multiple streams of income and focus on needs, not wants.

Tony Peebles, a former bank vice president at Fifth Third Bank, in Richmond Heights, Ohio, is heeding this advice. In December, Peebles resigned from his job where he had worked for nearly two decades. Today, he is training to become an insurance agent and hopes to open his own agency in 2010.

Peebles and his wife, Tracy, who practices law part time, have cut back drastically on their expenditures to make his entrepreneurial dream come true. Before Peebles resigned, the couple paid off their credit cards, consolidated their cell phone plans and cut back on their cable plan. They also no longer take frequent vacations.

"It's all about delaying gratification," says Peebles, who has three young daughters. "We don't have any control over the economy. The only thing we can control is our expenses."

In Cleveland, where the unemployment rate has been the highest in 15 years, Pierre Betts is feeling the effects of the economic downturn. Recently laid off from his job as a workforce development professional, these days Betts rarely eats out and has cut back on his bimonthly haircut. He's made a commitment to change his spending habits permanently.

"I'm looking at my situation with an optimistic point of view," says Betts. "You just can't panic."

Robert Bennett isn't panicking. In fact, he's been anticipating a downturn in the U.S. economy since 2000. The website designer from Tampa, FIa., was prepared when he was laid off last September from Verizon.

He used his severance to pay off credit cards and put the rest into a savings account. Today, he monitors his spending and everyday expenses. He and his wife, Sharon, a school social worker, rarely go out, choosing to entertain at home.

"I really like working for myself, so I have to be pragmatic," says Bennett, who has an online radio show. "The only bills we have are my car note and our mortgage."

Baltimore-based wealth coach and radio talk show host Deborah Owens says times like these help people prioritize.

"We learn to live within and below our means," says Owens, the author of Nickel and Dime Your Way to Wealth. "I hope to see us continuing these habits as the economy improves, because if s time for us, as a community, to start investing in our futures."

- Slobhan Loftwich