I don't think it is just blacks, but a curse of all poor people. If you grow up not having anything you start to base your life on the materialistic goods that you don't have. This becomes your model for sucess when it should be something like education. Thus when this people fall into money they spend it to show they are successful. They have no clue how to save, or realistically how much money they will need to live their entire life at a certain attainable level. Hence the boats, houses, bling, etc.
It is a harder thing to learn than you think. I grew up poor and when I finally started having "okay" money I blew alot on frivoulous stuff, than 2 years later got laid off of my job without a penny in the bank.
I learned the hard way. But at least I learned.
A hard lesson indeed, but you've got the knowledge now and not only will you not make those mistakes again, but you're also sharing the gospel with those around you. Good on you, mate.
I work my butt off, but by setting some things in motion years ago and by making one brilliant investment, I now can afford to live a very comfortable life. Once things were rolling, I went out and bought myself a new truck. My car was 11 years old and with snowboarding season coming, I needed a 4-wheel drive.
I bought more house than we needed, but I got a 3200sf place for less than 2000sf homes were selling for just 2 years before I bought. My neighbors with similar homes all paid $250-300K more than I did.
Now, my home has no (what people call) 'upgrades'. No fancy cabinets, countertops, or flooring. The furniture is of decent quality, but comes from the clearance sections.
I have to replace my front-door latch. The one I got from Lowe's didn't fit the holes that were already drilled and Home Depot didn't have a decent selection. You see, I'm very fine with 'basic', but not my wife. So, we had to go to The Home Expo, which is the fancy version of Home Depot. The whole store is set up like a model home and the moment we walked in, she began spending - "I want this, I want that. What do you think of this? They're better than the curtains we have at home now. I hate our curtains, they're boring" etc., etc.
All she wants is to let people know she's got money. But here's the catch - SHE DOESN'T. I told her that, for the most part, any money that's on 'display' is money lost. I firmly believe in owning and maintaining a good home in a good location, but that's because real estate is the only thing that will appreciate in value. But that's real estate, not the $400 curtains she wants to put in it.
As long as people who suddenly have money continue to behave as though they've ALWAYS had lots of it, they'll never have anything and will end up broke and trying to live off their kids.
