Planning your financial future: How talking about money can bring life to your legacy
Hear from Black investors who share their personal journeys toward building wealth. Then, reflect on your own financial goals by answering five simple questions to inform the next steps of your financial journey.
The way you think and feel about money is deeply personal. It is shaped by your unique history, shared culture and the people you love. Speaking openly about your financial journey with people you trust can help inform and inspire your next steps toward building wealth.
Breaking Bread, Building Legacy
That's why Vanguard created the Breaking Bread, Building Legacy dinner series — gatherings that brought together Black investors who spoke candidly about building wealth and the practices that inspired them to achieve financial success.
To better understand your financial goals and motivations, we invite you to answer the following five questions. Then, use what you learn to take the next steps in your wealth building journey.
Question of 5
You received an unexpected bonus. What would you do with it?
How will you know you’ve successfully established your financial legacy?
Which of the following is closest to your outlook on financial success?
Which quote most closely aligns with your financial mindset?
What is the most effective way you can improve the financial well-being of your community?
- Your money mentality
Your money mentality is your unique outlook on financial goals and motivations.
Answer these five questions to better understand yours.
- Caretaking
- Mentoring
- Experiencing
- Safety Nesting
Select your answer to determine your money mentality.
To better understand your financial goals and motivations, we invite you to answer the following five questions. Then, use what you learn to take the next steps in your wealth building journey.
Please scroll up to answer all five questions to learn more about your financial goals and motivations.
Learn what your answers mean about your financial goals and motivations.
Please scroll up to answer all five questions to learn more about your financial goals and motivations.
Expand to learn what your answers mean about your financial goals and motivations.
You likely have a deep appreciation of not just where you are, but who helped you get there.
Education is most likely a high-value currency in your world, and you’re not shy about encouraging others to advance their financial literacy.
You focus on the intangibles that money can unlock, such as freedom, joy and connection.
Affluent Black Americans are 3x more likely to financially support their siblings than affluent non-Black Americans.1
As someone who identifies with Caretaking, providing financially for the people who supported you is core to your fiscal identity. You see dispersing your resources as a way to champion the dreams of your loved ones and to fulfill your sense of duty to empower and support your community.
59% of Black Americans believe “teaching family members how to think about money” is part of leaving a financial legacy.1
As someone who identifies with Mentoring, you likely believe that knowledge is crucial to breaking generational patterns and aim to empower members of your community with the information they need to shape their futures. Your ideal legacy is built by sharing your financial best practices with your loved ones and community.
43% of affluent Black Americans feel the statement, “My own personal success can be an inspiration for others” describes them very well.1
As someone who identifies with Experiencing, you most likely work as hard as you do because you know the income you earn can translate into flexibility and happiness for you and your community. Your vision of success goes beyond dollars and cents to time spent with loved ones, on passion projects or traveling.
49% of Black Americans believe “Leaving enough assets so their children can pass it on to their grandchildren” is part of a financial legacy.1
As someone who identifies with Safety Nesting, it is likely one of your main focuses is attaining the mental freedom that comes with financial stability, both for yourself and others. Your legacy will be security — a financial cushion that empowers future generations with the flexibility to take risks, knowing they have the benefit of a financial backstop.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
Advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.
© 2024 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor.
1 These findings are from a poll conducted by Vanguard in May 2024 among 1307 US respondents. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The survey was conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel, an established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. For this survey, we collected a larger than usual sample of affluent Black adults (“affluent” defined as having a household income greater than or equal to $125,000). KnowledgePanel’s recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS. The data were weighted to match US population on key variables: gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, and household income.