Black Monday 2025?

 Hello my peoples,

This is where shit gets real and this was the difference a Harris Administration would have made. Remember in the first Trump presidency, I told you he rode Obama’s coat tails. He followed the first rule, do no harm. The economy was chugging along and we saw record returns. Well in Trump 2.0, Biden left him with a solid economy and again, if he had followed the first presidency, he would have sealed his legacy and he could have taken credit for Biden’s successes because Trump’s PR machine was better. 

Well, that didn’t happen and so we are here. I am sorry to say it but Monday will be more hurt in the market. Why would I say that you ask? Because why would anyone buy in the stock market now? We don’t know the bottom. People are panicking and wondering if they have just lost their retirement. The question for many potential retirees will be, do you cut off the foot to save the leg. People are losing government jobs and consumer confidence is down. 

I thought change would happen when the Dow dropped below 40000, but now it is 38000 and I am feeling 35000. I hope to God that I am wrong. As you know from my frugalness, I follow the frugal investment king, Warren Buffett. I noticed late last year that he was selling and moving into cash. Now, he loves a bargain but he wasn’t buying. The only big purchase was BYD, the Chinese competitor to Tesla. Side note, if BYD could sell in the US market, they would blow the socks off Tesla, technology, quality and style are better. So when Warren started moving to cash, I got nervous but the market in January was 45000. I stayed steady to 44, but when it hit 43, I pulled the trigger and followed Buffett.

If you guys have been following me over the last few years, I have preached educating yourself about financials and not blindly following your Financial Advisors. I know that everyone has pushed Index Funds and they were good for the last 15 years because they track the S&P 500. When it goes up, so does the Index Funds but right now, it is going to track down. If you have to stay in the market, then actively managed funds may help curve some losses. Again, this is just my opinion and none of this advice is based on supporting data. I am giving you food for thought to be a more active investor. As Frugal Frank On the Blackside, I would not make any major moves, I like money market funds now. I would reduce debt and cut back on expenses. Vacation trips this year should be a road trip to say some of our free National Parks while they are still staffed. We need to behave like we did during the Pandemic except without the masks.

I will see you Tuesday and I hope that when I chat again, I can admit my error and that the market will have stabilized. My black people especially, I am pulling for us because I know that we are under attack on all fronts. Most of our wealth is in 401k’s and our homes and we were just starting to catch up. These are serious times and bling bling living is over. I know you frugal people know what time it is, but we got to spread the word to our sisters and brothers.

Peace out,

Frugal Frank OTBS

Hello it’s Me

 Hello My Peoples,

I felt I would reintroduce with that Isley Brothers song “Hello it’s Me”….

Hello, it's me, I've thought about us for a long, long time

Maybe I think too much but something's wrong

I think the lyrics are perfect for this time. After the election, I took some time to reflect and regroup but I have been thinking of you and how to give guidance and hope. I still am a history buff and recommend that everyone read “The Defender” by Ethan Michaeli. This book is about the great black Chicago newspaper but also shows us how our people survived and navigate difficult presidencies and trying times. I am sorry that some of you have found out that your financial advisors don’t know any more than you do. Their advice of readjusting your portfolio and staying calm is just not cutting it as you see your portfolio crashing. Are you having flashbacks to 1990, 2008 or 2020? I know you want someone to make the pain go away but the hard truth is to never give the final guidance to someone else, whether you make or lose money is not going to effect your advisor’s paycheck too harshly. Remember, they have many more clients. You have to decide what your loss point is and at what point do you cut your losses and park your money on the side. I am no guru, but the tariff war doesn’t make since. Tariffs are complicated and there is a reason why we have not made drastic changes, but I am not going to debate this on here. So here are some things I have learned along the way:

1. If you have 30 to 40 years til retirement, you just have to stay in the market and ride it out. Your retirement account are investing on dollar cost average so the cheaper the mutual fund price the more mutual fund stock you buy with the potential that it will all be worth more upon retirement.

2. If you are within 5-10 years til retirement, you need to make a decision whether to stay in or sit on the side lines. Do you have enough money to be okay? Remember, pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered. Rethink what retirement looks like and can slow quit. Can you reduce time spent in the office, use vacation and those saved up sick days for mental health and leisure? Retirement doesn’t mean you have to leave your job, retirement mentally. You can access your 401k or 403b with penalty after 59 1/2, just don’t take out more than 4% annually.

3. Education: we are back to the pre affirmative action days. Get your kids as much education as possible and remember they may have to follow the opportunity even if it means leaving those red states or looking internationally. Our people won’t make it just settling for Starbucks jobs.

4. I still drink seltzer but not Perrier, I bought a Soda Stream. I am saving money and reducing recycling.

5. I hope Warren Buffet stays around for at least 4 more years. Berkshire B shares have been good to me even during this downturn.

6. Don’t sacrifice your health during this period. Eat healthy and exercise. My best investment last year was an E-bike. Trust me, get an Actbest on Amazon. It is reasonably priced and well built.

7. If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer, get the ice cream attachment. I have made the best Oatmilk nondairy ice cream. I normally put in fresh blueberries or strawberries. You will never buy store bought ice cream again.

8. We still have some tough months ahead financially and as a people. The coming months will be difficult but we are built for endurance. This is a time to be frugal and reduce costs and lean into your spirituality.

Peace out,

Frugal Frank OTBS 

Trump 2.0: Back in 2025-repost from 2019

Hello My Peoples,

I posted this blog in 2019 and I think it is worth reposting during this Trump 2.0 time.

Hello my peoples,

I don’t know about you, but I miss President Obama. During these times, we need to remember that we are still living in Obama’s economy.
The jobs growth- Obama
Healthcare- Obama
Stock Market- Obama
Minimum wage increases- Obama
Green economy- Obama

We need to also remember that we will feel the full effect of Trump’s policies in the next 4 years going forward. Just think of the Bush years. Clinton left a booming surplus economy and it only took Bush 4 years to destroy it. Remember, that’s why we got Obama., a republican President drove the economy into the ditch. The sad thing is, he was smarter than the present dude.
I am not here to bash President Trump, because it just waste energy and history will always uncover the truth.

I have been slow reading the new Frederick Douglass biography by David Blight and it helps me appreciate and understand the times we are in now. Just think about it, Fred saw all the progress made during abolition and reconstruction only to see so much ground lost during the beginnings of Jim Crow. In reading the book, I saw that white supremacy takes no vacations and will try and rewrite history because most of the populists takes the path of least resistance. Fred never stop living as a man and continued to speak truth to power. I don’t want to give a summary of the book, so I suggest that you make this your holiday read and come back and discuss it with me.

So, with the holidays amongst us, what should we discuss? Beyoncé, Jay-Z or Kanye? As Whitney Houston once said, “Hell to the no!” We see a lot of this mindless material on television. I think it should be finances. Why? Because money issues shorten our life span, leads to divorce, unhappy retirements and unhappy relationships. As a black man living in New England, I have learned that weekends are great for biking, tennis, golf, and farm to table eating. Weekends are not meant for Mall retail shopping, fast food eating, and any sedentary activity possible. I also love the Lord, but have found many ways and places to worship not always in the traditional church structure. I sometimes attend church with my white brethren when I want a short service with the word, but I also go to the black church for spiritual renewal. There is just something about a white choir singing Negro spirituals that is just not right. So, I will be attending my black church during the holidays with my people. You know, “Silent Night” with the Motown twist can’t be beat at Christmas.

So back to finances, as I read Frederick Douglass, one of my takeaways is that blacks after Reconstruction were involved in educating their children and were trying to make impacts on society. As, I look at  the Jay-Z’s, Will Smiths, Kanye’s and multiple wealthy celebrities, I wonder if they are producing future doctors, scientists, and lawyers or future consumers of mindless materialism? Is it the ultimate goal to be on E!News every night? Is that what our people fought and died for? You know the ironic thing about this whole college admissions scam involving celebrities? There were no black celebrity parents. They will buy kids $200,000 cars and throw the biggest birthday bashes but are not trying to get their kids into elite colleges, even illegally. I will give George Foreman some serious credit, none of his kids are boxers; but they are lawyers, doctors and dentists even though their father is worth $300 million and they could live off his wealth.
Let’s keep our eyes on the prize. During this holiday season, don’t overspend. Your kids should still love you if they don’t get the latest new toy and if they have issues check your parenting skills. Trust me I am raising two strong sisters who are woke and self conscious. Maybe it’s the parenting or because they have a frugal dad, but this year they want gifts after Christmas when stores give the greatest markdowns. They are giving me my greatest Christmas gift, Frugal Kids on the black side.

So, during this period of holiday joy and political turmoil, get your finances in order so that you can bear the economic down turn coming, and believe me, it is coming. We may have one or two years of breathing room. So do these during the holidays:

1. Pay off as much debt as possible
2. Build reserve funds
3. Build retirement
4. Educate your kids, if A’s are not coming home, some serious shit needs to get restricted.
5. Join Planet Fitness instead of buying a Peloton
6. Upgrade to a used car instead of a new car
7. Stop drinking all soft drinks and switch to Perrier
    This and reduced bread intake will improve health and weight loss
8. Buy a subscription to Consumer Reports
9. Subscribe to SiriusXM for Urban Talk-get woke
10. You still need to get your kid a junior golf membership to a nice golf course plus lessons
11. For the  HolidayFive Black Movies to Watch this Holiday

Retirement in Black

 Hello my Peoples,

I know people are constantly complaining about rising costs, but we are still living in the greatest times and in the greatest country. People are constantly asking me how much money you need to retire comfortably or when should you retire. Let me be clear, retirement strategy for black folks is a little different from other people. Now if you are part of the wealthy black group then I am not talking to you. This conversation is for the middle to upper middle class frugal black folk. Of course the biggest two questions is health insurance coverage and a home mortgage. If you can keep your company’s insurance then you could retire before 65 but if not 65 is a possible target. Life in retirement is definitely easier in retirement with no mortgage, but remember you still have taxes and home insurance to pay. Your million dollar home may be paid off but the taxes and insurance could damper retirement life because you will be living on a fixed income. Buy a good solid car that is cheap on repair cost before you retire and pay it off.

Now, the next question is how much you need? Some say 1 million others say 2 million. It also depends on whether you manage it or have someone else do it and do you buy an annuity. Frugal people manage their own money. Why? Here is a question I always ask my students, “If you have a million dollars earning 5%interest a year and you take out $50,000 a year, how long will your money last?” Those who know the answer submit the answer in Comments. Hey, I have to run…conversation to be continued….

Peace out FFBS

It’s Christmas Time Again

 Hello my Peoples,

This is Frugal Frank on the Blackside, back in black just in time for Christmas. Every year, I tell myself that I am going to blog more but then it’s Christmas again. Santa has delivered me a Dow above 36000 this December and you bet I am going to be watching it like a mother to catch a downturn. If it starts nosediving again, this brother may have to park his funds in a Money Market Fund for a bit. I got my ass burnt with some Alibaba but lucky me I balanced it with some Berkshire Hathaway B shares. I am selling that Alibaba this week, taking the hit because it ain’t coming back. Like Aretha says”Ain’t no Way”. I should have bought more Amazon.

Can I tell you people that my 2006 Volvo XC70 is finally giving out. That damn transmission and auto shops want $5000 to replace it, but the engine still purrs like a kitten. Looks like I will be calling, “1877Cars for Kids” Hell, what am I complaining about? I bought the car 11 years ago for 10 grand and have over 300,000 miles on it and that tank protected my kids to and from golf tournaments, swim meets, tennis meets, music lessons and family trips through rain, sleet and snow. I can’t decide on the next vehicle though. Should it be another Volvo or Subaru or just go for a Hybrid.

I hope everyone is getting ready for the Holidays. Me? I start playing Christmas music November 1st. This should be a good Christmas to those of you who listened to me years ago and bought homes with interest rates in the 3% range. I haven’t seen rates this high since 1989, yep during those Reagan and Bush years rates were like 10 and 11 percent. I purchased my first home in 1990 and my rate was 10.75 but that damn Clinton brought those rates down. So young people, what do you do? You still purchase a home, just a smaller one because rates will eventually come down and your salaries will go up. Listen to me, homeowners never have trouble getting people to loan them money. I just wish loan advertisers would stop sending me shit. A friend once reminded me that they are not making any more land so get you a home or some land. Now Older folks, our portfolios should look nice, if you did like I did and stayed in stocks and weathered the storm and didn’t purchase those dumbass annuities sold to you by your Financial Advisor (see my previous posts). 

Can I digress a bit?

 I love my white neighbors both North and South. They keep the neighborhood clean and quiet and safe and will often bring over some baked goods. For my people still living in the house you own in the hood, but hearing gun shots and seeing the neighborhood go down. It ain’t coming back, sell that damn house and get out. We need to stop making starter homes permanent homes. When you can do better, you ought to do better.

After visiting the Vineyard this summer and reading Sunny Hostin’s “Summer on the Bluffs”, I discovered Pamela Thompson-Graham’s 3 book series about murder at the Ivies. Not only can this sister write, but her resume is impressive. I would add her collection to your Christmas list. To Pamela, I am sorry for your loss and I know you are busy with your career but can you at least finish the Ivy series and get your heroine to kick Dante to the curb and get a real brother like you did😉. I still miss E.Lynn Harris’s writing. “And This Too Shall Pass” and “If This World Were Mine” are my holiday favorites. He left us too soon. 

Well, it is getting past my bedtime, but my next post will be about my thoughts on Retirement(rethinking it)

Peace out,

Frugal Frank OTBS

Some Black Frugal Nostalgia

 Hello My Peoples,

Some nostalgia, I posted the blog below years ago when I first started. My girls are both in college, Ivy League and post graduate work abroad. My wife and I are still together. I left the South for New England and I just had my $15 Cole Hann shoes repaired for guess what? $15. I still have that 2006 Volvo XC 70 I bought for 10 grand. It has 300,000 miles, looks good, but my wife thinks we should bail on it. The yearly repairs still don’t match a new car payment. I now own 2 homes, live comfortably under the radar, own a Costco and BJ’s membership and a membership in a food cooperative where the food is fresh and healthy.

Hello,

I am a frugal black man that lives life to the fullest. I am a strong brother with a lovely wife and two beautiful kids. My goal here is to create a movement of black people, who like being at the opposite end of the bling bling society. This group will get thrills from not purchasing a new Coach bag at retail with their Platinum card, but from getting a gently used pair of Cole Hanns for $15.00 at a consignment store and by having people guess how you are living. You will take the journey with me as I help raise a 3 year old and 8 year old (girls) responsibly and frugally. They already know the code words for Goodwill and how to say "My grandmother bought this in a specialty shop in Atlanta."

Now, don't get me wrong. My wife and I have masters degrees from prestigious private universities and live in a golf club community, but I can squeeze water from a rock.

I never buy cars that cost more than $10,000 and they have to have at least 100,000 miles on them.
I will share my thought process on this later along with my mother's old wisdom sayings like,
"It's not how much you make, It's what you do with what you make."

Sorry but I have to get some shut eye.

Frugal Frank from the Blackside

Black Christmas 2022

 Hello My Peoples, 

You know I just can’t seem to blog as much lately, but the holiday season always bring me back here. We have lost so many greats this year, Irene Cara, Bernard Shaw, Ramsey Lewis, Bill Russell, LeonTalley, Lani Guinier, Sidney Poitier. Hats off to these greats. I have been blessed with my family and friends through this COVID pandemic and yes, I still wear my mask. 

As most of you already know, now is not a good time to retire. Unless you hate your job, what’s the hurry? You probably have at least 4 weeks of vacation, a paid off home and possibly older kids. Right now you should be thinking of what comes next on your last day and taking it easy is not an answer. Hell, you can “quiet quit” on your current job. Oh, for you old asses who don’t stay current, “quiet quitting” is when you cut back your activities on your current job. You start using those sick days, stop working overtime and weekends, and stop stressing about the little shit. 

Did you know that many black people go downhill with health after retirement? Because work was the only activity we did, we become inactive, gain weight and start having health problems. We retire because people tell us that’s what you should do at a certain age or we listen to some dumbass financial advisor using a generic algorithm that tells us we are good. Here is the thing, I don’t want to volunteer at church every day or hang out at the senior center with those old ass white people or keep bad ass grandkids. So, Frugal Frank what shall we do you ask? Follow along then:

Step 1: Get your ass in shape, stop going home and taking a nap after work. Exercise or join a Pickleball group. Use your employee discount for health club membership. Buy a Fitbit and make sure you walk 10000 steps a day, with at least 500 moderate jogging.(get that heart pumping)

Step 2: Stop eating fast food, anything high in sodium, no sodas and reduce carbs.

Step 3: Stop waiting for retirement to go places on the weekends and I don’t mean shopping. Go to museums, parks, performances. A one night weekend driveable trip can do wonders.

Step 4: Do your “quiet quit” at work, if you are still down South, those people are probably working you too damn hard anyway. My trick is, you only have to stay 5 more minutes than your boss. They neither know or care if you worked 5 minutes or 5 hours, because their asses are hanging out at the Country Club.

Step 5. Survey your neighborhood. I don’t care how long you have lived there, if Pokie is selling weed next door and gunshots happen as often as the mail, you need to plan on moving after retirement. Find a nice safe area with walking and bike trails.

Step 6. Before leaving your job, try living on 1/3 of your salary for a year or two, because that’s retirement. If you can’t do it with a job, then you better put on that Walmart greeter vest.

So, this is your starter list. 

Also stay invested. I have been through three downturns. We probably have another year or two to go, but it will rally back.

For Christmas, don’t buy too much unnecessary stuff. For ideas check out my previous Christmas blogs.

Peace out and stay frugal,

Frugal Frank from the Blackside

Happy 2022 in The Black

 Hello my Peoples,

I hope everyone is staying COVID free to start the New Year. I am worried because I am seeing too many black folks walking around with no masks and listening to too much conspiracy bull crap on the internet. I know that the Black Frugal group is following the science and staying safe and healthy. I cooked a healthy batch of Collards this Christmas( no ham hock), well, after I burnt the first batch. Take a note from me when cooking Collards, never take a nap during cooking without a timer. Ha ha. From my wife, you need white wine, cayenne pepper, a little sugar and a pinch of salt. I also watched King Richard and Harlem.

During 2020-2021, I have done the following:

- created a workout area in my basement for under $300

- increased my wealth

- paid off all vehicles 

- sent two kids to Europe for a week

- improved my golf and tennis game

- renovated a kitchen on the cheap

- built a Little Free Library 

- also, update on my Hisense Flatscreen, it lasted 8 years, not bad for $300 50 inch, but the speakers are terrible. The good deals now are the Samsungs.

So, for the Black Frugal group, I hope you have stayed invested in the stock market. With all the gas increases, viruses and mutations, the Dow has gone from 28000 in 2020 to 36000 at the end of 2021. You should still keep most of your money in mutual funds and stay away from anyone trying to sell you annuities and crypto for now. Hey, you can spend a few hundred on Dogecoin or Shiba and see what happens, but it is too volatile to anything except dabble. The only good things coming from this pandemic is that we have learned that we were wasting too much money on materialistic items, eating unhealthy and paying preachers too much damn money. The online sermons really separated out the theologians from the prosperity preachers. 

This is still a good time to buy a home and for my black peoples we need to upgrade to neighborhood where our property can appreciate like the whites. I know we love our black hoods but until real estate companies and cities stop marginalizing our communities our wealth in assets will never build like them. Remember never buy the most expensive house in you neighborhood, if you do you are already at the top price point and your house will never appreciate in value at a profitable rate. I believe interest rates are going to rise over the next year. We are no longer in our grandparents generation where you bought a house in a black neighborhood and never moved. Our black neighborhoods now are degrading at a much faster rate and we have not learned the keys to gentrification of our neighborhoods like the whites have. You just can’t run the drug gangs or predators out, you have to price them out and put city power on the slum lords. Now, many of you may disagree but again that’s my two cents and like my mom used to say opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

Peace out for now,

Frugal Frank OTBS

I am an Advocate for Public Education Part 2

 So here we are again my peoples. I have been away for far too long and I apologize for abandoning you during this ongoing Pandemic, but self and family care took priority. 

I am revisiting an earlier Blog several years ago where I discussed public education vs private education. I did take a little heat for saying that you could send your kid to a public school and rather than pay the high private school tuition, use less money and supplement your child’s education with additional resources and opportunities, and by doing so could get your child in the same elite colleges as the private schools.

Well, today, I can let you know that I was right. I have one daughter who went to one of the top women’s colleges in the country and another who is going to an Ivy League college. These schools with their billion dollar endowments are unmatched for the resources and opportunities they can provide to your student. They both attended public schools and trust me they got no pass or benefit for the color of their skin. As most of you know now, middle class black kids get no breaks unless you are first generation. I did put them in sports like golf, tennis, swimming. They excelled in all three and learned discipline and resilience. What I found out along the way is that even after the William Sisters and the Woods, this sports are still 99% white. The movie “King Richard” does not over exaggerate the obstacles or the elitism in these sports. Everyone is nice until your kids start beating theirs. It is mainly about access and changing our mindsets from the traditional avenues to forging new ground. As I always say during this time, the best gift a black parent can give their kid is a golf membership and some lessons. It will change their whole perspective. Trust me. You can blog back at me and I can guide you through the process of all three sports because no one will help you, except maybe a few Asian parents. Now, I am not stereotyping just speaking from experience. 

I have to put up some Christmas lights and the Little Free Library that I built( I am becoming a true New England Granola eating Liberal). I will blog more later. I have many topics about the economy and money to catch up on so get ready 2022.

Frugal Frank from the Blackside

Being Black in the time of Trump

Hello my peoples,

I don’t know about you, but I miss President Obama. During these times, we need to remember that we are still living in Obama’s economy.
The jobs growth- Obama
Healthcare- Obama
Stock Market- Obama
Minimum wage increases- Obama
Green economy- Obama

We need to also remember that we will feel the full effect of Trump’s policies in the next 4 years going forward. Just think of the Bush years. Clinton left a booming surplus economy and it only took Bush 4 years to destroy it. Remember, that’s why we got Obama., a republican President drove the economy into the ditch. The sad thing is, he was smarter than the present dude.
I am not here to bash President Trump, because it just waste energy and history will always uncover the truth.

I have been slow reading the new Frederick Douglass biography by David Blight and it helps me appreciate and understand the times we are in now. Just think about it, Fred saw all the progress made during abolition and reconstruction only to see so much ground lost during the beginnings of Jim Crow. In reading the book, I saw that white supremacy takes no vacations and will try and rewrite history because most of the populists takes the path of least resistance. Fred never stop living as a man and continued to speak truth to power. I don’t want to give a summary of the book, so I suggest that you make this your holiday read and come back and discuss it with me.

So, with the holidays amongst us, what should we discuss? Beyoncé, Jay-Z or Kanye? As Whitney Houston once said, “Hell to the no!” We see a lot of this mindless material on television. I think it should be finances. Why? Because money issues shorten our life span, leads to divorce, unhappy retirements and unhappy relationships. As a black man living in New England, I have learned that weekends are great for biking, tennis, golf, and farm to table eating. Weekends are not meant for Mall retail shopping, fast food eating, and any sedentary activity possible. I also love the Lord, but have found many ways and places to worship not always in the traditional church structure. I sometimes attend church with my white brethren when I want a short service with the word, but I also go to the black church for spiritual renewal. There is just something about a white choir singing Negro spirituals that is just not right. So, I will be attending my black church during the holidays with my people. You know, “Silent Night” with the Motown twist can’t be beat at Christmas.

So back to finances, as I read Frederick Douglass, one of my takeaways is that blacks after Reconstruction were involved in educating their children and were trying to make impacts on society. As, I look at  the Jay-Z’s, Will Smiths, Kanye’s and multiple wealthy celebrities, I wonder if they are producing future doctors, scientists, and lawyers or future consumers of mindless materialism? Is it the ultimate goal to be on E!News every night? Is that what our people fought and died for? You know the ironic thing about this whole college admissions scam involving celebrities? There were no black celebrity parents. They will buy kids $200,000 cars and throw the biggest birthday bashes but are not trying to get their kids into elite colleges, even illegally. I will give George Foreman some serious credit, none of his kids are boxers; but they are lawyers, doctors and dentists even though their father is worth $300 million and they could live off his wealth.
Let’s keep our eyes on the prize. During this holiday season, don’t overspend. Your kids should still love you if they don’t get the latest new toy and if they have issues check your parenting skills. Trust me I am raising two strong sisters who are woke and self conscious. Maybe it’s the parenting or because they have a frugal dad, but this year they want gifts after Christmas when stores give the greatest markdowns. They are giving me my greatest Christmas gift, Frugal Kids on the black side.

So, during this period of holiday joy and political turmoil, get your finances in order so that you can bear the economic down turn coming, and believe me, it is coming. We may have one or two years of breathing room. So do these during the holidays:

1. Pay off as much debt as possible
2. Build reserve funds
3. Build retirement
4. Educate your kids, if A’s are not coming home, some serious shit needs to get restricted.
5. Join Planet Fitness instead of buying a Peloton
6. Upgrade to a used car instead of a new car
7. Stop drinking all soft drinks and switch to Perrier
    This and reduced bread intake will improve health and weight loss
8. Buy a subscription to Consumer Reports
9. Subscribe to SiriusXM for Urban Talk-get woke
10. You still need to get your kid a junior golf membership to a nice golf course plus lessons
11. For the  HolidayFive Black Movies to Watch this Holiday

Peace out for now,
Frugal Frank on the Blackside

New Year’s Resolution in the Black

Hello my Peoples,

Welcome back in 2019. I hope you had a good holiday and had lots of love and cheer. We vacationed over the holidays at a lovely resort in Vermont. I wanted to enter the axe throwing competition but on the morning of it the temperature was zero. So, I, instead stayed in and enjoyed the beautifully fallen snow and finished reading the biography of Alain Locke. I would highly recommend this weighty reading. I don’t know if you have tried Groupon for vacation deals but I would highly recommend it. Now, Let’s get started fresh off the bat with some great resolutions.

Number 1:
Identify and eliminate destructive values from your life.
Although most values are positive, we all have those which are not good for us.
Like:
1. The desire for something for nothing. Symptoms can be playing the lottery, gambling or cheating.
2. The desire to gossip. It allows us to feel better or superior to talk about other people’s problems and while avoiding our issues.
3. The desire for instant gratification. After all some of us are a part of the “me generation”
   
Remember that identifying leads to correction. As Patti LaBelle says, “Don’t block the blessings.”

Number 2:
Create your dream list for the year.Write down things you would like to do in 2019.
1. Where would you like to travel.
2. How much money would you like to save.
3. What debt will you pay off.

4. Do you need to start a new relationship?
5. What new look would you like.
Remember, start small, baby steps can be achieved easier.

Number 3:
Create a list of your values, then make sure your actions align to your values.
If you say that you value frugal living but hit the mall every weekend, then your actions don’t match your values. Your values list  should also include no monetary values like healthy living, family, security, peace of mind, happiness, spiritual healing, and don’t forget a healthy sex life.

Well, this should be enough to get you started for the New Year. I have already started working out at the gym a little. Remember, baby steps. I want to loose just 10lbs.

Again Happy New Year,
Frugal Frank OTBS

Don't Be Fooled or Bambozzled

Hello My Peoples,

I know it has been a while, but I am a hard working brother and have to make that money. Now that being said, I make my money from other things than financial advice. This separates me from the other cats on the internet blog sites. I am not trying to make money off of you, just spreading good frugal advice and love for my people. As my mother used to say, "People who love you will tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear." SO AGAIN as I yell at you. Beware of people trying to make money off of you. Now don't get me wrong, you should protect your family with insurance and you should invest for your future, but you can research and do this for yourself without paying hefty fees. You can check this blog, ask questions, and seek out your library for some good books. Yes, as frugal fans you are going to have to read for yourselves. I am not your quick answer guy but we can have a healthy discussion once you educate yourself a little.  I need you to join the ranks of the Frugal Franks On the Black Side, which means I am probably going to rename this site because I believe in the empowerment of black women and we need strong sisters and brothers. Now, just because I love my people don't mean I am against others. I love the human race, but my people sometimes get neglected. So, as I write this blog on Mother's Day, I have to give much love to my deceased mother who was a symbol of strength in flesh. She could pinch pennies like nobody's business and still do better than neighbors making twice as much as she.

So here is a list of the attributes of Frugal Frank OTBS fans:

1. They drive used Volvos, Honda Vans or Subarus
2. They take mini-vacation weekends using sites like Groupon instead of exotic ones
3. They invest in their children's education instead of clothes
4. Men wear Keenes, Clarks and Rockports
5. Women wear Keenes, Birkenstocks, and Danskos
6. Have 15 year home mortgages
7. Have assets of $1 million and are maxed out on 401K's and 403B's
8. Shop at Lands Ends, LL Bean, Thrift Shops and hit Tag Sales on weekends
9. Should be invested in some Berkshire Hathaway
10. Do not have Bitcoin (because we don't understand it yet, although Ripple is interesting)
11. Don't plan to retire-we will talk about this in the next blog
12. Send their kids to public school if they can
13. Don't Tithe but support the church not because of guilt but through love
14. Have switch to Apple Computers, software and tech is just better

Well, time to go. After All it is Mother's Day and Tiger Woods and Harold Varner III are making history making as the only two blacks on the LeaderBoard at the Players Golf Tournament.

Peace Out,
Frugal Frank OTBS

For Christmas,Buy Your Kid a Junior Golf Membership

Hello my Peoples,

I am in the holiday spirit and feel like blogging away. I am originally from a good old black southern environment and this time brings back special memories. We were kinda of poor but never knew it because my mom was the ultimate spendthrift. We knew what we were getting for Christmas in June because my mom would layaway Christmas gifts 6 months early and it was mainly clothes with like one toy. My toys were always Tonka, because they were hard to destroy. I am talking about the old Tonka vehicles made of metal not these plastic ones today. My mom worked 6 days a week and during Christmas the department store where she worked would stay open until 9 pm. On Christmas eve, it would close at 5 pm and that's when the fun for us but added work for mom would begin. She would cook all night long and wrap gifts before we woke up. In the morning we would wake up to the smell of country ham, cheesy eggs, biscuits and salty herring(never knew how the fish mixed in).

We made it because my father and mom had built our home and paid it off before he died when I was young, so that allowed my mom to raise 5 kids on her check and Social Security from my father. When mom wanted to buy furniture or clothes she would lay them away, but she bought the best. She would always say "If you buy quality goods like the white folks, then it will last." That is one thing she learned working in the houses of wealthy white people, they don't waste money just because they have it. When she was recommending something, she would say "That's what they are......." which meant that is what the white folks are doing. But, you know what; her philosophy got me into some of the best colleges, great organizations and allowed me to traveled to Europe and have a heck of a good life.

So, why do I say for Christmas, buy your kid a junior golf membership? Because, "That's what the white folks are doing." They have almost surrendered basketball and football for now until they can figure out how to change the rules of the game. Has anyone noticed how the free little leagues that we grew up with are being replaced with high priced travel teams? They are pricing us out. Now a days if you don't pay for kid to go to the expensive summer camps your kid better be the next Lebron because the high school and college coaches recruit from the camps for soccer, football and basketball. They are on these coaches radar in middle school. The game is changing and we don't know the new rules. But, let's talk golf.

Golf country clubs are looking to increase participation in the sport and the fertile territory is the young. If they get them introduced to the game, they have players who will pay for 40-50 years and will also draw in parents. The normal annual membership to the average golf club can range from $1000 to $20,000, but junior memberships can cost as little as $200 a year. Of course, you need to get the kid lessons with a pro(not too expensive,check out First Tee), but this will be the best investment you ever spent. You will introduce your child to a whole different world and, if they play in junior tournaments, to some of the best golf courses in the country. They will meet future pro golfers and make great connections. If they are good, they can receive full scholarships to some of the best colleges. You guys should follow the other black guy on the PGA Tour(besides Tiger), Harold Varner III. This brother graduated from East Carolina and made about $2 mil last year. So even though I like team sports like football or basketball, golf and tennis are the best defenses against bias and racism. In team sports, your playing time depends on whether the coach likes you or thinks you can contribute to the team. So many talented players waste their time on the bench with dreams deferred. But with golf and tennis, you don't need permission. Your destiny is in your own hands and if you hit enough balls and play enough tournament, you will get better. Now, I do have to warn you that at times you and your kid will be the only black faces in the clubs and tournaments, but this only teaches your kids tenacity and by the most people are polite and helpful. The Asian parents will embrace you also. In golf , the one with the lowest score wins. No one can prevent your kid from playing and its a lifetime sport and it is never to late to start them. Trust me, you will have a better time walking 18 holes with your kid rather than watching him ride the bench for 10 minutes of playing time. Parents, if you have girls, golf is where it’s at. The sisters can dominate. Trust me they can do more with golf than cheerleading. My boss never asked me to go cheerleading after work. You  will be raising strong sisters. Did you know that a black woman owns the golf course that the Arnold Palmer Invitational was played at and tha Condolezza Rice is a member at Augusta National, one of the most exclusive golf club in the country.

So, for Christmas, go get that golf membership and don't forget the clubs.
Finally, because you are reading this blog, I know you will have a frugal Merry Christmas.




Happy Holidays and remember what James Brown said, "Santa Claus goes straight to the Ghetto",

Frugal Frank OTBS

Everybody Wants to Be Rich

Hello My Peoples and others,

With this year drawing to a close, Frugal Frank OTBS just wanted to drop a note. As my mother used to say, "Everybody wants to get rich, but we settle for a black man's heaven". We spend too much time projecting wealth rather than having it. During my years talking to people about investing money and planning for their financial future, I found that many people that I talked to wanted to project more wealth than they really had. I would visit people living in $500,000 homes and a driveway full of high end vehicles with no savings and very little retirement. Even though they were educationally at the top of their professions, they were financially ignorant. I would get the same spills, "I see myself doubling my salary in five-ten years and I am not in a position to do more investing yet." or "I already have this great annuity through my bank." Others would present me with some great investment they saw on television or heard at the barber shop like Silver Eagle coins, Bitcoin,  or Pyramid church schemes.

Now, I know that this blog is not palatable to all that read it. It's not meant to be. One of the reasons I got into investments was to help my people, but then I found out that a lot of them didn't have enough money to support me, so I had to turn to the man. Yes, the man. The truth is that the real "man" sees colors in green. If you are credentialed and smart they will write a check without blinking because if you have old or conservative money you know how to make more. They are not new to the game and so they know about investing and growing wealth. Now for some hard truth. Our people are behind the eight ball on financial awareness. We depend too much on banks and investment advisors to educate us.

If you have less than than a million, you are not generating enough income for your advisor, investor or counselor to make a living on. (Yes, they make money off of you) They will either try to put you in high commission products or sell you a plan or multiple products. With a little education you can invest and get pretty good returns yourself. And you should monitor your investments every 2-3 months.

Another hard truth is that if you haven't accumulated $100,000 in retirement by age 30, you should find you a job you love and keep working. Retirement with no money looks like a Walmart greeter.

So, with this knowledge do the following for Christmas:
1. Buy yourself some books on investments,if they suggest annuities skip them
2. Have a family meeting and review your finances
3. Figure out how to increase your retirement savings to 15%
4. Get yourself some insurance

Peace out,
Frugal Frank OTBS

Frugal Frank OTBS where have you been?

Hello my Peoples,

Frugal Frank on the black side back for 2017. What a year, Dow at 22000. So, for those of you who listened to my previous blogs and stayed in the market you should be closer to that million or two. I am in the liberal land of New England with high minimum wages and good health insurance plus excellent public schools. In this blog, I will share a few things I learned over the first half of this year.

First GEICO is now my favorite car insurance company. I dropped my independent agent with the M-F 8-5 hours and got 24hr quick response service. My last add on vehicle  was done at 3am in the morning and was approved in less than 1 hour with the policy emailed to me. No lie, I saved $2000 a year for 3 vehicles with a teenage driver.

2nd lesson learned for 2017;  I have gone back to car dealerships to service my vehicles. Because dealerships are really going after the auto maintenance and repair business, dealerships have lowered repair prices and increased quality and customer service. With the new technology in todays cars, old repair shops can't keep pace on diagnostics and tend to waste your dollars fishing for solutions. I have to give credit to my wife, after a few repairs from our previous mechanic where the Honda was returned with grease smudges and high cost, she checked Yelp for a dealer. After months of reviewing repairs and comparing bills for similar work, we switched all vehicles and are very pleased. The plus is that the dealers are linked into the same systems, so if you need a repair in another state your records are accessible.

3rd lesson; Hisense  makes a better and cheaper flat screen than Vizio. I paid $398 for my 50 inch and after 3 years it is still showing a great picture. So for those of you who are still waiting to buy that flat screen, go ahead and take that plunge.  If you are nervous about reliability, buy it at Costco(they add a 1 year additional warranty), buy it with a credit card(add another 1year additional warranty). (Amex and Visa for sure).

4th lesson; Cut your cable and stop watching all that news babble talk. You can get a balance from PBS Newshour and you can spend the rest of your time reading, biking or playing tennis and golf. Some summer reading books I suggest: The Black Count, The Capitol Men, Hidden Figures and the Miseducation of the Negro.

Well my time is up but I promise to stay connected this time.
Stay Frugal my friend

Frugal Frank OTBS

Buy a New Cheap Flat Screen with Confidence

Hello My Peoples,

I love being black, don't you? I also love being around black people, especially church folk. Have you ever heard a white choir try to sing a Negro spiritual, it ain't right. You can't pretend soul and suffering.
And As my Mom used to say, "Can't nobody give you strength on Sunday to deal with the demons on Monday but a black preacher."

With Christmas all around us, I should have written this sooner. I apologize to those of you who have already paid several thousand for an expensive brand name, but here is the low down. Most of the flat screens produced today come from China, Korea or Singapore. The insides like the motherboard are pretty generic and the cheap ones at the big box stores are pretty good in quality. I purchased a 50" Hisense for $379 two years ago and it is still kicking. The technology is changing so rapidly that what you overpay for today will be available cheaply tomorrow. I recommend the following:

1. Buy the largest cheap flat screen that your budget and room will allow: 50-60" should do it.
2. Purchase it with an American Express card at Costco and you get this.
                  a. One year manufacturer warranty
                  b. Plus a additional year from Costco
                  c. Plus an additional year from American Express
3.  Buy Hisense, Vizio, Sceptre over a brand like Emerson(don't like the picture) but cheap the picture  
     of the same TV in different stores for consistency.
4. Try not to spend more than $600, but do get a surge power stripe( spikes can damage your flat screen
    even when turned off)

Happy Shopping!

Frugal Frank on the black side

Beware the Financial Advisor/Insurance Man Bearing Gifts

Hello My Black People,

It's the holiday season, which is a time for "Merry Christmas Baby", Chitluns or Chitterlings(as the Black Hamps say), peach brandy and the Black Nativity. I can still smell the soul food cooking in my mother's kitchen and see the uncles and friends of my father who dropped by on Christmas Eve for a drink and some SousMeat(Hoghead Cheese) making sure they always gave us kids a brand new silver dollar before they left. Those people have passed on but linger in my memories.

But, along with the visitors was the life insurance man who came by monthly to collect the premium on the $500 life insurance policy that my mom had on everyone. Like millions of blacks, she had been sold these policies years ago when you could, for $500, bury a black person. Over the years as prices for funerals rose these policy values stayed the same making them not really helpful for the purpose they were originally purchased for. The insurance man knowing this, just kept coming by with a nice smile and collecting those checks. These policies have over the years been a contributor to the income gap between blacks and whites. While we were being sold policies that just barely covered burial costs, whites were buying $100,000 plus policies to take care of family security and education passing wealth to generations.

Today this still happens, because the former life insurance men are now financial advisors. They come in with a smile and do a financial review of your situation and end up selling you a life insurance product like whole or variable life. If you have a nice sum of investment money, for instance sitting in a company 401K, they sell you an annuity; still a life insurance product. Today, while we have upgraded to $25,000 policies whites have upgraded to $1,000,000. I could give you an deep analysis of the insurance industry and its practices, you don't need it in this blog. So without babbling on too much, I give you, my frugal friends the life insurance break down.

1. Life insurance should be looked at like a wealth builder for the survivors. If you have very little assets but wife and kids, buy between $500,000 to $1,000,000 policy, cheaper than you think see number 2.

2. Buy Term. Again Buy Term policies with 20 year or 30 year terms. This will cover your family during your wealth accumulating years. If you have done things right, in 20 years your kids should be out of college and with retirement, home equity and investments assets between 500k to a mil. These policies build no cash and end at the term year, they are mainly for taking care of your families if you die.

3. Insurance is not an investment tool. It is not and Education saving vehicle. Only buy whole if you plan on blowing your retirement and you want to leave your kids a 100k when you die at 90.

4. Purchase insurance when you are young and healthy. If done, you can get the above amounts for under $900 a year. Remember, when you are young and healthy everyone wants to sell you insurance, but when you are old or sick no one will sell it to you.

5. If you are single with no dependents, you don't need life insurance life.

6. Do not roll your 401K into an annuity. Best accounts for these are Vanguard and TIAA-Creff. They are low cost investments with solid returns. You can always buy a payout annuity with part of your savings at retirement.

7. Educate your family about investments so they won't blow that million dollars you left them.
   A million dollars in an investment account that returns 5% will produce $50,000 a year to spend and the family never has to touch the principle.

8. Remember, you will never benefit from life insurance. It is to help you build wealth for future generations and as frugal blacks, we have got to think generationally forward.

Frugal Frank OTBS-Back to the Future

Hello, Hello,

It is the one and only Frugal Black Man on the Planet back in black. I apologize for the long hiatus
but like most working black folk I have been a little busy raising kids which leads to my point of the day. The one issue  and the only issue I have with President Obama is that he and his girls missed a golden opportunity to show high visibility black girls on tennis teams, swim teams and golf teams. How powerful an image would it have been to see these girls playing sports that the majority of our black people don't do. Images are powerful in our community and having the Obama girls in the media would been huge positive images for little black girls. I know you say we have Tiger Woods and the Williams sisters but they are super human. We need to see regular black folk with average skills excelling on a higher plane. I know you might say that the Obama girls were not interested, but kids will tend to follow their parents interests. Both my girls play all three sports and they did so because, number one we put them in these sports and number two we also engaged in these sports as a family. If you want your black girls to get college athletic scholarships these are the sport areas. The cool thing is that if your daughters compete you will really see how the other half lives. Your kids will play at private members only Country Clubs that you and I would not have assess to.  Matter of fact, a lot of college teams are fielding girls from overseas because of the void of females in these sports. Hell, the HBCU's normally have all white girls golf and tennis teams; just check the websites. Have we overcome too far, ha ha!
See, we, black folk, have taken over the traditional sports leaving the majority to dominate golf, tennis, soccer, swimming, lacrosse and field hockey. To secure their hold on these sports they are pricing us out. The black folk who can afford these exclusive sports instead spend money blinging out their kids with North Face and Uggs and the others who cannot are looking for the next Lebron James to get them out the hood. I could go deeper with this conversation but I don't want to piss anyone off or make my head explode. Beside my expertise is money and saving it.  I will blog later, one of my kids has a golf tournament at Farm Neck on Martha's Vineyard.


Stay Black,
Frugal Frank OTBS        

Rock on Roku

Hello Dear Friends,

In one of my post a while back I discussed the joys of Broadcast digital TV for free. I still have it but was limited to the local channels. Since, I had WiFi at home, I used my Wii to get Netflix and watch it on the High Def. This went great until Netflix lost the Stars account and some great movies. Long story short. I have Amazon which just signed a deal with Epix and already has great movies like Iron Man 2, plus you can purchase recently released movies and take 2 days to watch. 

I also found the best little device called the Roku. It allows you to watch internet streaming through the television. The best part is that you can get one for around $40 and it is about the size of an astray. You do not have to turn it on or off and it uses very little power. The screen views are great and you get access to multiple streaming movies and news sites. It is so good you will stop using you Blue-Ray or game box to stream.

I would also recommend PlayOn. For a one-time fee of $75 you get access to Hulu, all network movies and shows, Crackle without having to pay a monthly fee.

So, take from Frugal Frank and stop paying $180.00 a month for cable. Ladies, think of all the nice things your spouse could buy you with that savings. Of course, if he is a sports fanatic, I can't help you. No live sports streaming yet.

Peace Out,

Frugal Frank OTBS

Barack, The Peoples' President

Hello again,
This is Frugal Frank back for the 2012 election. I will state for all to know that I am a fiscally conservative, socially liberal democrat and I like President Obama. If you ask me if I am better off than 4 years ago, the answer is yes. Four years ago, I was laid off, but today I am working in a new career. I will not even discuss Mitt in this post because of what I heard him say at the private donors meeting, he's not running to help out me and my other 47% of Americans who at times have had to rely on Uncle Sam for a little unemployment assistance. We help built this country but some people want to kick us when we hit a rough patch in the road. Also, I don't trust anyone who won't bank their money in the good ole U.S.A. Well, enough with politics, I am a history buff and could talk days about the Gilded Age and the New Deal comparisons. Only thing I can say is vote whether you are republican or democrat, our Black(yes, check with DAR, over 6000) and White Revolutionary forefathers fought too hard for this right.

In today's economy, I never thought that putting your money in the bank and under the mattress would give you the same return but that is the case today. Your only option to stay ahead of the game is to risk a little in the market. If you have  401K or IRA money, Vanguard or TIAA-CREF will still give you the best bang with low administrative cost. They are conservative but their funds are doing pretty good.

If you invest in the market follow a principle I like: Stick to what you know.
Really, if you pick up your local newspaper you will find deals in companies in your back door. Think about it, Labcorp was once a small testing lab in a small town. The people who missed it, missed big. How many times do you wish you had bought Ford stock at a $1.00 a share three years ago. No, I don't give stock picks because there is no magic bullet, but only persistence and staying in the game. Remember losses are only on paper until you sell. Wait I take that back; or unless you own Enron(that a real loss).

Until later,
Frugal Frank on the Blackside