It looks like the Harper Family will be keeping their home. Earlier this month the Harpers were said to have reached a preliminary agreement with their bank to keep it from being auctioned. They’re not sure if they are going to sell it, but for now things seem to be all good. I wonder what will happen because now they have a loan to pay back. I’ve heard a lot of commentary regarding their situation, but it’s hard to be completely sympathetic. How do we get ourselves in these situations? They had the opportunity to really build wealth because they could have redirected the funds not needed for a mortgage, property taxes and a college education for the boys to other avenues.

But how can us regular working-class people build wealth (as opposed to just “being paid”)? In an earlier post this week, I talked about my experiences with investing in the stock market. But what if you’re on a budget and can’t buy stocks directly, here’s another way to get started.

About two years ago, I started using the Black Wealth Network(BWN) online. I heard about it on the Tom Joyner and thought I’d give it a try. The mutual funds are managed by nationally known black money managers, but what makes this site great is that you can invest as much as you want at any given time.   There’s a monthly fee of $5 month and they take that out every quarter (that’s cheap). Other than that, I think those were the only fees I was charged. To get the most bang for your buck, you have to invest regularly (something I didn’t do) and rely on dollar cost averaging.

When I started using it two years ago, the site was very slow, but it’s gotten better. It takes a while for transactions to go through when you’re ready to buy and sell. It’s annoying, but I got over it after a while. I also didn’t like the limited amount of funds you could invest in. Other than that, I’ve had a good experience with them. Before starting I’d definitely learn what the NAV, how to exchange, redeem and other investing terms mean. It doesn’t take long and they have online help if you need it. Do your research and choose the best strategy that works for you. They also have managed funds which have extra fees associated with them.

As always, this is something I use and it shouldn’t be considered as advice. Invest at your own risk and get professional help from a financial planner if needed.