Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Sept. 6, 1980, edition 1 / Page 15
Part of The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
SAT..SOTEMBE1S.1S& THCAJ!3U?UTlSil-1S Wayne Clark Budgeting your money can be easier with the help of your bank and your own financial good sense. Both are necessary to have a complete picture of a sound financial plan. iour bank credit card helps you keep up with your purchases if you keep your receipts accounted for and in order. Your checking account register also gives you a list of deposits and checks writ ten, and allows you to keep a run ning balance of how much money you have. Your bank also offers you a sav ings account' an nttrariiva nart nf a budgeting plan because of the assurance it gives and the interest it offers. Most budgeting experts suggest that you put some money into your saving? account each month. More personally, your bank can offer good financial advice if you are having trouble managing your money. Your financial welfare is important to the bank, and your banker will be glad to discuss Parents of black college age students should take the task of sending their children off to college very serious ly, fundamental as this theme may seem, it is quite evi dent that serious problems exist within the black home concerning how to prepare for college and what to ex pect once the students are placed on a college campus. Prior and in-depth planning are a must if parents are to spare themselves the needless anxieties and frustrations that I have witnessed over the past several years. Black parents normally feel that once their children are accepted into college and they deposit them on the campus, it is up to the students to survive from that .point to graduation. It is my contention that the reten tion of black students should be a major cause of con cern for black parents. It is relatively easy to get students admitted, but keeping the students in college ihrough graduation is a serious problem among blacks. This is by no means suggesting that the students' com mitment should not be considered. On the contrary, tlack students must always be mindful that they are basically responsible for their success, with or without parental assistance. The concern over black student retention has increas ed in recent years and there is growing evidence that non-academic and non-cognitive variables play a critical role in the successful retention of black students. These Every time that you imagine yourself being suc cessful, you are actually paving the way to your own success. Think about it. How many times have you been successful after having imagined yourself succeeding? Now, ask yourself this question. How many times have you succeeded after having imagined yourself fail ing? The answer to the first question is probably "many times." The answer to the second question is probably "almost never." The mind plays a very potent and important part in determining whether one will succeed or fail. If you think that you will fail, you probably will fail. If you think that you will succeed, you probably will succeed. You determine your own destiny by "psyching" yourself up. Winners imagine themselves to be winners and losers imagine themselves to be losers. How have you psyched yourself? The imagination is extraordinarily powerful. When you imagine yourself to be unhappy, tired, bored or even sick, the mind has an amazing capability of making you feel that very way. When you picture yourself being happy, full of energy, motivated with enthusiasm and healthy, you will achieve the actual physical and emo 'tional'.conditiori that you daydream about This concept is known as visual imagery and is being used increasingly and successfully by medical doctors, psychologists and even athletes. It works for everyone. If you desire to use your mind to achieve success and aid yourself physically and emotionally to escape stress, depression, and physical and mental illness, follow this1 plan: Cj3t f 3t3 most from your btnt!c By Wayne Clark personal financial problems with you and help you choose the best way to solve them. It may be very helpful if you write out a monthly budget at home. It is important to list your required payments every month, such as mortgage payments or rent, groceries, clothing, utilities, telephone, gasoline, insurance, installment payments, charge card pay ments and miscellaneous expenses. Also, be sure to allow for inflationary increases in goods and services you purchase. . If your required payments equal your monthly income (without taxes), you need to adjust your spending habits. If your required spending takes up all of your income, you are left with none for entertainment, recreation and other non-required miscellaneous expenses. In a situation like this a single financial emergency would set you behind. So you might think about moving into a less expensive home or apartment, riding the bus or carpooling to work, or even making your own clothes. In budgeting your entertainment expenses, it is especially important that you be honest with your- About Black Children TO THE PARENTS This is the second in a series of articles prepared by the National Black Child Development Institute, Incorporated. are areas in which parents can offer the greatest amount of input and they should familiarize themselves with these variables prior to sending their offspring to col lege. Parental involvement is needed to help develop positive attitudes in the minds of our college bound students. Parental input throughout the academic tenure of the students often aids in reinforcing the development qf a positive self-concept. I encourage black parents tto have serious family discussion to enlighten their college bound students on issues such as racism, finance, and if the students are enrolling at a predominantly white institution, the psychological im plications of being in that kind of environment. Some parents assume that because their children attended a desegregated secondary school, problems dealing with a predominantly white environment will be minimized. this is definitely not an accurate assessment because parents fail to realize that their children spend less than one-third of their time in that desegregated high school environment. The majority of their time was spent in the home, and in most cases (about 99 per cent), their children have eaten and slept in an all-black environ ment throughout their entire lives. This will not be the case at a predominantly white institution. These family discussions should also dwell on how the college students should manage their financcial resources. This discussion should emphasize the proper use of a checking account, establishing a systematic pro cedure for the apportionment of funds during the academic year, and how often this will be re-evaluated. Racism is usually covert, but it does exist! Make sure that your students understand its implications and how to deal with it. self. Realistically assess how you spend your 'extra money, and then decide how or why yen want changes made. For example, if you like to eat at restaurants often or if yon often buy articles of clothing, budget an appropriate amount for that However, you may have to compensate by making cuts elsewhere. A family that spends heavily -for gift-giving at Christmas, for example, may have to be more conservative in other spending, such as family vacations. Also, it is important to list those "little" expenses every month. The three dollars you spend every week to go to the movies may seem small, but when you multiply it by four for your monthly budget, the sum warrants more attention. If you find yourself wondering at the end of the month, "Where did all my money go?" try formulating a sensible, workable budget. A good budget will not only make you aware of how you spend, it will also make you more judicious in your spending. Wayne Clark, a banker for 10 yean, it vice president and manager of the Wachovia Bank office in Bethel. Colleges and universities usually provide some type of orientation for incoming college students. This is an ideal time for parents to acquire information as to how they can monitor the academic progress of their children. Is there a systematic grade reporting process at the end of each semester and are these reports sent to them? What supportive services are available to their children, such as academic counseling and advising, and are there remedial courses if they are needed? Find out the addresses and phone numbers of persons in charge of these services. Learn how and where your children's financial assistance is distributed. Seek out persons in charge of housing and dining areas. When you, as parents, prepare your children for col lege, it is never too early to begin the process. The pro cess begins at home and continues as you sit in that orientation session. The preparation continues throughout their collegiate career. Parents can and should assist in providing insight to the children and to themselves as they seek answers to the realities of the college of their choice. Adequate and prior preparation on the part of the parents can very well be the key to academic success, which in turn means at least an equal chance for your proud moment at graduation H. B. Renwick, Associate Dean, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Coping Yes, You Can! By Dr. Charles W. Faulkner Africa NCWS (Continued from Page 13) Think of everything that you want to achieve in life. Write these goals on a sheet of paper. At least twice each day (more often if you wish), seat yourself in a comfortable chair in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed, take a few deep breaths of air to relax yourself, and recite each one of your goals aloud. Now, close your eyes and try to imagine yourself, as vividly as you can, actually achieving each of your goals in succession. Try to achieve a daydream-type condition and con centrate all-of-your attention on eing successful.As you relax, concentrate and use your vivid imagination; your body will respond with a strong positive feeling. Your mind will give you the motivation to achieve your goals and your body will become enthralled with a pleasant, vibrant urge to achieve. Each successive effort of this type will double your enthusiasm and self confidence. Make this promise to yourself: Never, never again im- tesfia s kzj CHI! Ps rrxWl Being a General Telephone Com munications Consultant is a full-time job. It means taking as much time as needed to survey, plan and discuss all details of a business customers phone installation. But they don't stop there. They are also busy looking for ways to show customers how to use their phones more ef ficiently. Some times they can show them how to save mon- ? 1 ey and maybe even how to make monev. r j Sound like good people ' to know? They'll be hap ) py to meet you anytime Jand make a survey of Meohone requirements. Call your local General Telephone business office and make an appointment to day. And remember there's never an extra charge for their services. agine yourself as a failure. Always, always picture yourself as a winner. FlCt Or RUSe (Continued from Page 14) but increasingly expensive. The housing stock in many inner-city communities often offers more space and is often built more solidly than the "ticky-tack" type,. , . " match-box" size construction that too ' A" often characterized suburbia. Moreover, Bell and DeBernardo point to the fact that black political strength in Congress is inex tricably tied to the growth of black com munities. (Rep. Ronald V. Dellums of Berkeley is the only member of the Congres sional Black Caucus who does not represent a majority black district). With blacks dispersed to the suburbs, they see what little black political power there is scattered metaphorically to the four winds. They see the shutting down and cutting back of city services, e.g., the closing of Sydenham Hospital in Harlem, Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, etc., as part of this policy of "urban triage" or "planned shrinkage." In any event, many rightfully wonder why the government can't take some of those funds earmarked for uprooting blacks from the inner cities, couldn't be used to improve services and facilities in these areas. Others are curious as to why the same government that is so hesitant about sending blacks to integrate suburban schools is so anxious to the point of subsidizing it to have blacks move to suburbia. In any event, the trend of blacks moving from cities to suburbs, and whites moving from the suburbs to cities continues apace. Washington, D.C., is a typical illustration of this phenomenon. Prince George's County, on the District's border, has seen its black population increase from 15V to 30. At the same time, the number of whites in the County dropped by 135,000, decreasing their total numbers in the County by 20. Mean- -while, about 25,000 people mostly black in Washington over the last five years have been forced to move from their homes and neighborhoods because of increased housing costs, condominium cconversions, etc. ironically, the government programs designed to arrest such are few and far between. government on behalf of overseas firms, thereby rendering ineffective the policies designed to con trol foreign companies. The Washington Post recently reported on the relationship between Chief M.K.O. Abiola, a prominent Nigerian businessman, and the In ternational Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT). According to the Post, while acting as chairman of ITT Nigeria, Abiola has received millions of dollars in salary and commissions and that some of these funds have been redistributed to govern ment officials belonging to the ruling National Par ty of Nigeria (NPN). ITT representatives assert that their relation ship with Abiola has been legal and proper. They also insist that none of the payments to Abiola have been funneled to govern ment employees, a punishable onense uuuci Nigeria's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This process, known in some areas as "gentrification," is not peculiar to Washington. To a greater or lesser degree, it is happening in Brooklyn, New Orleans, St. Louis, San Francisco, Philadelphia and a host of other cities. But Washington presents this phenomenon most dramatically. One family of eighwfi the Logan Circle area will serve as a prototyped The father earns $9,000 a year. Twice, the family was evicted when their house was sold. They considered themselves lucky when they finally found shelter on one floor of a small row house they share with two other families. There is a total of eigh teen people in the house. The city's rental housing stock is dwindling. There is a five year wait to get into public housing, much of which is in poor conditiSn. Existing sound apartments stock is being converted to con dominiums. Again, the question arises why doesn't the government devote some funds to assist or subsidize, blacks where they are in the inner cities rather than assisting in yet another mass migration. Obviously, this question is a tough one. Blacks who desire to move to the suburbs should certainly be allowed to do so. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to object to a' subsidy program to assist them toward their objective. By the same token, blacks who wish to stay in cities should be accorded similar subsidies. Many have pointed to the works of Brookings Institution researcher Anthony Downs as the "master plan" behind HUD's program and have pointed to some of the less than diplomatic language in his work in order to paint a somewhat plausible picture of "conspiracy." Whether or not one actually exists, it seems clear that both the black community and the Congres sional Black Caucus need to investigate all the nuances and repercussions of this latest bit of government benevolence. rri m m HMO Keep you talking. Si Follow the New Signs on Ervin Road
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 6, 1980, edition 1
15
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75