Keepingitreal

Floyd Mayweather Says He Changes The Game With Every Move, Mosley Says Floyd Better Be Ready

Hate it or love it, Floyd Mayweather has been one of boxing's main draws for years now. But according to the still undefeated boxer, he's brought a few more things than just blockbuster events.

In the final press conference leading up to his showdown against Shane Mosley on Saturday (May 1) in Las Vegas, he boasted about a few things -- making lowers weight classes the hot ticket was one of them.

"Whatever weight class I'm at is the hot weight class," Mayweather said. "What's so crazy is that when I started fighting at welterweight, I made the world pay attention to the small man."

Additionally, during Mayweather and Mosley's training camps, both fighters endured Olympic-style USADA drug testing. He says if this was a requirement, it will better the sport of boxing.

"I brought USADA in to keep the sport on an even playing field. Everyone knows this is done for the betterment of the sport," he says. "After I get blood taken, I'll go in and box 12 or 13 rounds, no problem whatsoever."

As far as the fight itself, he simply says Mosley is not on his level.

"I'm pretty sure Shane is in good shape. I don't think he is in better shape than me," Mayweather boasted. "As far as drawing power and superstardom, me and Shane are not on the same level."

Mosley, on the other hand, was undeterred by Floyd's comments. He says Mayweather better be ready, because he's predicting a knockout.

"I hope Mayweather is ready for this," Sugar Shane said. This will be one of the great fights of this decade or maybe even history. It's going to be a great fight.

"I always predict a knock out. We are going to make a magnificent fight."

Mayweather vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking? is taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 1st, and will also be available on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Visit WhoRUPicking.com for more info.

Halle Berry Single Again, Breaks Up With Model Boyfriend After Five Years

Uh oh! One of Hollywood's hottest actresses is back on the market again ... it's Halle Berrrrrryyy, as Hurricane Chris would say.

That's right. According to RadarOnline.com, the 43-year-old actress has broken up with 34-year-old model boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, with whom she's been dating for five years.

Apparently, the couple quietly split months ago and have been working out a custody agreement for their daughter.

"Gabriel just felt it wasn't working anymore," a source told RadarOnline. "When they were first together, the nine-year age difference between them didn't phase him, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever dated and he was totally in love.

"But as time went on he started feeling it more and more. Also, Gabriel started noticing other women, and being attracted to others, and he felt it just wasn't right to stay with Halle in those circumstances."

They met at a Versace store opening in Manhattan in February 2006. Two years later, they had a daughter together.

The break-up is the latest in a series of failed relationships for the Oscar-winning actress. Her first marriage, to former baseball player David Justice, ended acrimoniously after five years amid accusations from Berry of domestic abuse. Then, Halle married singer Eric Benet ended, but called it quits after four years when she discovered he had cheated on her. Benet went into treatment for sex addiction, but Halle filed for divorce.

After two failed marriages, Halle publicly stated that she was over the marriage thing. When she met Aubry she stated that her "life was already complete without the need for a marriage." SOURCE:BALLERSTATUS.COM

What Obama and Drake Have To Do With Being Black

We're supposedly living in a post-racial society, but these days, "black" is being defined much more narrowly--and it has nothing to do with one's actual racial heritage. To sell out or keep it real? That is the question.

By: Thomas Chatterton Williams

I'm the son of a black father and a white mother. As a child coming up in the 1980s and '90s, I immersed myself in hip-hop style and culture, excelled at sports, rocked aerodynamic hairstyles, and spoke in the same florid body language that the older brothers at the local black barbershop were fluent in.

I played basketball fiendishly, and on the asphalt, other black players addressed me without thinking as nigga. Once or twice, some white person referred to me (also without thinking) as a nigger. I was black back then, period.

As I've gotten older, however, my clothes have started to fit slimmer and my interests have widened. And I can't help but notice that I've become less black to others. Even before Barack Obama's election made ours a supposedly "post-racial" society (the one-drop rule is so 20th century), the truth is that the criteria we use to designate someone as acting, or even being black in the post-civil rights/hip-hop-era often has little, sometimes even nothing at all, to do with a person's actual racial heritage or physical characteristics. Rather, this particular designation is often an assessment of behavioral traits, a judgment of cultural values and a subjective projection of what is "real."

The more I've thought about it, the more I've found it's at the very margins of race, in the shadowy figure of the mulatto, that the notion of blackness can be most poignantly illuminated. This is because mixed-race blacks--while occupying a position in the culture that is at once privileged and cursed--are the physical incarnation of a racial dilemma that all blacks inevitably must confront: To sell out or keep it real? That is the question.

Consider, for example, two of the most visible mulattoes living and working today: the president himself and the rapper Drake. Both of these men are the direct offspring of black fathers and white mothers. They both proudly define themselves as black. And they both have benefited in large and tangible ways from the fact that much of the rest of the world sees them as such--despite the fact that both were raised mostly by the white sides of their families and in staggeringly un-black settings (Honolulu and Toronto, respectively). SOURCE: THE ROOTS.COM

For Migrants, New Law Is Just Another Challenge

NOGALES, Mexico — Despite its intent to “discourage and deter” unlawful entry to the United States, Arizona’s tough new immigration law is not what prevented Verónica from sneaking into the state without papers. After all, she had already endured a harrowing train ride, escaped dangerous drug traffickers and eluded Mexican authorities who were after the money she had stuffed in her underwear.

Verónica did not make it to the United States, she said glumly, simply because she got nervous. Her palms got sweaty and she slipped off the pole she and others in her group were shimmying up to get over the border fence and into Arizona.

It was a long fall and Verónica, a Honduran immigrant who declined to give her last name out of fear that it might hurt her chances of migrating north in the future, was bruised and limping when she recounted her failed border crossing. She was pregnant, too, and worried about how her fetus had handled the trauma.

As strict as Arizona’s new immigration legislation may be, prompting the Mexican government to issue a travel alert warning that “any Mexican citizen could be bothered and questioned without cause at any moment,” it happens to be child’s play compared with what many illegal immigrants regularly endure on their way to the north.

“If they think the migrants will stop coming, they’re wrong,” Rafael Limón Corbalá, head of the regional migration office for the Mexican state of Sonora, said of the Arizona legislators who approved the law. “There’s still jobs over there, and many people will still have their eyes on getting across.”

If a migrant can pay enough, heading north can be as simple as waiting in line at a border crossing, handing a forged identity document to a border guard and, if it works, strolling into the United States. But it is more likely to be a nightmarish trek through the Mexican countryside and then across the Arizona desert.

Either way, migrants pool significant sums, anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000, to make the passage. That is enough in many of their hometowns to build a basic home or start a small business, but it is widely viewed among migrants as a worthy investment.

Arizona’s new law — which calls for police officers who have “reasonable suspicion” of a person’s immigration status to demand proof of legal residency — was uniformly disliked by the many migrants interviewed in this border town on the Mexican side. The criticism seemed the same among those preparing to cross, those who were deciding what to do next after being deported and those in the midst of crossing who spoke as they trudged nervously north.

“We work for the people of Arizona and now they don’t want us,” fumed Miguel, who said he was part a group of several dozen people caught by the Border Patrol in the desert this week and bused back to the border. He said he would be making another attempt — his eighth in recent years — soon. CONTINUE READING...

iphone Weekend Blog Buzz 04.23.10

After 32 years as a morning radio personality in Washington, D.C., Donnie Simpson bid an emotional farewell to his listeners. According to the Washington Post, Simpson wept as he played Lionel Richie's "Jesus Is Love," his traditional closing song. This followed a parade of calls from celebrity well-wishers and other supporters. His four-hour show on WPGC-FM (95.5) spilled over an extra two hours to accommodate the phoned-in farewells from Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Wyclef Jean and other musicians whom Simpson has championed during his decades on the radio and as host of Black Entertainment Television's 'Video Soul.'....Simpson, who will be 56 on Saturday, was gracious and warm throughout his final program on the air. He thanked his listeners repeatedly, as well as his wife, Pam, his producer-son, D.J., and his colleagues.... Following the show, he treated fans and friends to lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl, the same popular diner visited by President Barack Obama days before his inauguration.SOURCE: Washington Post

lyvain White's latest film, 'The Losers,' which stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Holt McCallany, Oscar Jaenada, Jason Patric, and Peter Macdissi, has debuted online.Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo comic books, 'Losers' centers around a Special Forces team, who are set up and betrayed by their enigmatic handler, Max, who soon discovers that you should never leave a bunch of black-ops commandos for dead. The Losers regroup for revenge, and to get their names off a pesky CIA death list. For issue after issue, they conducted covert operations against the CIA, and sought to uncover the plans and conspiracies of the powerful, secretive Max. Warner Bros. will release the film in theaters on April 9.Somebody in Lil Kim's camp must've had a come to Jesus convo with the hip-hop surged "I used to be afraid of the d*ck" poet. Kim recently appeared in public looking less like a Disney villain and more like an African-American woman with facial features that are movable. I must say, Kim is looking normal and damn good!Apart of Nightline’s “Face off” series, the much talked about debate “Why Can’t A Successful Black Woman Find A Man” airs tonight on ABC at 11:35pm (ET). Hosted by Vicki Mabrey and Steve Harvey, the panel features Sherri Shephard co-host of the “The View,” Jacque Reid co-star of VH1’s “Let’s Talk About Pep,” Jimi Izarel, author of “The Denzel Principle” and “CSI” star and author, Hill Harper. Umm…we can’t imagine what kind of new information will be shed on the issue. We’re all pretty exhausted with the topic. Are you watching? Check out some snippets her

Sistas sure do spend plenty of time putting our men in their places. Checkin’ them. Givin’ them the business. Letting them know when they’re wrong, how wrong they are and how quick they ‘betta’ get done with that wrongness. We have an arsenal of friends, sisters, Sorors and co-workers to dog them out with, ready to co-sign on black men’s trifling, no-good-doin’ ways. And we have a dozen or more media outlets we use to vent about their shortcomings and failings, their problems and issues, their failures and faults. (Essence for one, has a tumultuous love/hate relationship with them, always willing to dedicate a good amount of real estate vocalizing our collective complaints about black men and then giving us 12 instructional pages on how to find one.) SOURCE...CLUTCH MAGAZINE

Shocking news as the principal of Woodland Middle School in Henry County, New Jersey, has come under fire over rapper T.I.‘s recent appearance. Parent we offended that T.I. spoke to their children and were not notified. Clifford Harris is a great father and family man, he just happens to be the rapper T.I., it sounding like the parents just wanted to see the rapper. but the appearance has cause and huge issue at the school now.

According to AllHipHop, T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., appeared at the school on March 5th and spoke to students.Parents of some students took issue with the fact that they were not notified of who would be speaking to their children. T.I., who was recently released from a halfway house to house arrest with a curfew, served a year in prison for attempting to buy multiple machine guns with silencers. As part of his probation, the rapper was sentenced to 1,500 hours of community service, 1,000 of which were completed prior to his prison sentence.He flew around the country visiting middle schools, recreational centers and various Boys & Girls Clubs, where he encouraged teens to stay away from drugs, violence and gangs.

Well FORBES Magazine just released the 10 wealthiest Black Americans in the US. Wow, this is shocking though guess who dropped off the top 10. No 50 Cent? And Jay Z jumps up…no Diddy and Russell Simmons doesn’t make the top 20 cut.

Flip it to get it….

1. Oprah Winfrey – Net worth of $2.7 billion

2. Tiger Woods – Net worth $600 million

3. Robert Johnson – Founder of BET – Net worth $550 million (he took a hit during the recession)

4. Michael Jordan – $525 million

5. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr. – $500 million

6. Bill Cosby – $450 million

7. Sheila Johnson – Robert Johnson’s ex-wife – Net worth $400 million

8. Don Peebles – Runs Peebles Corp. a real estate development company – Net worth $350 million

9. Berry Gordy – Founder, Motown Records – Net worth $350 million

10. Quintin Primo III – Founder of real estate financing company Capri Capital – Net worth $300 million.

11. Don King – Net worth $290 million

12. Janice Bryant Howroyd & Family – Net worth $250 million

13. Herman J Russell – Net worth $200 million

14. Ulysess Bridgeman Jr. – Net worth $200 million

15. Tracy Maitland – Net worth $150 million

16. Alphones Fletcher Jr. – Net Worth $150 million

17. Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter – Net worth $150 million

18. Kobe Bryant – Net worth $140 million

19. Shaquille O’neil – Net worth $130 million

20. Kenneth Chenault – Net worth of $125 million

Below the line: (the ones who didn’t make the top 20 this year)

Russell Simmons – barely misses the cut with a fortune of $110 million.

49ers beef up offensive lineThe 49ers add Rutgers offensive tackle Anthony Davis (above) and Idaho guard Mike Iupati.

BART's Police Department has fired the officer who decided to arrest Oscar Grant moments before a colleague fatally shot the unarmed Hayward man Jan. 1, 2009.

Bradford Is No. 1 and Tebow Is Draft’s Surprise

In the days leading up to the N.F.L. draft, the top prospects were unsettled by just how uncertain their futures were. With the presumed No. 1 choice — quarterback Sam Bradford — without a completed contract and trade speculation buzzing from Oakland to Pittsburgh, the players made their way through the pre-draft festivities with tight smiles and crossed fingers.

Tim Tebow, the Florida star who had spent the past few months remaking his throwing motion and trying to convince coaches that he could play quarterback in the N.F.L., avoided the entire scene, staying home in Jacksonville, Fla., with his family.

His fortunes had captivated the run-up to the draft, dividing pundits as few players have before. Would his sterling character and will captivate a coach enough to take on a project in the first round or was Tebow a player begging for a position switch who would tumble down the board?

In the end, neither Bradford nor Tebow had to worry. They both aced their pro days several weeks ago, Bradford proving that his repaired right shoulder was healthy, Tebow that his mechanics were improving.

And on Thursday night, each of them was a first-round pick, Bradford the top selection, as expected, by the St. Louis Rams and Tebow to the Denver Broncos with the 25th pick in the biggest surprise of the first round.

The Broncos were the most active team of the first round, trading four times — two back, and two up — and Coach Josh McDaniels showed a continued brio in his job. Since he became the Broncos’ coach last year, he has traded Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, and acquired Brady Quinn. And now he has taken on a player who came personally recommended by Florida Coach Urban Meyer, whom McDaniels has known since he was a child.CONTINUE READING...

Lakers vs. Thunder Game 3 (Final ): Thunder 101, Lakers 96

Oklahoma City roared back in the fourth quarter to beat the Lakers, 101-96, as the young Thunder won their first game of the series.Kevin Durant hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to secure the win. Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 27 points, including 10 in the final quarter. Durant also did a fine job defending Kobe Bryant; Bryant missed 8 of 10 shots in the fourth quarter. Durant scored 29 points despite a poor shooting night. At one point in the final quarter the Lakers went nearly four minutes without scoring.The Lakers lead the series, 2-1, with the Game 4 scheduled for Saturday night.--Barry Stavro

Bulls 108, Cavaliers 106

CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Rose heard the ``MVP! MVP!'' chants and thought he would faint, the loud chorus rattling the All-Star point guard.

Funny thing, though.

Being guarded by LeBron James late in the game didn't faze him. And now, the Cleveland Cavaliers can forget about sweeping the Bulls out of the playoffs.

Rose scored 31 points, Kirk Hinrich added 27 and Chicago hung to beat the top-seeded Cavaliers 108-106 Thursday night in Game 3 of a first-round series after its 21-point lead dwindled to one.

``We stayed strong,'' said Chicago's Joakim Noah, who fought through foul trouble to finish with 15 rebounds. ``D-Rose played huge for us. It just feels really good to come out with a win right now.''

James scored 13 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter but also committed some turnovers down the stretch. Even so, the Cavaliers were within 107-106 after Mo Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left. They immediately fouled Luol Deng, who hit the first free throw but missed the second.

Cleveland's Anthony Parker got the rebound and raced up the right side but missed a 3 at the buzzer, and the Bulls escaped with the win despite some shaky foul shooting late in the game.

They will try to tie the best-of-seven series on Sunday.

Hinrich, a career 80.9 percent foul shooter, missed two with 26 seconds left and the Bulls up 104-99.

James then buried a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game. The Cavaliers immediately fouled Rose, who missed the first free throw before converting the second to make it 105-102 with 10.1 seconds left.

Chicago fouled Anderson Varejao to prevent a 3-point attempt, and he made the first but missed the second. Brad Miller got the rebound and converted both foul shots to make it a four-point game, and the Bulls hung on for a wild win.

DeMarco Majors on UrbanSocialites

TELEVISION REVIEW 'Treme' on HBO

The welter of expectations and "highly anticipateds" surrounding the premiere of David Simon's "Treme" all but demands a measure of critical blowback. Certainly there will be obligatory mewling about the new 10-episode HBO series being good but not as good as "The Wire," which launched Simon into the elite cadre of television artistes. There may be some random chest-beating over white folks' unfortunate tendency to get mushy in the head about black musicians and the South in general, and probably more than a few blog-ready over-analyses of the politics/wisdom/hubris/sentimentality of taking on post-Katrina New Orleans.

But it's all sound and fury. With "Treme" (which refers to a New Orleans neighborhood and is pronounced treh-MAY), Simon, co-creator Eric Overmyer and their team of writers (including the late, great David Mills) have proved that television as an art form can not only rival Dickens, but it also can hold its own against Wagner.

Full of the same complicated characters, crisscrossing story lines and well-informed immediacy that made "The Wire" one of the most astonishing shows on television, "Treme" flips the theme of urban decay and infuses it with music.

The pilot, directed by Agnieszka Holland and which premieres Sunday, opens with Treme's first second-line parade since the storm and ends with a traditional funeral. In the hour and a half in between, music is woven into the narrative like gold thread through a medieval tapestry -- sets played in clubs by real local stars including Kermit Ruffins (who apparently makes some mean barbecue), snatches aired in protest by the slacker-gadfly DJ Davis McAlary ( Steve Zahn), gigs picked up by profligate trombonist Antoine Batiste ("The Wire's" Wendell Pierce) and drum rituals of Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters, also of "The Wire"), a Mardi Gras Indian chief determined to raise his tribe and his community once again.

Far from the show-stopping set pieces of "Glee" or the distracting emo-soundtracks of so many adult dramas, the music of "Treme" enters seamlessly at regular intervals, as essential to the story as the players or the plot.

Add a cast that includes not only the above-mentioned stars but also Oscar nominee Melissa Leo, "Deadwood's" Kim Dickens, Khandi Alexander ( "CSI: Miami") and John Goodman, and you have not so much a television show as a modern American opera, full of flop sweat, spectacle and something that looks suspiciously like hope.

If "The Wire" was about the inevitable, irreversible decay of the American urban center, "Treme" is about something else. The exact nature of that something is not immediately clear. Certainly, it is not as simplistic as resiliency or renewal -- the mold that is consuming so many homes is not the only source of rot run wild. But in the wake of destruction, the natural order demands growth of one thing or another.

Compared with "The Wire," which though gorgeously complex had the solid scaffolding of crime and punishment, "Treme" is based on something much more amorphous.

Lakers hit a few bumps while grinding out 87-79 win over Thunder

They look like their old, championship-caliber selves in playoff opener . . . but only for one quarter. They are outscored over the last three periods and have to hang on at the end. Kobe Bryant struggles, but Andrew Bynum looks good in his return, and Ron Artest does a good job defending Kevin Durant.The Lakers finally flipped the switch, looking as though they were ready to defend their championship after weeks of indecisive play. Then the second quarter began.They held off the Oklahoma City Thunder, 87-79, in a playoff opener at Staples Center that felt more like a mild chill instead of a warm Sunday breeze. Andrew Bynum returned 30 days after he limped off the court and Kobe Bryant was back after missing four of the last five games, but Coach Phil Jackson didn't like the last three quarters, without much argument from anybody.The Thunder never led but never were left behind entirely, trailing by six points with under three minutes to play before fading for good.The outcome might have been different had All-Star forward Kevin Durant been able to make a few more shots, according to Durant himself, but this might be the state of the Lakers these days with a partly healthy Bryant and a still-getting-into-shape Bynum.

They'll take a victory any way they can."We could have definitely played a little better, but at this stage you've really just got to win games," Bryant said.Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday at Staples Center.Bynum looked sharper than Bryant, collecting 13 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes after missing 13 games because of a strained left Achilles' tendon.He reported nothing more than a "couple twinges" after playing eight minutes longer than Jackson planned.The size and strength the Lakers had lacked were on display in one second-quarter cycle. Bynum blocked Durant's shot, then dunked at the other end after gathering the ball down low, pivoting and beating Nenad Kristic to give the Lakers a 38-21 lead with 6:43 left until halftime.Bryant, on the other hand, made six of 19 shots and had 21 points. He was active on defense, getting two steals and two blocked shots, but made only seven of 12 free throws, a continual sore spot for a career 83.8% shooter from the line.He was tight-lipped after the game when asked about his play.
"Felt fine," he said. "It's good enough to win." CONTINUE READING...

Top Tax Schemes You Should Avoid

From Black Voices — As you get ready to file taxes for this year, make sure that you do it right. The worst group in America to mess with is the IRS. They have unprecedented power to pursue those in violation of their regulations and can make your life miserable if they catch you breaking the law. Many tax payers are not aware that there are quite a few businesses that take advantage of unwitting tax payers every year at tax time. So, to prepare for this problem, we have put together a list of the top ten tax scams that you should watch out for if some other party prepares your taxes.

Tax Scam #1: Bad tax preparers – Some tax preparation services will charge you higher fees than you should expect to pay, and may even take a percentage of your tax refund. Also, in order to get your business, some companies will promise returns that are too good to be true. Watch out for deals that don’t seem to make sense, and try to work with a company that has a good reputation.

Tax Scam #2: Hiding money in off-shore accounts –If your banker or tax preparation person tries to persuade you to do anything that hides your money from the IRS, don’t do it. The IRS is making more efforts every year to chase down money around the world, and the penalties are getting quite severe.

Tax Scam #3: Phishing — There are companies out there who will try to suck you in by promising you a large refund in an email, fax or even a phone call. They then get you to release personal information so they can steal your identity. If you get one of these emails, do not reply or click on anything.

Tax Scam #4: Filing false or misleading forms – There are some who believe that the IRS keeps secret accounts that you can access by filing special forms. This is not true. Scammers use these “forms” to convince victims that they have access to refunds they would not otherwise be entitled to.

Tax Scam #5: Non-taxable social security benefits with exaggerated withholding — Some people turn in tax forms with non-taxable income and inaccurate withholding amounts believing they can get the wrongly claimed withholding amounts refunded. This should not be done, since the IRS can charge you thousands for this kind of mistake.

Tax Scam #6: Abuse of charitable withholdings and deductions — The temptation of your tax preparer might be to inflate the amount of your charitable donations to get a bigger refund. Be careful, because this can cost you big if you are audited.

(Continue Reading @ Black Voices…)

J Lewis Feat. Flo Rida - "Dancin' For Me"

J Lewis Feat. Flo Rida - "Dancin' For Me" OFFICIAL Video
Uploaded by thatsfunny. - Explore more music videos.

Lifestyles of the Broke, Young & Struggling: 15 Most Common Money Mistakes

Unless you’re one of the fortunate ones, at some point in your journey through life you’ve endured the lifestyle of the broke, young and struggling. In these sour fiscal times, there’s a pretty good chance that you may be enjoying the disadvantages of the financially strapped at this very moment. Having said that, dig these tips to help you avoid making some of the following common fiscal faux pas that keep us dwelling in the den of debt:

Denial, Denial, and More Denial: Dictionary.com defines it as a disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing, which sounds about right if you find yourself spending like a person with an income 2 or 3 times greater than yours. The first step towards making positive change is accepting the truth, otherwise what chance do you have in changing your spending habits?

Abusing Credit Cards: The credit card industry depends on those who use credit to live beyond their means. If you can’t live below them, try living within your means at the very least. In the words of financial guru Lynnette Khalfani Cox, “Avoid trying to live what I call the ‘bling-bling’ lifestyle and guard against that temptation to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’”

Paying Too Much in Fees: $2.00 here, 3.50 there – it may not seem like much, but financial fees stack up and can drain your account like a sieve. Avoid frequent ATM charges by withdrawing cash at your own bank and whatever you do, pay your credit card bills on time. If the late fees don’t screw you, a 30% APR will.

Late or Non-Bill Payment: Not a good look unless you want the lifestyle of the broke and struggling your whole life through. The affect on your credit score and charges in late fees can lead to corporate banking enslavement and even bankruptcy in the long run – which really ain’t no joke.

What Budget?: If you are among the broke, young and struggling, the “term disposable” income is not a part of your vocabulary. Living on a limited income means that each and every penny has to be accounted for, unless you’re not averse to spending a little time in a homeless shelter. Creating a budget is a great tool that not only helps you to handle the logistics, can allow you to put aside the necessary funds for savings and recreation.

Refusal to Save: “Save your money” has got to be the most commonly used financial mantra. Some experts call it “paying yourself first,” but what it boils down to is that you consistently put a portion of your income (no matter how small) away for the future. CONTINUE READING...

Spring Issue Swagga Digital Magazine