The Unsexy (And Unspoken) Money Moves That Actually Build Legacies

I didn’t come from wealth.

And yes, while I’d say I was rich in many facets of life, rich in money was not one of them. So when it comes to money moves, I didn’t learn a lot of strategies until I became an adult. And even now, every day it seems like there’s a new wealth-building bandwagon that everyone is talking about. Side hustles, content creation, crypto, day trading, NFTs, who can really keep up through all of the noise? 

And yes, to the uninformed, some of the tips and tricks that self-deemed social media “experts” provide may seem like the best option. Especially if you want to come up on some quick cash. But let me be real with you, as a professional who reads the books, goes to the conferences, listens to the podcasts, consults with the advisors, and ultimately has built a rolodex of mentors who are actually millionaires, I’ve realized most of the people who actually build long-term wealth are doing the most boring stuff you could imagine. Stuff that unfortunately in “our” communities, no one is talking about.

And that’s kind of the point. Quiet money is the money that lasts.

I’ll start here because I avoided it myself for years. An emergency fund. Did you ever think about what would happen in an emergency, a real emergency and you didn’t have access to cash, your parents or your man to support? Well, that is the reality for most Americans (especially, and disproportionately if you’re Black). And let’s be honest, most of us are one bad month away from the whole thing falling apart. I don’t care what Instagram says about ‘multiple streams of income’…you can’t stream your way out of a flat tire.

So if your car breaks down, you lose your job, or you get hit with some random medical bill, even having one month’s worth of expenses tucked away will stop your whole life from crumbling. Nobody brags about it online, but when stuff goes left, you’ll wish you had it.

This one gets ignored because who really wants to talk about death. I know growing up, it wasn’t a topic we discussed as a family, and even now, it’s something that seems to be avoided. But “life be lifeing” as they say. And death certainly be deathing as well. So life insurance ultimately is a cheat code for generational wealth.

It’s the thing that keeps your kids in the house if something happens to you or what makes sure your spouse isn’t drowning in bills while also trying to grieve. Because we will no longer be selling grandma’s house, okay? And more importantly, what many don’t realize, is that most policies aren’t even that expensive compared to what they can do.

I know people who will happily spend $300 a month on a car note but swear life insurance is too much. Meanwhile, one costs you money forever and the other one protects your whole family’s future.

Debt? Urgh, don’t get me started. Those six-figure law school loans I’m currently weighed down by literally make my blood pressure spike every time I click submit on the payment. And we’ve normalized it so much that swiping a credit card feels like breathing. But the truth is, debt is one of the biggest leaks in our financial buckets. Especially high-interest credit card debt.

Now I know, paying it off isn’t sexy. There’s literally a Prada hat that I’ve been eyeing all week that I’m tempted to buy “just to feel something” but I know I have bigger plans when it comes to my money goals. And so should you. Because like a Discover card, the freedom it gives you? Priceless. That’s money you can finally put into something that grows instead of watching it disappear into late fees and interest.

And if we’re talking legacy, imagine passing down assets instead of unpaid balances?

Okay, now this is the one many of you probably haven’t heard of. Tax-loss harvesting is basically selling off investments that are down so you can write off the loss and lower your taxable gains. It’s legal, it’s smart, and it’s been hiding in plain sight.

We don’t hear about it because nobody’s rapping about tax strategies (but if JAY-Z comes out retirement anytime soon, maybe he should). But best believe, people with real money use this every year to play the system in their favor. And it works.

Now you can build all the wealth in the world, but if you don’t teach your kids—or your nieces, nephews, whoever, how to handle it, it disappears. “They” are doing it on the other side, and we should be too.

So yes, make the money. But also pass down the game. The conversations we think are too heavy or “not for kids” are exactly the ones they need to hear.

Here’s the truth I’ve had to accept: wealth building is boring. Nobody nerds out or gets hype like me about savings accounts or life insurance. But at 30+ years old, I’ve learned that boring is steady (in money and in relationships). Boring is what lasts.

So the next time someone is bragging about their new hustle or that crypto coin they swear is going to make them rich, remember this: the ones really winning are in the background, quietly stacking. They’re paying off debt, setting up insurance, saving cash, doing strategies that don’t trend but do work.

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