Not many people run three different businesses while also working a high-stress government job and raising three kids. Whitmore Merrick is one of the few.<\/p>\n
The Washington, D.C., native, who now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, works full time as a peer navigator for the city\u2019s Home to Hope program, connecting formerly incarcerated people to housing, transportation and other resources. He also runs a fast-growing transportation company, Merrick Adventures, and has co-founded a recording studio and a clothing line.<\/p>\n
At his day job, Merrick helps people transition into\u00a0post-incarceration life<\/a>, in part by helping them improve their financial literacy. \u201cThere are so many barriers for individuals who have been convicted of misdemeanors or felonies,\u201d Merrick says.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also teaching his kids financial skills and working to create a better future for them. Here\u2019s what Merrick is doing to\u00a0build generational wealth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Merrick says that one of his biggest motivations to build generational wealth was growing up without it in a single-parent household.<\/p>\n \u201cNot having a father in the home inspired me to be a man, young,\u201d Merrick says. \u201cIt forced me to grow quicker than I feel I should have.\u201d<\/p>\n Merrick notes that the hardships he watched his mother experience didn\u2019t happen in a vacuum. They were, in many ways, a product of the systemic racism that economically disenfranchises Black Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of different ways that we were stripped from wealth,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n In addition, Merrick says his own past financial blunders have motivated him to start teaching his kids about money early. \u201cI remember, for periods of time, not monitoring my checking account or my credit score. And I regret not doing that, because it just gets worse,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Today, he\u2019s doing what he can to give his kids \u2014 the oldest of whom recently turned 15 \u2014 a different story.<\/p>\n Learn more:<\/strong> What is generational wealth and how do you build it?<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGenerational wealth doesn\u2019t just mean obtaining property or assets; it means continuously diversifying \u2014 because anything can happen,\u201d Merrick says.<\/p>\n With that in mind, he\u2019s trying to introduce his kids to saving,\u00a0investing<\/a>\u00a0and responsible credit usage at an early age.<\/p>\n Merrick has opened bank accounts for his kids, and he has used investment apps to introduce them to the stock market. He has also added his 15-year-old as an authorized user on his credit card in order to give him a head start on building credit.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss:<\/strong> Debit or credit? Giving your kid one of these cards might not be as crazy as you think.<\/a><\/p>\n One of Merrick\u2019s next priorities is to start saving for his kids\u2019 education. To put away more money for the future, he plans to expand his businesses \u2014 for example, by buying a new vehicle for Merrick Adventures, and also by\u00a0starting to invest in real estate\u00a0\u2014 while making sure his family continues to live below their means.<\/p>\n Merrick\u2019s advice to other parents is simple: Start teaching your kids about money early, start saving early and start building your kids\u2019 credit early.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of evidence supporting that advice. A 2022 meta-analysis of studies by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found that people who receive some kind of financial education tend to be better at budgeting, saving, credit usage and finding insurance than those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\nWhat inspired you to start building generational wealth?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
What kind of strategies have you used to create savings for your kids?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\nTips for building generational wealth<\/strong><\/h6>\n