This mother-son duo is on a mission to reshape the conversations around financial literacy.
Anthony Anderson and his mother, Miss Doris, have teamed up with Northwestern Mutual to provide financial planning resources directly to Black Americans.
“Honestly the common mistake that we make is not having a plan, that’s why I partnered with Northwestern Mutual to talk about this,” said Anderson in an interview with AfroTech. “To talk about financial literacy, to talk about having a financial plan because that’s the mistake that people make period — not planning for the future.”
Despite the rise of Black business ownership, Northwestern Mutual reports that 1/3 of Black Americans have not considered working with a financial advisor.
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“Financial planning was not on my radar for many years and I know that this is the reality for so many people,” shared Miss Doris. “From a young age, I taught Anthony about the value of a dollar and saving. I signed him up in the Christmas saving plans so that he could buy the gifts he wanted. Beyond that, financial literacy was not a conversation that we had in our home or in our community.”
Now the two are changing that through their partnership with Northwestern Mutual.
“My mother has been working with a financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual by the name of Mark Haywood and we were approached to talk about this,” continued Anderson. “Here we are sharing our story and hopefully it starts a movement and we can lead by example. This isn’t just about us being out here trying to sell anyone anything because we’re not selling anything, we’re just telling people our experience and what it’s done for our lives and how it’s helped my mother empower herself and helping me to do the same.”
Miss Doris says the work that she and her son are doing now will be insightful for those who don’t even know where to begin.
“The work that Anthony and I have been doing with Northwestern Mutual will be a game-changer for anyone who doesn’t have the resources or even know where to begin,” she continued. “I thought I was pretty good at managing my finances and understood the basics, but my Northwestern Mutual advisor taught me there is a lot more that goes into it.”
For more on how to take advantage of the resources that Anthony Anderson and Miss Doris have partnered with Northwestern Mutual to provide, click here.
