When Every Dollar Has to Work Overtime: Financial Literacy in the Real World
- irmaneal
- May 4
- 4 min read
Let me be honest with you.
I grew up in a house where the cupboards were bare more often than they were full. My mother was not bad with money — she just never had enough of it, and nobody ever taught her what to do when that happened. She did what most of us do: she survived. Day to day. Check to check. Crisis to crisis.
Sound familiar?
If it does, you are not alone — and more importantly, you are not the problem. But here is what I know after 30 years of financial coaching: surviving is not the same as living. And in today’s economy, where inflation has made everything from groceries to gas feel like a luxury, the gap between surviving and thriving has never been wider.
The average American family is spending $700 more per month than they were just three years ago — for the exact same lifestyle. That is $8,400 a year gone before you make a single new purchase. For families already stretched thin, that is not a statistic. That is a crisis happening quietly at kitchen tables across this country. And underserved communities are absorbing the hardest hit.
Why Financial Literacy Matters More Right Now
Here is the truth nobody tells you: inflation does not hit everyone the same way.
When prices rise, people with savings, investments, and financial buffers feel the pinch. People without them feel the collapse. When a loaf of bread costs 40% more, someone with a budget and an emergency fund adjusts. Someone without one chooses between bread and the electric bill.
That is not a personal failure. That is a structural one. Underserved communities have historically been locked out of the financial knowledge that builds those buffers — the kind of knowledge that gets passed down at dinner tables in other zip codes, taught in private schools, or learned through family wealth that was never available to us.
Financial literacy does not solve systemic inequity. But it hands you a flashlight in a dark room. And right now, we need every flashlight we can get.
So What Can You Actually Do? Real Tips for Real Life
I am not going to tell you to skip your morning coffee. That advice has always been insulting, and it still is. But I am going to share what actually moves the needle — things I have taught in workshops, things I have done myself, and things that work even when your margin is tight.
1. Know your four walls first.
Before anything else, protect these four: food, shelter, utilities, and transportation to work. Everything else — subscriptions, credit cards, personal loans — comes after these four are covered. This is not permission to ignore debt. It is permission to breathe while you figure out the rest.
2. Audit your subscriptions — ruthlessly.
The average American pays for 4.5 streaming services and actively uses 2. That is $40–$80 a month going nowhere. Go through your bank statement line by line — not in your head, on paper or on screen — and cancel anything you have not used in 30 days. You will be surprised what you find. I had a client discover she was paying for a gym membership at a gym she had not visited in 14 months.
3. Grocery shop with a list and eat before you go.
This sounds simple because it is. But the data backs it up: shoppers without a list spend an average of 23% more per trip. Inflation has already raised your grocery bill — do not let impulse buying raise it further. Plan your meals for the week, build your list around what is on sale, and never shop hungry.
4. Call your billers — especially your insurance.
Most people do not know that your car insurance, internet, and phone providers will negotiate — especially if you mention a competitor’s price. One phone call can save $20–$50 a month. That is $240–$600 a year for a conversation that takes 15 minutes. I have made this call myself. It works.
5. Use cash for variable spending.
When you swipe a card, your brain does not register the money leaving. When you hand someone a $20 bill, you feel it. Try withdrawing a set amount of cash each week for groceries, gas, and miscellaneous spending. When it is gone, it is gone. This one habit alone has helped my clients reduce overspending by 15–20% in the first month.
6. Build a $500 starter emergency fund before anything else.
Not $1,000. Not three months of expenses. Just $500. That small buffer is the difference between a flat tire being an inconvenience and a flat tire sending you to a payday lender with exorbitant interest rates. Save $20 a week and you are there in six months. Save $42 a week and you are there in three.
7. Find your financial stress triggers.
This one is personal — and it is the one most financial advisors skip. Money is emotional. For many of us in underserved communities, scarcity is not just a budget problem — it is a memory, a feeling, a reflex. When you understand what triggers your financial anxiety, you stop making reactive decisions and start making intentional ones. That shift changes everything.
The Bottom Line
Financial literacy is not about being perfect with money. It is about knowing enough to make your next decision better than your last one.
In a high-inflation environment, that knowledge is not a luxury — it is a lifeline. And it is one that underserved communities have been denied for far too long.
At Onyx Rising, we built Money Matters: Image vs. Reality™ specifically for people who have been told their whole lives that money management is someone else’s department. It is not. It is yours. And you are more capable of mastering it than anyone has ever told you.
Start where you are, and use what you have. I made a vow to myself at nine years old, that, "I will not live like this when I grow up!" - promising myself a better financial future. I kept that promise to myself, but this promise is available to every single one of us. You just need access to the necessary knowledge, tools and strategies.
Ready to take the first step? Visit onyx2rise.com to learn more about Money Matters: Image vs Reality™ financial wellness platform.
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