‘This is How you Will Make It’: Mothers, Othermothers, and Black Women’s Family Financial Socialization

Abstract

This study uses the theories of financial tool-kits and family financial socialization to examine the messages Black women received about money from their caregivers during their childhoods. Prior studies show there are race and gender wealth gaps due to structural factors and that there is stratification by race and gender in financial knowledge and behavior outcomes. This study explores how Black families socialize their daughters about money and how this shapes their financial knowledge and behavior in middle adulthood. I use interviews with 28 Black women to demonstrate the content and methods Black parents used during participant’s upbringings to teach them about money management. I found women elders play a significant role in developing participants’ financial skills and knowledge. They do this primarily through modeling and experiential learning while direct communication was used for lessons on combining resources with a romantic partner. The findings show how Black families transfer the financial knowledge they have to prepare the next generation while operating under the constraints of financial exclusion.