Adrienne Bailon Houghton Gets Real About the Importance of Latinas Learning Financial Literacy

Final month, Emmy Award-winning TV persona Adrienne Bailon Houghton debuted her residence design sequence All Issues Adrienne Presents Home to Residence, produced by Kin Networks and TV One. Whereas the present largely focuses on Houghton’s journey to adorning her new LA pied-à-terre, she additionally drops fairly a number of essential learnings with regards to investing in actual property. Actually, in a latest interview with POPSUGAR, the TV host chatted with us on the significance of ladies of shade — Latinas particularly — brushing up on their monetary literacy expertise and the importance of being the era trying to interrupt monetary trauma and construct generational wealth for our communities.

Houghton was shocked by the variety of views acquired on an episode of All Issues Adrienne, concerning the first home she purchased in Bel-Air. After shopping for her new residence, she was impressed to dedicate an entire sequence to how she will get her residence to look utterly glammed up with out breaking the financial institution. She additionally wished to make use of this as a chance to share a few of the issues she’s continued to be taught in her journey as a house owner.

“Rising up in New York Metropolis, I all the time lived in residences. I grew up within the initiatives, sharing a room with my sister, so if I am being utterly sincere, I used to be all the time scared of getting a home as a result of I hated the thought of being on the identical flooring the place somebody might bounce in your window,” she says. “Versus like, in case you have a look at an condominium constructing, no person’s coming as much as my window on the ninth flooring.”

On the identical word, Houghton acknowledges that turning into a house owner has been a significant accomplishment. She had by no means lived in a home, and having the ability to purchase her own residence was one thing she has taken a variety of satisfaction in. She’s additionally excited to see how her followers have been about her first residence and the way she selected to embellish it, which is why she anticipates of us actually having fun with All Issues Adrienne Presents Home to Residence. She makes some extent to all the time characteristic a mixture of luxurious items and inexpensive gadgets from shops like HomeGoods and Goal, to point out viewers that you would be able to design your property to look as luxe as potential even on a price range.

“I actually have to provide my husband (Israel Houghton) a little bit shout-out for encouraging me to spend money on actual property. He has properties that he owns in Santa Fe, NM, and so many different locations, and once we have been on the brink of transfer, I had determined I wished to dwell in Calabasas, and Israel was like, ‘Why do not we make this an funding for you?’ And I feel as a person, that is an enormous factor to say. Let’s do that the place the home is totally in your identify and on your credit score,” she says. “He was like, ‘It is best to make investments your cash and that is your property, that is one thing you personal, one thing on your property — separate from me.'”

Houghton says her husband actually helped stroll her by means of the house shopping for course of together with her first funding being the Calabasas residence, which she ended up promoting 10 months later for a pleasant revenue. When the pandemic first hit, she realized she wished to be nearer to her household in NYC and invested in her second property in Westchester. She admits she has come throughout obstacles and discovered fairly a number of essential monetary classes alongside the best way.

“A number of issues I discovered within the course of of shopping for a home was how essential my credit score was. I’ve cash, however I had horrible credit score at one level, so dangerous that after I lived in an condominium, I had a penthouse right here throughout from the grove in LA. However though I had the cash to pay for the penthouse, they’d not let me get the condominium with out having somebody cosign with me as a result of my credit score was trash,” she says. “I used to be already on The Actual for like 4 years. I actually couldn’t get an condominium. I am like, ‘I’ve the cash.’ I need to present that is how a lot cash I make. I used to be sitting on the leasing workplace, and I used to be like, ‘why am I being denied?’ And sadly, particularly for Latinos, and particularly in case you grew up in a household who perhaps did not have monetary literacy themselves, they are not going to show you what they do not know. And it is not that they are making an attempt to do that to us. But when they do not know, they can not go the knowledge to us. And , sadly, my mother rising up was taught, you do not need bank cards. Bank cards are dangerous. Do not get a bank card. They thought it was some type of a rip-off and that you simply have been gonna find yourself in debt in case you had bank cards, so I by no means had a bank card. I solely had a debit card, and that was it.”

Houghton quickly discovered that with out a bank card, she had no proof of credit score. She rapidly began to work on constructing her credit score by first getting a bank card. It took her wanting to buy her own residence to comprehend how essential having good credit score was. It additionally actually helped her get her funds so as.

“I put recurring issues on my bank card, like my mobile phone invoice. I knew that these have been issues I might cowl and that they have been gonna be recurring, and that actually helped me get my credit score rating as much as turn into a house owner,” she provides. “Being a house owner is tremendous essential additionally as a result of we put a lot cash into hire. Once I added up how a lot I’ve spent in renting, I might personal like two different properties. So it is essential. For those who get an opportunity to turn into a house owner, it does not need to be of the largest or essentially the most glamorous residence. It may very well be one thing tiny and small and only for you. Certainly one of my girlfriends who lives at residence together with her household, she enjoys residing at residence together with her household, however she was like, ‘How ought to I make investments my cash?’ So she’s really getting a condominium that she will lease out.”

“It is tremendous essential, particularly for us Latinas to be a part of the actual property recreation, to be a part of the taking part in discipline, to even out the taking part in discipline for monetary wealth for the longer term and for our kids,” she says. Houghton shared with us three ideas for Latinas who’re actually trying to enhance their funds:

Save Cash

“You bought to get these financial savings collectively. They really say that Latinos are the number-one spenders on leisure and wonder. We’re spending a lot cash in being customers. We’re phenomenal customers — we’re. Belief me after I inform you that advertising and marketing individuals and massive firms acknowledge our spending energy. We spend, and we spend, and we spend. After we are spending, all we’re doing is investing in different individuals as a substitute of ourselves,” she says. “So, the very first thing I’d say is to create a financial savings account. Put your self on a price range, and acknowledge what your spending habits appear to be.”

Construct Credit score

She advises to attempt to maintain your bank card stability beneath 30 p.c, repay as a lot debt as you possibly can, and construct credit score by making purchases you possibly can pay proper again. “Do not max out that bank card, and do not go into debt on that bank card, however be capable to show to the credit score companies that you’re dependable and that in the event that they lend you cash, you’re completely going to pay it again in time,” she says.

Make investments

“I put [money] in a financial savings account that I don’t contact since you by no means know what is going on to occur, after which as soon as it is obtained a pleasant quantity in there, that is after I resolve to take a position. I will say, ‘OK, I’ve $10,000 on this financial savings account. What do I need to do? Do I need to spend money on a brand new launch for one in every of my clothes traces? Do I need to make investments on some cameras for All Issues Adrienne?’ There’s so many issues. Or I feel I am simply going to carry it for now simply in case after I really know that there is one thing I need to spend money on,” she says. “Within the common individual’s case, they will say ‘OK, only for a number of years I will put away $10 each verify I get,’ or no matter it’s, and in some unspecified time in the future, that quantity goes to construct and develop, and that may turn into an funding on a house.”

Houghton hopes that when individuals watch the present, they really feel impressed not simply to ultimately spend money on homeownership — every time that point is correct for them — however to comprehend it does not need to value quite a bit to make your property look lovely.

“You may make any house actually cool, particularly now when you have got Instagram and also you’re how individuals make every thing simply look aesthetically dope,” she says. “You are able to do that in your house, and I simply hope that folks get impressed to attempt issues and to not look on a regular basis on-line and see different individuals residing fantastically however actually take the time to do this for themselves, as a result of it makes an enormous distinction in your life if you get up and you are like, ‘Oh my gosh, my home is clear, my issues are organized, it appears to be like lovely. I am in a phenomenal house. It actually adjustments how you are feeling on the within.”

Picture Supply: Getty Photos/Leon Bennett/WireImage