There are plenty of things that likely come to mind when thinking of important lessons to teach young children: sharing is caring, clean up after yourself, treat others the way you want to be treated, look both ways before crossing the street. These kinds of lessons are commonplace because they can play a key role in raising well-adjusted kids who are ready to enter the world.

But one subject matter more frequently left off the list is financial literacy. The same way we intentionally teach children to read or ride a bike, we should be teaching them how to think about, use, save and, eventually, invest money. But we can only teach what we know. Research indicates that, while confidence in investing is improving, Black and Latina women are still more likely to attain lower scores on measures of financial literacy and capability than their White counterparts.¹

As part of the next iteration of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s “Building a New Legacy” initiative, we sat down with Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, former Cheetah Girl and current actress, entrepreneur, wife and mom to hear about her financial journey and what she hopes to pass on to the next generation.

Intentionality is key

When asked about her early experiences with money as a child of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian immigrants in New York City, Adrienne noted, “My experience with money was that it wasn’t discussed because we didn’t have it.” Growing up in a hard-working but low-income family, she attributes that lack of conversation to two main reasons: having to operate in survival mode, and an inability to teach children knowledge you yourself don’t possess. Being left out of discussions about finances and budgeting contributed to her fear-based approach around money as a young adult. Adrienne shared an anecdote of when she turned 18 and began receiving credit cards in the mail. “My mom looked at them, cut them up, and pretty much told me, ‘You will never get a credit card because I don’t want you to be in debt.’” When she did finally come into her own money and needed to begin making financial decisions for herself, she felt out of her depth.

It's important to note that financial literacy is not only for specific income brackets. Adrienne asserts that a lack of financial knowledge can happen in any kind of household. “If you knew about the Cheetah Girls, you would have probably said, ‘That girl has got it figured out.’ I did not have it figured out. And even for someone like myself, it doesn’t matter what bracket you’re in or what you do, if you’re on TV or not. If no one knows your name or if everyone knows your name, everyone needs to be knowledgeable.”

So how have her upbringing and experiences influenced the way she’ll approach money with her own son? “Coming from humble beginnings really shifted my perspective on how I’ll raise my son and the open and honest conversations I want to have with my son about finances. Even in the good times and in the bad times, the conversations are absolutely necessary.” She holds that each generation should aim to be intentional about expanding their financial literacy beyond the previous generation. She doesn’t hold her family responsible for not being able to teach her what they didn’t know, but she is striving soak up everything that she can to pass onto her son – and ensure he is able to learn even more than she knows. “I’m going to now share with my son everything I’ve learned. And I expect for him to at some point teach me even more and teach his children even more than I know today.”

Leaving a legacy

When Adrienne thinks about the idea of legacy, she thinks about the goal that so many Black and Latina women have of creating generational wealth. She thinks of her son, and the responsibility she feels to provide what she didn’t have. “I’m more impassioned – like I’m more excited to learn because there’s a level of pressure on me to prepare my son for the world, to prepare him for what’s out there, to prepare him to be knowledgeable, to make sure that even when I do leave him that he does great … and that he knows how to handle that.”

She also wants to be remembered as someone who breaks taboo around finances – especially for women. “I want to be known as someone who’s a ‘girls’ girl.’ I love to empower other women … the first person to be like, ‘Girl, let me tell you how I saved money in this area.’ So just to be known for that, as somebody that wanted to help others – yes – that’s the legacy I want to leave.”

The bottom line

Black and Latina women often wear many hats – caring for children, caring for aging parents, working toward career goals, working toward financial goals – without necessarily being equipped with a robust financial toolkit to do so. For Adrienne, being intentional about seeking out knowledge and passing that knowledge on to others can help break down a legacy of taboo around money, and build a new one that makes each subsequent generation all the more empowered and prepared to lead the life they want.