THIS CONTENT IS SPONSORED BY PRUDENTIAL
Nationally acclaimed for his money management philosophy and strategies, Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr. continues to help thousands find pathways to economic self-sufficiency and financial empowerment.
Despite his achievements, the founder and CEO of dFree Global Foundation(recalls the bleak days when he lived above his means. During that period, he sabotaged his financial future by subsisting paycheck to paycheck and paying the previous month’s bills with next week’s check.
CHANGING HOW YOU THINK ABOUT MONEY IS VITAL
“If I can go from that [status] to sitting on the boards of banks that wouldn’t even lend me money, then certainly, the average person can do it also. I just changed the way I thought about my life and about money,” Soaries told BLACK ENTERPRISE in an interview.
Soaries uses his personal journey and his array of platforms to guide African Americans to engage in sound money management practices and fully embrace disciplined savings and investing to reach their wealth goals in 2025 and beyond. It starts with committing to tried-and-true financial principles.
And Soaries has the vehicles to help individuals keep them. His nonprofit foundation is “charged with leading the African American community to financial freedom through content, curriculum, training, tools, and access to professionals,” as communicated on its website.
Soaries also serves as president and CEO of Corporate Community Connections, which has enabled companies to expand and amplify their corporate social responsibility efforts for close to 30 years.
An author, speaker, and former Baptist pastor, his résumé is expansive. His vast experience also includes a stint as the Secretary of State of New Jersey. Moreover, he has used his role as a seasoned corporate director to advocate for more African Americans to fill such influential positions.
In 2005, he launched the dfree Financial Freedom Movement, which has helped over 100,000 people escape overwhelming personal debt. According to this, the movement’s “Billion Dollar Challenge” has erased more than $21 million of debt for program participants.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FOCUS ON PROSPERITY
To help individuals embrace a prosperity mindset this year, Soaries has clarified that financial wellness and family wealth should be among their top priorities. He maintains that achieving positive outcomes requires intentionality, awareness, adjustment, and willingness to try new and proven approaches to money management.
He recently shared new plans to release dFree Digital, a $2 million investment incorporating his speeches, books, and workshops on a mobile-accessible platform. “There are 18 different modules on the time value of money, on credit, on homeownership, and those modules teach what would’ve been taught in a classroom setting or a book.” He added each module includes a link to solution-oriented resources.
Dr. DeForest Soaries Jr.
CLOSELY TRACK SPENDING WHILE BEING OPEN TO LEARNING WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW
Soaries further advises individuals to be vigilant about reviewing bills and staying engaged “with financial reality.” His firm’s curriculum challenges students to spend seven minutes a day evaluating their financial status. For instance, he tells them to spend a day reading credit card statements, the next day reading a detailed article on money management, and the third listening to a financial podcast.
“Pay attention and focus on finance because it’s inescapable. You can get a letter from the bank and not open it, but that doesn’t make the letter go away.”
He mentioned that if you don’t read your bills, you will discover that your cell phone company, utility company, and other companies will add things to your bills that you don’t even know are there. In the case of being overcharged for services, he says, “when you call the company proactively and challenge it, they’ll take it off. But you must know. You have to read the bill and don’t just pay the bill.”
Another prudent move: Write down everything related to your account, whether it’s a debit card, credit card, cash, check--and analyze it at the end of the month. “Every time we’ve had a group of people do that, they have discovered that they’re spending money on something that they can stop spending money on.”
Furthermore, Soaries says his organization has discovered people may be able to significantly reduce the interest rates they’re paying by simply calling the company. Adopting such behavior, he says, “helps you get you in front of finances and better track spending. We don’t really manage money; we manage our lives and use money strategically to reach our life goals.”
Next off, Soaries suggests learning things you don’t know. He maintains that African Americans engage in the highest usage of television and social media. He proposed binging on publications like black enterprise, visiting financial education platforms, and exploring free websites on budgeting and investing.
“There are 168 hours every week. We need to invest a good percentage of that time into understanding finance, looking for options, seeking opportunities, and taking risks. You can’t create wealth by taking no risk.”
He also maintains that the Black community does not have an agenda focused on its No. 1 issue: economic disparities. He proposed that Black churches, fraternities, sororities, and civic organizations “must motivate, educate, and empower their members economically.”
HOW PRUDENTIAL CAN HELP BOLSTER YOUR FINANCIAL STATUS
Soaries continues to be excited by the impact of the 14-year partnership between dfree Global and Prudential, including Blueprints to Black Wealth, the initiative from the financial services giant to boost awareness and understanding about African Americans’ economic power and readiness.
Asserts Soaries: “Blueprints for Black Wealth is really an ecosystem where the social safety net types and the financial product types are working collaboratively to make sure people have what they need to live a decent life on a day-to-day basis, but also can graduate into investors, people that have insurance, that can leave a financial legacy for their children. And that’s unique about where Prudential is and why I’m happy to be a part of the Blueprints movement.”
Dr. DeForest Soaries is a non-client, non-paid promoter of Prudential Financial. The dfree organization, which Dr. Soaries founded, has a current business relationship with Prudential to foster financial inclusion for Black Americans. This business relationship creates a conflict of interest because Dr. Soaries has a financial incentive to promote Prudential. His testimonial may not represent the views of actual Prudential customers, does not provide a guarantee of future performance or success, and is not intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation.
Black Enterprise is an independent organization and is not an affiliate of Prudential Financial.
Black Enterprise is sending the correspondence and is responsible for following Can-spam rules.
1084670-00001-00