Fifteen left

Jaslyn has made another lap around the sun. She’s now three years old, so it’s time for an update on her financial success plan.

If you haven’t read Sweet 16 (last year’s installment), please take a moment to do so. If this is your first time reading about Jaslyn’s plan, I’d also invite you to read 18-year head start and 17-years and counting.

This year’s update is similar to last year’s. Everything is performing as expected. The bank account has been the worst performer, the cash value in her variable universal life insurance policy has performed moderately well, and once again, her investment account is the top performer.

Although the investment account takes bumps periodically throughout the year, it remains on top because it’s where we take the most risk. So, although 2022 was a down year overall for the market, 2023 and 2024 were positive years, and we fully participated in that growth. We’re almost midway through 2025, and things have been interesting. The year started with a gradual decline, and as of this writing, it’s climbed back up to close to where we started the year off. Meanwhile, our weakest performer (the bank account) is just hanging out, playing its role as Jaslyn’s safe bucket. As a reminder, Jaslyn has been participating in three risk buckets – -conservative, moderate, and aggressive growth– at every moment along this journey.

I want to do something I haven’t done before in this year’s write-up. I’ve got to thank Jaslyn’s village. I’m very fortunate to have a supportive village. I’m also aware that not everyone has such support. My village has continued to show up and show out for Jaslyn over these three years. They’ve all been consistent with their financial contributions to Jaslyn’s program. It’s not always about the money; she does receive other gifts, but they know how much TiYanna and I appreciate the funds. They also respect how we do things with Jaslyn and commend us for thinking the way we do because this isn’t the norm in most families.

To that last note about this not being normal, I WANT TO NORMALIZE what we’re doing for my daughter. That’s the purpose behind my sharing these yearly updates. Some already subscribe to this way of life, but there are still too many parents I encounter who haven’t done what’s required to give their child (or children) the proper financial head start. I also don’t want to leave out the grandparents, aunts, and uncles because you, too, have a responsibility to ensure that we care for these babies.

Sidenote: I don’t have any updates on the credit card-authorized user initiative. Proving the strategy’s validity has been challenging. Once I can get answers, I’ll write about the experience.

Lastly, I’d like to extend a hand to anyone who needs assistance setting up a plan, such as how we’ve done things for Jaslyn. If you would like to schedule a 30-minute jam session, click the link here, and I’d be more than happy to discuss how you might be able to implement a similar plan.

The #BuildWealth Movement® works tirelessly to help people Disrupt Generational Poverty® for their families and community.