The latest TikTok challenge taking over our timelines, the #NoSpendJanuary challenge, is a new approach to savings that urges individuals to resist unnecessary spending. Scrolling through the #NoSpendJanuary hashtag, you see a sneak peek into people’s regular spending habits. Although we’re almost through the month, it’s never too late to learn valuable financial lessons and collect helpful resources to mend unhealthy spending habits. It’s not just about the challenge itself, but a space for learning the diverse financial habits of entrepreneurs, business owners, content creators and professional’s financial habits in the new year . Creator of the award-winning “Millennial In Debt” web series, Melissa Jean-Baptiste is a testament to financial wins through a frugal lifestyle . A first-generation Haitian-American, she paid off $102,000 in student loans on simply a teacher’s salary. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household spent $72,967 in 2022....

Your paycheck helps you live, but accumulating wealth takes more than a steady 9 to 5 with a nice salary. The average millionaire has seven streams of income. Rather than solely earning a salary from a single occupation, financial prosperity is generated by multiple investments that earn money without requiring active work, also known as passive income. If you’ve ever heard someone say, “it takes money to make money,” or something along the lines of, “rich people make money in their sleep,” you’ve heard about passive income. Take a look at the first Black female and male musicians to reach billionaire status, Rihanna and Jay-Z. Rihanna went nearly bankrupt then grew a $600 million net worth. The majority of Jay-Z’s income is the result of smart investments and business ventures, such as clothing lines, sports teams, music streaming and restaurants. The path to wealth building is rarely that straightforward, however. The racial wealth gap offers some proof. According to the 2019...