Letters.

WEALTH LESSON

I want to thank you for the article on "Saving Your Way To Wealth" in the March 2000 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE. I wish I had read it over ten years ago. Maybe I would not be in the situation I am in now. I am a 33-year-old African American male with a negative savings account and, beside my annuity with the city of Detroit, I really have nothing to show as far as savings go.

I was really impressed with the way individuals were able to save up enough money to make down payments on houses, and the way couples worked together. My wife and I are now separated because of my total disregard for saving money. I have been living from paycheck to paycheck for as long as I can remember, and after ten years of marriage, I have nothing in my savings account, while my wife has managed to put away a nice sum of money over the years.

The things that stick out in my mind about your article is how everyone interviewed said that no matter how large or small their paychecks were, they saved something out of it. I was never taught to save money; my mother is the same way, and I guess I learned it from her.

I have no money to look for an apartment, buy furniture or even clothes. My wife, on the other hand, because of her saving habit, can go wherever she pleases. She has also paid for all the furniture that we now have in our house, paid her own bills and saved money. She cannot understand why I cannot do the same.

So when I read about the young man who was able to save $10,000 and the couple that saved $30,000, I knew that I had wasted a golden opportunity. I just hope I'm not too late to get started.

Glenn Peeples Detroit

Editor's note: It's never too late to commit to wealth building. As your wife has demonstrated, the first and most important step is principle #1 of the Black Enterprise Declaration of Financial Empowerment: To save and invest 10% to 15% of your after-tax income. Now that you've learned the lesson, it's time to apply it by calling 1877-WEALTHY and ordering your B.E. Wealth Building Kit. Make today the day you make the change. We wish you all the best.

WANTED: 'NET JOBS

I would like to commend you on your thorough coverage of Internet career searches ("Finding a Job On The Web," March 2000).

I have been in the recruiting business for over eight years and now work as a trainer for a company that teaches recruiters advanced Internet search techniques. Major corporations are sending their recruiters to training sessions such as these in order to better prepare them for the growing trend of electronic recruiting, better known as "e-cruiting."

Your article recognized the importance of job seekers utilizing the Internet to find jobs they otherwise may have missed.

Otis Collier
Advanced Internet
Recruiting Strategies
Marietta, Georgia
[e-mail]

BLACKS IN NASCAR

Your magazine is truly incredible. I find the different topics you discuss on a month-to-month basis truly remarkable, and I commend the team working on your magazine.

I really enjoyed the article in your March 2000 issue, "Racing for Dollars," (Newspoints). I had no idea that blacks were involved in NASCAR racing. I think that blacks breaking into the racing circuit is an excellent move, [which could not have been accomplished] by a better duo: NFL legend Joe Washington and NBA legend Julius Erving.

With the tremendous sales of various racing jackets, hats, T-shirts and buttons, [NASCAR's] popularity will only increase once black Americans become aware that blacks, including the Washington Erving Motorsports team, are on the track jockeying for pole position and popularity.

Frederick L. Savage
Temple Hills, Maryland
[e-mail]

ENERGY BOOST

I have never written to any magazine in my life, but I had to write to BE. You guys have boosted my energy so high. I am only 22 years old and I'm making $40,000 a year as an operations manager for an Internet company; I'm also in college. After reading your magazines, I know that I can do so much more and make so much more.

I currently have the March 2000 issue and every single part of the magazine, including the Letters section, has inspired me to start now and not wait until I am 25 to become the self-starter that I know I am. I am engaged to be married and have no children, so there is nothing really holding me back

You are truly the best magazine out there for aspiring African Americans.

Brandy McNeil
Brooklyn
[e-mail]

GREAT COVERS

I would like to commend your covers of the February and March 2000 issues of BE. I don't know if it was planned by the staff, but presenting positive and successful African American men on your covers for two consecutive months is impressive.

Hopefully it sends a strong visual message that black men can and are doing well across this country. Thank you so much for presenting these types of African American men and their many voices of growth and triumph.

Jerome Cummings Jr. Tallahassee, Florida

EARNING AN M.B.A.

As the executive director of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), I want to congratulate the staff of BE for providing its readers with information on the advantages of obtaining an advanced business degree and the skills and qualifications needed to begin and complete the journey ("This Way to an M.B.A.," February 2000).

Another great resource for your readers interested in pursuing an M.B.A. is the NBMBAA. We are a 5,000-member business organization with 39 U.S. chapters, an international affiliate in London, and corporate sponsor list of over 360 Fortune 1,000 companies. The NBMBAA is dedicated to the creation of economic and intellectual wealth for the black community. We do this by encouraging black individuals to pursue business education and by developing and implementing programs to assist them in their pursuit of an M.B.A.

Member programs include Destination M.B.A., a partnership with the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which encourages and informs African Americans about the value of an M.B.A. education; Employment Network, which links NBMBAA corporate sponsors with potential employees; the Executive Development Institute, which increases our members' exposure to advanced management practices; the National Student Case Competition, where students are given an opportunity to win scholarships by demonstrating their problem-solving skill before a panel of corporate executives; and the National Scholarship Programs, which awards scholarships to students pursing an undergraduate business degree, an M.B.A. or a Ph.D.

Readers can learn more about the NBMBAA by visiting our Web site at www.nbmbaa.org. Again, I want to thank BE for a job well done and for publishing such an important and informative article.

Antoinette M. Malveaux
Executive Director
National Black MBA Association Inc.
Chicago

I love reading BE; it keeps me up to date on the corporate issues of the world. Your article "This Way to an M.B.A.," February 2000, really made me want to work toward getting an M.B.A. I am currently a junior at the University of Mississippi, studying banking and finance. I have to choose which program I will enter, and you have brightened my future.

Jason I. Taylor
Nesbit, Mississippi
[e-mail]

NEED TO SUCCEED

I thank God for your magazine; it's wonderful! I'm a 29-year-old single mother of one. As a person in the beginning stages of my life as an entrepreneur, I find [starting a business] both exciting and terrifying at the same time. I purchased your January 2000 issue and I was so inspired to move forward that I had to write and say thank you.

I was having difficulty writing my business plan and I found the first installment of your Business Management Series, "Flying Solo," very timely. I'm keeping a copy of this issue as a blueprint for the foundation of my business. Also, your support resources, such as the Black Enterprise/Walt Disney World Resort 2000 calendar of events, are great.

Thank you so much for what you're doing. You're making it easy for me to get what I need to succeed. Your magazine encourages and inspires me. Keep up the great work; you're doing a tremendous job.

Renee Thomas Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

BE welcomes comments from our readers. Address all correspondence to Letters, BLACK ENTERPRISE, 130 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10011. Fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail]. Letters should include the writer's full name, address and daytime telephone, and may be edited for clarity or space.