No need to apologize. I appreciate your response. In fact, I used it as a springboard to an article that should publish soon. I hope something comes of it.

I am actively working on ways to broaden the scope/impact of what I do. I mean, I am fully aware that I'm a blip on the radar screen of life and the world. That said, this is what I do. I love it. And I want to do it well. Part of doing it well is being inclusive and advancing my work, in this area and other, even unrelated areas.

I have not read the book you mentioned, however the idea of internalizing "the bootstraps mentality" resonates with me. I think it's a HUGE factor in this discussion. you might enjoy the book, "In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio." The idea of individual responsibility - and inability or, more so, refusal to accept external, structural factors - comes to the forefront in the Puerto Rican community at the center of that book. I think this might be even be less about race than it is class and culture, although non-whites experience it less than other groups. I grew up in a very working class white family and it took me forever to let go of the bootstraps mentality.

Anyway, sorry to blather. Your response was timely, necessary, and appreciated.

The conversations we have about personal finance often only get consumed by - or are largely consumed by - privileged audiences. It doesn't have to be this way, particularly because these conversations are just as relevant - maybe more relevant - to traditionally underserved and forgotten groups.