If you're anything like me, the American financial system is scary. Although moving to America was always something I've always dreamt of, I soon realized that achieving the American dream was not as easy as it seemed. I've experienced the gap between arriving in the US and thriving here financially, but with time, I'm crossing it. I'm building this site to help you cross it too.
There are a lot of challenges that immigrants face:
- Getting your first job is tough, especially in situations where the U.S job market fails to recognize degrees attained outside the country. Most of them are put in a position to work two jobs to provide for their families and to make ends meet.
- The process of assimilating into a new society is dependent on the age of migration—the older you are, the more difficult it is to learn a new language, new institutions, and systems.
- It is challenging and at times overwhelming to navigate institutions in the U.S as a new immigrant. Being the eldest daughter in an immigrant household, I got to experience this firsthand with my parents.
- Setting up a bank account, learning how to build credit and how taxes work are a few other challenges that come with this migration.
With all of these challenges, investing for the future can seem like a privilege. Such challenges require constant and immediate attention and the feat of acquiring further financial knowledge takes second place. As with the case of my parents, not having enough time, prior financial knowledge or a sense of familiarity with the U.S financial system prevents an immigrant from seeking the necessary financial education to secure their future.
There are other barriers to investing as an immigrant:
- We are good at saving but not so much at investing. Being frugal is a virtue, it is something you are applauded for. Although we are excellent savers, I have noticed how my immigrant parents shy away from ideas of investing the money they earn.
- Being unfamiliar with the new financial system, there is a lack of trust in the U.S financial market.
- There is a lack of easily accessible educational resources targeted toward immigrants, who are essentially beginners trying to learn new concepts in a new language. And when adult immigrants have already mastered their home country's financial system, it can be frustrating to start over.
Women like me face even more cultural barriers due to patriarchy and cultural misogyny:
- In my family, we rarely ever talk money. The amount of real-world financial knowledge that has been communicated from my parents to me is negligible.
- We are not empowered to think about financial independence, instead, we are often taught to be financially dependent on our fathers, brothers, or future partners.
- From being expected to take on household activities that my brother was always exempt from to being expected to be the primary caregiver for my parents long-term, I am not encouraged to put myself first. And although this is not a universal experience for all immigrant daughters, I understand that there are many stories out there just like mine.
These are all big problems. Financial education should be accessible to everyone. Creating and maintaining an investment portfolio is a necessity for achieving the American dream. This website will give immigrants of all ages reliable information and a strong argument for developing financial literacy in their families and communities.