Why Baltimore Families Must Rethink Jobs, Income, and Wealth

BALTIMORE —For generations, families were taught a simple financial formula: go to school, get good grades, earn a degree, secure a good job, work hard, and retire comfortably. That message was repeated in homes, churches, and classrooms across Baltimore and throughout the country.

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Today, that formula is outdated and no longer works.

Rising inflation, layoffs, artificial intelligence, automation, outsourcing, shrinking pensions, and soaring living costs have created a harsh new reality. Even individuals with solid careers and advanced degrees are discovering that a single paycheck is no longer enough. Job security, once considered a foundation of the American dream, has become increasingly uncertain.

Financial experts now warn thatif you are not making money outside of your job, you are at risk.

The Collapse of the Old Formula

The traditional path to success relied almost entirely on earned income—trading time for money. But earned income has a built-in flaw: when the work stops, the income stops.

In contrast, those who consistently build wealth follow a different strategy. They focus on:

At the center of this new formula is ownership—especially ownership through stocks.

The Greatest Wealth Creator—and the Wealth Gap

The U.S. stock market has been thegreatest wealth creator in history, generating more millionaires than any other system ever created. Yet participation in that system remains disproportionately low among African Americans.

This lack of ownership is one of the primary reasons the racial wealth gap continues to widen. Income alone has never closed the gap. Ownership does.

Financial educators emphasize that unless the African American community dramatically increases participation in the stock market—thegreatest wealth equalizer ever created—the gap will continue to grow, regardless of education or work ethic.

That belief drives the work ofJ.R. Fenwick, CEO ofFLip That Stock, a Maryland-based stock market education and technology company.

Making Ownership Simple and Accessible

Fenwick is the creator ofShop For Stocks Online, an innovative online platform designed to make stock market participation simple, visual, and unintimidating—especially for beginners.

Rather than overwhelming users with charts, complex terminology, and financial jargon, the platform mirrors something people already understand— online shopping.

Instead of shopping for products on sites like Amazon, users browse companies. Instead of buying items that depreciate, they buy ownership in businesses that can grow, pay dividends, and build long-term wealth.

“People know how to shop,” Fenwick says. “They just were never shown how to shop for ownership.”

The platform was intentionally designed to befun and easy, with a special focus on helping people of color confidently enter the stock market—often for the first time.

Income That Doesn’t Depend on a Timecard

In addition to teaching stock ownership, the Shop For Stocks Online program includes an opportunity to generateunlimited monthly residual incomethrough its Friends and Family Referral Program.

Participants can earn recurring income simply by sharing the platform with others—creating a second income stream that is not tied to hours worked, location, or physical labor.

For many families, this combination of ownership education and residual income represents a powerful alternative to relying solely on a job for financial security.

A Free Financial Education Event in Baltimore

To help beginners take their first step, J.R. Fenwick will appear asSpecial Guest Educatorat One God One Thought Center for Better Livingat aFREE seminarfocused on financial education, stock ownership, and income creation.

The seminar will teach attendees:

Event Details:Sunday, January 25, 202612:30 PM – 2:00 PMOne God One Thought Center for Better Living

Notification: If the weather forces the event to move online, you will have an opportunity to join us via Zoom.Registration is available atTheFreedomExpressTourLIVE.com.

As Baltimore families face an increasingly uncertain economic future, one message is becoming impossible to ignore:a job alone is no longer enough. Ownership—and income outside of a job—is no longer optional. It is essential.

J.R. Fenwick is the CEO of FLipThatStock.com, a leading stock market education andtechnology company based in Maryland. He has been acknowledged as one of the beststock market teachers in the country.