It’s been decades since my parents provided me with this advice, but it is still relevant today. Many laws have changed; customs have not. As an African American woman my financial priority is to minimize risks, not maximize returns.

The most valuable of my mother’s assets was her home – a modest 1,225 square foot bungalow on Chicago’s south side with three bedrooms, a single bath, a large backyard, and one car garage. My mother bought the house in 1986 for $55,000, the equivalent of $123,000 today. She paid off the mortgage in 2016, which in hindsight is when the symptoms of her dementia could no longer be hidden.