AS NEW YORKERS FEEL THE SQUEEZE, HARLEM LEADER SHARON JOSEPH ASKS: ‘HOW DO YOU MAKE A DOLLAR OUT OF FIFTEEN CENTS?’

Harlem Commonwealth Council CEO to lead free Sept. 12 workshop offering practical strategies to stretch income, manage money and begin building wealth.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — When rent, groceries, transportation and everyday expenses consume more of the household budget, traditional financial advice to simply “save more” can feel disconnected from reality.

Harlem Commonwealth Council (HCC) CEO Sharon Joseph wants to change that conversation. On Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Joseph will lead “How to Make a Dollar Out of Fifteen Cents,” a free, four-hour financial fluency workshop at HCC’s headquarters at 361 West 125th Street in Harlem.

Rather than focusing on financial theory, the hands-on workshop is designed around a practical question confronting families every day: How do you make the money you have go further while still building toward financial security and wealth? “How to Make a Dollar Out of Fifteen Cents” is a practical and provocative guide to recognizing the hidden costs that keep you from building wealth—and changing the habits, decisions, and patterns that allow those costs to compound.

“We often think the answer to our financial problems is simply to make more money. But what if the real problem is what we’re tolerating? The expenses we stopped questioning. The debt we learned to live with. The income we never negotiated. The opportunities we postponed. The financial habits we inherited without examining.” said Joseph. “Individually, they may seem small. Over time, they become a Tolerance Tax—the price we pay for accepting what costs us money, options, freedom, and wealth.”

The free workshop will give participants practical, real-world strategies for managing money in today’s economy. Participants will also have an opportunity to engage directly with Sharon Joseph through interactive exercises and discussions designed to turn financial concepts into actions they can immediately apply to their own lives. At the center of the workshop is Joseph’s T.A.X. Method:

Trace — the truth of what you’ve been tolerating and where it began.
Audit — what it’s costing you, aligned with what you value.
Execute — act on it and stop paying the tax.

Then comes the climb: Keep More. Plug the leaks in your budget. Make More. Multiply your income streams. Build More. Turn income into assets. Leave Your Legacy. Build wealth that outlives you.

The goal isn’t simply to know more about money. It’s to have more control over it: keep more of what you earn, expand what you can earn, turn income into assets, create more choices, and build something that outlives you.

You don’t have to wait until you earn more, know more, or have everything figured out. Start with what’s already in your hands and take the next step. Wealth isn’t built in one giant leap. Wealth is climbed, not wished for. And you don’t have to start with a dollar. Sometimes you have to learn how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents.

FROM WORKSHOP TO A LARGER FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT MOVEMENT
The workshop also introduces a broader concept Joseph is developing under the “How to Make a Dollar Out of Fifteen Cents” banner. Joseph is currently developing a book based on the idea, with the goal of making financial education understandable, practical and relevant to people who may have historically been left out of traditional conversations about wealth creation.

The initiative builds upon Harlem Commonwealth Council’s nearly six decades of work advancing economic opportunity and self-determination in Harlem. “This isn’t about telling people what they’ve done wrong with their money,” Joseph said. “It’s about helping people understand the power of what they have, make informed decisions and create a pathway toward something greater.”

EVENT DETAILS
What: How to Make a Dollar Out of Fifteen Cents
Who: Sharon Joseph, CEO, Harlem Commonwealth Council
When: Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Where: Harlem Commonwealth Council Auditorium, 361 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
Cost: Free; advance registration required
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-make-a-dollar-out-of-fifteen-cents-tickets-1998991939703?aff=erelpanelorg#organizer-card
Space is limited and advance registration is required.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Members of the media are invited to cover the workshop. Sharon Joseph is available for advance and day-of interviews to discuss financial literacy, household economic pressures, wealth building, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in Harlem. Interview opportunities with workshop participants may also be available with participant consent.

ABOUT HARLEM COMMONWEALTH COUNCIL
Founded in 1967, Harlem Commonwealth Council (HCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit economic development organization dedicated to empowering Harlem residents and advancing economic self-determination. Through entrepreneurship support, workforce development, youth programming, equitable access to capital and financial literacy initiatives, HCC works to expand economic opportunity and help individuals, families and businesses build stronger financial futures.

ABOUT SHARON JOSEPH
Sharon Joseph is Chief Executive Officer of Harlem Commonwealth Council and a leader in economic development, entrepreneurship and financial empowerment. Drawing on more than three decades on both sides of the financial equation—from advising and educating clients at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs to building Harlem Lanes, the first Black woman-owned bowling alley in the U.S.—Sharon Joseph shows readers how to move from earning money to intentionally building wealth. With a particular commitment to women’s empowerment and financial literacy, Joseph’s work focuses on creating pathways to economic self-determination and expanding access to the knowledge, resources and opportunities necessary to build wealth.

ABOUT iWOMAN MEDIA
iWoman Media is a women-led multimedia and strategic communications company founded by Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer and media strategist Cathleen Trigg-Jones. Through strategic communications, public relations, content production and audience development, iWoman Media helps organizations, brands and creators expand their visibility and impact.

Cathleen Trigg-Jones
iWoman Media
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