Jasmine Rashid wants to instill “financial activism” in those benefitting from generational wealth transfers. (Techboogie)
There’s a major shift of power happening right now, but it’s as subtle as grains of sand slipping from one half of an hourglass to the other. Individually, a single grain doesn’t matter much, but collectively, that mass of sand moving from one side to the other is a significant change.
The sand, in this example, is wealth subtly shifting from one generation to the next. Right now, baby boomers are either retiring or meeting their mortality. As they do, it’s predicted that upwards of $90 trillion will be transferred to millennials and Gen Z.
Staggering as that number may be, the amount of money changing hands might not be the biggest part of the story. Whose hands that wealth lands in — that’s the real story.
In the coming years, women are poised to gain more money, resources and ownership than ever before. With that shift, this economy will become more inclusive, less extractive and all-around better for the well-being of workers, as well as the planet.
Jasmine Rashid. (Maya Minhas)
This changing of the tide is what inspires Jasmine Rashid.
She knows the term has a certain connotation, especially here in the Bay. But that’s the goal: to show folks that they, too, are activists.
Rashid believes that benevolent changes can be made by everyday people being mindful about their finances, particularly women, in the midst of this great wealth transfer.
Mentioned alone, the word “financial” brings to mind business suits, stocks, bonds, equity and insurance. The term “activist” is tied to notions of freedom fighters, organizers and those who sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
But when combined, Rashid writes, the term “financial activist” refers to “anyone intentionally taking action in ways big and small to shift the flow of capital and power, resisting systems that cause harm to people and the planet for the sake of profit, and redesigning our relationships to money and one another.”
This can take the form of a retail clerk who opens a bank account at a credit union, a content creator who’s critical of housing prices or even an artist who speaks about the billions of taxpayer dollars going towards government-sanctioned violence overseas.
Ultimately, a financial activist is anyone that’s aware of their spending habits, mindful of where their resources are going and an “expert in their own unique lived experience,” writes Rashid.
Built as a resource for those who may not be wealthy but yearn for economic empowerment, the book is full of real-world examples to bring lofty financial concepts down to earth. At one point, Rashid references a diagram depicting a participatory budget drawn in chalk on the ground near Lake Merritt — literally bringing a massive idea down to ground-level.
“Finance,” Rashid tells me during a recent phone call, “has been designed to be inextricably inaccessible.” To combat that, Rashid — who works full-time in impact investing, has written for Forbes and has a background in social change theory — explains it’s not about becoming financial experts, but simply rerouting our relationship with money.
‘The Financial Activist Playbook’ release is augmented with a playlist, sticker sheet, zine and more. (Berrett-Koehler)
“It’s really about how we reclaim our agency and our nervous systems,” Rashid says, “in ways that make our relationship to money on an everyday basis more abundant, more relaxed and really reducing shame around conversations about money.”
In doing so, she imagines a world where people don’t worry about tremendous amounts of debt; a world where, as a community, we aren’t burdened with a lack of affordable housing. “Both things have to happen at the same time,” says Rashid.
Rashid’s book is centered around eight strategies: talking about money, banking on ourselves, flexing some buying power, giving (and receiving), showing up for one another beyond money, shifting budgets, leveraging the magic of investment and handling our business.
The strategies are supported by anecdotal stories, interviews and research. Rashid, a Bangladeshi-American woman originally from New York and now based in Oakland, also relies on insight from her friend circle, as well as her own experiences in fiscal management.
Knowing that big change beings with the small grains of local movements, Rashid turns to Bay Area-based organizations, like The Hella Heart Oakland Giving Circle and The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, as examples of groups thinking outside of the common flow of money to bring resources to the broader community.
Rashid’s book, released on Sept. 12, includes a set of thought-provoking questions for people to workshop for themselves, as well as a glossary for the litany of financial terms Rashid introduces to the reader throughout the book’s 230-plus pages.
Jasmine Rashid. (Maya Minhas)
Additionally, Rashid is offering a free zine for those interested in the topic who might see the book’s price tag as a barrier.
Rashid emphasizes that the tangible examples of thinking differently are a key component.
“The reality is,” says Rashid, “that in order to move into a more equitable economy, we need to decentralize profit for the few and re-center well-being for the many.” It’s not about creating a utopia, she adds, but being grounded in reality.
When asked if this is about moving away from capitalism, she says, in short: yes. But it’s more nuanced than that. Ultimately, Rashid says, “I’m focused less on what we call it — capitalism, socialism or any other ism — I’m here to make sure everyone eats.”
For Rashid, it’s about finding a system that’s sustainable for the people and the planet. It’s about this massive wealth transfer, and having “a just transition” that brings about benevolent, long-term change. It’s about reminding people that as we work, pay bills and run this ratrace, we may feel as insignificant as a grain of sand trapped in an hourglass.
But “because we interact with money on a daily basis,” Rashid says, “we can be activists.”
