Ahoy! I had a conversation with Hannah Rimm, Refinery29’s work and money editor on the latest episode of Weird Finance. We spent a little bit of time talking about privilege and, particularly, what she calls “secret white people money.” I just want to note a couple of things: Yes, not all white people have “secret white people” money. And yes, non-white groups have amassed generational wealth that, according to this beautiful data supports that Asian households, on average, have amassed more wealth than average white households. What the data also supports is that more than one idea can be true at the same time. I also want to give you some things folks much smarter than me have said that might help you confront any prickly feelings that might be bubbling up as you confront these ideas. "Many people may rightly say, ‘I had nothing to do with how this all started. I have nothing to do with the sins of the past. My ancestors never attacked indigenous people, never owned slaves.’ And, yes. Not one of us was here when this house was built. Our immediate ancestors may have had nothing to do with it, but here we are, the current occupants of a property with stress cracks and bowed walls and fissures built into the foundation. We are the heirs to whatever is right or wrong with it. We did not erect the uneven pillars or joists, but they are ours to deal with now.” “It is white people’s responsibility to be less fragile; people of color don’t need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate us as painlessly as possible.” Ultimately, the point of this project, the Weird Finance podcast, is to help people feel less weird about money, one conversation at a time. I don’t how much of my grand ambition I’ll actually be able to accomplish. But I do know, having had to confront my own weirdness – my trauma, my own core wounds, and all the ways I’ve been a complicit person in fucked up dynamics – what I’ve learned is that it all starts here. By being confronted with the things you don’t want to be confronted with. So relax the ego and let whatever needs to unfold do just that. I’m sorry, and you’re welcome. Of course, as always, I invite you to share your thoughts with me. Don’t be shy; hit reply. Your favorite finance friend,
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1. 🤫 "Secret White People Money" and Financial Voyeurism with Hannah Rimm (Weird Finance) In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to writer and editor Hannah Rimm about privilege, how generational wealth is secretly passed down, and what makes a good money diary. This episode also features The Economic Outlook with financial astrologer Susan Gidel. And tidbit about saving a portion of every dollar you earn.2. ❓ Mommy, Where Does Money Come From? (New Yorker)3. 🕺🏻 Strip Down, Rise Up (Lux Magazine) On the Picket Line with Dancers In North Hollywood
4. 🤔 What's Passive Income? It's Not What Influencers Say It Is. (The New York Times) Misconceptions about passive income abound, namely that it's easy to earn.5. 🤓 A Bookkeeping Thing - Important Tax Dates for the 2022 Tax Year (HYG Original) March 15 is an important tax date! It's the deadline for corporate and partnership tax return or to request an automatic six-month extension of time to file.6. 💔 The Battle for the Soul of Buy Nothing (WIRED) How an idealistic community for exchanging free stuff tried to break away from Facebook, and ended up breaking apart.7. 💀 The Death of the Smart Shopper (The Atlantic) “All of this might feel unforgivably trivial. You don’t feel confident purchasing a laundry hamper? So what? But the fact that the highly visible scaffolding of digital commerce—largely built and maintained by the same handful of companies that control much of the internet itself—is deteriorating so rapidly does not portend well for those of us on the business end of these systems, who are protected by little other than our own doggedness. And many of the people involved in the consumer system aren’t even afforded that. If you can’t differentiate one product from a dozen listings for a seemingly identical thing, you can’t even begin to understand the conditions under which it was produced, or at what cost to workers and the environment.”8. 🙎🏻♀️ The Agoraphobic Fantasy of Tradlife (Dissent Magazine) “Many tradlifers are young women who hate work and celebrate arrangements where men rescue their wives from the professional realm: ‘When my friend’s mom first started dating her husband,’ one viral tweet reads,’ he said ‘Stay with me, marry me, and you’ll never have to work again.’ Only tradition can salvage love from modern indignities and the early-morning commute. Like a trapdoor, the idea swings open to reveal a baby-pink fantasy too fragile and nostalgic to be taken in the open air. Regular people preoccupied with bills, healthcare premiums, and rising rents will find much of the tradlife lifestyle to be out of reach. That paradox is what makes it such potent social media fare: tradlife is, at bottom, perpetuated by ‘influencers’ who know how to make others feel desirous and frustrated in equal measure. It is a menacing advertisement jingle, for a product people may not want or be certain exists.”
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If you have a question you’d like me to answer on the Weird Finance podcast, you can leave me a voicemail at 833-ASK-PACO. You can also email me your question by replying to this email or emailing us at weirdfinancepod@gmail.com.
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