An Economic Privilege Action Plan
Last week I shared a post on why acting on your economic privilege matters. Today we are going to dive into the how. How should you act on your privilege? What action steps can you take?
Before we start I want to make clear that every single one of us is going to have a different answer to these questions -- and that’s a good thing! We are all different, have different life circumstances and different values and therefore have different goals. The important thing here is that if we all act, we will be able to make real change in the world around us.
Step 1:
The first step to creating your individualized action plan is to determine what kind of actions work best for you. Answer the questions below to start narrowing in on a path:
Do you have a platform that can be used to share information and action opportunities with others?
Do you have wiggle room in your budget (or can you make some that is aligned with your values) to be able to give money to organizations and/or people?
Do you have time that you can donate to organizations or causes?
Do you have connections to resources that could help others?
Do you have specific skills that can help others?
Step 2:
Once you know what type of actions work for you, then you need to determine what values are most important to you. This can be done with a simple brainstorm. Try to narrow down to 1-5 core values that are most important to you. Here’s a list of potential answers just to help you get going:
Climate change, affordable childcare, racial reparations, affordable housing, voting, health and wellness, access to education…
Step 3:
After you’ve narrowed down to a list of specific values and a list of specific types of actions you want to take, all you need to do is combine them! Note: that is often way easier said than done. I recommend taking at least 30 minutes to map out the specifics (i.e. I will donate to X organization, I will share Y resources with Z group of people).
Step 4:
This can be the toughest one: follow through. Schedule time on your calendar so that you actually take the time to do the work you need to do. Set reminders on your phone so that you don’t forget.
Recognizing, understanding, and acting on your economic privilege is not something that you can do once and be finished with. In order to create more economic justice in the world around us, this will need to be a continuous process. I’ve shared a framework to help get you started, but please note that this is just one of many paths you can take. For some of you it may not feel like enough right now and that’s great - go further! For others of you it may feel like a bit too much and that just means you need to take more time to reflect and work through those feelings. That’s okay!
As always, I’m here for you and your money journey, wherever you may be on that road.
XOXO
