Back when I was dreaming of birthing a community coaching program I knew that pricing it right would be a key part. Accessibility is an important part of financial empowerment and social justice. Accessibility is having people at different income and wealth levels benefit from an important product or service.
I heard a lot of no’s and confusion when I thought this through with my peers. A mentor of mine said accessibility pricing was me not charging my worth, others said maybe I should establish a non-profit instead. Yet, others showed me the way forward. Below I share key experiences with accessibility pricing and how my thinking on it has evolved.
Accessibility Pricing Out in the Streets
Example 1: Summer of 2021 on my way back to Mexico City (aka CDMX) from the pyramids in Teotihuacan I overheard in English two young men talk about taxi drivers in CDMX. One of them was pretty bitter because they’d routinely overcharge him 20 or 30 pesos compared to others who looked identifiably Mexican.
Example 2: A virtual class focused on Harriet Tubman’s legacy outlined how much to pay for the four week series depending on income levels. They explained this is the practice of dana, or right sharing as Quakers would call it.
Example 3: My Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) said I had an expected family contribution of $0 and I received generous support for college in California thanks to my mother’s annual income of $14,000 as head of household for three people.
These are all personal examples of accessibility pricing I’ve encountered, some more formal than others. Each of these money interactions starts off with the assumption that equality is not synonymous with fairness and vice versa. Instead these examples highlight accessibility: the ease with which people can get access to an opportunity.
Eavesdropping on taxi complaints
As a white skinned Mexican-American living in Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico, I don’t haggle. I see my privilege due to the randomness of my birth place. I also acknowledge the work generations before me have to done to uphold white supremacy, either as white settlers or people who chose their partner based on the lightness of their skin. I grew up hearing the phrase “hay que mejorar la raza” (we have to improve the race) – I now recognize it as a symptom of internalized white supremacy.
When I’m out shopping in Oaxaca the first price I get is often higher than my darker skinned and shorter mother would get, especially because I walk around in Birkenstocks basically screaming out foreigner. I feel happy to pay this higher price. Call it my Catholic penchant for penance or simply self-righteousness, but I feel perfectly comfortable with this set-up.
This hasn’t always been the case. I remember with guilt the time I haggled with a Cambodian woman over the cost of a handmade silk necklace. I grew up with very active haggling as a child working with my parents at the tianguis (swap meet) and I’m very comfortable with it, and even enjoy the give and take of it. Yet, I’ve now changed my ways.
Jumping back to the present, while listening to the foreign young men complain about taxi drivers I didn’t know how I felt. Did I want to laugh at their entitlement, scream at them for being so oblivious, or cry because as a woman I never feel comfortable getting on a taxi and stick exclusively to ride sharing apps that are easily tracked? Internally, I did a bit of all three.
At the same time I do acknowledge the harm of pre-conceived notions and not establishing full relationship. A friend of mine who is Mexican has the bad fortune of being tall, light skinned, and green eyed. His Mexican income is not set up to pay the “güero” tax as he calls it. He also pointed out to me that taxi drivers overcharging foreigners will just hurt the taxi drivers in the long run by moving all foreigners to ride-sharing.
Once again, fairness may be in the eye of the beholder when navigating international waters, the legacy of imperialism, and the tourism industry.
Exploring Gift Economics
As I’ve learned more about the enormity of my privilege my thinking has shifted. A key moment was mentioned in example 2: the joy I felt contributing at my income level for the class on Harriet Tubman offered by the East Bay Meditation Center.
- Paying at my income level for this class reminded me of being a child and showing up to my family’s hometown in Sonora with hand me downs and cookies for my younger cousins. It felt so good to give to my lovely cousins.
- Paying at my income level for this class reminded me of the awe I felt when my grandmother fed and clothed a man wandering our street in Mexicali after being deported from the US. It brought me into relationship with the realities of having more than others and the responsibility of it.
Giving to others gives you a positive feeling and increased self-regard that slowly changes your self-image. What says “I have enough and I am safe” more than sharing what you have with others?
This class was my first official introduction to accessibility pricing through the East Bay Meditation Center and a gateway to learning about gift economics. I continued this inquiry through my training with Wisdom & Money, an organization focused on bringing their finances in alignment with their understanding of divinity.
The Magic of Receiving
I feel grateful to see where I can give and happy to acknowledge the magic of receiving. A few years before I went to college my parents divorced and after years of prosperity our entire household was taken back to a poverty that I’d long thought was exclusively set aside for my Mexican family and my parent’s childhood.
Thankfully my parents are survivors and within a decade they were back on their feet. In the meantime, I received a four year BA and even got an MA with generous scholarships. In total I graduated with $12,000 of debt; $5,000 of which was from a summer study abroad program in Switzerland. In other words, my education was incredibly affordable because we were broke, I had good grades, and I was lucky enough to be in California, one of the most generous states in the US.
For those five years I received generously from the people of California. It brings me to tears to know that had I been born 160 miles south of Van Nuys, my birth town in Los Angeles County, none of that good fortune would have been mine.
Establishing Relationship through Pricing
As a Libra rising I wish the world were fair and that meritocracy were 100% real all of the time. But as someone who has lived experience with inequality and the randomness of privilege, I don’t have time or energy to waste on fantasies of a different world.
Instead, what I have to offer you is Bosque Money, a life changing, confidence boosting money management program priced with a focus on accessibility. While you read through the image below stay in touch with your body.
As you look at this pricing what’s coming through you? Does your breath change? Do you feel confused? Are you rolling your eyes? Are you touched? Or insulted? Be with your body’s response and welcome the nuance.
Now consider, when have you given generously? When have you received generously? Where do you see access you have and access you don’t have?
Please note that Sliding Scale Option 2 covers the costs of creating and maintaining this work, while Sliding Scale Option 1 offers a discount and Sliding Scale Option 3 strengthens this initiative.
Although we can pretend money is purely transactional, in a world where fast fashion adds more annual carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined and 771 million people lack access to clean water, our heart knows money is relational. As Matthew McConaughey reminds us, the new frontier is here with each other.
Did you find this post helpful? Sign up for my newsletter to stay in touch or learn about my 6-month Group Coaching Program.