Ash Exantus, also known as Ash Cash, has been dubbed the “Hip-Hop Financial Motivator.” He employs a culturally relevant way of teaching financial literacy and promoting investing for all ages.
Cash was a host for the Investfest Business and Entertainment panel with T.I. DJ Envy, and Dame Dash on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022.
What does abundance mean to you?
I believe that no matter what you believe in, we are all made in the image and likeness of the most high God. God has infinite possibilities and that means we are infinite possibilities. A lot of us believe that we have to struggle, fight, rob and steal for our abundance, but abundance is your birthright. I want people to understand that. You actually just have to be in the right frame of mind to allow abundance. People like your own are going to want to grind so they can create abundance, you can’t create something that’s already here.
I can’t say you’re going to create this mic. No, the mic is in front of my face. Whether I know the mic is here or not, is the thing. So if I turn my back, then I have no awareness of the microphone, but if I just position myself in the right way, then I know that mic is here. That’s the same thing with abundance. A lot of us got our back[s] turned to abundance, and then we’re like, “Oh my God, this struggle is hard.” No, just position yourself in the right way and get access to that abundance.
If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self when it comes to investing, what key points would you share?
I would tell myself early on to stop being so tight with money. Stop trying to hold on to it. I grew up in the Saving Grace projects on 29th and Eighth Avenue and because I didn’t have growing up, I felt that once I had [money] I was going to hold on to it tightly. So, because I held on to money so tight, I lost out on a lot of opportunities that I could have taken advantage of, that I take advantage of now. I was looking at it like “Oh my god, I got $100,000 in the bank” and that was like a trophy.
Now, if I hear somebody say [they have] $100,000 in the bank, I’m like, “Man, I feel sorry for you, because your money is losing.” I would tell my younger self, stop trying to hold on to the actual money and index. Don’t be scared to invest, invest in yourself, invest in your knowledge, but then even invest in assets over liabilities.
