20 Comments
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Stephanie's avatar

I really relate to all the emotions tied up with our history with money. Like feeling that I can’t pay full price, or shop for what I really want or need instead of limiting myself to what is on sale. Middle-aged me can suddenly feel like poor teenage me, feeling afraid to go in the “nice” stores because the shopkeepers will size me up and decide I don’t belong and I’m just there to shoplift. I’ve never heard anyone articulate these feelings as financial trauma. Fascinating!

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Angela Marlett's avatar

Of all the various sources of trauma, I think financial trauma may be the one most difficult to overcome because it's seldom talked about and it's inescapable. You can distance yourself from a dysfunctional family, start a different career, and talk about your childhood for years, but it's nearly impossible to go an entire day without dealing with money in some way. And when you have financial trauma, it means facing that trauma daily with little to no support.

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Untrickled by Michelle Teheux's avatar

But … what about when money is NOT finding its way to you? I’m traumatized financially for pretty solid reasons, I’d say.

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Shawn Fink | Awesomely Awake's avatar

I’ve been an entrepreneur for 13 years FT. The ability to thrive has drastically changed in that time. While money does flow to me it’s not always what I need and it’s not always easy. No amount of manifestation or affirmations work … just hustle. I like what I do but it’s harder now than ever thanks to tech bro billionaires.

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Megan's avatar

Love the idea of expressing gratitude for moments of ease with money around a stressful situation. Hard in the moment sometimes but a good practice. Excited to read more in the book!!

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Sarah Sedgwick's avatar

I have frequently over the years looked for a financial planner/therapist because just the thought of really looking at my financial situation (which is objectively probably better than fine) fills me with dread. I haven't found much (maybe due to poor Googling skills). So I'm excited to hear about this book and Rahkim's newsletter.

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Maria DeVoto's avatar

I love that their splurge item was something celebrating professional success - so often we celebrate birthdays, weddings, anniversaries (which are also great to celebrate, of course!), but forget to celebrate professional success like promotions, launching a new business, etc! I try to make a point to send a friend a small gift when they get a new job or promotion

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EJ Stowe's avatar

I just started naming financial trauma with my clients, and it's opened up some incredible opportunities to challenge shame and make connections between behaviors they can't understand in themselves and the genuinely traumatizing experiences they've had. It's so satisfying to be able to hand people tools that they can help themselves with, even if it's just the label. I can't wait to learn much more about this.

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Mark's avatar

I find the notions of financial trauma and financial therapy to be absolutely fascinating and I would love to read the book!

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Kelsey's avatar

I’ve been struggling with figuring out how much of my financial worries to expose my children to. I had never thought of financial trauma before, but now it has me wondering how much I have had. Thank you for sharing this.

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Kate Morgan Reade's avatar

The title of this post drew me in like a magnet. I've seen repeatedly in my life that everything always works out financially: always. So it's fear that is barking at me that things aren't going to work out. Fuck fear! It is wrong, first of all. Second, fear is uninformed and ignorant of my reality. Third, fear is only a knee jerk reaction, not a dealer in facts. Fourth, when fear is happening, my higher intellectual and problem-solving faculties are impaired. Fifth, I remember to trust change. Thanks for a great post.

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Ellie's avatar

What an inspiring post. Wondering how many millennials can relate to this after graduating into the 2008 recession. Choosing to have an abundance mindset and releasing limiting beliefs about money is truly spiritual work, especially as we enter another economic downturn

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Orange & Joon by Roya's avatar

Thank you for bringing light to a topic that should be talked about more! I look forward to learning more and hopefully healing my own financial trauma.

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Ash's avatar

SUPER excited to read this book and to learn the phrase "financial trauma." It's definitely a thing that's come up in my life recently, and I'm looking forward to what Rahkim can teach me!

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James wilfinger's avatar

Hi, good morning. I've never heard of financial trauma but am interested in learning more on it. I experienced it when I was getting divorced and my bank account had no money in it. I went through a rough patch at the time but overcame it. I built myself back up after that and im now very comfortable. Money did come back to me in its own way. Im proud of my achievements surrounding this difficult situation. I will definitely read this book.

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April Marie's avatar

This interview left me with so many thoughts about how and why I spend, especially thinking about the guilt I carry when I buy something my family actually needs but is a large purchase. Definitely want to read the book. After tomorrow, I’ll ask my local bookstore to order.

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Jennifer Brossy's avatar

What a wonderful article! I recently began to follow you (also bought your book) and this perspective feels so refreshing. Would love a possibility to gain another tool for understanding money and trauma via this drawing! Thank you. 💕

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