How Financial Trauma Shapes Our Relationship With Money

On this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Rahkim Sabree, financial therapist and author of Overcoming Financial Trauma, about how our earliest experiences with money shape our behavior, stress responses, and sense of safety, often long before we have the language to understand what’s happening.

Rahkim explains that financial trauma isn’t a personal failure or a lack of knowledge. It’s a response to real threats, systemic forces, and lived experiences that affect everyone, regardless of income or privilege. We explore how survival states influence financial decisions, why financial literacy alone isn’t always the answer, and how healing begins by addressing root causes rather than symptoms.

🔑 Key Takeaways

🔹 Financial trauma often begins early in life, before we have the awareness or tools to understand it
🔹 Stress responses around money are shaped by perceived threats to safety, not intelligence or discipline
🔹 Financial trauma affects people across all income levels and backgrounds
🔹 Living in survival mode can make traditional financial advice feel out of reach or even harmful
🔹 Financial trauma is not a personal failing. It reflects systemic conditions and lived experiences
🔹 Building generational wealth requires shared values, trust, and collective buy-in, not just assets
🔹 Community and connection are essential to healing financial trauma and creating sustainable wealth

This conversation reframes money struggles as a shared human experience and highlights the importance of community, context, and compassion in building lasting financial resilience.

Connect with Rahkim Sabree:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Books:

• Overcoming Financial Trauma: How to Break Free from Guilt, Build Wealth, and Redefine Success
• Financially Irresponsible
• Mentorship: The Playbook
• Journey to Financial Wellness: Exploring Emotions, Money Beliefs and Healing
• Money TALK$: Uncut Convos with Financial Experts on How to Grow, Leverage and Protect Your Assets (Money TALK$: Uncut Convos With Power Couples About Love, Money & Entrepreneurship)

Bio: 

Rahkim Sabree is an award-winning Financial Therapist, Accredited Financial Counselor®, author, and keynote speaker with an emerging voice in the fields of financial therapy and financial empowerment. He is the author of the book Overcoming Financial Trauma, which explores the intersection of money, trauma, and healing. Rahkim is particularly renowned for his efforts to demystify financial trauma among underserved communities. With a dynamic background that bridges financial services, public speaking, and inclusive financial wellness, he is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations challenge traditional views of financial freedom and personal growth.

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