February 20, 2026

🧠 Understanding Your Financial Trauma w/ Rahkim Sabree

53 minutes

EPISODE SUMMARY

What if your money stress isn't a personal failure, but a wound shaped by systems bigger than you? On this episode of the Money Healing Club podcast, Rachel welcomes Rahkim Sabree, author of "Overcoming Financial Trauma," for a conversation about how financial trauma lives in our bodies, communities, and histories. They explore the six sources of financial trauma, the benefit cliff that keeps people stuck, and what happened when Rahkim lost his home to a fire 30 days before his book launched. This episode validates the collective nature of financial stress and offers real frameworks for healing.

💬 "Many times when we talk about financial trauma, we talk about it through a first person lens that says, 'I experienced this thing.' But when we take a step back, our financial socialization keeps us very isolated. My goal is to help people detach their self-worth from this phenomenon and view it as more of a societal issue."

Key Takeaways:

Financial trauma is any instance observed or experienced that negatively impacts how you view, interact with, or believe about money

The six sources include: genetic/generational, vicarious/observational, workplace, poverty/financial instability, systemic/institutional, and acute financial events

Financial fawning in the workplace means regularly crossing your own boundaries to stay employed (and it's a survival strategy)

The benefit cliff creates a trap where earning $1 more can cost you thousands in support, preventing economic mobility

Our trauma brains may be operating on "old software" while navigating economic systems built on outdated foundations

Co-regulation practices (like collective breathing) can help us stay present through financial stress

About Rahkim Sabree: Rahkim is a nationally recognized financial therapist, speaker, and Forbes contributor. His new book "Overcoming Financial Trauma" introduces a framework for understanding and healing financial wounds, not just managing money better. In October 2025, just 30 days before his book launched, Rahkim lost his home to a fire, experiencing firsthand the very trauma he'd been writing about.

⏰ EPISODE BREAKDOWN

03:00 | Financial trauma as a societal issue: Why isolation around money keeps us from seeing the systemic nature of financial stress.

05:30 | The six sources of financial trauma: Breaking down genetic, observational, workplace, poverty, systemic, and acute trauma.

14:00 | The benefit cliff: When $1 more means losing everything How support systems trap people by cutting off entirely instead of gradually.

22:00 | When the book became real: Losing his home to fire Rahkim's experience of homelessness, vandalism, and trauma 30 days before launching a book on financial trauma.

35:00 | Summon Qi: Somatic practices from childhood How Rahkim's grandfather taught nervous system regulation through drumming and martial arts.

43:00 | Co-regulation on stage: The power of collective breathing before delivering a keynote while processing active trauma.

📚 Resources Mentioned

"Overcoming Financial Trauma" by Rahkim Sabree

"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman

"The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk

"My Grandmother's Hands" by Resmaa Menakem

🔗 Connect with Rahkim

Website - https://www.rahkimsabree.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rahkimsabree

X - https://x.com/rahkimsabree

💬 Join the Conversation

Have you ever felt isolated in your money struggles, only to discover others were going through the same thing? What would it mean to view your financial challenges as systemic rather than personal failures? The Money Healing Club podcast wants to hear your story: https://www.moneyhealingclub.com/podcast

💝 Support the Podcast

Help keep the Money Healing Club podcast going! If this show has helped you feel less alone or more grounded with money, please consider contributing: https://www.moneyhealingclub.com/podcast

🎧 Your next listen:

Check out our episode with Haley & Justin Brown-Woods on debt. -https://www.moneyhealingclub.com/podcast/s2e37

💫 Visit the Money Healing Club website to start your money healing process! https://www.moneyhealingclub.com

Full transcript: https://www.moneyhealingclub.com/podcast

🎙️We're a proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective where creators like me are uplifting diverse voices and driving meaningful change.

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By Rachel Duncan

4.7

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