It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...
From: Rahkim Sabree
Connecticut, USA
11/16/2024 3:00 PM
Dear friend & subscriber,
Have you ever heard the story of the man who takes off all of his clothes and jumps into the bushes?
My dad tells me and my brothers this story often lately and I’ve incorporated into my financial wellness workshops to help people release the guilt and the shame of past financial decisions.
The story starts off with a question: “Why did the man take off all of his clothes and jump into the bushes?”
The answer…
“Because it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
The decisions we make around money are highly personal, highly emotional, and highly subjective.
I had a client I told this story to in response to the guilt and shame they carried about not being more intentional about their spending over the years.
They were embarrassed.
I asked this individual what they did instead of putting money away and they shared with me that they :
were barely making enough to live,
were a single parent
spent money on things that made them feel valued
I then reframed their guilt and shame for them and asked, could it be that rather than “being stupid” or “bad with money” that they were simply trying to survive? That for the 50% of their spending that was discretionary maybe they were trying to cope with the knowledge that they were trying to survive?
Lightbulbs go on in their eyes!
The decisions this client made about money seemed like a good idea at the time and undoubtedly feels like a bad one since hindsight is 20/20 but the only thing we can do in instances like these is draw a line in the sand and make more intentional decisions moving forward armed with the knowledge of our past experiences…
..well I lied..
That’s not the only thing we can do, instead we can wallow in our guilt and shame and continue to make poor decisions while blaming ourselves and anyone else…but what does that solve?
Heading to Columbus, Ohio!
Next week I’ll be heading to Columbus, Ohio to participate in the AFCPE conference where I’ll be leading a breakout session, part of a panel, and accepting an award. I’m excited about attending because just two years ago, I attended for the first time looking to soak in all of the information I could as an attendee and now I’ll be sharing my expertise and accomplishments with the community. Full circle moment.
Overcoming Financial Trauma Is Going Paid
I’ve thought long and hard about this, but I’m going to be shifting the way this newsletter works. Starting December 1, 2024 this Substack is going paid. I want to first thank everyone who has proactively stuck around as I fumbled clumsily through several models for monetization with this Substack. I’ve included incentives like 1:1 coaching, a free copy of my books, paid member only access to webinars and recordings because subconsciously I couldn’t bring myself to charge for just my writing. Even after having a conversation with my friend
who told me “you deserve to be paid for your writing” and that my writing was enough.After winning 3 industry awards and having this platform influence the decision making process on becoming a contributor to Forbes and signing a book deal with Wiley publishing, it’s become clear to me that my writing alone is valued and valuable. The following is the intended format for this Substack moving forward:
I will continue to send out newsletter style posts/emails like this one for free. Everyone will continue to have access to these thoughts and reflections on a fairly consistent weekly cadence. In these posts I will link to articles I’ve written both here on Substack and anywhere else I may be contributing like Forbes. I will encourage you to go paid for the deeper dive into these concepts especially as I write my next book. If my announcement of going paid has you ready to hit the unsubscribe button, this is your incentive to stay.
…at least for now. This may or may not change in the future.
For full articles like the ones that have given me my claim to fame such as:
these types of posts will exist behind a pay wall. Within these posts I may occasionally make an article free or partially free to keep up engagement or if I have an important message to share.
Archived posts may remain visible. I haven’t decided yet how to pick and choose which posts I keep visible vs. hiding behind a paywall. I’ll likely pick the most popular articles and keep those free
Chat will remain free unless I create a specialized thread for paid members only
This change I’m the most excited about. Overcoming Financial Trauma will start accepting contributors! I’ve had several Substack accounts ask about ways in which we can collaborate. As things pick up and get busier for me, I want to continue delivering content from a variety of sources keeping in mind my core audience and what attracted them to OFT in the first place. Contributors will be accepted on a case by case basis and will publish articles behind the paywall and I’ll link to their pieces in my newsletter. This is an exciting opportunity to expand the reach of this publication while introducing new voices. If you’re interested in becoming a contributor let me know!
Again and as always, I’m grateful for you being part of the journey and I will make you proud.
Stay tuned.
Overcoming Financial Trauma with you,
Rahkim Sabree
“The most well known thought leader on Financial Trauma”