Awhile back I shared that one of my friends mentioned that my constant harping on the topic of financial trauma was “depressing”. This disappointed me in all honesty because it’s a topic i’m so passionate about. Not so much being stuck in the trauma of our experiences but helping to highlight and identify how financial trauma manifests in our everyday lives.
Sometimes this work is like the administering of bitter medicine—you know it’s good for you but man is it nasty!
Since we’re entering the last month of the year however (happy first Friday) I wanted to take some time out to celebrate a few recent wins and encourage you to reflect on your own wins—even if those wins are simply making it to the end of the year—.
I’m halfway through the first season of my podcast “Overcoming Financial Trauma”. I’ve had people at me for literal YEARS to start I podcast but I had no idea what I would talk about. If you’re new to me and my content then you might only know me from the financial trauma vantage point, but I’ve evolved my messaging from mentorship, to general financial education, to financial empowerment, to “I Fired My Boss”, and eventually landed on this topic of financial trauma. It’s been an adventurous ride and each piece was necessary for the next. Starting this newsletter and its companion podcast has been a seamless transition where I can demonstrate my expertise, curiosity, vulnerability, and progress all in the same place. This morning episode 5 of the podcast went live and hitting this milestone is an encouraging sign of longevity for me as the list of guests and topics I want to cover continue to grow.
I recently acquired a new professional designation. One of my longtime insecurities as a professional was how others would accept me as credible on the topics I taught about—and rightfully so! As we navigate a world where people can pretend to be an “expert” in anything. Though I’ve been coaching for a number of years from my own experiences and playbook I knew I needed to demonstrate not only a commitment to learning but also a commitment to being in this space. In 2021 I acquired my first professional designation from the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) as a certified financial education instructor (CFEI®). This designation allowed for me to demonstrate my ability to teach on the topic of financial literacy. Recently I acquired my RFC® designation which is a registered financial consultant through the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC). This designation not only speaks to my educational background in finance, but also the length of time I’ve been working in the industry. As I get more involved in working with organizations and corporations in a consulting capacity, this designation allows for me to point to high educational and ethical standards as a consultant instead of just simply calling myself one.
I was awarded a scholarship to the AFC® program through the AFCPE! On my path to becoming a financial therapist there’s one designation that is highly regarded in the financial psychology and coaching space when it comes to individual client work and that is the AFC. AFC stands for Accredited Financial Counselor and takes not only the educational pieces and formulas from financial literacy curricula, but incorporates instruction around counseling techniques for individuals relating to their money. The scholarship covers the cost of the exam registration and fees and study materials.
This is my first full calendar year as a 1099 independent contractor! I left my banking career in May of 2021 in the middle of a pandemic. Now as we enter a recession it’s arguably the most difficult time to navigate start up stage entrepreneurship. Going into January of this year I had no idea what I would do or how I would do it but opportunities showed up, and I made myself available for them. Entering this last month of the year I’m proud to have survived despite feelings of financial stress and anxiety, financial shame, and constant financial re-centering. Of all the wins, I’m most proud of this one. I was committed to remain an independent contractor for the year and I accomplished that. I’m looking forward to what 2023 has in store for me.
I think it’s important for us to take time to reflect on the wins we have, big or small, to offset the constant pressure to perform or compete. This is especially true of our financial wins as we are beat over the head with information that suggests we have a budget, save, invest, build credit, pay that debt off, buy a house, don’t buy a house, buy Christmas presents, go on vacation, eat out, etc instead of waking up and taking inventory of our bodily functions and the breath in our lungs.
Exercise: Write or say aloud 3-4 victories or wins you want to celebrate today. They can be financial or otherwise. Feel free to share in the Substack chat so I can celebrate with you! Looking forward to sharing in some of your wins!
Check out the most recent podcast episode and last weeks episode if you missed it!
In this episode I get to take a break from stuffy "academia" and have a conversation with my friend from college Mel The Prophet.
What I really enjoyed about this episode is that it's super relatable content about finding yourself internally and stumbling on a path seemingly by coincidence.
Mel and I talk about:
How he got involved in therapy
His creative process and inspiration behind the music he makes
Mistakes and lessons he wants to help others avoid or learn
and more
He's got a lot going on from music to fitness and constantly shows up to demonstrate that it's "cool" to be yourself and to talk about your feelings.
His website: www.help1self.com
His Fitness brand is www.mixmatchtraining.com
He's on Instagram at Instagram.com/meltheprophet
You can find his latest single "Lo Siento" at https://artists.landr.com/692531991249?
and his artist link at https://www.flowcode.com/page/meltheprophet
If you’ve enjoyed any of my posts please share and encourage others to subscribe. Consider subscribing to the paid version of the subscription as well as it helps to support me in this work and gives me an opportunity to add even more value to you. Lastly don’t forget to check out and rate the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.
Thank you always,
Rahkim