Money Mechanics - Money, Trauma, Debt & Choice: Rewriting Your Financial Story with Tanya Ibberson & Sarah Poynton
Season 2 Episode 5 · Jan 06, 05:00 AM
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In this episode of the Money Mechanics Podcast, Sarah is joined by trauma-informed financial coach and accountant Tanya Ibberson to explore the emotional side of money, debt, and financial confidence. Together they discuss how childhood experiences, shame, and trauma shape our money habits, why budgeting can feel unsafe for some people, and how to rebuild trust with money after debt, divorce, or financial stress. This is a powerful conversation about breaking financial cycles, building safety, and creating calm, confident money habits at any stage of life.
Join the free Money Mechanics newsletter at https://www.sarahpoynton.com/newsletter
Money is never just about numbers.
In this deeply honest and grounding episode of the Money Mechanics Podcast, Sarah is joined by Tanya Ibberson, also known as The Financial Wing Woman. A trauma-informed transformation coach, qualified accountant with nearly 30 years’ experience, and advocate for helping women rebuild their financial lives after debt, divorce, and financial abuse.
This conversation goes beyond budgeting and spreadsheets. It explores the emotional, psychological, and lived experiences that shape how we earn, spend, avoid, save, and invest, often without realising it.
If money feels heavy, emotional, or overwhelming, this episode will make you feel seen.
🔥 What We Dig Into in This Episode
• Tanya’s earliest money memory and how childhood fairness, shame, and injustice shape lifelong money beliefs
• What it really means to be a trauma-informed financial coach and why this matters when helping people with debt
• Big trauma vs little trauma and how everyday money moments can wire long-term behaviour
• Why money often feels unsafe to talk about
• Growing up with financial scarcity, shame, and silence
• How emotional memories resurface when dealing with debt, bills, or financial decisions
• Why people avoid learning about money even when they want financial freedom
• How shame, guilt, and fear keep people stuck in debt cycles
• Why budgeting is not restrictive but protective
• How awareness reduces financial anxiety
• The power of small, tangible habits to rewire money beliefs
• Why saving even £20 or a coin in a jar can change how your brain sees money
• Debt vs investing and how to decide what to tackle first
• Why emergency funds matter before investing
• How to start investing without panic or overwhelm
• Why there is no “magic secret” to investing
• The danger of trading time for money forever
• Lifestyle creep and the illusion of wealth
• Why children see spending but never see saving unless we talk about it
• Why talking openly about money is the fastest way to change generational patterns
• Breaking cycles so the next generation has choice
🧠 Key Themes & Takeaways
This episode powerfully reframes money as:
• Neutral, not moral
• Learnable, not innate
• Changeable, at any age or stage
It reinforces that financial confidence is built through safety, awareness, and small, consistent actions, not shame, pressure, or perfection.
👤 About Today’s Guest - Tanya Ibberson
Tanya Ibberson is a trauma-informed transformation coach and qualified accountant with nearly 30 years’ experience. She specialises in helping women rebuild their financial confidence after debt, divorce, or financial abuse, combining practical money skills with emotional safety and mindset work.
🔗 Find Tanya here:
• Website: https://financialwingwoman.com
• Podcast: Breaking Financial Chains
• Instagram: Search Financial Wing Woman or Tanya Ibberson
If you reach out, let her know you heard her on the Money Mechanics Podcast.
📚 Concepts, Tools & Platforms Mentioned
• Trauma-informed coaching
• Budgeting as a confidence tool
• Emergency funds
• Stocks & Shares ISAs
• Compound interest
• Low-risk investing for beginners
• Investment platforms discussed:
– Hargreaves Lansdown
– Moneybox
– Trading 212
– Freetrade
• Behavioural rewiring through visual saving tools
• Values-based financial decisions
📨 Join the Free Money Mechanics Weekly Newsletter
If this episode resonated, you’ll love the Money Mechanics Weekly Newsletter.
Each week Sarah shares:
• simple explanations of what’s happening in the markets
• practical money and investing insights
• real examples from her own portfolio
• tools to help you make your money work harder
👉 Subscribe free here:
https://www.sarahpoynton.com/newsletter
⭐ Enjoyed the Episode?
Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Reviews help the podcast reach more people who need honest, accessible conversations about money.
🔁 Stay Connected
• Podcast: Money Mechanics
• Instagram: @sarahpoyntonryan
• YouTube: Money Mechanics
• Newsletter: https://www.sarahpoynton.com/newsletter
In this deeply honest and grounding episode of the Money Mechanics Podcast, Sarah is joined by Tanya Ibberson, also known as The Financial Wing Woman. A trauma-informed transformation coach, qualified accountant with nearly 30 years’ experience, and advocate for helping women rebuild their financial lives after debt, divorce, and financial abuse.
This conversation goes beyond budgeting and spreadsheets. It explores the emotional, psychological, and lived experiences that shape how we earn, spend, avoid, save, and invest, often without realising it.
If money feels heavy, emotional, or overwhelming, this episode will make you feel seen.
🔥 What We Dig Into in This Episode
• Tanya’s earliest money memory and how childhood fairness, shame, and injustice shape lifelong money beliefs
• What it really means to be a trauma-informed financial coach and why this matters when helping people with debt
• Big trauma vs little trauma and how everyday money moments can wire long-term behaviour
• Why money often feels unsafe to talk about
• Growing up with financial scarcity, shame, and silence
• How emotional memories resurface when dealing with debt, bills, or financial decisions
• Why people avoid learning about money even when they want financial freedom
• How shame, guilt, and fear keep people stuck in debt cycles
• Why budgeting is not restrictive but protective
• How awareness reduces financial anxiety
• The power of small, tangible habits to rewire money beliefs
• Why saving even £20 or a coin in a jar can change how your brain sees money
• Debt vs investing and how to decide what to tackle first
• Why emergency funds matter before investing
• How to start investing without panic or overwhelm
• Why there is no “magic secret” to investing
• The danger of trading time for money forever
• Lifestyle creep and the illusion of wealth
• Why children see spending but never see saving unless we talk about it
• Why talking openly about money is the fastest way to change generational patterns
• Breaking cycles so the next generation has choice
🧠 Key Themes & Takeaways
This episode powerfully reframes money as:
• Neutral, not moral
• Learnable, not innate
• Changeable, at any age or stage
It reinforces that financial confidence is built through safety, awareness, and small, consistent actions, not shame, pressure, or perfection.
👤 About Today’s Guest - Tanya Ibberson
Tanya Ibberson is a trauma-informed transformation coach and qualified accountant with nearly 30 years’ experience. She specialises in helping women rebuild their financial confidence after debt, divorce, or financial abuse, combining practical money skills with emotional safety and mindset work.
🔗 Find Tanya here:
• Website: https://financialwingwoman.com
• Podcast: Breaking Financial Chains
• Instagram: Search Financial Wing Woman or Tanya Ibberson
If you reach out, let her know you heard her on the Money Mechanics Podcast.
📚 Concepts, Tools & Platforms Mentioned
• Trauma-informed coaching
• Budgeting as a confidence tool
• Emergency funds
• Stocks & Shares ISAs
• Compound interest
• Low-risk investing for beginners
• Investment platforms discussed:
– Hargreaves Lansdown
– Moneybox
– Trading 212
– Freetrade
• Behavioural rewiring through visual saving tools
• Values-based financial decisions
📨 Join the Free Money Mechanics Weekly Newsletter
If this episode resonated, you’ll love the Money Mechanics Weekly Newsletter.
Each week Sarah shares:
• simple explanations of what’s happening in the markets
• practical money and investing insights
• real examples from her own portfolio
• tools to help you make your money work harder
👉 Subscribe free here:
https://www.sarahpoynton.com/newsletter
⭐ Enjoyed the Episode?
Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Reviews help the podcast reach more people who need honest, accessible conversations about money.
🔁 Stay Connected
• Podcast: Money Mechanics
• Instagram: @sarahpoyntonryan
• YouTube: Money Mechanics
• Newsletter: https://www.sarahpoynton.com/newsletter