More Money Podcast - 10 Years of Podcasting - Reflections, Coming Up, Listener Q&A

Episode Date: June 12, 2025

10 years. If you told me back in 2015 that starting this podcast would change my life, I wouldn't have believed you. Back then, I was just looking for a different outlet other than blogging to continue learning and educating others about money. In no way could I have predicted that I'd end up interviewing hundreds of experts and authors from all over the world, leaving my 9-to-5 to start my own financial education business, and eventually releasing a bestselling book where I share some of the most vulnerable parts of my relationship with money I'd never told anyone before.What an absolutely amazing ride this has been. But it's not over yet. Although I'll be taking a break over the next few months to recharge and reflect on what I want the next 10 years of this podcast to look like, I'm not going anywhere. This podcast has given me so much, and I know it's given you so much too. We've been on this personal finance journey together after all, and there's so much more to explore. Thank you so much for all of your support this past decade. I can't wait to see what exciting things are ahead.To buy a copy of my book, visit jessicamoorhouse.com/bookFollow meInstagram @jessicaimoorhouseThreads @jessicaimoorhouseTikTok @jessicaimoorhouseFacebook @jessicaimoorhouseYouTube @jessicamoorhouseLinkedIn - Jessica MoorhouseFinancial resourcesMy websiteMy bestselling book Everything but MoneyFree resource libraryBudget spreadsheetWealth Building Blueprint for Canadians course Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's always a great time to get serious about our money. And if what you want is honest, real, and relevant advice from someone you can trust, someone who's not trying to sell you the latest crypto or steer you towards an MLM, you want to subscribe to So Money, hosted by me, Farnoosh Tarabi. I've been a financial journalist for over 20 years and I'm a bestselling author, and this is my ninth year hosting So Money. Whether you're looking to save more, invest, or negotiate a better salary,

I've got you covered with fresh episodes three times per week. And something else cool, I'm giving away a free money call to one lucky listener every week all year. We can talk about whatever's on your money mind, investing, earning more, real estate, I got you. Just listen and subscribe to So Money wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, loo-loo and welcome back to the More Money podcast. I am your host, Jessica Morehouse, and this is the season finale for season 20 of the show. But most importantly, this is the episode to kind of mark the 10 year anniversary or 10th birthday of the More Money podcast. How the hell did that happen? So, little context in case you're new or maybe you've only been listening for a few years, but I know there are some of you who have been listening to the show for 10 years, which is a lot of me. Thank you so much for listening all that time. That's wild. So I got this little idea in my mind back in June of 2025 to start a podcast. And part of it was because at that

time I had just been blogging. Blogging was the thing to do back in the day. And I just never, I don't know, it just never, I just didn't love it, quite honestly, which is funny now that I actually do love writing. I thought I was never honestly a very good writer and now I'm a bestselling author. Everything but money out now. Grab your copy. I was working a corporate job in marketing at a law firm. And just, I was looking for some new challenge and it was actually on my way. I was with a coworker and we were on our way to, I think it was Kitchener, the office there to give some social media presentation or something like that. And we had, you know, lots of time to talk in the car about, you know, anything and everything. And

I'm like, you know what, maybe I'll ask her just to see what she thinks is a stupid idea to start a podcast. Because at that time, which sounds so funny now, I thought, you know, podcasts and that whole market was oversaturated. There are too many podcasts. And you know, how would I ever make any waves when there's so many great shows out there at that time, which is crazy. It really wasn't.

It was actually a great time to start a podcast, apparently. And she's like, you should do it. That's a great idea. And honestly, just having one person who, you know, kind of just was kind of like a third party, like an outside perspective to say like, yeah, give it a go. I'm like, maybe I should give it a go. And so I started it maybe a few months after that in June, did a little research, listened to podcasts about podcasting and read as much as I could and, you know, put out three episodes, I think, all together, because that was the advice at the time, and then kept going. And I put out, I think, 52 or at least 50 episodes every single week or one episode per week for 50 weeks. That makes more sense.

And then I realized, oh, this is not sustainable. I need to take breaks. So I started integrating a summer break and then a break in December, January for the holidays and the new year and somehow kept it going for 10 years. I don't know, sometimes when you start a routine, you're like, okay, let's just keep going. And I just never stopped. And now even still, this kind of blows my mind.

And honestly, I'm not one of those people that has a podcast just to talk about stats and analytics and oh, look at my show, but I really am more interested in do my listeners like this, getting feedback, and having interesting guests on the show and talking about stuff that is fascinating to me that hopefully you find fascinating as well. And, but it's really nice to see that after all this time,

10 years later, I'm still one of the top personal finest podcasts in Canada, if not North America, which is really, really exciting. So this is, first I to say a big thank you for everyone who has supported the show over the past decade. You're amazing. You know, I've said this, I think on the podcast before, but this podcast, me starting this podcast actually changed my life and I know that sounds so cheesy,

but it's absolutely true. It changed my life. If I hadn't started this show, I would not have had the I think confidence to leave that corporate job because I hated it and loved the people that I worked with hated the actual job and You know, it just give myself like like, okay, let's do this thing. Let's, you know, the thing that I've been doing on the side is my like hobby side hustle

for like five or six years at that point. Let's give this a go. And so I quit that job in January 2017. And I've been self employed ever since. So I've been self employed for over eight years. I can't wait to reach 10 years, quite honestly, working for myself. I think there was a point, maybe it was two or three years into working for myself, my husband asked, when do you think you'll stop thinking that this is a temporary thing or

worrying that your whole business is going to collapse tomorrow? Because if you are self-employed or you're a small business owner, it's very, you know, you worry about things and there's slow periods and you know, it's just not as stable basically, but there's, it's a roller coaster of emotions. And I said, you know what, maybe after I hit the 10 year mark, well, we're getting close to that. So I'll let you know, once we hit that, you know, timeline, if we hit 10 years, if we can, when we hit 10 years, if I feel like that. Cause I still kind of sometimes feel like, well, I should always just have a little bit of a plan B, which is crazy. Cause I love this job so much. It's, it's the best thing I've ever done.

But anyways, because I'm reaching this big milestone, 10 years having a podcast, I am going to be taking a bit of an extended break. I don't know how long this will take. Just in my mind, I'm like, I cannot just take, you know, basically, typically the summer break I take lasts about two months, which is always so nice because it does give me capacity to do other things. Typically I'm studying for some sort of financial exam in the summer or, hey, maybe I'll do

more YouTube or focus more on Instagram and some other area because I don't often get typically I'm studying for some sort of financial exam in the summer or hey, maybe I'll do more YouTube or focus more on Instagram and some other area because I don't often get, you know, all of that time that I need to focus on all the things that I do. But I really, and then I started getting like new guests in August so I can launch it back in September and it's here we are 10 years later. But this time I really want to take a step back and just take a look at what have I done over the past 10 years with this show? What do I want to do with it? How could we continue to make it great or make it better? How can I continue to expand its reach and grow?

So there's all these things that I honestly have never had a moment to breathe to really think about this. I've just been onto the next on, on kind of autopilot. So that's really what I want to do. I don't think I'll be taking, you know, the rest of the year off because I am also kind of worried of like disappearing and then, you know, no one wants to come back to listen. So I will absolutely be back. Quite honestly, what I might just do in the fall is continue to put out those re-listen episodes. I've been getting a lot of great feedback from that because again, there's 400 plus episodes now. And so, so many people are like, oh, I haven't listened to this episode from seven years ago or whatever. So I might kind of continue to do that. So there's still some content on the podcast But yeah, I'm just gonna be working with my podcast network to just figure out what are we doing? And what can we improve? How can we just make this better and with that?

Number one get on my email list because I often email out, you know, sometimes like Surveys or like hey, I want to know directly from you. What do you think? So I will be sending out an email shortly to find out what listeners think of my podcast, what we can do better, what you like, what you dislike. Believe me, I've, I've, you know, tried to make this podcast and improve it over time. The things, I mean, I can't even really listen to season one of the podcast. It's so cringe for me to listen to just personally, just like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm speaking like that or the vocal fry or all the, um,

and I over talk my guests and talk too much and all this kind of stuff. So I will be sending out a survey soon. So if you want to be part of that, just go to jessicamwarehouse.com slash subscribe and you will be on my email list and get the opportunity to participate. But anyways, so just wanted to let you know that's what's going on in the podcast. I just need to take a break after 10 years to see what am I doing and what can we do just to keep it going because the podcast is something that brings me so much joy and it's been the coolest thing going to seven different cities for my book tour and meeting so many amazing podcast listeners that have been so supportive. So I want to,

you know, do what I can to make sure I'm providing value for you, you know, next year and the year after and the year after. So now I kind of want to just give you a little, you know, I haven't really, I did like a solo episode at the beginning of the year. I want to kind of give you a sense of where I'm at now, what has happened this past couple, six months, five months for me since the book has come out. And then I'm going to end this solo episode by answering some listener questions. So again, I sent out an email a few weeks ago asking, hey, ask me anything and I'm going to put it in the podcast. So that's, that's why you should be on my email list.

So that's what I'm going to kind of end the show with and whatever questions I don't get to, honestly, throughout the summer, I'm going to really focus. I'm going to really try to focus on Instagram and make more like reels answering people's questions. Cause I've got so much knowledge and information in this brain. I really need to share it more on social media. So update, what has happened since my book has come out? It's been a whirlwind and also I want to take the summer to kind of reflect on what the hell happened.

But basically, my book, my first book, Everything But Money, The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom came out in Canada, though you can buy it online in many other countries. I'm crossing my fingers that eventually because of its success, it will be available in other markets, but it doesn't matter. Anyways, it came out, was an instant national bestseller and Indigo staff pick, which is quite prestigious. As I found out from people who work at Indigo, it is like the staff actually review all the books that are coming out and pick two books, like one in fiction, one in nonfiction.

Mine was the nonfiction staff pick. So that felt really nice. They picked a book about, well, everything but money. So that was really exciting to have as a debut author. And yeah, it's been doing, you know, very well. Again, the book tour probably was one of the most memorable things, something I'm so glad I did. And you may be wondering, hey, are you done that? Are you coming to my city? So here's the thing. I, you know, kind of ran out of money, but also the last city I wanted to go with was Halifax, and that's been like the most difficult city to find a bookstore.

I am working with Indigo to see if I can do an event there. I don't know when, and I think it'll be maybe a little bit different than my typical book tour. Now what I'm working on is I'm going to be doing some workshops at different Indigos across, I mean, definitely I'm going to do some in BC because I'm going to be doing some workshops at different Indigos across, I mean, definitely I'm going to do some in BC because I'm going to be in Vancouver in July for, you know, visiting friends and family. But I am probably going to do some more in Ontario. And then I would like to hit some cities that maybe I wasn't able to visit for my book tour. So again, my email

list or my Instagram is where you can stay in the loop of that so that I'm working on that. So I'm not quite done events because the loop of that so that I'm working on that. So I'm not quite done events because the events has been so much fun to do. It's been really, really special for me. So not quite done, but the tour, you can't see these air quotes here, is kind of done, but I will be doing other events. Anyways, came out, did seven locations for my book tour, which is crazy how many flights I've done in the past couple months. And in case you're wondering, where did I go? We started in Toronto where

I live, then went to Victoria, then Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Winnipeg. Yeah, I think that's everybody. So I will be going to other parts of, you know, Ontario and, you know, and I also, I'll be doing some book signings too in some locations where that's kind of easier for me. I just get to hang out there at a booth, have some books. You can come up to me and chat and I can sign your book. So things are coming, things are happening. But you know, you just, I can't reveal anything yet because nothing is set in stone quite yet. And besides that, obviously did, I can't reveal anything yet because nothing is set in stone quite yet.

And besides that, obviously did a huge like media tour. I'm, I pretty much hit up all of the Canadian media outlets. And what else did I do? Podcasts. I'm still working on getting on more podcasts because those are, I mean, as a podcaster, it's so much fun being a guest. So I will be hitting up more podcasts. And honestly, I'm just doing every single thing I possibly can as a podcaster is so much fun being a guest. So I will be hitting up more podcasts. And honestly, I'm just doing every single thing

I possibly can as a debut author to get the word out. So if you've read my book, or even if you are, you know, midway through reading it and you'll like it, even if you don't, I honestly don't care, please, please. The engagement is helpful. Give me a rating or review on Indigo, Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you feel comfortable giving me a rating or review on Indigo, Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you feel comfortable giving me a rating or review. You don't understand how important those numbers are.

People look at stars, they look at like, oh, how many other people read this book and liked it? It really helps authors. So I can't mention enough how important it is. If you go to JessicaMoorhouse.com slash book, again, that's where you can find everything about the book, where to buy it, where to review it, all that kind of stuff. Um, and also too, there's information about if you do give me a rating or review and honestly, I don't look at the rating or reviews. I do not. So say whatever the heck you want.

Uh, it will not hurt me. Um, or, you know, I mean, I do like a nice one, but honestly I don't look at them. Um, cause I, I do believe that nice one, but honestly, I don't look at them. Because I do believe that ratings, reviews, those are for readers, not for the author. So you will get access to or you can get access to all of these free book extras. So if you want some like, you know, free, there is like a bunch of videos, some audio, some worksheets, things just to kind of help you dive deeper into the book. There is a way to access all of those for free if you give me a rating review. So check that out. But honestly, yeah,

I feel like just the past several months has just been focused on promoting the crap out of this book because, I mean, I worked on it for two years. It started in 2013. At the beginning of 2013 is when it all started happening. And then I got my book deal and started writing it. Then we edited it in 2024, record the audio book, all that kind of stuff. It was a lot of fricking work. And so 2025 is dedicating to getting the word out. And honestly, I got to do something really exciting

the other week. I got to moderate a panel at this local authors festival and it was really cool to be like, oh my gosh, I'm amongst all these other, it was just for like Ontario authors. And it was really cool because I got to, oh, I'm one of you. I'm an author. Yeah, I'm a nonfiction author. Most of the people there were fiction authors, which honestly inspired me. I'm like, oh my gosh, maybe I should write a fiction book. But anyways, that's a whole other thing. And it felt really cool to be like, Oh yeah,

I guess I did write a book. I guess I do know how to write a little. I also, speaking of writing, I also wrote an op-ed, my first ever op-ed for the Globe and Mail. They reached out to me several months ago. It takes a while to get these things going. I think they reached out to me like in February, something like that. And yeah, so it was on the Globe and Mail. You can find it. Like you can find it on the media page or the, yeah, I think it's my media page is what it's called on my website, or just Google like Jessica Morehouse Globe and Mail and I'll come right up.

But I'm pretty proud of that op-ed. It's really about why during these uncertain times we really need to hold onto hope. So that also made me feel really nice. I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, I do know how to write. I know I know how to write, but it's just, you know, if you read my book, you know, I struggle with imposter syndrome sometimes, which is wild for so many different reasons, but it is what it is. So yeah, that's really what I've been doing all freaking year. And at the same time, I have been taking the advice in like the last chapter of my book,

which is focusing on the self-care aspect, taking care of me and doing things that make me happy. And so really I have tried to get rid of everything in me that was part of that hustle culture side of things that I was really deep into, I feel like, during the beginning years of me starting my business, just because that's what was honestly everywhere. Everyone was hustling, da-da-da-da-da.

And I realized, although maybe I'm experiencing some of the benefits of all that hard work, but I burnt myself out and it was so unhealthy and it was so unhappy. Um, and I really, you know, life is short and I want to be happy and I want to enjoy weekends. I want to not work all the time. I want to be able to take a nap and not feel guilty, all these types of things. So I have actually been taking the advice that I wrote in the book and remind myself, Hey, it's okay to slow down. It's okay to do things that are not productive, that are just for fun, that are just for you. And so, you know, if you have it again, if you need a reminder on

that, read the last chapter of my book. I often refer back to it to be like, what should I be doing? All right, this is what I should be doing. Speaking of, I'm also trying to integrate some new hobbies in my life. Because again, sometimes I find, oh, wow, we have no hobbies. We're just working like right now. You know, it really has been focused on work, you wow, we have no hobbies, we're just working. Like right now, you know, it really has been focused on work, you know, socializing with friends, which has been a really big shift too, because again, for many years, I would prioritize work over friends. Now I'm like, no, no, no. We need to make sure that's a priority, because that is so important for our happiness. And then I go to the gym. And then sometimes it's just that. That's the life.

So I'm like, no, we need to like learn new things and try new things. And so slowly learning Italian because I'm going to Italy next year. But if you've been listening to the podcast for the past couple of years, I've talked about how much I want to go to Italy, booked my flight. It's happening next year. And so I basically just want to have enough Italian to be able to get around, ask for help, ask to order food. But I'm just like, why not? Why not? It's never too late to learn something. So that's what I'm doing. And also, also just getting out of my routine

things. So like I love to read, but I often read the same kind of category of books. I like nonfiction. I like memoirs. Those are the things that I love to do, but I often read the same kind of category of books. I like nonfiction, I like memoirs. Those are the things that I love to do. I really am like, okay, we need to branch out and read more fiction because there are so many amazing books and they're lovely. And I just honestly finally stumbled upon like Bookstagram, Booktalk several months ago. I'm like, what a fun, happy place of supporting other people reading. So getting more into that. What else am I doing? Hmm. I don't know. Maybe those are the only big things right now, but hey, those are some important things and yeah, I'm excited about those. Now, if you're curious,

because I've been getting this question a lot, hey, are you going to work on a second book? getting this question a lot. Hey, are you going to work on a second book? Well, number one, I, looking back, I had the most amazing experience writing this book and having it come out. So yes, I absolutely will be writing another book. I don't want to just be a one-trick pony. I want to have multiple books. I have no idea what it's going to be about. So that's also what I'm going to be reflecting on. Oh yeah. The other thing that I'm so, so that's something that I'm going to be working on in my brain over the summer to see what do we want to do for part two, not part two, but you know, second book. But the other thing that I'm going to be working on this summer is studying for the final exam to become a financial planner. You know, again, if you've been a

long-time listener, you know since the summer of 2020 I have been working on getting my CFP. Now I'm not doing the CFP exam in the fall. I will eventually be getting that, but I, and I have all of my courses to get the CFP if I wanted to, but instead I decided to do the QAFP first. And so that is the qualified associate financial planner is basically one step below CFP. But yeah, I just, I'm like, you know what, let's get that first. And then I can maybe take a break from studying for a little bit, because I've been doing courses, you know, maybe one to two courses per year for five years. Let's get that so I can be like, hey, have my financial planner designation.

Yay. And then we'll go for the CFP. But I in the fall, and I don't know if I mentioned this, but I did the Qualified Associate Financial Planner Professional Education Program, the PEP, and that was like, honestly, it took like maybe four or five months, maybe five, six months, honestly, to do. It was like a whole course plus a practical part, and it just took a lot of freaking time while I was editing my book, no less, so super fun. But past that, and so all I need to do right now is study for the final exam.

It's apparently very difficult and I am not good at tests. So if I fail, I'm going to blame it on me just not being good at exams. But that's what I'm going to be doing throughout the summer is studying for that exam because you know me, I have always been one to how could I also be a better financial educator and content creator? Getting credentials sure helps. I loved getting my accredited financial counselor certification back in 2018. And then yeah, I wanted to keep going and we're going to keep on going. So that's something I'm going to be working on and hopefully I'll get it in October. Okay, this sounds like a good part to stop

and then get to the Q&A portion of this solo episode. I honestly feel like I don't know honestly how I talk for 20 minutes. Thank you so much for listening. If you skipped past, I totally get it. But I'm like, Oh, I thought I had a lot more going on than that. It wasn't that much. Nothing crazy going on. Just living life and working hard. But anyways, so I have a number of honestly really great questions. Thank you so much for submitting your questions. But the first question actually that was submitted was, how do people get the AFCC, the accredited financial counselor Canada designation? Is it hard to get one? Everything's relative.

Was it easy? No, because you do have to study and you do have to pass exams. Again, I did my exams. I studied and did both exams in 2017. So I don't know how much has changed. But what is really exciting though is because I got that AFCC back in the day. And since then, a lot of people saw that I got that designation. I've also been able to basically promote this designation to other financial content creators who maybe normally wouldn't have gotten some sort of formal education credential. And so I'm seeing a lot of Canadian financial content creators

get it. And it's really exciting to see because I think again, we all need to be better at being educators and getting some formal training, really helpful. So honestly, all you have to do is go to, and I'm just going to Google it now, Cafe A-F-C-C. So it is, you get the credential through the Canadian Association of Financial Empowerment. It used to be a different name for this organization, but it's still the same organization, basically the same people, the same director who I know William Moore, he's great, who, you know, is the leader and organizes everything. You can find everything at CAFE. So C-A-F-E dash A-C-A-F dot org. Yeah, super. Honestly, just Google CAFE, like as if like a coffee, and AFCC and it'll come

right up and then it will be all the information on how to get your certification. But in general, is it difficult? No. And you have plenty of time. Like it is a self paced course and yeah, I didn't looking back compared to all the other courses I've had to do and exams I've had to pass, it was kind of a breeze. And again, even if you don't want to

become a financial, or you know, you're like, I don't have any plans to open up a firm to help clients, but you just want to educate yourself more. This is a great, you know, kind of low stakes, not super, super expensive program to do. So definitely check it out. But yeah, it wasn't that it wasn't that intense compared to like taking the Canadian securities course. That will haunt me forever. I never want to have to take that exam ever again. Okay, let's see what I got next. Okay, so I'm just saying right now I have not organized these. I'm just looking at my type form and looking at the questions. So they are going to be kind of random. They may not be in the same vein. So this next one though, I did want to address. The question is, are mortgages

coming up for renewal? Is it a good idea to use a mortgage broker? And how do you find one? I'm one of those people, I have always used a mortgage broker. I never go directly to the lender, the bank to talk to an agent, because again, they can only tell you about their mortgage products, that one bank, so that one lender. I want to know what my options are at multiple lenders,

compare contrast to see what is the best one. So I've always used a broker for all of my mortgages going back to when I bought my first home in 2016. And the broker I've used, oh my gosh, I'm going to forget what they're called. Hold on. Let me just check. Okay. I found it. It's called Canwise. If you want to know my broker, I don't care, Ajaz Musa. I've used him for, again, years. He's really knowledgeable. He actually spends the time actually explaining things. So I've always just used CanWise as my broker. Again, not a recommendation. Check out all the different brokers out there and see what's right for you. But I've personally used them and I like them. But here's why I like brokers. And if you're asking, you're like, who should I use?

Ask friends and family if they have a personal recommendation that always goes a long way. Do some online research, there's so many websites that will compare and contrast. Then look at reviews, because again, if someone's unhappy, they're probably gonna put a review saying what their experience is. So take a look at all that kind of stuff.

But here's why I like using a broker is because, number one, you do not pay them. They get compensated by the lender if you choose to go with one of the lenders that they, um, you know, suggest to you and they, they give you a number of options and, and then some are better than others because they all offer like different terms and different rates and all that kind of stuff. But the other great thing is so obviously they are incentivized for you to get a mortgage. However, they may not necessarily have an incentive for you to go with one or

the other. They want you to get the best, you know, package the best mortgage because then you'll use them again on your next renewal, right? Whereas if you go directly to a lender bank, they will, they obviously want you to go with that lender bank, whether or not it is the best rate, best terms. And so yeah, you don't have to pay them. And they do all this work. They do all of the comparing, contrasting. They have access to all these different lenders that you may not even think about.

I've been with so many different lenders. I think the first lender we were with was Equitable Bank, and then it was some other one after that, and then it was some other one after that. And then it was one of the big banks. So it's like, you never know what is going to offer you the same one or the best one for you. So yeah, long story short, yeah, using a mortgage broker I personally love. So you may want to check it out.

And again, if you, you know, try one and you don't like it, you do not have to get a mortgage through that broker. You can find another broker or go directly to a lender. Totally up to you. Oh, here's a really good one. Could you please share some tips to overcome the scarcity mindset? I would direct you to read my book. I talk all about that.

I may not even actually quite honestly use the term scarcity mindset because I feel like too many woo-woo gurus are using that and so it's almost lost all meaning. But if you want to really figure out why do I have this scarcity mindset, why am I terrified of losing it all or not taking risk? And you know, I'm just scared of basically like I've got a lot of feelings of anxiety and fear and stuff like that with money, which again, I struggle with. We want to, I'm not going to give you a bunch of tips on, well, just look at yourself in the mirror and say that you're enough or some bullshit like that. No, it really is about you figuring

out where did that come from? And so for that, you're going to look into what is going on with your relationship with money. Where did this stem from? What is the origin story? Did it start in childhood? Likely yes. And was some of it inherited, either directly indirectly, like, you know, you learned this stuff from your parents or grandparents,

or was it some of that kind of generational trauma that you've got in there that you have, you didn't realize it's in there. There are so many things that could have happened to you for you to have this scarcity mindset. didn't realize it's in there. There are so many things that could have happened to you for you to have this scarcity mindset. So for me, it is, it's really about better understanding your relationship with money, your history with money, your family's history with money. And that's how you kind of put the pieces, the puzzle pieces together. And you will be

able to clearly find out, oh, that's probably why I've got a scarcity mindset. Like for me, you know, talk about this in the book. Well, I get that directly from seeing how my parents struggled with balancing the family budget. We were, you know, low income, low to middle income for my whole childhood. And so we just always just had enough. And that made me really fearful of not having enough. And so that I brought that into adulthood with me. The other component is, you know, pretty much, you know, looking down my family line for hundreds of years, we've always been poor. And so there is this generational trauma of living in poverty that does get transferred because no one

did therapy throughout any of those generations. It got inherited to my generation, me, and so that's why I have some issues because I inherited their trauma. So again, just read my book, Everything But Money. We go in depth about how to actually address it, understand it, and how to move forward. It's not just about manifesting and just think of things in an abundance mindset.

That doesn't mean anything. So we need to do the work to understand why do I have it? And then you'll have some realizations and then what can we do differently to work on it? And it is a practice because it's so ingrained in you. It's, it will always kind of rear its head during certain things. There will be things that trigger you. I feel like, did I mention this on the podcast? Maybe can't remember. But there's one thing that happened to me

like a month ago where I was going to have this project with this one client and it was all going ahead. I was expecting this payout, all this kind of stuff. They pulled out the last minute and I freaked out like my scarcity mindset came roaring so loud because all I heard was, Oh my gosh, if they're pulling out, what if other clients pull out and maybe there really is going to be this massive recession and my business is going like, I just spiral to the point where, you know, and I talk about this in the book. My worst fear is that my business is going to just implode one day and then

I'll have no money and I won't be able to pay my mortgage and then I'll have to leave Ontario move back in with my parents. Like it goes a bit, a bit far. And then I realized, oh, this event happened. It triggered my scarcity mindset. Let's sit with that and really understand why do I feel like that and realize that maybe the, all these scarcity thoughts that are coming to the forefront,

yeah, they're a bit unrealistic and they're maybe a bit dramatic and it probably won't happen. And maybe that didn't work out, this project didn't work out because it wasn't supposed to. And it doesn't mean that you're never gonna work again and you're never gonna get another client.

And then, boom, a couple of weeks later, get another client, so it doesn't matter. So that's my answer to that. Thank you for listening to my rant. Ooh, this is another good one. What are some of the hobbies, activities that you indulge in to relax, especially when you were stressed, anxious? Yes. So man, who doesn't suffer from anxiety and stress all the time? For me, the biggest thing that changed my life was when I started writing my book at the beginning, I knew that it was going to be very stressful and really taxing on me.

So I needed to do something to alleviate some of that stress. And so I started working out. So I started going to a spin class. I go to F45. I still do and have been doing it for two years now. It's amazing. Honestly, I've actually run into some people who follow me, which is weird, but also nice. Nice to meet you.

And that has been a game changer. There is so much data and research to show that physical fitness does improve mental health. So highly recommend, even if it's just like, okay, maybe you can't afford to go to the gym right now or whatever, going for a walk, getting your 10,000 steps, that is massive and that will really help. So physical fitness and doing something meant or not mental, physical, where I literally don't think.

I'm just like, oh my God, this is so hard. I can't wait until this is over. I'm so tired. It really, it's amazing. Other things, love to read, love to puzzle, love to play. Okay, this is embarrassing. I love to play The Sims. It's like the only video game that I play. I've been playing it since I was a teenager. I think it's part of the nostalgic thing. And honestly, I don't even properly play it. I just like building houses. That is so satisfying

to me. So just like nerdy stuff like that. Like to garden a little bit or just even cleaning up my yard and like listening to music. I listen to podcasts once in a blue moon. That's kind of the stuff that I like to do. And I'm trying to find other kind of past times where you get really engaged and lost in that moment, that hobby. And again, talk about this in my book and the last chapter, those, those activities are so important. I was doing this thing with a friend, and we haven't finished yet, but it's one of those kind of, it's like kind of a 3D puzzle-ish, but it kind of looks like a little room and there's like a light on it. It's supposed to look like a reading nook. I don't know. It looks adorable, but you

get to, it's like kind of a book end is what it's going to end up being. And then you put it in your bookshelf. it's adorable. We were just lost in it for hours. So yeah, I'm all about that. That's what I'm doing for my stress and anxiety. Oh, here's another really good one. Since you've been tracking your expenses for years now, what has been your big learning lesson from this?

How do you set a budget for a category? And if you did overspend in a certain category, how would you correct yourself? So honestly, I'm pretty flexible with my budget in that I also have learned over the years that the only way a budget is going to work is if you give yourself some grace. So yeah, there's going to be months, maybe multiple months where I spend more than I expected. I don't personally really budget in a way, even though like, so I've got a bunch of budget spreadsheets, FYI, on my shop page, Jessica Moore has.com slash shops.

So check those out. I use that spreadsheet for me and my husband and our family finances. And you know, in the, the budget tab, you outline, you know, this is the categories for savings category for fixed expenses, categories for variable expenses. However, when it comes to my actual spending, I'm, I don't like kick myself for, Oh, you spent a little bit more in, you know, self care compared to some other category or whatever that you set for yourself. I don't care. I'm always just looking at in total, am I, you know, in the positive or in the negative when it comes

to my variable expenses or my fixed expenses. And then take a look at those categories for the spending to see, oh, why am I over or under? Oh, this is why the evidence is in the spending. So I don't really, I'm not very strict with my budget because that just does not work. Just like a strict diet, not going to work. You need to be flexible and you need to be like, oh, well, you know, let's do better next month. So it's always that mentality of like, if I'm not perfect, well, and again, no one's perfect. No one is perfect.

Let's just try to be a little bit better next, next year. So that's one thing I would say, in terms of like, okay, if you did overspend, how do you correct yourself? It really is, again, being more mindful. You know, sometimes take a look at your spending to see what are some of these automatic things that are, you know, being put on my credit card, what can we cancel? This happens all the time that you sign up for a free trial and you forget. And then also, you know, sometimes like, Ooh, we've been eating out or buying too much wine or something like that. Why are we doing that? Because we have a set amount of money and we keep going over, Oh, this month we've been really stressed. We haven't been taking

care of our health and you know, ourselves, you know, I think we need to take a step back and you know, take care of these underlying issues that are then kind of manifesting in our spending. So again, my book is all about this. When you look at your spending, it's not just about like, oh, my habits. There's always something underneath the surface that's actually going on, right? Oh, I was really stressed. I was really angry. I was really emotional. I was going through a tough time. I lost my, you know, some hours at work or I lost my job, whatever. There's always something going on and that will be reflected in your spending. And then when you see that and you're more mindful and you recognize that, then you can make some better choices or try to make some better choices

next month. So that's what I try to do. In terms of what I've really learned, but it's the biggest learning lesson is really just to keep going and stay consistent. It's not about being perfect. It's really about never giving up and staying consistent. I've been doing this, you know, tracking my spending and my net worth for over eight years and same with my husband. And I know he probably wouldn't have done it if I didn't say we got to do this together. And it's been incredible because finally, this is the first time ever in my life, I really wish I started this earlier in my 20s. I know exactly what's been going on with my money since 2017. How cool is that?

And so I can take a look at who I was, what I was doing, what was my emotional state in any month, any year. And also the biggest thing is I can take a look at where I'm at now and compare myself to where I was eight years ago to see, wow, look at that progress. Because sometimes you feel like, oh my gosh, I'm just, you know, turn a lot. Nothing's happening. It's so slow and it will be very slow. I want to say for the first one to three years, you feel like you're

not making much of a movement. Let me tell you, I want to say it's after five, six years, things start to, to, to get really quick, that momentum, that compounding of your, you know, all of the things you've been doing up until this point really start to take some action. So I know I never really talk about my finances and part of that is to respect my husband's wishes. He likes to kind of keep that private, which I completely get. However, I'm sure I've mentioned it in an article around this pod disc before. My big goal is for us as a family to reach our $2 million net worth by the time I turn 42.

And at this point I'm turning 30, oh yeah, also, hey, turning 39, June 4th. So that'll actually be, you know, before this episode airs. That means I've got three years to get us there and it's looking like that is actually going to happen. And that is really freaking cool. And I know that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't, you know, didn't have this budget,

this plan for my money and wasn't tracking everything. So that's what I got to say about that. So I know there's there's just looking at some of these things. Again, there's a lot of like specific financial questions that are really asking me for financial advice. I will probably address those more on my Instagram reels. So I'm just kind of just going to choose a few more questions. And then I'll kind of wrap up this episode. But this one I really liked looking back on your 30s and now into

your 40s. What would you tell yourself? And what will you keep in mind moving forward? One of the best things about writing this book is not only that I did a heck of a lot of therapy, I did the most self reflection I think I've ever did in the world, in my whole life. And part of that was giving me an opportunity to take a look at my life in my 30s and what's happened in my 20s, 30s, and then where do I want to go in my 40s? And one big realization was me seeing that, yes, I've always been ambitious. There's good and bad parts of that, but overall, I'm where I'm at because of this ambition

and hard work. But man, I was so hard on myself. And so looking back, I really wish I was nicer to Jessica because I would never, you know, this inner critic, the internal monologue, ooh, sometimes what it would say to me was like, I would never say that to a family member or a friend, right? We are harshest critics. And so because of all the self work I've done, I realized I need to be nicer to myself. and I have actually been working really hard on that for the past two and a half years. And it's worked. I am so much nicer to myself. And I check that, you know, inner critic, be like, hey, you can't talk to me like that.

That's not nice. You would not talk to someone else like that. So that's part of it. I wish I was kinder to myself, but also I wish I celebrated some of the little things, the mini milestones along the way more. Sometimes I was just always like, okay, we did it, onto the next one, or comparing myself to someone else and their achievements

and then feeling like, oh, I didn't do anything. I wish I really every step of the way really congratulated myself. And again, when you celebrate yourself, I feel like too often we're like, oh, that means I have to like spend money on something, right? Like a nice bottle of wine or a dinner out or clothes or whatever. No, it sometimes just means like taking a moment to acknowledge what happened because

too often I feel like we just don't give ourselves that moment. So I wish I kind of did that. As I move into my forties, I really hope I can continue the path that I've kind of set myself on, being kinder to myself, taking care of myself, and just improving in other areas than my career, really trying to disconnect my personal identity from my professional identity. That was something that I didn't realize I was faulty. I really didn't, there wasn't any kind of differentiation between both. And I am, you know, I've got a personal life and a professional life.

And I don't want to be like, I don't know if anyone has watched Hacks. I'm obsessed with it. And, oh, now, you know, when I mentioned a show, I'm like, what are the character names? Um, you know, the, the, the main comedian, um, forgive me. She love her amazing super ambitious woman and had to deal with so much, especially in, uh, you know, throughout time and, you know, um, being a woman comedian in some of the hard, harshest times where it it's like there was hardly any female comedians. And, but there's not to spoil, but basically she gets to a point in the

latest seasons where it's so clear. I mean, it's always been clear in any of the episodes that there is literally no, she doesn't have a personal life. Everything is her professional life. And she's, you know, I think in the show she's in her seventies. And so I just, it freaked me out. I'm like, oh my gosh, I do not want to be like that. Even though she's like rich, famous and has all these amazing things. She also doesn't really have any true friends that are

outside of her career. And she has a rocky family situation and everything's tied to her career. And I'm like, I don't want that. I, I'm working so hard on disconnecting that now. And so into my forties and onward, I want to make sure that that is not the thing, because I know that that does not make me happy. That actually makes me really unhappy because, um, yeah, you need to, you need to live life. You know, you got to, what is it? Work to live, not live to work. And so I'm trying to really embrace that and just enjoy my forties and really embrace it. I'm excited about my forties quite honestly, but we're not there yet.

I got one more year in my thirties. Okay, I'm gonna do one more question and the rest of them I'm going to address in some future Instagram Reels. So make sure to follow me on Instagram at Jessica Imorehouse and newsletter list, Jessicamorehouse.com staffs slash subscribe. Okay.

Final question. What would your advice be for anyone trying to launch their own business in Canada right now? Gosh. I love getting questions about like starting a business because I do have a lot of videos on my YouTube channel about that because as I was starting my business and learning this stuff, I'm like, Oh, let's make a video about it. I'm not the expert on this area at all.

Again, I'm a solopreneur still. It's just me and then I have a few contractors I work with for certain things, but I have no idea how to run a business with employees and stuff like that. When I think of that, for example, Chelsea Fagan, who I just did an event with for, she has some romance novels highly recommend, amazing. Anyways, she was in Toronto to launch her latest romance novel. And I looked at her and I'm so in awe of what she's been able to grow. She has a legitimate full on company with employees and, you know, an office and all

these things. And I'm like, I have no idea what that life is like. I have no idea how to do that. So all I can really speak to is being a very small business, one person contractors. That's just my personal experience. But in terms of, you know, any advice for launching your business, gosh, I can kind of just share like what I wish I did differently and all that kind of stuff. Number one, I always tell people if you want to kind of leave your nine to five to start your own business, you better have, I'm going to say this, at least nine to 12 months of

cash in like an emergency fund. Because what if you don't make any money for the first little bit? I also say though, don't quit your job until you're already making money in your side business. Like it should be started on the side to test out to see if this is viable. And so I didn't quit my job until I think I was making $30,000 per year on the side. And even though that wasn't at the time or even now quite honestly that much to live on, I knew that if I dedicated full-time hours, I can make a full-time living., so that was enough for me. And I saved up like almost a year's worth of cash just for, for safety. And that made me feel more relaxed that I'm like, okay, we got it.

And if this doesn't work out, we got cash so we can still pay my bills. And then I've got some runway to find, you know, a new job or something like that. Thankfully, knock on wood, it does, didn't happen. And things are going well. Now I also wish I, man, slowed down a little bit in that first year. I thought I had a hustle so crazy in that first year. So I didn't take a day off. I worked every single day for like a year and burnt myself out. Don't do that. Things that did work for me, however, was making sure I was in other

communities of business owners that were supportive that I can learn from. So really find some of those either in-person or online communities. A lot of mine were just online based. A lot of other women specifically who were in kind of my field doing other things, cross Canada, the US, that was amazing. So you feel like you're not alone because it can be very lonely starting your own business. And having a plan, like honestly, I did not, I still don't really have like, you know, a five-year plan. I make a plan for the year and have kind of certain goals that I want to hit and things that I want to do.

But that's kind of it. And again, I'm saying that as I am not, I am not doing this perfectly. There are people that are doing what I'm doing much more successfully, but I still love what I do. I'm, you know, cannot complain with what I've achieved and, you know, the kind of income I'm making. I'm very, I don't want to say blessed. Oh, that's so cringe. I'm very lucky. I'm very, you know, privileged, I feel like to be where I'm at, because I know a lot of people have tried it and it didn't work out, so I feel very fortunate. But yeah, so I don't know. I don't know where I'm going with this,

but I say just make sure you've got your ducks in a row, you've got a plan, and you surround yourself with people that are supportive and inspirational and that will motivate you to keep going. And just be, yeah, give yourself some breaks, supportive and inspirational and that will motivate you to keep going and, and just be, yeah, give yourself some breaks because you don't want to work every single day.

You will burn out and that is not good for your business. So hopefully that helps. Okay. That is it for me. But again, I will be around just not on the podcast for a little bit. I will put up at probably a new episode when I know when I will restart this podcast. But again, I just want to take some time to really reflect in what we can do moving forward. If you want to stay in touch with me, again, I'm going to be hopefully putting out some more YouTube videos. So JessicaMoorhouse.com slash YouTube. Follow me on Instagram at Jessica I Morehouse. The email list that I mentioned, jessicamorehouse.com slash subscribe.

I will be doing some more in-person events throughout the year, which I'm very excited about. But again, my email list is really the best place to find out and stay in the loop of all the things. Make sure to grab a copy of my book, Everything But Money. What a great time to grab a new book this summer and dive in. Not necessarily a summer read, but I don't know. Why not? Yeah, yeah, it's a summer read. Why not? It's a year-round read. Everything but Money is out now. You can find more information about it at JessicaMoorhouse.com slash book, including when I do more events and things like that. Gosh, what else do I want to let you know before I leave? Um, nah, maybe that's it. Maybe that's it, but still, you know, stay in touch with me

in all those different ways. And you know, again, really huge thank you to, uh, to you for supporting this show over the past decade. I can't believe I'm going to have to, uh, pop open a bottle of champagne. I got not to this sounds snooty. Okay. decade, I can't believe. I'm going to have to pop open a bottle of champagne. I got, not to, this sounds snooty, okay. I've got two bottles of Verve, but I got them gifted for me from friends when I launched my book, when I had a little celebration, just with some friends on New Year's Eve.

And I've just been keeping them kind of as decorations, even though like Verve isn't even like the most expensive. Like you go to Costco and get Verve right now, you know what I mean? But I'm just like, Ooh, there's a fancy. I'm like, you know what? We should probably just not leave them, you know, in my kitchen as a fancy decoration. I should probably pop one of those bottles and actually enjoy life.

Because that's what I'm all about is, you know, I really just want to enjoy life more. And I hope that for you too, because that's the whole point of money, right? We want to get enough so we can meet our needs and then also meet some of our wants. So ultimately we can not have to think about money and just enjoy our life and spend time with people that we love. That's the whole point. That is literally the whole point in getting more money. Ooh, I like how we wrapped that up and included the podcast title.

Okay. Okay. I'm going to leave you there. Big shout out and a thank you to my podcast editor that's been with me since 2020, I believe, Matt Rideout. Thank you so much, Matt, for being my podcast editor and producer. Thank you so much. And a big shout out to the boys at Sick Boy. They took me in after I changed podcast networks. I've always looked up to them. Loved their show as well, I've been on there a couple of times and they're just really amazing people to work with

and I'm really happy to be with them as part of their podcast network and excited to work with them to figure out what we can do with More Money Podcast 2.0. So that's it for me. Thank you so much for listening to this very long solo episode. I appreciate you and I will see you very soon,

not sure when, but soon at some point and have an amazing, amazing summer. The More Money Podcast would not be possible without the amazing talents of podcast producer, Matt Rideout, who you can find at mravcanada.com.