More Money Podcast - 237 Managing Your Money in Uncertain Times - Katie Dunsworth-Reiach, Author & Co-Founder of Smart Cookies

Episode Date: April 15, 2020

Life is crazy sometimes. Back in 2009, when I was struggling to find a full-time job after university thanks to the Great Recession, I got an on-call job as a teleprompter operator for Global News thanks to my dad putting a good word in for me (he’d worked there for over 20 years). It was honestly a god send because it meant I could earn a little money, pay off my student loan and start saving to eventually move out of my parent’s basement. Anywho, while I worked there (and I ended up keeping that job as a side hustle for 3 years) I would sometimes see the ladies from Smart Cookies appear on the news and share their personal finance wisdom. Cut to 2020, as we enter possibly another recession, I’ve got Smart Cookies co-founder Katie Dunsworth-Reiach on my podcast to talk about how to navigate your money during these uncertain times. And since her personal finance journey was majorly impacted from the last recession too, she has some amazing advice and food for thought in this episode. Just remember, we’ve gone through many recessions in history before, and there will be many more in the future. It’s how you react and what actions you ultimately take during those hard times that will define your path. For full episode show notes visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/237 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to the Momany Podcast. This is episode 237, and I'm your host, Jessica Morehouse. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back for this episode. I have someone who you're probably familiar with. I certainly am. I, having been originally grew up and born and raised in Vancouver, BC, very familiar with the Smart Cookies. Ladies, and I have one of the Smart Cookies on the show today. I will be talking to Katie Dunsworth. Rick, she is a partner and co-founder of Talk Shop and also the co-founder of Smart Cookies.

And we're going to be talking about how can we navigate this crazy time we are in? How can we also kind of take a look at the past, the last recession, the last market crash, and maybe learn from what happened back then so we can navigate what we're going into the future, even though we don't really know what is going on. No one has a crystal ball. But we can always kind of look at history to give us a sense of what could potentially happen. And Katie's story is very interesting. So she is an entrepreneur. She started at the age of 24, and she was discovered by Oprah and featured on her show after co-founding the money mentoring business, Smart Cookies. And in the heart of the last

financial crisis, Katie was among the first to make financial information engaging and relevant to women, and she continues to do so today. And since then, she has had so much success in her career. She has hosted her own W Network series and co-authored the financial bestseller, Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough and Smart Cookies Guide to Couples and Money. And I've got her on the show today to talk about all things. How the heck do we figure our stuff out right now? Because we're all still a little anxious and panicked. So you're going to love this episode. And before I get to that interview with Katie, just want to let you know, in case you don't know, I have recently

reduced the prices on both of my online courses because we are in this pandemic and a lot of people are seeking financial relief, but also are seeking some financial guidance and help. Well, I thought it was only right and just made more sense to honestly just make my courses more affordable. And so that's what I've done. I've basically taken $100 off each course, so they are more affordable. And so that's what I've done. I've basically taken $100 off each course. So they are more affordable. You can find more information in this show notes, jessicamorehouse.com slash 237 or 237. But if you go to my website, jessicamorehouse.com slash courses, you'll be able to find out more information about my six week fix your finances

masterclass and my investingations for Canadians courses. So if you're looking for, you know, you've got some time and you really want to dedicate this time to improving your financial knowledge, getting your stuff together, so to speak, well, I've got two courses that should really hit the mark for you. So make sure to check those out. And as I've also mentioned on previous episodes, I'm still currently taking financial counseling clients. And wow, have I been booking quite a few. Thank you so much for the great support and wanting to work with me. I'm so flattered. So I'm still currently taking on more clients. So if that is something that you're interested in, if you want to work with me one-on-one to help you with your financial situation,

you can sign up for a free discovery call with myself. Just go to jessicamorehouse.com slash financial counseling. Again, you could just find the information on my website under the counseling tab and book a call with me. We'll chat and see if we can work together and get your stuff together this year. What better time than right now than in crisis, to really take a beat and start getting serious with your money? Am I right? Am I right? I think this is a good time. Anyways, that is enough. Let's get to that interview with Katie. Well, thanks so much, Katie, for being on the Mo Money Podcast. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Me too. I'm so glad to have you on. I've known about Smart Cookies for ages because I'm originally from Vancouver. So I remember seeing you guys around online on TV. So I'm very excited to have you on this show. It's an interesting time to have you on the show, but I'm actually glad to have you because as you kind of mentioned before I hit the record button, Smart Cookies, you started building that during the last recession, and now we're entering this new kind of situation. So I'm sure you have a lot of experience with dealing with different things during uncertain times, like the good times and the bad times. But before we get into that, do you kind of share a little bit about your background? Because you

mentioned to me that you are an entrepreneur and you started at a very young age in your early 20s. Do you want to kind of share a little bit? How did you get started? Yeah. So I mean, it all kind of does tie back to the smart cookies. And I feel like a bit of an OG coming out of retirement because I got through, you know, the last recession with, um, the, we started a money group really in sort of, um, as things were starting to decline and that ultimately got us, we, we paid off about $80,000 of consumer debt, um, more than doubled our income. I started a number of businesses, um, in that time. And yeah, I mean, I have, I don't have a mortgage now. I own a successful company. Yeah. And I, I really,

um, I have been waiting for this unfortunately because, you know, I do believe in 10 year cycles, so we'll have a lot to talk about, but yeah. So my story was, um, or is that i um i started this money group uh it allowed me the we ended up getting on oprah it allowed me the opportunity to write a series of books with random hosts um and we had a tv show for a number of years on the w network uh during that time i also built another business um that's in like integrative communications and marketing it's's called Talk Shop. We've got an office in Toronto and Vancouver and Calgary. And, um, I, I really did both that, that actually, that business started off as my sort of side hustle. I had an initially a corporate job and then morphed it into my own consulting agency and then my partners now. And, um, and so, you know, my, my belief system really centers around, um, the importance of, you know, my belief system really centers around the importance of, you know, just understanding numbers, whether it's in your business, whether it's in your personal life.

And not being, you know, we kind of grew up in a time when this is the 2008 recession where Suzy Orman was, you know, the expert du jour. And we have a different philosophy when it comes to money. It's really, you know, it's, it's centered more around what do you want out of your life and how can you make your money work with you to get those things and obviously do it in a way that, um, safe and secure and gets you through tough times, but also sees you through good times. Interesting. So, cause you mentioned Suze Orman, like I'm, I'm familiar with her probably not as much as I think maybe a lot of Americans listening. What did,

what did you find her kind of messaging or tone different? Like it sounds like you were kind of more of a, we're all about finding solutions and kind of positivity. Is that kind of what you're saying? Yeah. She takes a, I mean, a, I just, I don't love the delivery. She takes a very angry, you know, um, uh, voice to kind of, kind of in a condescending way. And I think what we were really founded on is that we did not have that financial knowledge base to pull from. So we were like, what is a mutual fund? And I should be so lucky to have a flipping mutual fund. I just

have debt, you know, and that was, we were really speaking to those people and we were speaking from a place of like, okay, I'm going to teach myself, talk to experts, inform myself and tell you what I've learned and take you kind of along for the, for the ride. And I'm really proud of where all of us are today. I mean, when we started, yeah, we were in our early twenties and had a boatload of debt. And now we're in our 30s and all of us own homes, businesses, are not in debt, are in good financial places.

And so I think a lot of those lessons I learned, I learned obviously through the money club, but I learned in the hardest times, which were that last recession. Yeah. And I also just goes to show that, and this is something that, you know, similar, you know, story I self-taught myself did not have the background. It just goes to show anyone can learn this stuff. It does take time, obviously, but as, as you've proven, you didn't know a ton in your twenties. Now you're in your thirties and look at all the financial success you've had because you did really take the time to research and learn this stuff and then apply it. And then, you know, over time you see, oh wow, this stuff does work if you just do this, this, and this.

Now that we are entering these uncertain times, a lot of people are obviously saying we're going to be entering the next recession. And like you, I was kind of expecting this because yes, these things work in kind of 10-year, though. I don't think anyone actually expected it to be like so sudden almost. It was kind of like, Oh, Oh, we're here now. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, this is all dropping in three weeks. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's just like, Oh, okay. Wow. Um, you know, a lot of people are worried and, um, you know, a lot of people are losing their jobs. A lot of people are like, oh, shoot, I really wish I had that emergency fund. Now I don't. What do I do? What are some of the things that you're hearing from your audience about some of their concerns? And what are some of the things

that you're telling them because of your experience going through something similar? Yeah. I mean, it really is getting back to the basics, your expenses versus your spending. And I think, I mean, I know you've talked about this too, but I think there are a horrifying number of people that have no idea kind of like what their monthly burn rate is in terms of what they're spending on. And then those same people, and a lot of us just don't know, even if I just stripped it down to the essentials, you know, cost of living, where I live, what I need to sort of eat and keep the lights on. They also don't know that. And so I think that this is the time everyone needs to do that. And, you know, lots of people call it a budget. We call it a spending plan, but it's just like, get your, get your spending plan in order. You know, we, we know where we're going to be for the next at least month to three months. And,

um, you can very easily pull, you have time, pull that information from your bank statements, um, and, and make a plan in terms of what you're going to try to spend. I find it fun. I mean, I look at it week to week. I've done that for 10 years now where I just goal set every single week on what, uh, and, and one of the biggest things with smart cookies and myself, like I am a spender. I am not the money expert who sits at home and you know, like I, I buy things, but I make money. Like I spend my time trying to find ways to make more money. Um, so I have really taken a lot of comfort and I am like selling everything in my house that is not, you know, taped down. I look for opportunities, whether it's, you know, when I even teach my kids, like we've dog sat for the last year because my daughter wants to buy a dog and she gets paid doing that. So there's, you know, there are things you can be doing in these times. And I just think that that's the mindset shift that I also try and

adopt is just like, how can you be, whether it's something you already own that you can sell or something that you could be doing to pick up additional work to make a bit more money right now. Yeah, no, I think a lot of, especially millennials definitely took that as, you know, I feel like when I first started learning about personal finance, a lot of the advice was just cut back, cut back. At a certain point, there's nowhere else to cut back. And so the next step that I think a lot of people, now they're talking about it more, but they weren't, I feel like 10 years ago or even eight years ago.

How do we make more money? And how do we get into this idea that we need more than just our full-time job income? And for me, that's definitely helped. That's definitely helped you. Obviously, we're in this weird situation where it is difficult to get a side hustle. That's not something we could do at this moment. Hopefully, things will improve in the next several months as things develop. But I guess, so let's just look at the next month or next few weeks. What can people actively do now to hopefully in the future have that extra source of income or that side hustle? Should they be taking time to start

learning new skills? Yeah. And you have to remember, like, I believe in the idea of seven revenue streams. A revenue stream doesn't have to be a side hustle. It could be investment. I own commercial property. I own rental properties. Those are all things that are easier to do when you have money. So I think the real common denominator is most Canadians don't have a lot of excess money lying around right now. And if they do, they're really worried about just survival. So what you can be doing in this time is thinking about what the, you know, potential business plan might look like. You can teach yourself some skills. So like, this is a time where I'm really interested in photography, and I'm trying to learn that more, whether that's going to be a side hustle of mine,

probably not. But I think that there, there are ways that you can be doing the groundwork so that when things pick back up, you will be able to turn that into something that could potentially make you income. I think another thing is, I mean, if you have money invested right now, and I know you talked about this as well, is like, do you really know, do you really have a plan for what's going to happen? Are you willing? Because I think this is what we're seeing is if you had money in the market, it's dropped significantly. It's likely going to still drop. What's your bottom? Do you need that money? So you could be informing yourself. And also, it's annoying to say, but I do think that there's some amazing investment opportunities

coming up. And if you're already in the market, it's just important to know what are you able to weather. Yeah. And as we've seen just from the last 10 years, the people that did stay in the market are really kind of weathered that storm. And obviously it is kind of a place of privilege. You need to be able to afford to do that. But they did kind of come out on top because they were able to continue to buy investments when they were on sale. And so that's definitely something important. Hard to do, I feel like, because there's also, I find, and maybe it's because it's been so long, but I think it was very emotional the last recession, but there's also the emotional

factor that people are dealing with. They know the, you know, tried and true advice that is, you know, that you've been sharing and it's great, but there's also this emotional factor that, you know, either you have the scarcity mindset, you're just kind of scared, you're just very emotional. It's hard to sometimes implement things that you're like, I know I should be doing this, but I'm finding it really difficult. What do you say to people that are having this kind of reaction? In the scarcity mindset? Yeah, I think that your mental health and your mental health translates into your mindset with money too is, is really important. And I think, again, you know, going back to the Suze Orman stuff where it's like the, the mindset that we tried to embrace through all of the money

advice that we gave is like, get excited about where your life can go, like start there. And I, you know, I know that that's not the easiest thing to do right now, but we have a lot of time to work on reflecting, you know, controlling our thoughts. And if you can, if you can sort of think about where, what do you want to take away from all this and where do you want to be and start to put the plans in place? Just one little step, you know, once a week even is a lot better than sitting and worrying and coming from that, that scarcity mindset. So little step, you know, once a week even is a lot better than sitting and worrying and coming from that scarcity mindset. So it does, you know, it does really start with that, you know, mindfulness and working on your own controlling where you allow your mind to go. Yeah, absolutely. And I think what's also helpful is hearing stories of people who've

experienced something similar, either like a market crash or just like a really tough time and came out on the other side. I think hearing those stories over and over will reinforce the idea that yes, this is temporary. And if you continue to move forward, you will benefit from it in the long run. And we just have to appreciate a little bit, we've had a great run. We had 10 good years. It's going to be hard and it's going to be hard. I'm not, I don't think we're going back to the old normal. I think we're entering a new place where, you know, professional sports are going to

look different. How we interact socially is going to look different. And, and that I think is also, you know, very, very scary for, for people. But I think there's a part of me that's like, let's appreciate what we have. Let's, you know, get, this is the time where grit kicks in, like it's going to get hard and we need to make ourselves strong and resilient in, in getting through that. And, and again, look for all of those silver linings the whole way through. And to your point, pull from the people that got through the last recession and what did they do and what are

you going to do? And I think that that's, for me, that was, I invested, I started a business, I purchased property and all of those things at the time felt scary and hard and like a stretch. And 10 years later, you know, they were the smartest things I ever did. So that, that will, that will happen for a lot of people, but it's not going to feel easy. No, nothing ever worth it in the end is ever easy. You mentioned that when you started Smart Cookies, it's kind of started as a money club, which I love the idea of community. I think that's so important, especially now where we're all isolated at home. We need to figure out ways to create community.

Is that something that you would suggest people doing, especially if they find it difficult right now? Oh my goodness. Yeah. Yeah. I was just Zooming. I did like a Zoom money club with the Smart Cookie Girls last week and it's back. I think it's one of the best things you can be doing right now because instead of just carrying all of that worry and anxiety inside,

your money group is really, you know, it's sort of like alcoholic synonymous for people who, you know, have, have money concerns or money problems. And it allows you to be a honest about what you're feeling, realize you're not alone. There's a bunch of people that surround you and then that feel the same way. And then you get to work together. And our formula was very much the next right thing and the next right thing. And just to keep that one step and the next step and one foot in front of the

other. And so that is really what we're talking about now on smartcookies.com, the smart cookies website, we launched just a five day, it's called a spending edit. It's sort of, again, going back to that positive thinking, but looking at your money and something that you can really tangibly do just for five days that we'll, we'll see some short term improvement. So, so yeah, we've all been doing that as well. And gosh, the savings right now, I mean, I don't want to discount

that everyone's worried about income, myself included, but I'm certainly saving a lot of money because I'm cooking at home. I'm not doing anything. I've stopped all my kind of clothing, any purchase that isn't essential is not happening. So I think that there is certainly that too. And that money club is a great forum to share that with. Yeah. So if anyone hasn't been part of something like that, because it kind of sounds like a money mastermind or, you know,

I've been things not so much about finances, more about like entrepreneurship and stuff, but I love the idea of a money club. It's kind of like a book club, I guess, for money too. How do you, if someone wants to start their own, like, what does that look like? What do you talk about? Yeah, there's some great resources on the Smart Cookie site, but really I would say I would pull together, ours was five, but I've seen them up to sort of, I think over kind of 10, it gets tricky because one of the biggest things is consistency and accountability. So you really need a group of people that are going to show up and do the work. And, you know, there's, and that's fine. If you, if it drops off, it drops off and you just get back on the horse and, or you just keep,

keep going yourself. Um, but I get together a group of like-minded people who share the same, um, general goals that they want to, uh, you know, improve their financial knowledge. They want to improve their financial position. They want to have some fun. There's usually an education component. And we split it up in a couple of ways. So we, and this is one of the things, I mean, I'm a huge, and I own a business where I employ 40 plus people. And, you know, it's difficult for me to think about them all going around and talking about what they make. plus people and it's difficult for me to think about them all going around and talking about what they make. But I think it's really important for us not to live in the dark about our financial position. And so we were really forthcoming about,

this is what I make. This is what I owe. Here's how much I spend every month. Here's what I spend it on, like a full colonoscopy of your financial position. Lots of people feel uncomfortable with that. I felt relieved because there was no hiding. There's no pretending. I think that that's for women in particular, that's one of the things we kind of hide behind is like, you've built up this facade of whatever. And if you strip it all back and people are realizing, oh, you know, I make $40,000 a year, but I live like I make $200,000 a year, what will happen? And it's like, you know, that's the reality check a lot of us need.

And so I do recommend that, but not everybody does it. So really you start with goal setting, some level of disclosure, which I think is important, how much debt you're in, what you're trying to do, how much you're currently spending, goal setting, so what you want to do. And then we do an education component. So what we would typically do is break off, you know, what are the things that we want to learn about or think are important to understand right now? Right now, I mean, I'm constantly looking at the market and kind of trying to figure out what my moves are going to be. So I think it's a really interesting place even to just share. And again, this is, know that none of these people are professionals, but that this is advice and research that you can learn from and inform yourself around. So yeah, so we did that as well, where we would,

we would share our learnings on investments and different things. Amazing. And I guess it's also a big component is keeping each other accountable. Because I think that's a huge thing is not just learning this stuff, but having someone be like, Hey, did you actually do that thing that you said you're going to do? Yes, it was huge. And really, I mean, for the first year, we're in a different place now. But for the first year to two years, I mean, all we talked about was just getting out of debt and how we were going to spend less and try and make more money. So, I mean, even if those are the things, just the spending less, you know, it's great to have, to your point, somebody who's just had that go for you, checking in on you. Yeah, absolutely. And I know part of, I think, the reason you started

Smart Cookies and also your company is you specifically wanted to help empower women, which I think is amazing. Do you think that we're going to be, I'm just kind of curious, are we as women going to have like a heavier impact of what's going on compared to maybe our male counterparts in terms of like, do you think we're going to be harder hit maybe because we are earning less or we have more debt? What are your kind of thoughts on that? Yeah, that's a great question. I, unfortunately, I do think we will be to some extent. I think, yeah, women are certainly not earning the same as men. I look at my husband who works in packaging and manufacturing and is somehow deemed an essential service and he's going to work and I'm just trying to hold on to my company.

And so I think that, you know, just depending on what sectors survive this, that they might skew a little bit more. The other thing I see, and I, again, and I'm not an investment advisor on any level, but I see women tending to get, you know, either analysis paralysis where they just freeze because there's so much information coming at them and they don't know what to do. And they're just going to hope it gets better. Whereas men are like, oh, Apple stock is down. I'm going, you know, and they're risky and they take risks. And not that those don't always pay off, but I sometimes think freezing doesn't pay off at all. So keeping moving is something that I think women, you know, to some extent struggle with.

Yeah, no, definitely. Yeah, the analysis paralysis is real. And I feel like it's, I mean, women struggle with that when times are good. So in this situation. Yeah, we also don't, you know, it's weird. Like I trust my gut on so many things. It's taken me a really long time. Even with, you know, I have books about money and I've been on Oprah talking about money. And I, you know, I still look at my husband, who's really like a very financially intelligent person and have to give my head a shake and say,

you've built a successful business. You've done tons of incredible financial things. Like don't, you don't have to second guess yourself here. You are an equal. You, you know, you, so I think that there's a lot of that and that's, I'm, I'm coming from a place of, you know, I can only imagine if you're just starting out that you would, you would really question yourself. And so I think that that giving women confidence in these times is something I want to do. And I think confidence comes from having a support system and having these kinds of conversations. And it, and it also comes from just getting in there and, and, and doing the work. And I think that that's something that I'm, I'm glad that you're such a proponent of that. And yeah, it's important. Yeah, no,

definitely. And I feel like even though I've been hearing a lot from people that even though they know it's important to really start paying more attention to their finances during this hard time, they feel like they're just being pulled in so many directions. And sometimes this is the last thing that they want to do, which I get. But as someone who also kind of started my personal finance journey, the, the last recession, I became, I, I think I was empowered so much more because I came out of that. So I'm like, this is actually the best time to really take advantage of, you know, this extra time you have to, you know, start learning about this and implementing some of the things that we've, you know, talked about, because if you can kind of do that in the hard times, it will be actually easier in the, in the good times.

Yeah. And that's, I mean, that, that's exactly what I think. I think there are, you're such an example of that. There's just like a gritty work ethic that's going to get us through this that, you know, like I said, I employ a lot of people and I don't see it all the time. And I'm like, I think you missed that part. Like we had, I had to do absolutely everything and anything to make money and did. And all through the good times, I still had that mindset. And so I think we've gotten into this very luxurious place of being super, super picky and a little bit entitled. And this is our reality check and that's okay. We're just going to have to adjust a bit. Yeah. Roll up our sleeves and just deal what the situation has. And yeah, I think that if you can just keep on moving forward,

you're going to come out stronger. But then also give yourself a break at the same time, because we are in a pandemic. So it's one of those things where it's like, this is a great time to do some of those projects or start learning about things. But also at the end of the day, take care of yourself, number one, mental health is number one. Completely. And exactly. Be kind to yourself. You're not going to start your next empire in the pandemic. No one's doing anything. So just make the plans again, keep, keep it moving, educate yourself, take care of your mind and get excited about what you're the next version of the new normal for you is going to look like. I think that that's when I go back to that place

of how it's going to be. And we've made huge, like tectonic shifts in what we're planning to do financially and what we're now going to do financially. And I needed a little time to grieve that because things were good and I was going to spend that money and it's changed. And so it's okay. But now I'm excited about, like I just get excited about what that will look like.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, it was so great chatting with you. I feel better about what's going on. So I'm sure other listeners will feel the same way. Where can people find more information about you and some of the resources that you mentioned? Yeah. So if you're interested in the money club, anything to do with kind of getting your money in order, smartcookies.com is a great resource. If you want to learn more about me or my business or my company, it's Talk Shop Media. And we have a group of really, again, smart, engaging folks

who we really embrace strategies that businesses can implement right now that work for their business finances. And it's changing. And so we've been early in that. And then, yeah, you can just follow me on Instagram. It's katiedunsworthreact. Perfect. Awesome. Well, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. It's katydunsworthreact. Perfect. Awesome.

Well, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much. And that was episode 237 with Katie Dunsworth-Rake. You can find her at talkshopmedia.com or smartcookies.com. And of course, make sure to follow her on Twitter and Instagram. You can find her at Katie for Twitter, Katie underscore Dunsworth. And on Instagram is at Katie Dunsworth Rake. You can find all that information in the show notes, jessicamorehouse.com slash 237. And of course, as she mentioned in the interview, you can also

take her Smart Cookies free five-day spending edit challenge. If you're looking for a little bit of a personal challenge, just to give yourself some focus, might as well just do that. You can find the information at smartcookies.com. And of course, you can also grab copies of her books, you know, of course, via Amazon or any kind of bookseller, Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough. And of course, Smart Cookies Guide to Couples and Money. So much great stuff out there. So, so, so, so, so, how are we doing? Are we doing okay? Last week, I put out an episode on this show for My Money Minute on Friday about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Also put out a video on my YouTube channel, which,

I mean, dang, people are having some questions. And the thing is, definitely, here is all I can say about the CERB or curb. If you don't think if you've gone through the criteria, and you don't think that you're eligible, there's probably a good chance that it's because you're not eligible. And it sucks. I'm just the messenger. It sucks. But it is what it is. But that's why it's so important to do your due diligence, read the criteria, and only apply if you think you are eligible. That being said, I mean, in terms of other kind of relief programs in the U.S., make sure to check out the interview I did with Erin Lowry that's also on the podcast. She goes through the U.S. relief programs available. I'm hopeful as a Canadian that there will be more kind of financial relief programs coming out soon for people that aren't eligible for CURB because,

I mean, there's so many people that are not completely unemployed, but just, you know, all of their hours have been cut, but they're still working a little bit or self-employed people that are still earning a little bit. So we'll have to see what happens. So my only kind of tip for that is just to pay attention to what's going on in the news. That's what I've been trying to do every single day. And it seems like every single day, there's something new. So just got, it's one of those times you got to kind of keep in the loop a little bit about what's happening. Of course, I'm going to continue to make more episodes when something significant happens that I want to break down and make it more, I don't know, just palatable or just digestible because yeah, sometimes that CRA

website is not great. One other kind of thing I'd like to remind you of is even though in the US and Canada tax deadlines have been pushed, so you do have more time to follow your taxes. I would say if you don't have a reason, just follow your taxes. I recently did it and it was so nice. It was such a relief to have that done and over with and not hanging over my head. I don't have to think about 2019 and taxes anymore. Now I can kind of move forward and think about this year's taxes. Yay. But if you're an employee or you were an employee, maybe you're laid off, this could be a great opportunity for you to get that tax refund, which is cash that you can put into your emergency fund. So just my little PSA there. If you haven't done your taxes, might as well just do your taxes.

Just do them. And there's so many great online software programs. You can do it. I'm not going to mention any now because there's no sponsor for this episode. So I'm not giving anyone any special airtime, but just my little two cents on that. Lastly, a couple of things actually. Number one, if you aren't aware, I have a free resource library on my website, jessicmorehouse.com slash resources, where you can download a ton of free guides, spreadsheets. There's a couple of past webinars I've done on there. So it's free. So might as well just pop in there. Again, if you want to stay in the loop of everything that I've got going on, I highly recommend you get into my email list, jessicmorehouse.com slash subscribe. I also have a free Facebook group community if you want to join us to talk about money,

all things money. And this is also kind of a great way to stay in the loop of what's happening in the US or Canada in terms of announcements, relief programs, and all that kind of stuff. It's called the Money Life Balance Community. You can find it at jessicamorehouse.com slash Facebook group or go to facebook.com slash group slash Money Life Balance, whatever you find quicker. Again, there's a link on my website so you can find that easily. What else do I have to share in case you don't know? Oh yeah, I've been getting a lot of people, of course, booking time to work with me as a financial counselor or booking discovery calls if you want to learn more about that. More

information on my website, jessicamorehouse.com slash financial counseling. But if you are just looking for a good old budget spreadsheet, because you want to take this time to get your stuff together, I've got a free one, jessicamorehouse.com slash budget. There's also a video on my YouTube channel that goes through it. I am going to be updating it soon. I don't know if I'll have it updated by the time this is on the release date on today, Wednesday, when you're listening it live. But I'm hopeful that it will be out in a few days, if not next week. Surprisingly, I've been busy. I don't know. I don't even know what's happening right now. But it's probably just because there's been so much need for financial content and information. I've been a busy bee. And so I definitely want to continue to create more content for you to help you during this weird time. Yeah, that's really, I think that's it. I think that's all I've got right now.

I'll be back Friday with another Money Minute episode. I don't know what it's going to be on. It really depends on what happens this week. We'll see. We will see. Oh yeah. One last thing too. And I haven't really added any new books. I will in the future just right now because things are so uncertain. I don't even know if I can mail things. I don't think I can mail anything right now. I don't feel safe leaving my house to go to the mailbox or mail post office or whatever it's called. But I do, I am still going to be running my book giveaway. So if you go to jessicamorehouse.com slash contest, all of the book giveaways that I'm doing right now, they're still up. You can still sign up to enter to win. I don't know when those

books will, I don't, I'm going to draw those winners soon, but I don't know when I'm actually going to be able to mail these books because I have them in my house, but I don't know. I can't leave my house. You know what I mean? So I don't know what's going to happen. So we'll just have to see. But anyways, I think that is it. That is the last thing I think I've got to tell you. Thanks for listening. See you back here Friday. Have a good rest of your week. Stay safe, stay sane, and stay financially savvy. How's that? How's that for a ending? Okay. I'm going to let you go.

I'm going to let you go. Cause I know you have a life to live. So, all right. Bye. See you later. See you Friday. This podcast is distributed by the women in media podcast network.

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