More Money Podcast - 246 Reaching Financial Independence If You're Single - Jackie Porter, CFP & Author of Single by Choice or Chance

Episode Date: September 30, 2020

Oh my goodness, what a week last week was! But I’ll get to that in a bit. I’ve got one hell of a guest this week though. Jackie Porter, a financial planner, author and speaker, joins me on the show to share her incredible story of getting into financial planning but also to discuss her book Single by Choice or Chance. Over the years of having the podcast, I’ve gotten so many questions from single people asking what should they do differently with their money? What are some important considerations they should be aware of? Jackie shares her wisdom because not only has she gone through it herself but she’s also worked with numerous clients over the years. Ok, back to last week. Not only was the launch of Season 11 my best ever (I got the highest amount podcast episode downloads on launch day than any other day in the history of my podcast!) but I have some very exciting news to share…I passed! As I shared at the end of the episode, I’ve been studying all summer for the Canadian Securities Course. It’s broken down into two parts, and last week I passed the first exam. And it was tough! But it feels so good to be over and done with. Now, onto the second exam this October. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me good vibes, I really appreciate it! Now continue to send them over to me so I pass the next one! For full episode show notes visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/246 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to the Momenty Podcast. This is episode 246, and I'm your host, Jess Morehouse. Welcome back to the show. I've got to say, so this is officially season 11 of the podcast, which is insane, but launched the season 11 last Wednesday, and it was a kind of a crazy day for so many different reasons, which I'm going to share in just a few seconds. But number one, I've had the most downloads in one day last Wednesday. And again, I've been doing this show for over five years. So thank you so much. If you're new to the show, thanks for dropping by. Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud,

wherever. Thank you so much for listening. I'm so thrilled that you decided to check my little show out. And if you're a longtime listener, thank you so much for sticking around. Really, really appreciate it. So not only was last Wednesday really cool to share you know, share season 11, kick it off, you know, try to make the rest of 2020, you know, let's just end it on a high note. So I'm having some really great guests on the show.

So hopefully you're going to love it just as much as I love it. But what I was actually doing on Wednesday is I scheduled everything. Everything was automatically going to post on Wednesday. I was actually in the exam room to do the first exam in the Canadian Securities course. If you've personally taken that course, you know it ain't fun. It is not, for the faint heart, it is not. It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy, though.

This is a little anecdote. When I went to the office to take the exam, I got there a little bit early, so I had to hang out outside. I saw this guy hanging out on his phone, and he looked like he was kind of flipping through something on his phone. I'm like, I guarantee he's going through flashcards. And so I asked him, like, oh, hey, are you here for an exam as well? And he said, yeah. And I asked him what exam he was there for. He was there for a different exam. Then I shared, oh, I'm doing the Canadian securities course. The first exam, he's like, oh, you'll be fine. That one's easy. No. Maybe he just said that to make me feel better. I don't know. But yeah, it wasn't easy. I'm telling you, I've never studied so hard for

anything in my life. I'm not even joking. Like for real. I studied the full textbook for exam one twice. Weeks, months, really, I've been dedicating time to studying this curriculum. And it was a tough one. Oh my gosh, it was a tough one. But as I, you know, kind of teased last week, I was going to share my results on the episode this week. And I did that as a motivation to myself and also like a manifestation. Oh my gosh, let's put it out there in the universe. So hopefully I can pass. Well, I'm happy to say I passed just barely, but that does not matter. It is not one of those exams where you want to get an A or, well, there's no specific grade. You just get a percentage. I wasn't, you know, that wasn't my goal. My goal wasn't to like ace the test. My goal was to pass the test because it is a brutal exam. And I'm not quite done the Canadian

Securities course because it is broken into two sections. So I've got exam number two coming up in October. So that is what I'm going to be spending the next several weeks studying. Exam number two. Wish me luck. I also just want to say because I know last week I said, please send me good vibes. Clearly you guys did. You clearly sent me some good vibes because it worked and I passed. So thank you so much. I was really excited to share all that with you. Now let's get to this episode of the show. 246 is the episode. I cannot even believe that. We're going to hit like 300 in no time. So for this episode, I've got the wonderful Jackie Porter. She is a certified financial planner. I found out about her,

I feel like, in the spring, but I really should have known about her a while ago because she's amazing. So she's an award-winning financial planner. She's the best-selling author of Single by Choice and Chance, which we're going to talk more about in this episode. And she is also a speaker who has helped thousands of clients grow their net worth, build a fortress around their finances and keep more of their cash in their pockets. And she's also been featured on CBC, The Agenda with Steve Palkin, Sun TV and BNN. She's also a regular contributor to Investment Executive, Wealth Professional, and The Globe and Mail. And Jackie recently was named McKenzie Female Trailblazer of the Year

for 2019. So she knows her stuff. And we're going to dive into the topic of single finances. I have quite a few friends who are single. And I feel like a lot of the time, because I've been with my husband for a while, sometimes I'm just kind of a one track, you don't mind. I talk about partnerships probably more often than finances when you're single on the show. So I want to really focus on what do you need to think about or consider or do with your money to protect yourself to reach financial independence if you're single by choice or chance, as her book title suggests. So that's what we're going to dive into for this episode of the podcast. And before I get to that

interview with Jackie, here's just a few words I want to share about this week's sponsor. This episode of the Mo Money Podcast is supported by Jenny Life. Just over a year ago, my older sister had her first child, and as chaotic as becoming a new mom can be, getting life insurance to protect her family was still at the top of her to-do list. Maybe me being her sister and always talking about the importance of life insurance, especially for women, had something to do with it. Well, now it's just gotten easier to get life insurance online thanks to Jenny Life. Jenny Life seeks to break the status quo and make it easier for women to get the protection they need for their families. For example, did you know that at one time in the United States, it was illegal for women to own

a life insurance policy? Although thankfully it is now legal, a recent survey found that only 67% of women have life insurance compared to 79% of men. Not only that, women typically get half the amount of coverage compared to men, meaning women are more likely to be underinsured. This is what Jenny Life is on a mission to rectify. How it works is Jenny Life asks you five simple questions, then curates plans from dozens of A-rated insurance carriers to provide you with a personalized, budget-friendly life insurance quote in seconds. No medical exams, no blood work. It's all online to offer you hassle-free, peace of mind policies that put your needs first. To learn more and to get your free life insurance quote today, visit JennyLife.com slash money.

Once again, that's JennyLife.com slash money. Jenny Life is currently only available in the US. Welcome, Jackie, to the Momenty Podcast. I'm so excited to have you on. Thank you also for fanning me on Twitter. I really wanted to appreciate you for that. Happy to. Happy to.

I'm so excited to have you on the show. This may sound weird, but before this, I did a lot of research about you and started watching some of your interviews on other people's podcasts, which is so interesting just to hear what you're talking about. So I'm like, oh, I can't wait to have her on the show because you have such an amazing story and just such a great positive... I don't know, vibe is the wrong word, but you're so positive and inspirational. You just feel good after hearing you and your story. So I can't wait to chat more money with you. Now, you're a CFP, you're an award-winning financial planner, and you've been in the industry for over 18 years. Let's kind of go back a little bit and share what inspired you to eventually

become a financial planner and financial literacy advocate, because I know also financial literacy is a really big component of what you do. Yeah, yeah. I'm really grateful to be at this point in my career where I get to do financial planning with clients, which I love doing, but I also get to do something I love around financial literacy and really cheerleading financial literacy for the industry. That's something I love. I love being a cheerleader for my clients too. And I love cheerleading around financial literacy because it's such an important subject matter. And, you know, for me, it started just with growing up, not having many money conversations with my immigrant family,

specifically my single mom who I grew up with. And she was a very big, powerful force in my life. And she was the kind of person who, from the time I could walk and talk, she was always encouraging me to never rely on a man and always have my own money, which I thought was interesting. I'm like, why is she telling me this, right? What do I care? I just wanted her to look after me, really. But she was always someone who was entrepreneurial and always getting me involved in the things that she was involved in. And Jessica, you're too young to remember this, but this is when child labor laws were a lot different. So you didn't get a chance to say no, because my mom had a catering business. She, you know, she was a coat checker. She did a lot of

like small businesses like Tupperware, which again, I'm totally aging myself, but for your listeners who actually know what selling Tupperware is all about, they'll get it. All of those things I was drafted to, not by choice, but you know what? She really encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit in me. Having said that, we never had money conversations, but I did learn, you know, how to work really, really hard from her. So fast forward, I'm in my early teens. My mother passed away when I was 16. So I became suddenly single at the age of 16. And really, that led me to my first foray with dealing with money and dealing with money on my own.

I was in a scenario where I was having to make a lot of adult decisions about money. And a really good friend of mine and I lived together at the time. So, you know, we were doing things like figuring out how to pay bills, figuring out to keep a roof over our head, you know, buy food, all of those things. And, you know, you don't even know, you're just too young. You're too young to even know that you should be terrified about all of this. I can't imagine when you said 16, I'm like 16. Oh my gosh, that is so young to deal with all that pressure and responsibility. Wow. And you know, funny, like I said, you're too young to know that you should be terrified.

But my mother was, like I said, one of those people who always didn't realize, but she was preparing me to be on my own. She made me do a lot of adult things when I was young, like take a plane by myself, you know, to Jamaica to see family down there. And she just made me feel like it was something I could do and this is you know again I'm dating myself pre-cell phones she just kind of made me feel confident that you know at the end of the day I was going to get to my destination and I was going to be okay and I really I think that being instilled that level of confidence being instilled

in me so early has been a game changer. So, you know, having all of those confidences made me think, I guess I can look after myself, right? I can make decisions financially. What I don't know won't hurt me, right? And so that was kind of what my teens and 20s looked like is, you know, I was always working two or three jobs while going to high school, university. That became something I became really good. So I should have known I was going to become an entrepreneur. You get used to doing that level of juggle, you just realize that that's kind of, you know, what happens. So fast forward again to I'm in my 20s now at my first and only just one full time job. It was a really interesting time. I was there for five years, the company went through transition. But while I was

there, because I got really good at budgeting and, you know, paying bills by myself. And, you know, it's interesting as a young person living on my own. I remember people coming to me for advice, thinking I had things all figured out because they saw me living on my own with my girlfriend. And, you know, the only thing we knew how to do was to work hard. That's it, right? So five years, I'm at this full-time job and the company's going through transition. I get an opportunity to leave that job. But while I'm there, I'm maxing out every single benefit that that company offers because I'm really good on living on not a lot. So that when I got transitioned, the company transitioned, and I was able to leave and needed someone to think about what I'm going to do with what I built up there. My same girlfriend said,

have you ever thought about talking to a financial planner? And I was like, what's that? I never even heard of that, right? How many people in their 20s know what a financial planner is? We wouldn't have heard about it going through high school or university. So she referred me. I don't even know if she realizes this, but she referred me to my first financial planner. And it just so happens that this person was a unicorn for me. She was a person of color and this was a she, right? Like she might as well have been a unicorn, Jessica. So here we are, I'm sitting down with her and we're having my very first money conversation. And she said something to me that just revolutionized my life, which was money could work for me. I'm like, what? Are you kidding me?

Listen, you're talking to somebody by that time. I was like 27, 26. And I'm thinking I've already worked so hard so many years. Tell me more. Tell me how this looks because I'm tired already. And I'd really love to know how money could work for me. And so, you know, what she was telling me about, you know, all of these different opportunities to make money work for me, I just kept thinking to myself, my gosh, I wish I had this conversation earlier. Like, what a difference, like what a game changer, right? And I remember asking her, how can I get into this industry? I need to learn everything I could for myself on how money could work for me. And truthfully, that led me to, you know, making that my second career. That's the second

full-time job I've ever had, Jessica, is doing this. So God help anybody who tried to hire me after all of this. Your story sounds so familiar. Like that's me, basically. Like similar, but I mean, I personally, I've never had an inspirational unicorn financial planner moment. I've met a lot of bad ones. I'll tell you that right now. Yeah. But it was that idea that, you mean, I don't have to, because similarly, I'm like, I was just working so hard in my twenties. It makes me think, it makes me tired just thinking about it.

I'm like, I don't want to live this life. If I'm tired now, I'm going to be way tired when I'm older. And so understanding that there, it's more to do. And I feel like we got lots of the similar advice. It's like, it's all about working hard, and you'll get compensated for your hard work never happened. Sorry, like, that's never happened to me in a job. That immigrant family that that's what they do. They brag about how hard they work. And I'm like, I don't want that trajectory for myself. Like, you know, essentially, I'm lazy that way. I don't want to work that hard. And I feel like I've put in my time, right? So all I wanted to know was how I could do this for myself. So, you know,

literally, I just kind of asked her, how do I get into this industry? And I started to get my licenses, started to work on my CFP, just started to research. Because I thought, as I started to get along in this process of going through getting all my licenses and becoming certified in this business, I thought, you know what, there's a lot of people that look like me, that have no idea what it means to understand how money works, and could be a game changer for them as well. Women, people of color, people like me who just have no knowledge and they don't understand how having those kinds of conversations can really make all the difference. Absolutely. And like you said, there, I mean, a lot has changed. And I think since the 10 years that like about 10 years ago is when I kind of found out

about this world about personal finance. Luckily, a lot has changed for the better, but there still needs to be more representation of people of color and women. Because when I started like 10 years ago, it was just white men. And for me, I'm like, that was intimidating to me. I'm like, I don't want to talk to some old white man. No, thank you. No, thank you. So I think it's, yeah, so important to have so many more people because I feel like that is the only way for those people that may not have ever had an opportunity to discover this. Because I think a lot of what I find, especially, you know, because I started out as like a blogger, is so many people have just never, ever discovered it. They never had that one person or someone to be like, hey, have you read this article? And we need more of that.

That's for sure. And more voices, for sure. Absolutely, 100%. And that's what made it so uncanny for me to actually sit down with a woman of color financial advisor. Like that was just like, because that already was modeling something that I could see I could be a part of, right?

And so that was crucial for me as well. But yeah, just the opportunity to talk about money was also something because money is really a point of vulnerability for a lot of people. It's certainly, like I said, not something that was discussed in my household. Probably if I asked my mom how much money she made, she would have raised her eyebrows at me or something like that. In fact, I could tell you stories, right? Like my mom had this thing that she'd go to the racetrack once a week and she'd actually bet, and she'd ask me for advice on this. And sometimes I would get all the numbers right and she'd win

money. So this is a conversation her and I had about money, our only money conversation. I'm like, so you won. So she gives me $20, which is probably a ton of money back then, but still. So I'm like, but how much did you keep? So she looked at me like, what do you mean? I said, but I won this money for you. How come I'm only getting 20? How much did you get? I want to know if I'm getting paid equitably. I should have known then I was going to be in the money tree. Yeah. I feel like some of us are just like more interested or inclined or just more curious. Like, I think that's what it was for me. It's like just the curiosity. Like, I want to know more. And it sounds like that's exactly, you started like it was just a personal curiosity. And then you're like, I need to tell other people about this because they're probably also curious and don't

know how to start these conversations. I think that's like the biggest thing for sure. Yeah, yeah. Because like I said, my mother who was offended when I asked her, this is pretty common with people who are either offended or you're fearful. And you just don't really know how to have like a conversation around finance. And it could be, you know, with your partner, it could be with yourself because sometimes it's just fearful. Like I talk to clients who tell me

they're afraid of opening up their credit card statements. So when we talk about interest rates and I'm like, well, how much are you paying on the debt that you have? I get a blank stare from people who just don't know. And I'm like, well, they've never opened the statement. They don't want to know. A part of them just doesn't want to know. Oh, it's easier to not know. That's for sure. Absolutely. And the truth is, it's the same when we're talking about loved ones, right? I do a lot

of financial writing around people who get married and they don't even know each other's bank balances, nevermind the credit rating. Like, again, perhaps we don't want to go there. Maybe we'll find stuff out we don't want to know. But then you want to find out on the other end of it, which is you've got a commitment, a ring, a wedding behind it, debt there. And then you find out your partner has bad credit or something like that. No money. So money conversations to me are such a crucial thing. And as much light as I can shine on that subject matter, I'm really super excited to do. Absolutely. And since you mentioned relationships, partnerships, you have a book called Single by Choice or Chance, which I think

is so fascinating because I don't know if I've stumbled upon a book quite like this, where you talk specifically about being single and finances for when you're single. I know a lot of single people and a lot of the time they have questions that are specific to being, you know, a single person. And most of it is just like, it's harder for me because I can't afford to buy a place on my own, or there's not as much financial security because I don't have a partner. What inspired you to write that book and what are, let's get, let's get into it. Well, it kind of comes back to what we were talking about, like being on my own for so long. And I, you know, I just was hearing this awesome podcast the other day, and it was

talking about resilience is all about failing early, right? Or, or so having those early experiences of failing, but I would also say it's it's having those early experiences of failing, but I would also say it's, it's having those early experiences of failing and getting confident around failing. Right. So, you know, I, like I said, I, my, probably my confidence was overconfidence because being on my own so early, I didn't know what could hurt me. But because I started stretching that muscle so early, I started to feel confident and, you know, I just kept having more experiences where I had to learn and I started to get more confident. And I think I wrote this book about being single for, because I was suddenly single so early,

because I think there are a lot of women who are fearful around finances and don't have a cheerleader for them and they need to be confident. And it doesn't start like tomorrow, you just have to choose, decide, like tomorrow is the day that you're going to decide to become more confident around money. And becoming confident about money means you don't know, and where do you need to learn? And you know, where are your strengths and weaknesses? So let's emphasize the positive if you're a saver, like I was, and start building investing rather than just saving. And if you are somebody who is, you was, and start building investing rather than just saving. And if you are somebody who is in debt, let's look at those credit card statements and figure out where you are. So the whole book is about embracing, taking care of yourself, taking

responsibility for your life. And just kind of like the discussion that we had before, Jessica, where I was saying to you, even women who are in relationships should take personal responsibility for their finances because you just never know when things can change, right? Like where all of a sudden you get a Dear Jill letter, never mind a Dear John letter, right? Someone says it's not working anymore. And then what? Or you can be the person, because I also talk to women who want to leave relationships, but they can't because they don't understand finance. So they don't feel confident. And then the other piece of it is a person could just die, right?

Somebody could pass away and you don't know where any of the finances are. You don't have any confidence. You have no sense about it. So I just think women should embrace being single from a financial perspective, understanding where their money is, taking responsibility for the future they want to build. And then you can create something really special with someone. But if not, you know that no matter what happens in the future, you're going to be okay. And that's really what the book is all about.

Yeah, no, I actually like this idea of being single financially in a relationship, because I think I've always done that in my relationship. And I've been with my husband for 13 years, but we've always been pretty independent people. I think that's why it works because he gives me my space. Right. But also I have this freedom with my money, like not that I'm going to leave him or he's going to leave me, but it's more, I like have the nightmare of if he dies, am I screwed? And we, I always think about like, if this happens, am I going to be okay? Cause you obviously don't plan for that, but I know people, it happens. It happens all the time. A hundred percent. And, and, and you know what, I talk about it being suddenly single, losing my mother. She always planned to be there, but she didn't make it, right? So that's my foray into

becoming single, but that could happen to anyone. And the reality is, if you're planning that the future that you're going to be in, you're going to be okay no matter what, then that's the future you can embrace. And so, you know, the industry has to help because the industry needs to do more to promote women being on their own. Yes, it's harder as a single person with finances, but that doesn't mean you should rather go shopping. It should mean that you go, okay, what does the numbers look like? I typically recommend that because that's how I did it is what I typically recommend that women or single people consider creating passive streams of income,

whether it's rental income or creating a side hustle of some kind that might lead to another opportunity. There's so many blogging. There's so many things you can do now to create side hustles. But the reality is it is more expensive to be single. So if we know that, let's just understand that and then figure out a plan for that. Absolutely. And yeah, I feel like as younger people like me, we get the side hustle because we've never been able to find good employment. So we've always had more than one

job. But I think it's like, it's actually, in my opinion, it's not a downside. It's actually really cool. Like my side hustle turned into my full-time thing. And it gave me financial freedom that I never thought I could have, you could have as early as I did because I never really liked any of my jobs. And so, yeah, it gives you more options and you may learn that you have a new passion that you never thought about. But yeah, I totally agree. And I tell people that all the time, have more than one stream of income because especially

during this pandemic that we're still living in, think we've all realized we know like i know a lot of people who are artists and musicians and luckily they've had some other streams of income we like as an example which is so fascinating it's kind of some of the things that have come out of this pandemic my husband has a friend who's an amazing musician obviously can't go touring and stuff like that he started his side hustle now you know he does this quite a bit now of making homemade pasta and selling it to people he knows on Instagram. And now we had some, it's amazing, but I'm like, genius, how smart that he's like, okay, well, I can't make money this way. How can I figure it out so I can still pay my bills and, and live my life? So, yeah. Well, this is it. There's often lots of different skills and talents people bring to the world. So

figure out, you know, what can I do that will create another income stream? I love writing. I love speaking. So these are all things that have created another income stream for me. Writing a book creates another passive income stream for you. Right. So I just I just think that's one thing for sure. People are learning from the pandemic, even if you're a business, right, if you're a business owner, is what are some complementary streams of income? We know large businesses think that way, right? That's why these huge behemoth companies buy companies that are their competitors to create, have that additional income stream. So we have to start thinking that way as well. And so all of this to say that, you know, people have to just embrace whatever their circumstances are, but build a fortress around their finances by figuring out ways to deal with some of the risks associated with their situation. So single people, if you're out there, start thinking about how you can create some other streams of income because you don't necessarily have a partner's income to rely on. But even once you get into that partnership scenario,

that doesn't mean all of a sudden you lose your financial identity, right? Like I often recommend that single people, just because women are getting married later, they're having children later, they're also bringing in their own money into these relationships, that we have to start being braver about those money conversations, right? To say, what's going on with my partner's finances? What's going on in terms of what my partner values? Because the worst thing you can do is get into a relationship with someone

and you're not on the same page from a financial perspective. I just read a study recently that came out in January that said people are ditching, in particular millennials, Jessica, they're ditching because they find out the person that they're seeing after staring romantically in their eyes have debt. And so they're ditching. They're not sticking around. Ditching like while they're dating or like into the marriage, like, oh. No, no, while they're dating. Oh, while they're dating or like into the marriage you're like oh no no while they're dating okay that's fine conversation they find out the person doesn't have any money or they're

in debt and they're like all of a sudden you don't look as cute to me you looked very cuter yesterday well i guess it depends too it's like do they have debt and are they okay with it or do they have debt and they're actively you know paying it down and have a plan? Big difference because you're like, someone's ambitious and someone maybe not so much. Perhaps, or they have a large amount of debt that might be potentially insurmountable for where you're at and some of the plans that you have. So in relationships, there's lots to discuss from a money perspective. The truth is it never ends, right? So you're in a relationship with someone you know, Jessica, you're constantly having money conversations because finances,

cash flow changes for people. So having that identity, that financial identity that's still yours and still having a plan financially for being single means, you know, you have a shared budget, our re-budget, I'll call it, but you also have a re-budget, our we budget, I'll call it, but you also have me budget, right? And they have their budget. So you, us, and them, right? So that's still something because that doesn't mean just because you're in a relationship, you're going to retire at the same time, right? You might have different things that you're doing, or you could be in a scenario

as well, where you're coming in with children from a previous marriage and you've got financial things that are specifically related to them that you're not necessarily expecting your partner to cover so there's there's a lot of emotional landmines for people discussing this so I'm you know somebody who again I'd surely let's have the conversation and if you're going to be the person who's asking, you have to be prepared to be the person sharing first, which is one of the reasons I talk specifically about my own finances, right? To people, when I have conversations with clients, I want them to know I'm not like, there's not this, you I'm here and you're there scenario, we're going to make space for one another. And I can't expect you to trust me unless I'm

prepared to be vulnerable too, right? And that's one of the reasons, and I don't know if you had read this anywhere, but that's one of the reasons I call myself a coffin on. That makes a lot of sense. One question I get often though, from people that maybe are entering kind of a newer relationship or if they just have never talked about it is how to start the conversation. Because maybe you're like very open to it, but your partner may not be, it seems like a very awkward conversation to start. Yes. So that's what I mean when I say the conversation has to start with you. So it kind of would go like this. So you and I, you're pretty cute. So if you and I are in a relationship, Jessica, I'd be like, Jessica, you know, you're, you're lovely. And we're getting

to that next level. You're thinking maybe you'll want to move in with me. I'm charming. And then all of a sudden I'm like, so we're thinking of moving in together. You know, here's what all my expenses look like. If we were going to get this rental apartment, this is what my finances look like. What would you pay for? What would I pay for? And let's figure out, because we were, you know, thinking about long-term getting into a relationship. Here's how much debt. So maybe we'll have some things if we want to buy a house or do whatever. What are our goals as a couple? What do we want to accomplish?

These are conversations that aren't happening. And if you're already in it, you're in this space where you're married to someone or in a long-term common law relationship with someone and you haven't had those conversations, it starts to eat at you. This is when I start seeing clients on their own, single people who aren't single, but potentially might be looking to be because they're like, you know, I just don't know if my partner and I are on the same page. I want to get a house. We've never been able to have a conversation about buying a home. This is something I'm interested in. They want to rent. Do you know what I mean? So that's to start having the conversation. And if that person isn't open,

so here's my tip of the day for your listeners. If they're not interested in having that conversation, might that be a red flag for the future? Because we're as a couple going to have to have lots of these conversations over the course of our lives. So what could potentially happen over the course of our communication long term if we don't get comfortable? I call it if you're not comfortable getting financially naked with someone, then everything else starts to go out the window. I know. And it is what I found interesting too is the conversations change. So if they're not open at all, then that should be definitely a red flag because the conversations are just going to get harder as you get older or as there's more assets involved or if you have kids. I just think back to when me and my husband started dating. We talk talk about a little bit more, just like who's paying for dinner or whatever. And then, you know, you move in together,

the whole other conversation, it's a whole other conversation. And yeah, I remember getting basically financially naked, like let's show our numbers. It was, it was a big, actually like, it felt like a commitment, like, oh wow. Even more so than actually moving in together. It is, it is. And that's kind of why I talk about being financially naked, because if you're going to get naked, both of you got to get naked, right? For anything to happen, for the magic to happen, you both need to get naked. I like that. So if only one of you is naked and the other's clothed, so you're actually the person sharing and the other person's still clothed. What an uncomfortable situation to be in. How intimate financially can you actually get?

And what's that going to say for your relationship over the long term? I like that as a visualization. It's like nothing can happen if one's clothed. So it should be the same with your finances. I love that. I think that's a great way if someone needs like a way to kind of talk about it with their partner. That's like one way to get a brooch. So just like, well, we can't, nothing's going to happen for one's clothes. So please ask your audience to forgive me. No, I love that. I think that's so great. I think that's so great. Yeah. I think, I think that's, that's something I think, um, because of this trajectory that women are on where we are getting married later and having kids later, it's something that we just

have to start, you know, getting comfortable with because it's not going to go away. You're 100% right. Relationships change and there's so many layers to finances because maybe when we start this relationship that we were talking about and you have all the money, but then, you know, you lose the job. Now I have all the money

and we don't have an open communication where finances are concerned. You know, that's the major reason people break up. So let's just decide that we're going to embrace the conversation and attract people who are prepared to have the conversation with us. Because, you know, truthfully, if you, like you were saying before, if only one of you is naked. So if you're in a relationship with someone and you're not comfortable having that conversation, it just gets harder and harder. And the honeymoon goes really fast.

Yeah, exactly. You actually find that sometimes if you're still challenged, think about, you know, enlisting a financial planner, having somebody bridge that gap. Because that's another reason I call myself a confidant, because I find that I'm definitely the person who tends to be the equal, the person who's unbiased in the room. And I can facilitate those conversations that both partners want to have with one another, and they might be shy to do it on their own. I'm just a listener. And I like, and

you can, your audience can do that. They can find somebody who can be the neutral third party that they can both share and nobody feels like sides are being taken. Absolutely. Before I let you go, just because you do have this wonderful book about being single, what are some key things, if you're a single woman or maybe a single man, and you're like, I'm probably gonna be single forever. And that's maybe my choice. What are some key things that they should do to kind of create that fortress for themselves to protect themselves like we kind of talked about? Yeah, I think first is creating that passive income stream and looking at ways they can do that. So that would be the first thing.

The second is to get do everything they can to take a closer look at the debt that they have, what they're paying on interest, get rid of debt sooner than later. And I think there's this tendency and women tend to have a preoccupation with that when it comes to debt versus saving. But double digit debt is, you know, it's harder to make a case for investing when you have double digit debt, because you can't always expect to get double digit returns in the markets. But if you have high debt, high interest debt, so I'd say anything over eight, nine, 10%, look at ways to get rid of debt sooner and look at consolidation, maybe a credit line, look at your credit rating to see, you know, where you are. If you have less than 650 as a credit score, look at your credit rating to see where you are. If you have less than 650 as a credit score, it's going to be harder. So check your credit score. There's lots of

companies that will give you free credit scores out there. So that's really important. And then the other big thing is for women to build their confidence around investing. Because women, the stats say that women save more than they invest. And I think that that's true because we haven't really been invited to the party around investing. And so I would probably say that's only true because no one's ever really sat down with us, explained risk in a way that makes sense to us. And, you know, a lot of times I've had clients that said to me that, you know, their investment advisor would tell them their investments are up this year and then next year they're down. And then they don't have any sense of, well, what does that mean for my overall circumstances? And so if you're working with

an investment advisor like that, trust your gut if you don't feel comfortable. But the other piece of it is you can always sit down with someone who's a financial planner and then do the math. So you can sit down and figure out what's the worst rate of return I could get away with earning to maintain the lifestyle I want by the time I'm ready to slow down. Even if you don't, your money can retire at that point if you decide. So it's just doing the math to figure out what's the worst rate of return I can get away with. And then you can start keeping that information in mind as you look at investment opportunities. And then when you look at investment opportunities,

look for long-term performance, understand the fees you're paying, understand, you know, what's the worst rate of return that that investment has had in the past so that you can get comfortable. Work with somebody to, you know, draft something called an investment policy statement so you understand and you can look back on, this is the crucial piece, you can look back on what did I say my investment objectives were? What's the timeframe? What's the worst rate of return that I'd be able to handle? What's, you know, what's my average rate of return? And is the investments I'm doing on that trajectory on that path? So, you know, write things down. Because sometimes when we're fearful, it's easy to just go there. Such great advice. And I know you have so much more. So where can people find

more information about you follow you continue to get your good advice? They can check me out, feel free to check out our website, it asked Jackie.ca. There's all kinds of resources. I'm not sure if that's where you went, Jessica to check out our podcast. But there's financial literacy videos, we're always adding more. We have a what's your financial IQ. So if you're someone who wants to understand what's my IQ, how much do I understand about finance? We have a very short one minute questionnaire that you can fill out to figure out, you know, what's your scorecard say in terms of what your financial IQ is. So feel free to reach out to us. Feel free to reach out to our team.

The other thing I was going to direct you to is I do an Instagram live every Wednesday, live at five is what we call it. You can find me at I am Jackie Porter, if you're looking for my Instagram handle. And we just discuss coronavirus and finances. What do you need to know? Every week it's different. This week we're going to talk about coronavirus and teams. How has it affected teams? Are there some money-saving scenarios around that? You know, what else can we learn? Because there's, you know, there's always silver linings to everything. And, you know, I'm a positive person, so let's figure out what the silver linings are and embrace those. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show with me. It was such a pleasure having you here and sharing all your wisdom with my listeners. Thank you so much, Jessica. I'm going to start fanning you if I

haven't already. Appreciate it. And that was episode 246 of the Mo Money podcast with Jackie Porter. You can find her at askjackie.ca. Make sure to follow her on Twitter. Her handle is askjackieporter. Same with Instagram. No, sorry. Instagram is different. I am Jackie Porter and you definitely want to follow her on Instagram because as she mentioned, she does Instagram lives every Wednesday and I may be on an upcoming one. So if you want to join us for an Instagram live, make sure to follow her and also myself if I can do a little self promo on Instagram, you can find me at Jessica I Morehouse is where you can find me. Also, you can follow the Mo Money podcast on

Instagram at Mo Money podcast is where you can find that. Oh, yeah, I'm going to share a few important things, including a book giveaway of Jackie's book, which you will want to enter. So stick around. Just have a few words I want to share about this episode's podcast sponsor. This episode of the Mo Money Podcast is supported by Jenny Life. Here's a statistic that may shock you. Not only do men have more life insurance than women, on average, they have twice as much coverage. Jenny Life is striving to shrink that gap. No matter if you're single, a working mom, expectant mom, or your kids are four-legged fur babies, if you have dependents and want to protect them, you need life insurance. And Jenny Life can

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Jenny Life is currently only available in the US. Okay, first and foremost, I should remind you, if you want to check out the podcast show notes on my website for this episode, that, you know, if you want Jackie's info, some of the information that we shared in this episode, a link to the contest book giveaway of Jackie's book, go to jessicamorehouse.com slash 246. You can find any show notes for every episode of my show. Well, you can go to jessicamorehouse.com slash podcast, and that'll have every single episode. Or just go jessicamorehouse.com slash whatever the number of the episode is. That's how you could find that info. Since I mentioned her book, Single by Choice or Chance, yes, I'm going to give away a copy. So all you have to do is go to jessicamorehouse.com slash

contests and you'll find more information about how to enter that contest. Also, reminder, if you didn't listen or didn't catch it on last week's episode, I'm giving away the Go-Giver, a copy of Bob Berg's, the book, The Go-Giver as well. I'm going to be pretty much, if anyone is on the show and has a book, I'm going to give away a copy because I like to give away books because it's like, what a great gift or thing to give away is the knowledge, right? So that is pretty much where I will put all the information about all my book giveaways is jessicamorehouse.com slash contest.

So check that out. You'll also get a reminder about all this stuff if you're an email subscriber. So if you go to jessicamorehouse.com slash subscribe, you'll get on my email list. You'll be notified. I pretty much send out my email newsletter every, every second week, sometimes every two weeks, not weekly anymore. Cause I just don't have the time. Sometimes I just like, I've been, I've been busy. I have been, I've been busy. I need a break. I need a break. I'll tell you. I know, I know. I just came back from a break, but I already need a break.

It's been a lot. But yeah, probably because I've just been busy studying. I cannot wait to move on with my life after finishing this Canadian Securiters course. I'll tell you that right now. It's just taking over my life. And I have lots of other fun projects that I want to focus on. But that's okay. That's okay.

There's time. Everything will work out. that's okay. That's okay. There's time. Everything will work out. It's okay. One thing I do want to mention in case you don't know is besides this podcast, of course, I have a blog. JessicaMorris.com slash blog is where you can find some new articles. I am posting more articles lately, but I also have been dedicating more time and effort to my YouTube channel. So make sure to, well, I think if you go jessicamorehouse.com slash YouTube, or just go to YouTube and just like, Google my name, Jessica Morehouse, you'll find my channel there. But making a lot more videos

for my channel. So, you know, make sure to check it out. What else should I share with you before I let you go? That might be enough. That might be enough for now. I've got, I've got more exciting things coming, coming up, but I'll just share those with you as they happen. So thank you so much for listening to this episode. I will see you back here next Wednesday with a fresh new episode. Have a good rest of your week. And I'm going to send you some good vibes because you sent me good vibes for last month. I'm sending you some good vibes. So I hope you have an amazing rest of your week and I'll see you back here next Wednesday. This podcast is distributed by the women in media podcast network find out more at women in media.network