More Money Podcast - 354 Taking Care of Your Mental and Financial Well-being - Jason Vitug, Author of Happy Money Happy Life and CEO of Phroogal

Episode Date: February 15, 2023

This week I have a return guest who last appeared on the show in 2016 (Episode 64)! Jason Vitug is back on the show to give an update on what he’s been up to these past 7 years, including all the details of his new book, Happy Money Happy Life–A Multidimensional Approach to Health, Wealth, and Financial Freedom. Jason is a wellness advocate, bestselling author, entrepreneur, producer, and founder of the financial wellness website Phroogal. His first book, You Only Live Once: The Roadmap to Financial Wellness and a Purposeful Life explored how to get your financial life together through budgeting and money mindfulness. This time around Jason is tackling mental health and how it affects all aspects of our life, including money in his new book, Happy Money Happy Life. In this episode, Jason shares the 8 wellness dimensions and how they relate to our mental and financial well-being. He also explains the difference between mental and emotional health and why he is a big advocate for mental health. I’m so happy to talk about such an important topic on the show and it was great to have Jason share the insights he gained from researching for his new book! For full episode show notes visit: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/354 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to the More Money Podcast. This is episode 354, and I am your host, Jessica Morehouse. Welcome back, or if you're new, welcome. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you like what you hear because, I mean, I'm just, I'm happy that you landed here. I am so excited to share this episode with you. It has been in the bank for a little while, and I'm thrilled because my next guest is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite people and authors in the personal finance space. But also, he is a repeat guest. If you are a longtime listener, and I know there are a ton of you, or if you are one of those amazing listeners who emails me or DMs me saying,

hey, I recently discovered your show and I've listened to every single episode started from episode one, which apologies, that was a rough, I mean, that first season was rough. I didn't know what I was doing. And it was rough, man. But you know what? I was bootstrapping and I was doing it on top of my day job. So hey, I've got a soft spot for that first year of the podcast. But I've got Jason VTug back on the show. And I am so excited because he is back to discuss his brand new book. I was really excited. I'm like, after he was on my show for episode 64 back in October 2016. Yeah, a long time ago. He was on the show to talk about his first book, which is called

You Only Live Once, which is an amazing, amazing book. And, you know, he took a few years. I mean, he's been busy. He speaks, you know, around the globe. But he was waiting for basically the world to be ready for a second book. And I feel like it is the perfect time for him to come out with his new book, which is called Happy Money, Happy Life. But in case you have never heard of Jason before, though, I would suggest going back to episode 64 if you haven't listened to that already. Jason is a wellness advocate, a bestselling author with his first book, an entrepreneur, a speaker, producer, and founder of the financial wellness website frugal.com, which is spelled P-H-R-O-O-G-A-L dot com, just so you kind of get it. And he has come out with this book that I think we need.

Hey, I love a good prescriptive how-to personal finance book. I mean, I've got a lot of those authors on the show, and I think it's so important to have those types of books when you're looking for those action items, that guide to help you improve your financial life. But I think it's equally as important to talk about money in a different way, such as the connection between money and just personal happiness and joy and just kind of going a bit deeper. And so that's what we're going to be talking about on this show in this episode. And I cannot wait. So let's not wait. Let's get to that interview with Jason. Welcome back, Jason, to the More Money Podcast. It's been, I'm pretty sure when I emailed you, I think it's been since 2016, you were on the show and now it's 2023. How did the time go by so fast? I don't know, but

I'm thrilled to have you back on the show and I'm thrilled that you have a new book coming out very soon called Happy Money, Happy Life. Welcome. Thank you so much, Jessica. So excited to be here. I just want to make sure that we don't visit ourselves, like we don't revisit this conversation every six years when I come out with a book. I know. It's, yeah, time has flown by. I know. But I always enjoy my moments when we have these conversations and I'm excited to be here to share more about this book that I fell in love with writing. Absolutely. You know, I know we haven't, I know it's been a long time, but I have, you know, been following you ever since you were on my show. And it's been such a, I mean, you're one of my favorite people to follow because you just have such a unique, I think, perspective and outlook on money. It's not just about, I mean, I go to your channels, you know, when I need some breath of fresh air, when my feeds are just full of people talking about, you know, getting rich or retiring early and

just make me feel like crap. Your stuff is all about really getting back to, I think, basics and what's important in life, right? Like really reiterating the fact that money is simply a tool. It's not the goal, right? And so I'm thrilled that you have a book now that really, I think, dives into some of those themes that I love to read about. I know my listeners are really excited about.

So first, tell me a little bit about the process. It's been a while since your first book, which is called You Only Live Once. And this one, Happy Money, Happy Life, what was the inspiration for this second book? Did you want it to be a continuation of that first book or what really got you excited to do this brand new book? Well, after I wrote You Only Live Once, I wanted to write a second book, but I wanted to talk more about mental and emotional health as it relates to money. And when I proposed the second book, because they wanted me to write a second book, they're like, Jason, do you think money is taboo? Well, talking

about mental health and emotional well-being is a no-no. You cannot talk about that. And I said, I will not write another book until I can talk about this subject. And so it has taken many years, the pandemic, the quarantine for publishers to realize that people actually want to have these conversations, that people are having these situations and they need some guidance. They need some stories. They need some inspiration and where to aspire to get out from where they are to some other place. And so that's what really captivated me in writing it. And so I've been writing this book since I finished You Only Live Once. And I look back now with all my events and all my speaking gigs, I always start off with a question, what brings joy and happiness into my life? So it's never

about what are your financial goals, what are your financial plans? And so I think I was always on this journey to really talk more about happiness. And that was like the genesis for happy money, happy life. I wanted people to understand that money isn't everything, but it weaves itself into most of things. And so when we understand money in this proper context,

as you mentioned, as a tool, but the next elevation of that statement is money is a tool to create what? And for most of us, the answer is always, I want to be happier, or I want to experience more joy. And how do we utilize money then to do those things? Because I'm sure you've read a lot of reports, right? And you've talked to a lot of people who say, oh, money can't buy happiness, and stressing the word can't. And all the studies now are pointing that money can buy happiness, but not the way that we think. Yeah, it's not about buying stuff and stuff will make you happy. I think that's where people get tripped up. They're like, oh, if I have a bunch of luxury stuff, that's going to make me happy. It's like, no, no, no, that's not what you're saying.

Yep. It's not. It's not at all. And it's not about when I talk about wellness, it's not about buying candles and going on spa retreats. And your face mask. Face mask. I love those things. I do those things. We do. But it's also about spending money in a way that it affects our wellbeing. And that has, again, relates to owning our time.

That relates to our mental health. That relates to better workplaces. And that's where the multidimensionality aspect comes into play in this book. And so the approach is something that I didn't come up with. It's something that I actually started experiencing through my journey and realizing that there were different aspects of my life that was being affected by money. And so I thought I came up with like the most ingenious system, right? I was like, wow, it's not just financial wellness. There's mental wellness, emotional, and et cetera, et cetera.

And then I dove deeper and I wanted to go into the research to see, and I discovered the eight wellness dimensions, which include mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, environmental, occupational, social, and financial well-being. And so these are the things that make us, us. We are multidimensional, multilayered, multifaceted beings. And if you're wondering why, if you have certain aspects of your life put together, but something is missing, chances are one of these dimensions have been ignored or we're not funneling the right resources, time or money into them to support that dimension. What do you find when you were going through some of those dimensions?

Were there any that for you personally, you were like, oh, some of these I'm ignoring. Like even when you were saying that, like there's a few of those I need to pay more attention to. Or even when you were doing your research and, you know, I assume talking to a lot of people, were there some common dimensions that people maybe didn't put enough attention on? Yeah. So, so there are a few of them that I want to talk about, but the number one is really the mental health aspect of it. I think we all understand that if we're experiencing financial distress, that it leads to mental stress. But through research, through conversations with psychologists and psychiatrists and a ton of really smarter people than myself in this field, there is a connection between mental health issues and financial outcomes. So if we are experiencing mental health crisis, we tend to make financial decisions that then impair our financial

ability to live our dream life. And so there's an inverse relationship to that. And so there tends to be a stigma among people to believe, oh yeah, well, it makes sense. If you're bad with money, if you have credit card debt, if you have student debt, et cetera, well, yeah, you're going to be stressed about that. But there's a good amount of people and the studies show that if you are stressed because of other things that are not related to money, you're going to use money as a coping mechanism and that's going to lead to financial distress. And that was an aha moment for me, because there's a point in my life through this journey, even after writing the first book, I was experiencing financial success that I've

never experienced before, but still making bad financial decisions. And I'm sharing this and I'm laughing right now, Jessica, because it was one of those moments where I was ashamed and I felt guilty and embarrassed that I'm talking about financial wellness. And here I am making a lot of money and still making bad financial decisions. And then eventually through this process, realizing that there were some mental health struggles I needed to address that were perpetuating these bad financial habits. And once I started tackling those, then I was able to kind of curtail and change the habits that was impairing my ability to truly live financially free.

I, that resonates so much with me because sometimes, I mean, listen, like we're all humans. And as someone who is similar to you, I talk about money all the time. I'm called a money expert on the news. When I mess up, it is like the bit I am so ashamed, even though, you know, we go through things all the time. And sometimes we have those urges. Believe me, I've been going through that a lot at the beginning of the year where I'm just like, what am I doing with my life? And I haven't done it. I've reeled myself back. But oh my gosh, the urge to buy something that I think will fix whatever I'm going through, like maybe I should get a Peloton. Maybe that'll help me exercise more because if I exercise more, then I'll be happier and I'll be fitter and all the

da-da-da-da. And you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, let's calm down because that is an expensive bike to buy. And let's see what's actually going on. So that resonates so much with me. And I'm sure other people listening are like, yep, yep, go through that all the time. I'm guessing, you know, obviously, this is something I think the first step probably is recognition. But then when you recognize, okay, there's some gaps here. What are some steps to then kind of overcoming it? I mean, I know that's like a big question, but when you recognize my mental health is struggling and it's affecting all other parts of my life, especially my financial life, what should I do next? Because that's, I think, where people get stuck. They're like, I don't know what to do. Yeah, it can be really overwhelming. And there are so many things that I've learned in this process to help us that are tactical.

And I want others to understand that there's a difference between being clinically diagnosed with a mental health issue and going through a mental health crisis. And so that's important to know that there is a difference. There are different resources, different ways to combat these different mental health issues. So from my standpoint, I want to focus on those who are having mental health crisis because of a whole host of situations that's happening around them that's affecting their financial situation. That has a lot to do with how your brain is processing your current predicament. That's because you're probably just hearing the same, getting the same information that

you normally do. You're in the same environment. You're not having new experiences and you're not gaining knowledge. And so that actually impairs you, keeps you from making different decisions. And so when you don't make different decisions, you end up in the same predicament over and over and over again. So one tactical way for you to improve your mental health or what I call mental resilience is to get out there, work with a mental coach, read books, listen to podcasts, gain knowledge. And people go, wow, it's that simple?

So basically what happens is that when you start introducing new concepts, new data points, new experiences into your brain, your brain starts processing all situations differently. So you don't know what you don't know. Once you start knowing, your brain will start operating differently. So when you think there is no way out of your financial situation, once you start listening to other people's stories, once you start reading these books, once you start taking these workshops or paying for a coach, you're going to realize, wait, there is a way out of my predicament. And it's hard for people to understand or make that connection until they go through the process. And it literally is

gain more knowledge, have different conversations, improve your network will help improve the mental situation that you may be in. And I think that is kind of one of the most affordable way of utilizing your money to improve your mental health. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, I mean, yeah, that's, it makes so much sense. And I think often we don't even realize how routine our lives, our habits are, like going on the same social media platforms, seeing the same people on our feeds, watching the same types of shows, just consuming content or talking to the same people. There's a lot of sameness. And I think when you are going through something, if you feel like you're stuck and I've learned everything there is to know, it feels

like your world is so small. And like you said, there's no way out. I'm stuck. And that could be a hopeless place to be. And yeah, the only way to get out is to change your state in some way. Sometimes it's a little thing that I like to do like when I feel kind of off or whatever is literally to get up and move, change your physical state. That's a small little thing you do. But yeah, like you said, the bigger picture is you need some newness. You need to integrate something different, something new, something maybe that kind of scares you because it's outside of your routine to then think differently. Absolutely. Now, since you mentioned one of the things that people really want to know is how can I use money to make me happier or to have more joy in my life?

I'm curious, though, I feel like there's a lot more conversations about what does happiness actually mean? Because it's when you think about happiness, I mean, no one's happy all the time. When you say happiness or joy or that particular state of mind where you can't be happy. You need to be able to react, especially in dangerous moments, right? You can't just be happy with a situation that's pretty bad. And so I want people to understand that happiness is an emotion. It comes and goes. But you can be effective in terms of choosing happiness when it suits and helps you heal

and in your growth process. And so for me, happiness is a choice. Happiness is a result of the situations that we're in and our ability to look at situations through a different lens, a different perspective. And that boils down again to the different experiences and conversations and people around us. And so for instance, some people might be around others who impair their ability to experience joy because they're always negative. Changing your environment, changing your network of people will introduce you to people a bit more positive. And you'll notice that your moods have changed, that you're able, in essence, you've chosen happiness by choosing different people.

And so the studies I've read and the people I've spoken with that I've covered in this book, and there's about a hundred people, I did this informal, what I call my artful, non-scientific study in happiness, they've all defined happiness as a sense of control over time. And I think that lends itself to that first book that I mentioned, You Only Live Once, like time is the most valuable resource. But we go even further in terms of time being used to be with loved ones and spending quality time with them. And also happiness includes spending time on work that's meaningful and purposeful. And so it's interesting the various ways people defined happiness for themselves, but they all centered around the idea that you have more control over your time

and you can pick and choose how you spend it and where you spend it and what you do with it in terms of creating into this world. From the director of The Greatest Showman comes the most original musical ever. I want to prove I can make it. Prove to who? Everyone. So the story starts. Better Man, now playing in select theaters. Now, it seems, you know, logical that we can use money as a tool to realize the definition of happiness that we can kind of create for ourselves. But I think you probably recognize this too. A lot of people don't feel like there is a connection between happiness and money because most people, they've just had negative experiences with money. Money has been the thing that has held them back. That has been something that makes them feel not as worthy or valuable as other people because they

have less. How can you shift this mindset or this feeling of money being a negative to something that can be a positive in your life? Yeah. So money isn't everything, but it impacts most things. And as in most things, it's going to impact those wellness things we've talked about. And so for us to look at money as something negative, as something unimportant, we don't realize how money is woven into society, into our very being, whether you agree with it or not, because I certainly don't agree with loving the idea that money dictates how the world revolves. It's just a society that we've built. And money takes away a lot of the struggles that money solves. So I want people to understand that money can solve money problems, but money can't solve life problems. And if we can solve money problems,

then you will have the time and perhaps the financial resources to find answers to your life problems. And starting with that mindset, that mindset of scarcity, that mindset of fear around money will limit a person from making the shifts necessary to control money in a way to solve those money financial issues. And so if you're struggling with putting food in the table, paying rent, paying for childcare, it is very difficult for you to experience any level of happiness. And I fell into that camp where money can't buy happiness because money can't do this, this and that. But then I realized, well, if I could put food on the table, I could pay my rent and my bills. Well, that gives me the opportunity to experience a little bit more joy. And so I want people to really reflect on that relationship with money and what money is allowing them to do.

And now once that is done, it leads them to trying to figure out how to answer their life problems. And again, it boils down to, and this is worth repeating, money solves money problems. So what are your money problems? But money does not solve life problems and then you can start trying to figure out what those life problems are and and then eventually you'll realize that so for instance you know there are some people who will look at they they they want to make more money so they can purchase a vehicle and they believe because they don't make enough, they can't afford the car of their dreams. So that is a financial problem because you need money to buy this expensive luxury vehicle.

But if you're looking at your life problems, you have to ask yourself, well, what is the need for an expensive luxury vehicle? And you may come to the conclusion that you might feel unworthy. You might not feel respected at work, or you're looking for a way to feel to be seen. I mean, those are life problems. Those are things that need to be addressed in a different way. And in the instance of purchasing a vehicle and believing that it's just a money problem because you can't afford it and well, guess what?

You buy a car that you can't afford, you get stuck at the job you don't necessarily like and not realizing you can't solve the life problem of wanting more control over your time when you're focused on just making sure that you can pay the monthly car bill. And so I want people to understand too, it's a process. And that's what I hope people understand with this book. It dives deeper into the idea and into the process of shifting your

mindset and showing you how it weaves itself into everything. Yeah, it really does. Even just you sharing that example. One thing I've been doing lately as we record this, the start of the new year, and I've been writing out my goals. I've got some financial goals and also just looking at the year ahead and kind of reflecting on 2022 to be like, what happened? Gosh, that was a rough year, very expensive, inflation, interest rates, all those things. And I feel like that's just like what I've been talking about all the time is just how expensive everything is. And people are struggling. It's been a rough couple of years since 2020, right? But within that, I think when you're saying that, I thought, what a great idea that someone could do after this episode is literally just write out all of the things that they feel like are their biggest financial struggles

or things that, you know, I need to buy a car, I need to, I'm going to save up for a home, all of these things. But then go a step further, like you said, is like, well, you want this expensive car. And it seems like that the solution is to get more money so you can afford the car. But why do you actually want that car? Is it just because you need a vehicle? Or like I said, is it because you're trying to fill some other void? And I think often when we have a lot of big goals that make us anxious, then we feel like, oh, there's no point and we just spiral.

It's because we haven't taken the time to really identify why do we actually want these things? Because sometimes they just come into our head and then they get stuck in there and because we haven't taken the time to really identify why do we actually want these things? Because sometimes they just come into our head and then they get stuck in there and we don't take the time to really quantify why is this so important and is it important? And then maybe you realize I actually don't need this luxury vehicle. And guess what? You just kind of solved that money problem. Now you can maybe actually purchase a car that is within your budget. Yeah. And that frees you up to working on the life problems. I mean, ultimately money problems is solved by money. And so you can list all the money problems you

have and figure out how to use money. And when I say use money, that's the budgeting process. That's a cashflow strategy. How do you allocate the money towards these money problems? How do you bring more money in? How do you cut expenses? Those these money problems? How do you bring more money in? How do you cut expenses? Those are ways and tactics to solve your money problems. But ultimately, and this is my belief, we're all looking to find answers to our life problems. And so when people look at, they look at wanting to purchase a home, well, that is a worthy pursuit financially, it's also something that people are looking for

in terms of security or a sense of home and belongingness. And sometimes I find people, and I've spoken with people who purchased a home and realized that financially they were able to do it. And then as the process unfolded, they realized they didn't get the security that they thought that they were having. And they're more at that fear, financial fear stage than ever. And that's, again, too, unraveling what the root issues are, unraveling the differences between what you're trying to solve with money and what money can't solve. And like you kind of suggested at the beginning, one way to kind of start doing that work on yourself is, you know, if you can, and that's the other thing too, if you

can afford to, because, you know, sometimes you may get some health benefits through work that'll pay for a mental health professional. You know, me, I'm self-employed. So when I work with someone, I have to pay cash. And that's the other kind of unfortunate barrier. It's like mental health is real. I think we're talking about it a lot more now. And we know how it can have such an impact on your financial life as well. And not everyone can necessarily figure out how can I, I want to work on myself and get that help. And I can't, you know, can't afford it. I know there are luckily lots of nonprofits available and there's apps, there are options out there. But I think that's another unfortunate barrier that a lot of people are realizing when they want to do the work on themselves. Honestly, that was a big barrier for

myself. Gosh, going back, how long have I lived in Toronto? Almost 10 years, or maybe it was nine years ago. And I was working a job. I was very unhappy with my life. We'd been in Toronto for about a year. And I was just struggling with adjusting and didn't like my job and things like that. And so I'm like, okay, I've never saw a therapist before, but I think I'm going to do it. And I'm sure I've got, you know, my work benefits will cover it. And it was such a difficult process that, you know, you had to go to a physician first and then you had to basically prove that you do have mental health problems and then they have to write you recommendation and then there's a certain list of people that you may be recommended for or like

you know approved for it was it was no way so I didn't even do it so I honestly I eventually waited several more months and just did on my own paid paid cash that I had to save up for. And so it's like, it's just, yeah, this is another rant on my end. But it's when you want life change is actually figuring out a way that could be a money problem too, is finding the money in some way or another or some, you know, program that is more affordable to, to actually move forward with it. Yeah. I think one of the hardest things that people can do is recognize that they're facing some mental health struggles and then going through the process, like they're, they're now ready to have these conversations and to do the work and realizing that the process in itself is causing mental distress. And, and it is, it is a frustrating

process. And I've certainly spoken with, with many people who've gone through this. And like what you said, there are more resources available, there are apps and things like that. And that goes back to my first statement that once you have different conversations, once you are aware of the issues that you're looking to address and you start reading up on different ways or different life situations or different stories, that's going to help you reframe your situation. And because you do the work that you do, you are aware that, okay, there is an alternative way for me to get the help that I need, that it's a little bit easier, but it might cost me a bit more money. And I want people to understand that the reason why you might not think that there is a way out

or there is a way into the help that you need, it's that you haven't been exposed to it just yet and just continuing to do the work, allowing yourself to listen and be receptive to new ideas and be receptive to gaining knowledge, that is a fundamental shift in your actual brain cognition, your brain functioning, and that will help you reassess and figure out the alternative ways to get the help that you need. And one thing, Jessica, that I wanted to talk about here is also emotional health, because I'm not sure if you were in this same situation that I was in. I thought mental and emotional health were the same thing. And it was just, okay, because I tend to say thoughts and feelings. And psychologically, in the psychiatry world, they're looking at, okay, yeah, that is psychological, right?

Mental and emotional, they're looking at, okay, yeah, that is psychological, right? Mental and emotional. They're intertwined. And in the dimensions in the book, I talk about how they are overlapping, interconnected, like with all the other dimensions. But the one thing that I found surprising through all the studies and conversations I had with experts is that emotions are a response to the environment and the situation that we're in. That is all what emotions are. So if we become attuned to what we're feeling, that gives us a sense of the situation and the environment. So if we feel negative emotions, it means there's something about our situation, financial, that we need to get out of. Or if there is negative situation about an environment, it might be related to work,

it might be related to a partner, what have you. It is just a response. So basically, what I've learned is that we are not our feelings. Our emotions, again, is just telling us. It's perceiving kind of an unsafe condition. Or when we experience joy, it's telling us this is a great situation to be in. And what tends to trip us up is that we aren't taught emotional intelligence. So we have mental health, mental resilience, emotional health is helped by emotional intelligence. And we need to be taught emotional intelligence because it isn't just about saying, this is how I feel and sharing that. It's about assessing these feelings, managing them, and expressing them in a way that it's a response to the situation, not simply a reaction. Certainly we can react at some point,

but we really need to respond to change what is cultivating this emotional response. So when it comes back to the financial stresses that people are experiencing and you're in dire straits, well, look at the situation. If the situation is you're avoiding creditors, you're avoiding the debt, you're avoiding the conversation about money with your partner, or you're avoiding the conversation with your manager about the raise, the answer to feeling less stress is to change the situation. And that is going against your brain's protective mechanism to keep the status quo. So I hope you're following here. And it's just one of the most interesting things.

And so sometimes you have to go against what you think and truly follow what you feel. And that is to say, I need to have that conversation with my partner. I need to have that conversation with my boss. I need to talk with my creditors and address these situations head on because that ultimately will shift the environment. And then eventually you'll start feeling eased

because if you don't address these stressors, your emotions will continue to run rampant. And eventually it will wear down your mind. And for prolonged mental agony, it will turn into a clinical diagnosable mental health issue. And so there was this connection that I learned about. And so for me, whenever I'm in this situation and people are expressing their emotions, I look at and say, okay, what's the environment that's causing that? And that could be in the financial dimension. It could be the occupational, so the work environment. It could be in the physical environments that we inhabit.

It's unsafe at home, unsafe in the neighborhood and things like that. And that's why I think when people start looking at the multidimensionality of their lives, you can then start seeing the areas where you have strength and the areas of weakness and then be able to lean in to those dimensions of strength to be able to fortify yourself. And that will ripple effect in all these other areas. And so when people are thinking, oh, wow, there's so many things I need to do to become well, I want you to understand that we all come into this world with specific strengths or things that we also learn. Some of us are better with money. Some of us are professionally successful money. Some of us are

professionally successful, have a healthy social network, and we can utilize those to strengthen other areas. And one last example here is that if you are facing mental health issues related to any type of situation, when you look at these dimensions and you notice that you have a healthy social network, you have people in the field, you have people who are openly talking about their personal struggles and they're offering resources, now you understand that your social wellness, that dimension is a strength that you need to lean onto, that means you actually need to actively, proactively reach out to your social network for more guidance and resources. Doing so will impact those other dimensions. Oh, gosh. We went deep. I love it. I feel like I was actually just, I mean, I feel

like honestly, I was just having a conversation with my husband about emotions. And I think he was listening to podcasts or reading a book about something along the same lines about it's your reaction. And what's, yeah, we aren't taught to feel our feelings. We're really taught to push it aside, to bury it down. And that's why so many of us have probably had a life experience in which we find ourselves in a situation that we know is not healthy. We're, you know, wish we weren't in it. And we feel like but now we feel like we've been in it for too long. It's too hard to get out. And that's because we've been ignoring those red flags, those feelings that we had, you know, those things inside us telling us this isn't

a good situation. We need to get out and we don't get out. I mean, or we wait a long time and we're like, gosh, I wish I did that sooner. And that's what happens when we repress these emotions. They become ingrained into how our brain physically functions. That's why it's very difficult to break them, to break the cycle. And that's why if it's hard to break the cycle, so what area, what dimension can you look into? And that's why I talk about look into the work dimension, look into the environmental dimension, the financial dimension. Perhaps if you're having difficulty managing your emotions, if you're having difficulty dealing with emotions, if you're having difficulty dealing

with your mental health, look at the other dimensions and determine what areas are strengths and allow that to help you deal and cope. And so we talked about if you're financially healthy, you can use your money to get mental health support and even get a coach to help you deal with emotions, right? They can guide you. I've heard of emotional coaches now, not just mental therapists and things like that. And so there are different ways. And for me, when I have these conversations with people and they say, you are not your feelings. And I love it that you said it's not about repressing your feelings because we're certainly told to repress these feelings. And society as a whole, I've learned, don't truly want us to get to know how we feel wholeheartedly because there is a financial impact to the bottom line. Because what happens when we are unaware of why we feel the things we feel,

we dive into retail therapy. We dive into things, and we talked about it, purchases, that don't necessarily solve the problem, but it helps us cope. And coping is okay. Retail therapy shows, studies show retail therapy is actually an effective tool to help us cope with a situation. However, prolonged retail therapy lands ourself into financial issues.

So again, it's about that understanding and that awareness. And so for me, just looking at this, uh, this intersectionality, looking at how these dimensions overlap has given me a greater understanding of how I fit into the world, how others fit into my world and what work I need to do internally to better the world externally. Yeah. Well, to leave things off, I'm so curious because you've done so much research and this book has been years in the making. With everything that you have discovered and then put into this book, have you changed anything in your life to kind of navigate life a bit differently? I think I was always in a journey

of trying to figure out the life I wanted to live and still making the mistakes that I've mentioned. What I've done differently since this research was introduced into my mind is no longer chasing achievements and reminding myself of the importance of fulfillment. And fulfillment, just like happiness, is experienced in the present moment. And not to say that I don't set goals, because I certainly do set goals, but me realizing that the journey in and of itself is the thing that we share with others. The journey is what we will recollect in our old age. The journey is what inspires people, not necessarily where we end up. And so if there's something that has changed in me, it's not so much that I stopped setting big, ambitious goals, but it's me focusing on the

sense of fulfillment along that path. And because of that, it has helped me mentally. It has regulated my emotions. It affected my physical health positively because if I'm beginning to feel aches and pains in my body, that means I'm hustling too hard. And so that isn't fulfilling at all. And so it has changed the way I live my life.

That's amazing. And yeah, honestly, it's so funny. I feel like this interview was meant to happen this week because I've been thinking about a lot of the things that we've been discussing, especially the not focusing so much on achievements as I'm, you know, thinking of New Year's resolutions and setting your goals and things like that. It's, yeah, because I realized, you know, time and time again, I set goals, I reach them, I'm not sometimes happier. And so we need to dig a bit deeper. And so I'm so excited your book is coming out. I think it is very timely. I can't wait for other people listening to read it. Where can people

grab a copy and look you up and also grab a copy of your first book, You Only Live Once? Yeah. So Happy Money, Happy Life, a multidimensional approach to health, wealth, and financial freedom is available wherever you buy your favorite books. I do ask, go local. Support your local bookstores. And of course, there are online retailers that you can purchase the books as well. And that goes to say, too, you can purchase my first book, You Only Live Once. And I'm sure people are making the connection, right?

The titles to my money books are quite unique and different. And again, the purpose is time and joy and happiness. And I would love for people to connect with me online. I'm active on Twitter and I'm active on Instagram. And if you love seeing travels and yoga and breath work and inspirational things to keep you going throughout the day, definitely follow me on Instagram. And if you want to just chat and talk about everything from money to philosophy to trying to figure out how to cook, you can follow me on Twitter. Great. And your handle is just your name? At Jason Vito. Yep. Perfect. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Jason, for joining me again. Hopefully we don't

have to wait another six years for you to come back on the show. But thanks again for dropping by. Thank you. This was awesome, Jessica. And that was episode 354 with Jason Fetug. Make sure to grab a copy of his new book, Happy Money, Happy Life, and also his other book, Why Not? While you're at it, you only live once. I will be giving away a copy of his book. This is the first book I think in the 2023 winter spring podcast season giveaway. So make sure to go to jessicamorehouse.com slash contest to find out details there. And also if you want to follow Jason, because he's also on social media, you can find him easily on Instagram and Twitter at Jason VTUG. That's V-I-T-U-G.

And also his website frugal.com, P-H-R-O-O-G-A-L.com. But again, you can just go to the show notes for this episode, jessicamorehouse.com slash 354. And I'll link everything. I'll put it all in one nice space and place and very easy for you to find more info about Jason and his books. Now, in case because I was listening to this recording, well, you know, just to make sure it sounded okay, in case you're like, what's with her voice? Yeah, so I was at a sports game, a sports game. That's how much sports I go to. Or, you know, like, I don't know, what's it called? Like, a basketball game, sports game. No one says that, do they? I don't know. Winter Raptors game anyway. And I was hanging out with some fellow content creator money nerds like myself. And basically, you know, in order to

have a conversation in a sports game, you have to yell. And so I think I like did something to my vocal cords, but they're not happy. And I sound really raspy and stuff like that. But it's fun. It was a good time. You know, not to like name drop, but I did get to hang out with Cornell from Build Wealth Canada, who is lovely. And Adrian from Canadian in a T-shirt, who will be making appearance on my podcast. I got him. I got him. But speaking of Adrian, who just cracked 100k, or I think it's like 120k now of YouTube subscribers, I also have a YouTube channel. And I was trying to also get a bunch of tips so I can figure out how to do YouTube better. But

you can check me out. My YouTube username is at Jessica Morehouse. But if you just Google Jessica Morehouse YouTube or inside YouTube, or go to JessicaMorehouse.com slash YouTube, it'll take you to my channel. And I just cracked 18,000 subscribers, which is obviously nothing compared to Adrian's 120. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. And this is a, you know, so close to getting to that 20k. And then that 50k and that 100k. And you know why I want that 100k just like every YouTuber ever. I want that damn plaque. I want that freaking YouTube plaque. I want it bad. Why? I don't know. It's not, you know, it doesn't really mean any, I mean, it means something, but it's not, you know, it's not like I could sell it for money. But I want it. I just, you know, it doesn't really mean any, I mean, it means something, but it's, it's not, you know, it's not like I could sell it for money, but, um, I want it. I just, you know,

it feels nice to get, I guess it's not even an award. It's not even an award. It's just like, Hey, here's an acknowledgement of you having so many subscribers. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Well, whatever. Uh, also put myself in the ring for a Webby award, mainly just cause they emailed me, I swear to God, 20 times. And I said, I am not going to submit myself because, well, I'm not going to submit myself and pay the entry fee because F you. There's no way. No, I'm never going to win a Webby award, right? Because there are some major podcasts that have a lot of money behind them. I'm literally doing everything, me and my editor, Matt. Shout out to Matt. So there's no way I'm going to win a Webby. But I told them like, oh, they said there's a scholarship for

independent producers. I'm like, that's me. If I can get that scholarship, I'll submit myself. So you never know. Maybe a miracle will happen and maybe I'll get like a special mention or something. I'm not going to win or even be nominated for something. I mean, this is a Canadian personal finance podcast by me, little old me. Like, come on. I don't win awards. That's not a thing that happens. Nothing big ever happens to me. And I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that. But also, if you want to put out some good vibes, so we can like win something this year. I don't know. Why not? You never know. It's kind of fun. Why not? Just putting some good vibes out there. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. So what else do I have to share with you? So just two things just to remind you. Number one, I have all my budget spreadsheets available

on my website. Now, I finished all of the videos, recently made some updates to them, because they're kind of complex spreadsheets. And sometimes you got to fix things. But and also to if you have one of my spreadsheets, and you notice anything that's maybe not working, or whatever, hit me up, let me know and I can fix it for you. Or maybe it's already fixed, and you just have to download a new version and just copy and paste some of your data if you've already filled it out. But also, if you have been listening to this podcast, maybe you're new, but if you've been listening to it for a while and you've been thinking for a while, wow, I would really love to learn investing this year. This is the year I'd

like to get out of those high fee mutual funds with my advisor at big bank, whatever, and do something better with it, like use a robo advisor or, you know, do my own thing as a DIY investor in some index funds. I want to follow Jessica's, you know, she's always talking about index funds and passive investing. Maybe I want to try that. Well, lucky for you, I do have a course. It's now two years old, which is very exciting. And there's close to 400 students in the course. And you can find it on my website, jessicamorehouse.com slash course. It is called Wealth Building Blueprint for Canadians. It is specifically for Canadians.

So we can go deep into concepts that are, you know, important for us that we need to know, like taxes and account types and products that exist only in this country and only a Canadian can open up those accounts and tell you how things work. So if you want to learn more, again, jessicamorehouse.com slash course. You can find info, you can apply, and it is a bit of a process. You apply, I see if it's a good fit, and then you have a call with me and then we chat and you can ask me your questions and see if it's a good fit. And then you have a call with me. And then we chat. And you can ask me your questions and see if it's something that you do want to pursue. And then you can enroll. So, yeah, that's the info about the course.

And I told you to check out my YouTube. And if you want to follow me on Insta, that's cool, too. I'm finally verified. Finally verified. At Jessica I. Morehouse is where you can find me there. So that is it for me. Let me give you a teaser. Who's on next week? Who is on? Oh, this is gonna be a good one. I've got Kristen Kefeller, who is the author of The Myth of the Silver Spoon. Very different topic for this show. And that's probably my own bias at fault.

We're having a conversation about wealth, but not like building wealth. It's like, how do you interact with money or think about money or how does it influence your life if you come from wealth, if you came from a very privileged position? We don't really talk about that. We usually talk about like, hey, we have no money. How do we get the money? But it's not like once you have money, all your problems go away. It's like you still have problems. So let's maybe also talk about those. So you're going to love next week's episode.

But thank you so much for listening. I will see you back here next Wednesday. Big shout out to Matt Rideout, my podcast editor. Let's win some awards this year, right? And I will see you soon. Have a great week, weekend. See you next Wednesday. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.