For this episode I chat with Brynne Conroy, the blogger behind Femme Frugality and the new author of The Feminist Financial Handbook, about women, money, the wage gap, financial confidence and what we can all do as a society to make the future a more financially equal one.
Long description:
I hope you’re ready for a deep dive into women, oppression, victim blaming, leaning in, financial confidence and the wage gap, because that’s exactly what my next guest and I discuss for this episode of the Mo’ Money Podcast.
I’m joined by Brynne Conroy, the blogger behind Femme Frugality and the new author of The Feminist Financial Handbook. And as you can guess from the title of her book, instead of writing another how-to finance book, Brynne decided to look at some of the big problems women face when it comes to finance and what we can do about it.
I love this interview so much (as you can tell from my many tangents), because I obviously can relate a ton to the content of Brynne’s book. I’m a woman, and growing up I had no idea that I’d be treated differently, or paid less, when I entered the workforce. It’s the 21st century after all! Haven’t we moved past all that? Unfortunately, no we haven’t.
There is still a lot of work to be done, and the issues of financial confidence and the wage gap aren’t just women’s problems. They are societal problems that we need to fix together. Women can’t fix the fact that they are paid less without the support of men as their allies. The only way we can make a different future for young girls is to work together now. It’s certainly something I’ve passionate about, and it’s honestly a big reason I was so drawn to personal finance in the first place. All of the books and personal finance experts I saw were men. I want to see more women represented. Luckily, I’m already seeing more women enter the personal finance space compared to 10 years ago, and that makes me incredibly happy and hopeful.
For full episode show notes visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/178
I don't know how I've had this podcast for over 3 years and haven't had one of the OG Canadian personal finance bloggers on the show yet, but here he is! The one and only Tom Drake, blogger and podcaster at Maple Money! He's been in the game for almost 10 years, and he's dropping all types of knowledge bombs in this podcast on investing, making money and budget like a pro!
Long description:
My next guest was supposed to be on my podcast 3 years ago! That’s when myself and Tom Drake from Maple Money first talked about him getting on my show. Well, I don’t know what happened, but at least I got my act together and finally got him on the show. And honestly, he was worth the wait!
A lot has changed for Tom in the past 3 years. He has been blogging for almost a decade, and recently rebranded his blog to Maple Money and started his own podcast called the Maple Money Show.
As I mention at the beginning of this episode, Tom is literally the nicest guy. Which could be why he’s one of my personal favourite finance bloggers and I am so thrilled with all of his success. What’s even crazier is he blogs and podcasts on the side! He still has a day job and somehow manages to get it all done. Oh, he also has a family. How he does it all, I have no idea. But luckily for me, he does share lots of his finance wisdom when it comes to investing, making money and budgeting on the show.
Investing: Get Out of Mutual Funds
As Tom shares in the episode, he got out of high-fee actively-managed mutual funds as soon as he got a better understanding of what he got himself into. Now, there’s technically nothing wrong with these type of investment products, but the thing is there are better products out there. Namely index funds and ETFs. Since moving out of mutual funds, Tom has been managing his own portfolio of ETFs using a Questrade account, but he’s actually thinking of switching to a robo-advisor to lessen his work-load which I thought was pretty interesting. There’s definitely benefits to both, so it was refreshing to hear a DIY investor actually express interest in using a robo-advisor instead.
Making Money: Why Not Earn Money with Your Hobby?
Several years ago, I saw Tom speak on a panel of bloggers at the Canadian Personal Finance Conference. One of the questions they were asked was what they thought of monetizing their blogs? Most of the panel said they didn’t monetize their blogs and were more focused on just creating good content, but I remember Tom distinctly share that he’d do anything to make money. Obviously he was kidding, but I loved how he was so honest about how it shouldn’t be a bad thing for bloggers to want to earn money from their blogs and work with brands. As someone who does this, and is thus able to create a bunch of free content for my audience, I totally agree! Why not earn money from your hobby, and why not turn your hobby into a business?
Budgeting: Micro-Budgeting Doesn’t Work
Micro-budgeting, or having specific categories in your budget you need to try to stick to, just doesn’t work. Another point that Tom and I share. He shares that he manages his family’s finances and they allocate money to savings and fixed expenses, then have a specific number they want to stay within for their variable expenses. It’s just a simpler way to budget since in most cases it’s impossible to stick to a hard $400 for groceries or $100 for entertainment each month.
For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/177
Want to start investing, but not sure how? Or maybe you are investing, but aren't completely sure if you're doing it right? You're in luck, because I've got the king of ETFs Som Seif on the show to discuss how to build wealth by investing in ETFs and following a few of important rules of thumb too.
Long description:
I hope you’re ready to get your investing knowledge on, because for this episode I’m joined by the king of ETFs Som Seif! To give you some background on Som in case you’re unfamiliar with his importance in the investing world, he is currently the founder and CEO of Purpose Investments Inc., which he formed after he sold his first company Claymore Investments to Blackrock Inc. in March 2012. You may be familiar with Blackrock as they offer a number of great ETFs you’re probably already invested in, and the same goes for Som’s new company Purpose Investments.
Now, Som started his Claymore Investments in 2005 because although he had been an investment banker with RBC Capital Markets since 1999, he wanted to be able to really help individual investors by making low-cost ETFs more accessible. And he continues to do so with his new company Purpose Investments, and shares more helpful tips to investors of all ages in this episode.
How Much You Should Invest
If you’re just starting out, meaning you’ve recently finished school and are working full-time, Som suggests investing 15-20% of your net income. You’re at such a great stage in life where your cost of living is low (even if your salary is too), but the money you invest this early in life will have a huge, positive impact on your future. If you wait to invest later in life, then make sure to boost that percentage to hit your target end goal.
How to Invest
It’s great knowing how much to invest, but a better question is how to invest? Luckily there are some great options now with all the robo-advisors out there, which is one way Som suggests can be a great way to invest your money. He really does believe in robo-advisors since he was one of the founders of Wealthsimple, and believes in making investing in low-cost ETFs simple for every type of investor.
Or, if you’d rather work with an investment advisor, you may need to have a greater some of money to do so, but it may be what you’re looking for in terms of getting specific guidance and management.
Then again, you may want to be fully in control, which means you’ll want to go the self-directed route and pick your own portfolio and manage it using a discount brokerage.
Don’t Be Scared off by Investing
We dive into some deep subjects like crypto, blockchain and the future of investing, and honestly it was even intimidating to talk about with Som myself, but that’s something that Som wants to make sure doesn’t happen. Investing isn’t hard and you shouldn’t be scared off by new technologies and new strategies emerging.
You need to arm yourself with information, because as you and I both know, the best way to rid yourself of fear and worry is to educate yourself. One way to do that is to follow his suggestion by reading books by Benjamin Graham to have a better foundational understanding of investing.
3 Key Things You Need to Do to Be a Smart Investor
As Som mentioned, investing isn’t hard. Here are the 3 key things he suggests for any investor’s success:
Start Investing Now
The biggest take-away from this episode is that investing is incredibly important to take part in. It shouldn’t be something you delay until your 30s or 40s. The sooner you start investing in life, the better off you’ll be in the future. Moreover, you’ll also become more confident and feel more secure with your finances my having a solid plan for retirement and your other financial goals.
So if you just got your first job out of school, make sure to invest some of that first paycheque. If you’re further along than that in your career, there’s no better time to start than today!
For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/176
Money isn't just about the numbers. And having money struggles doesn't mean you're lazy or "bad" with money. Money is about habits, experiences and what tools we're working with. One of the ways to fix our struggles and become less stressed out about money is adding mindfulness into the mix. Being intentional with your money can make all the difference in your life, and that's what I discuss with my guest Patrick Ens, VP of Strategy & Brand at Capital One Canada.
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Capital One Canada is one of the sponsors for this year’s sponsors of Credit Education Week from Nov. 13-16. There are tons of free financial literacy events happening for Credit Education Week, so visit cewc.ca to find out what’s happening in your city!
Like I mentioned in the intro of this episode, I was 100% living my best life this past weekend. Not only did I attend the Canadian Personal Finance Conference (I’ve gone to this conference every year since 2013!), but I also got to moderate the fireside chat sponsored by Capital One Canada, with Laurie Campbell (CEO of Credit Canada Debt Solutions) and Patrick Ens (VP, Strategy and Brand at Capital One Canada).
This was definitely my ideal situation because although I loved getting the chance to do a full-on presentation at last year’s conference, I’ve gotta admit that I was in my element moderating this chat. To me, it was basically like a podcast episode with two incredibly intelligent and experienced guests, and there just so happened to be a live audience watching.
But yes, I know, this wasn’t really a podcast episode. So, in case you weren’t able to catch our talk at the conference, luckily I was able to interview Patrick for the podcast!
We discuss at length (and in-depth) this year’s theme for Credit Education Week — money mindfulness. If you’re a longtime listener of the show, you may have listened to a few episodes I’ve done in the past about this topic.
But what is so great about my interview with Patrick is he comes from a very different background. He’s not a mindfulness guru or your typical money expert. He comes from the brand side of things and helps clients directly with the financial products offered by Capital One Canada. Because of that, he has a very interesting perspective on what it means to be intentional with your money and thus smart and responsible with credit use.
Credit Education Week
Credit Education Week is in its 12th year, and Capital One Canada is one of the sponsors alongside Credit Canada Debt Solutions. The theme for this year is money mindfulness, because we all need to be more mindful with our money habits, our spending and especially our credit use. To learn more about all the free events going on for Credit Education Week, visit cewc.ca.
Get Your Credit Score for Free
If you don’t know your credit score, what are you waiting for? Capital One Canada let’s you check your Transunion credit score for free without dinging your credit score in the process. Click here to get started.