Want to learn how to become debt-free and financially independent? It doesn’t have to be one or the other, you can dig yourself out of debt and retire early. Just take it from Deacon Hayes from Well Kept Wallet who was able to pay of $52,000 in debt in only 18 months, then become financially independent and retire early with his family. If he can do it, why not you?

Long description:

Deacon Hayes, the blogger and podcaster behind Well Kept Wallet, was knee deep in debt to the tune of $52,000 in 2010. But instead of digging himself further and further into the whole, he decided to take responsibility and dig himself out.

He started by looking to the experts, other bloggers and authors that offered personal finance advice, and was able to implement their strategies to become debt-free in only 18 months!

Now, he’s all about educating others to do the same. But he doesn’t just focus on helping others become debt-free, he also wants to share how they can become financially independent and retire early too.

That’s certainly never something he thought he’d be able to accomplish, but now, in 2018, he is financially independent and technically an early retiree. But instead of drinking Pina Coladas on the beach somewhere, early retirement to him means being able to afford to do what he wants with each day. And what he wants to do is educate and inspire others to take control of their finances so they can live the lives they really want.

How to Become Debt-Free

So, in this episode we talk about a lot of things, but first let’s talk about debt repayment. Honestly, at the end of the day, to get a handle on your spending and debt, there are two simple things you need to do.

1. Reduce your expenses
2. Make more money

If you actually implement both things, you’ll be able to become solvent once again. It may take some time (longer than 18 months), but even if it takes a few years, these two things are key and they work!

Deacon also recommends the cash envelope system for reigning in spending, and having monthly money meetings with yourself or your partner to talk about your budget, your spending and net worth, and your future goals you’re working towards (and I totally agree!).

How to Become Financially Independent

Now, let’s talk early retirement. In order to achieve financial independence, there are three paths you can follow (though technically you don’t have to pick just one, you can do a combination or all three):

1. Invest in real estate
2. Invest in the stock market (no more than 10% individual stocks, then diversify your portfolio with index funds and ETFs)
3. Earn more money through entrepreneurship

And to help guide you and give you examples on how to do this, Deacon share real-life case studies on his website.

Get His Course for Free

Want to take Deacon’s “Debt Free in 18 Months” course for free? It’s valued at $97, but you can sign up for free by going to: wellkeptwallet.com/retire

For full episode show notes visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/155

For this episode of the podcast, I talk with veteran personal finance blogger Jim Wang about how he was able to sell his first blog (Bargaineering) for 6-figures after having it for just 5 years, and what some of his best wallet hacks are that he shares on his current blog, the aptly named Wallet Hacks.

Long description:

For this episode of the podcast, I talk with veteran personal finance blogger Jim Wang about how he was able to sell his first blog (Bargaineering) for 6-figures after having it for just 5 years, then we dive into some of his top wallet hacks that he now shares on his current website, Wallet Hacks.

First, let’s go back to the part where he shares that he was able to sell his first blog for a million dollars. There aren’t too many bloggers out there that I know have who have been able to do this (aside from JD Roth of Get Rich Slowly), so this is pretty impressive. What’s even more impressive is how frickin’ humble Jim is! You would never know that he’s financially independent and pretty much just living that best life from talking to him. He just comes off as a normal guy who write about money hacks for living at home. Which I guess he is, but still, sold his blog for 6-figures, I still can’t get over that!

Anywho, after selling that blog, he started up a new one called Wallet Hacks, which as you can guess is all about tips, hacks and strategies to optimize your dollars, be smart with your money, and become financial secure. Here are some of the hacks he shared with me in this episode.

The Secret Santa Hack

You may already know about doing a Secret Santa hack. It’s fairly popular in the office during the holidays (also in The Office, one of my favourite shows). This is something I’ve actually been able to take out of the workplace and integrate into my family life. All it requires is instead of buying gifts for everyone, you get assigned a person (in secret), buy them a gift, and then gift it to them on Christmas. Someone else is assigned you, and someone else is assigned that person and so on.

My family has been doing this gift exchange for two years now, and I’ve got to say, it’s amazing. We don’t have any young kids in our family anymore, which makes it easier, but it really is a big financial relief each Christmas. The holidays are an expensive, even without gifts, so this is a huge life saver.

Amazon Hacks

Jim doesn’t just have one hack for Amazon.com, he has 16! But, if you’re Canadian, I can’t confirm if all the hacks work for Amazon.ca, but you never know. You can read about all 16 Amazon hacks on his website, but here are just a few of them:

• If you’ve never used the app, download it, find a promo code like MARTH549N, and get $5 in credit.
• Get $1 in credit for ebooks, digital videos and more when you choose no rush shipping.
• Purchase from out-of-state third-party sellers to avoid sales tax.

Track Your Net Worth

This isn’t really a hack, but man is it a good thing to do. I’ve been tracking my net worth as well as my spending for over a year now, and it’s changed the game for me. Jim has been doing it for more than a decade, and he says it’s a big reason he’s been able to stay on track financially all these years. If you want to start tracking your net worth, here’s my free net worth spreadsheet to get started.

Get Credit Card Payment Notifications

Another thing Jim does to curb his spending is getting notifications or emails directly to his phone whenever he makes a credit card purchase. Not only does this help him know instantly if any fraudulent purchases are being made with his card, but it also reminds him of how much he’s spending. This is something I’m going to set up right now, because the one thing I hate about using my credit card is it’s just way to easy to tap and pay and forget about what you just bought.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/154

I chat with HGTV star & host of Buyers Bootcamp Scott McGillivray about how to become a real estate investor in Canada, and how to go against the grain, take risks and go after what you truly want in life.

Long description:

It’s not every day you get to talk someone you’ve binge-watched on TV before. And man have I binged (okay, now it sounds like I’m a stalker). It’s just that I’m such a huge HGTV fan and have 100% watched every single episode of Scott McGillivray’s Income Property. As I mentioned at the end of the episode, I loved that show so much I even bookmarked a webpage application to be on the show. But I never applied. Partially because I was way too much of a scaredy cat, and partially because I didn’t own a house to transform into an income property (that’s probably the main reason actually).

Although that dream may have gone by the wayside, the dream of one day talking to the one and only host of Income Property, and now Buyers Bootcamp, Scott McGillivray certainly came true! And who better to talk to on the podcast about becoming a real estate investor in Canada.

I know I’ve mentioned a few times on the podcast how I’ve always had dreams of owning a few properties to rent out so I could have some passive income to fall back on in retirement. Well, I’m on my way slowly with owning my first property (my townhouse). Though that’s not really an income property as I currently live in it. Still, it’s a step in the right direction. As for adding on actual income properties, or trying my hand at flipping properties, I unfortunately have to wait a few more years. Since I’ve only been self-employed a year, my mortgage broker informed me I would need at least 3 years of self-employment records on hand when applying for another mortgage. So, I’ve just got a few more years ahead of me, but I’m hoping that in the meantime I can grow my income so my husband and I won’t have as hard of a time getting a good mortgage rate.

But enough about me, let’s talk about Scott, because he’s amazing! Not only did he buy his first income property in his 20s as a university student, he was able to grow his real estate portfolio exponentially in just a few years after that. And fast forward to now, he’s one of the most popular faces on HGTV.

If you wondering how that all happened, it wasn’t luck. It was a ton of hard work and finding people to say “Yes” when everyone around him was saying “No.” That’s the message I think I love the most from this episode. The message that the only way to succeed is just not giving up. As Scott mentioned, we’re trained to be workers in university, not leaders. Which is a big reason I believe that so many of us have trouble fitting in because we’re meant to be leaders or entrepreneurs. That’s definitely my experience, so it was pretty cool hearing Scott’s take on that.

Scott also mentioned three key steps for success that I wanted to reiterate here. They can be used for real estate investing specifically, or achieving any type of goal really.

3 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

1. Gather Information

This means taking the time to gather information for yourself so you have the tools and information to move forward. It could mean reading books or articles about the subject, watching informational shows like those on HGTV, or going to events or conferences.

2. Education

Once you’ve gathered the information you need, it’s time to educate yourself. You can do this by doing case studies, finding a mentor or instructor, or shadowing someone who is an expert in that field.

3. Implementation

Last but not least, you need to take action. As Scott mentioned, this is the step that most people fail at because they expect instant results or don’t fully see it through. You need to try, then try again. And if it’s not working and you keep failing, you need to go back to the first two steps to see what you’re getting wrong, then pivot.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/153

Do know how to get money (as in earn), and do you truly get money (as in understand)? I talk with Kristin Wong, financial journalist and new author of the book Get Money about all things getting money! We talk about why people have such a hard time taking action on bettering their financial situation, setting financial goals, money and relationships, and being in the driver's seat of your investments.

Long description:

2018 is the year of the woman personal finance author, and I’m all about it! Just to recap, for season 6 of the Mo’ Money Podcast, I’ve interviewed the following fabulous female authors who’ve published books this year: Shannon Lee Simmons (author of Worry-Free Money), Elizabeth Willard Thames (author of Meet the Frugalwoods), and Cait Flanders (author of The Year of Less).

And for my latest episode, I’m interviewing first-time author Kristin Wong of Get Money. You may already be familiar with her YouTube channel or maybe you’ve see some of your articles in the New York Times, LifeHacker, or New York Magazine’s The Cut. She has been talking and writing about money for a while now, so it was only natural for her to write a book about how to live the life you want, not just the life you can afford.

Honestly, in addition to Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry, I think Kristin Wong’s book is the perfect for anyone just starting out in their personal finance journey and is looking for some actionable steps to take. And I really do mean actionable, because Kristin wrote her book in a way that will get you thinking and then doing!

What I love is that she breaks up her book into stages. Just like life has stages, so does you money. First, you need to power up, then optimize, then grow. I know that sounds simple, but she goes into way more detail in the book.

And we chat about a few of those things in this episode. Specifically, why people don’t take action. A lot of us know what we’re supposed to do, but it’s hard to change how we’ve always done things. One of Kristin’s hopes is that her book will be that trigger to help you get moving.

Next, we talk about goals. I never really knew financial goals were a thing when I was in my 20s, but I was always working towards something when I was starting to save and invest my money. If only I had made some of those goals more specific, I wonder where I’d be now in my financial life.

Then, we talk about something we’ve all dealt with in one way or another: money and relationships. I know first-hand everyone has an opinion about how you and your partner should manage your money, but honestly, those people need to stay in their lane in my opinion. There is no right or wrong way to manage your money, no matter if you’re single or in a partnership. It’s all about what makes the most sense for you and who you’re managing your money with. 

Last but not least, we talking about investing. Something that way to many people believe is harder than it actually is. The thing is, you don’t need some fancy investment advisor in an expensive suit to tell you how to grow your money. You can actually do it yourself, or use a robo-advisor to make sure your investments are on track, as long as you get more comfortable with the lingo and some of the best practices out there.

I sincerely loved chatting with Kristin, and 100% recommend her book. I know as soon as I my younger sister moves out on her own, it’s gonna be one of the first books I hand her.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/152

At the end of the day, money shouldn't be something you worry about, or feel guilty about, or don't even want to think about. We all deal with money. We all earn it. We all spend it. But it shouldn't be something we're ashamed of or hate talking about. Which is why I loved reading Shannon Lee Simmons' new book Worry-Free Money, which takes a unique and refreshingly positive approach to how to manage your money and feel good about it.

Long description:

I know I say this for almost every episode, but this seriously is one of my favourite interviews. And it could be because when I met Shannon Lee Simmons, author of Worry-Free Money and founder of The New School of Finance, for the first time, I immediately clicked with her. There aren’t too many financial planners out there who make money fun and cool, but she does and I’m so glad she was able to share her wisdom and personality on the podcast!

We talk about a lot of different topics in this episode, but there are two main points that we touch on. First, that budgeting doesn’t have to be boring or restricting, especially if you try out her method of not categorizing all of your variable expenses. I know for me, that’s what I used to do, and I would always end up kicking myself for overspending on groceries one month or spending too much on eating out the next.

Instead, just set aside an amount of money you can spend, and spend it until it reaches zero (and not more than that). If you do that, you’ll free yourself from the guilty of not matching your budget perfectly, but you’ll still won’t be spending more than you want. It’s simple really. So simple that I have no idea why we all over-complicate budgeting!

Another big topic we tackle is the idea of comparing our financial situation to those of our peers. This is something that is absolutely normal and not something to be ashamed up. We want to keep up with our peers (who doesn’t?) and we want to do whatever it takes so we don’t fall behind.

That being said, we don’t have all the information. We don’t know how much our peers earn, how much they spend, or what their net worth is. So really, we shouldn’t try to keep up with the Jones’ because we actually have no idea what’s going on with the Jones’ financials. Maybe they got a big inheritance which is why they could afford to buy a house. Maybe they are actually really frugal in their day-to-day lives which lets them afford those fancy vacations. Maybe they just have different values than us and are just really good at showing that good life on Instagram.

The important thing to remember is we should put the focus back on ourselves. Are we happy with where we’re at? Are we spending on things that match our values? Are we meeting our financial goals?

I probably could have talked to Shannon for another hour, but I called it at the 45-minute mark. That being said, I highly recommend her book Worry-Free Money (I seriously loved it!) and I also suggest you check out her online courses linked in the show notes.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/151

Is it even possible to build a successful freelance business without taking on debt and without sacrificing all balance in your life? Yes there is, and Matt Inglot shares how.

Long description:

Before I went full-time self-employed, I had this crazy idea in my head that freelancing meant you’d always be worried about money coming in, would be living from gig to gig and would have no balance in your life. Well, a year later and I was definitely proven wrong, but this episode isn’t about my story, it’s about Matt Inglot from Freelance Transformation. Not only does he host his own podcast all about freelancing, he runs a successful freelance business himself building websites for high-level clients.

But as you might imagine, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for Matt. For him to achieve the success he has now, he made a number of mistakes along the way. Luckily, he’s open to sharing all of them on the show and has a lot of other nuggets of wisdom to share, such as don’t quit your day job before your side hustle is making money, always try to keep your overhead low, and try to avoid taking out a loan for your business if you can.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/150

Your path may not be to quit city living and move to the woods, but that's not what Liz's (a.k.a. Mrs. Frugalwoods) story is about. In her new book, Meet the Frugalwoods, she shares how defining your life can help lead you to your best life, whether that’s living simply in the country, living it up in the city, or being nomadic and travelling the world. Not matter what path you end up on, the most important things to always remember is being true to yourself and making sure you’re living a life with more intention.

Long description:

Joining me again on the podcast, and now no longer an anonymous blogger at Frugalwoods, Elizabeth Willard Thames is the newly published other of Meet the Frugalwoods. Not a “how-to” book on living that frugal life or reaching financial independence, but her personal story of how she was trying to check-off life’s checklist only to realize, that checklist wasn’t making her happy and didn’t align with her values anyway.

I’m pretty sure most of us can identify with this. How many of us have been checking off things throughout our lives without really taking some time to think about whether what we’re doing or achieving is actually making us happy or bringing us fulfillment? I know I was doing that exact thing up until a year ago. I got my degree (check!), got married (check!), got a corporate job in Toronto’s financial district (check!), and by anyone’s standards was “making it.” But it didn’t feel like that to me, which is why I did a crazy thing and quit my job to work for myself.

That’s why I totally get Liz’s story in her book. I can relate to it on such a personal level. Heck, I even fantasize about moving to the country (in the Maritimes) with my husband in the next few years. Now, I’m not sure if that’ll actually happen, but I am definitely taking a page out of Liz’s book by trying to be more intentional with my life and also practicing sustainable frugality. To me, that means spending my money on stuff that brings value to my life, and not spending money on stuff that doesn’t. Also being strategic so I can maximize my dollars so there’s more money to save and invest for my future.

To me, this book was a great in-depth look into someone’s personal finance journey. I really loved this book, and I hope you do too!

Check Out Liz’s Top Blog Posts

• Announcing My Book, “Meet The Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living
• Introducing Littlewoods!
• How I Figured Out What I Want To Do With My Life (And How You Can Too!)
• How To Be Frugal With Your Time, Not Just Your Money

Buy & Review Meet the Frugalwoods

• Buy on Amazon.ca
• Buy on Amazon.com
• Buy on Indigo
• Review on Goodreads

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/149

You take so much care and consideration at your day job, why aren't you doing the same with your financial life? I chat with early retiree & big-time blogger about why everyone should be the CFO of their life.

Long description:

Do you know the difference between open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards? Learn that & more in my interview with CPPO chair David Eason.

Long description:

Back in October 2017, I did a really crazy thing. I participated in the Money 20/20 Payments Race and it truly was an adventure I’ll never forget. The best part was being able to meet so many amazing people, and one of those people was a woman named Heidi who works for an agency that represents the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO). She was nice enough to offer me a free night’s stay in her home when I was in Denver, and to say thank you, I said I would gladly interview an expert from CPPO to talk about prepaid cards. I mean honestly, I think I won all around because I haven’t done an episode about prepaid cards and I actually really wanted to learn more about them from none other than David Eason, the chair of CPPO.

Here are some of the things we talked about in the episode, and don’t forget to watch my entire Money 20/20 Payments Race vlog series!

What is CPPO?

CPPO stands for the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization, which is a “not-for-profit organization and the collective voice of the open-loop prepaid payments industry in Canada. It is the only association solely focused on this growing industry and includes the major players in open-loop prepaid in Canada.”

Open-Loop vs. Closed-Loop

Having been blogging about personal finance for over 6 years, sometimes I feel like I’ve heard about it all, but apparently not! I had no idea that open-loop and closed-loop cards until recently. But don’t feel bad if you didn’t know what they were either. They are really terms that only people in the prepaid card industry use.

So, what do they mean? It’s very simple. An open-loop prepaid card is either a Visa, Mastercard or AMEX prepaid card. It’s “open-loop” because it’s technically open to use at almost any retailer, as long as that retailer accepts credit cards for payment. A closed-loop prepaid card is a retailer-specific prepaid card, like a Home Depot gift card or a Shoppers Drug Mart credit card. The reason being is that they are comparatively “closed” because you can only use that card at that specific retailer.

You Cannot Build Credit with a Prepaid Card

One reason why the prepaid industry is trying to educate people about prepaid cards, and have moved away from calling open-loop cards “prepaid credit cards” is because they have nothing to do with credit. Open-loop cards work a lot like credit cards, but they will do nothing to help you build up a good credit history or rating.

For full episode show notes: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/147

Don’t think you can afford to live a life you’ve designed yourself? Think again! Pete McPherson from Do You Even Blog shares how he risked it all to live a life with more meaning.

Long description:

As I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, I ended up randomly meeting Pete McPherson from Do You Even Blog at a party at FinCon this past October. I liked him right away. He was so friendly, funny and full of energy. So when he non-pitched me to be a guest on my show, I couldn’t resist! And what’s even better, I was a guest on his show, the Do You Even Blog Podcast (listen to my episode here).

In this episode, we talk about how Pete made the risky move of leaving his cushy corporate job to do something crazy and start his own online business. Now, you may be thinking, why did he do this? Especially when he has a family? Well, it really came down to him wanting to start living a life that had more purpose and that he designed himself. Up until he made that change in his life, he felt like he was making choices based on what he thought he was supposed to do, not what he wanted to do. And because of that, he felt unfulfilled. Money really doesn’t buy you happiness. It’s a tool, and it’s up to you to use it the way you want. You can either earn money doing something you don’t really like, and then spend that money on stuff you think will make you happy (even if for a limited time). Or, you can take the risk to do something else, earn less, but spend the money you do earn to live a life that’s more intentional.

This idea of intentional living and designing your own life has become a bit of a theme on the podcast, and I think for good reason. The more millennials I talk to, the more I see a big shift happening. We’re realizing that the dream of a white picket fence, two cars and a stable job just isn’t cutting it anymore. We want more. And not more stuff, more out of life.

As Pete mentioned, he has made some special videos for all my listeners at doyouevenblog.com/momoney, so make sure to check them out. We also mentioned Smarter Queue as our new favourite (and cheap!) social media scheduler, so if you’d like to try out a free 30-day trial on me, click here.

For full episode show notes: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/146

For this Listener Series episode, I'm joined once again by past guest Lindsay VanSomeren, also a blogger at Notorious D.E.B.T. Last time we talked she was about to finally get rid of her home from hell. But catching up, that's not exactly what happened (though there is a happy ending!).

Long description:

For my first "Where Are they Now?" Listener Series episode, I check back with Lindsay VanSomeren who was one of my first Listener Series guests. Lindsay, who also blogs at Notorious D.E.B.T., was featured on episode 57, and shared how her and her husband bought their first home in Alaska together but had nothing but trouble with it. You see, it was built on a foundation of permafrost and they had to shell out $30,000 in repairs (that they couldn't afford). Literally pretty much the same storyline as the movie The Money Pit.

We ended off that episode with some good news though, because she had just received two offers buy the house. One of those offers would help them say goodbye to the home from hell, and stop getting into more and more debt so they could move on with their lives.

Unfortunately, both of those offers fell through. So, they had to make some tough decisions. Either hang on to the home and continue to get into debt, or get some help. They chose the latter and contacted a credit counsellor to weigh their options. In the end, they decided to go with a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Once that was taken care of, they decided to move to Colorado for a fresh start. And now Lindsay is making a full-time living as a freelance writer, her husband is back in school, and they are slowly but surely building up their credit and saving up a downpayment for their next home in the future.

I'm so glad Lindsay was able to share this update, because I think her story is fairly common. It started out with buying a property they thought was great, and taking advantage of a special Veterans loan program they also thought was great. But in the end, the property was not what they thought and a program that let's you buy a home with no money down can also have dangerous consequences.

Luckily Lindsay and her husband have moved on, learned from their mistakes, and are on a better path now. So hopefully the lesson from this episode is that even if you feel like you are in an impossible financial situation, there is always a way out. There is a solution for every financial problem out there, but sometimes it means reaching out for help.

For full episode show notes visit: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/145

How can a year of less change your life? Just listen to my episode with The Year of Less author Cait Flanders to learn how a shopping ban, getting rid of most of her belongings & being more mindful with her money helped her regain focus and control of her present and future.

Long description:

She was my first ever guest (excluding my husband) on the podcast when I launched it almost 3 years ago, and now my friend and blogger pal Cait Flanders is back to chat about what has happened since Episode 3 of the podcast.

Well, a lot! For starters, she’s a full on author now, having just published her first book The Year of Less. And she’s not just a first-time author, her book is a hit. As she mentions in the episode, it’s still hard to find a copy at most book stores because they ran out of copies, so if you do still want to buy a copy, check Amazon first.

When we sat down for Episode 3 of the show, Cait was just about to finish her one-year shopping ban. I still remember her sharing that she wasn’t sure what to do after it finished. She eventually decided to continue it for another year, and although now she’s no longer on a shopping ban, she’s integrated the lessons she learned into her daily life.

The biggest lessons being to be more mindful when it comes to spending. It’s okay to spend money, but it’s about being more intentional with our spending and making sure we are spending money in alignment with our values that’s important. And when you do that, you’ll find that you can stick to a budget, you aren’t overspending as often (or anymore), and you don’t worry as much about your money.

This is a big lesson I also took away from her book and something I’ve been actively trying to integrate into my own life.

In this episode we also dive into other stories she shares in the book beyond the shopping ban, such as addiction and indulgence. Cait is now sober, but she used to have a problem with drinking, something she eventually realized was something she would do to fill a void or overcome other struggles in her life. It’s something I can relate to in that I definitely turn to certain things, like food or wine or even spending, to either deal with stress, unhappiness or hardship.

If you haven’t already grabbed your copy of the book, I highly recommend. And like I mentioned in the episode, I’m not recommending it because Cait’s my friend, I’m recommending it because it’s really good! I literally whipped through it in a day (no lie!), and I can’t stop thinking about it or telling other friends about it.

It's not easy to become a professional beauty blogger, but it's not impossible. And it doesn't mean you have to spend all of your money on beauty products to do it. Just take it from Jessica Desjardins, the founder of popular beauty website Beautezine.

Long description: 

I’ve always been fascinated by beauty bloggers and vloggers, and not just because I have no clue how they transform their faces into beautiful masterpieces (and I can barely do my own mascara without smudging), but because the beauty space is so competitive! Believe me, every time I meet a new hair stylist or makeup artist, they usually share that they have their own blog or YouTube channel. I sometimes find it competitive in the personal finance community, I couldn’t imagine trying to build an online business in the beauty industry.

But, there are people out there like Jessica Desjardins, founder of Beautezine, who are proof that it is in fact possible to make a good living and have a broad reach as a full-time beauty blogger and content creator. You just have to be really good at it, and hustle until you make a name for yourself. And that’s exactly what Jessica did.

Before quitting her job to focus on her online business full-time, she was actually headed to medical school to pursue a career as a doctor (no joke, she went so far as to do the MCAT). But at a certain point in her studies, she realized that her true passion was beauty, and instead of always wondering “What if?”, she decided to take a big leap of faith and start her own online beauty magazine called Beautezine. It took her 6 years to make it the go-to beauty resource for Canadians, but now she’s able to do what she loves and be her own boss.

In this episode, we chat about how she was able to build her business into what it is today, how she manages her business finances and personal finances, and why no matter what she puts a high priority on staying out of debt and investing for her future.

Top Posts You’ll Want to Check Out on Beautezine

• Time-Saving Beauty Products That Cut The Right Corners
• Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Red Carpet Ready Eye Look
• 5 Fashion Bloggers Share Their Go-To Hairstyle Secrets

Learn More About Jessica & Beautezine

• About Beautezine
• Beautezine on Instagram
• Beautezine on Twitter
• Jessica Desjardins on Twitter
• Jessica Desjardins on Instagram

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/143

Ever dreamed of becoming a digital nomad, able to work from anywhere and travel on your off time? That’s what my listener Grace was able to do, and she explains how in this Listener Series episode.

Long description:

One of my big aspirations in life is to become completely location independent and to travel abroad more. So when my next guest, podcast listener Grace (who also runs the blog Gracefully Expat) emailed me about being on the show, I knew I needed to talk to her to find out how she was able to leave Canada, set up shop in Ireland and run her own business.

What’s funny is Grace is also from Vancouver (like me), but she didn’t move to Ireland directly. She first went to the US for university, then when she got a job opportunity that would take her to Ireland, she lept at the chance to live somewhere new. After a few years working the corporate life, Grace starting making plans to leave and start her own online business as a tax consultant for expats like herself.

Now, she’s living it up, able to explore the rest of Europe quite easily since it’s so close, and live that digital nomad life like I, and so many of us dream of. It just goes to show, becoming location independent doesn’t mean you have to become an Instagram star or a famous beauty YouTuber. You can do a number of things as a business that don’t require you to have an office, like a tax consultant for instance.

My dream is that within 5 years I’ll be able to have enough saved up and a business that earns enough passive income that I can focus my efforts on developing more content, create more online courses and do financial counselling from anywhere in the world. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but if Grace can do it, why not me (or you!).

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/142

Have you heard of the FIRE movement before? In this episode I chat with Bob Lai from Tawcan about what it means to be financially independent and how make an investment strategy to get there.

Long description:

For anyone who wanted a deep look into the FIRE movement, and to get the low down on how to become financially independent, this is an episode you are gonna love! I chat with Bob Lai, the blogger behind Tawcan, about his plans to reach financial independence while being a single-income family with his wife and two kids.

He even shares what his personal investment strategy looks like: a mixture of dividend paying stocks (a.k.a. blue-chip stocks), index ETFs, and a small percentage of growth stocks.

Now, if you’re just getting started with your investment journey, before getting into DIY investing like Bob, a good place to start is by investing in index mutual funds, like the portfolios that Tangerine offers. It’s actually what I started investing with, as they track the index and charge way lower MERs than the big banks.

Financial Independence vs. Financial Freedom

Most people use these two terms interchangeably, I’ve even been guilty of it. But talking to Bob, I learned that they actually mean to very different things.

Financial independence is when your passive income exceeds your expenses. Many people believe the magic number is to have 25 times your living expenses saved up through savings and investments. Or if you’re more conservative, 33 times your living expenses.

Financial freedom on the other hand is a relatively loose term, but generally speaking mean that you’ve accumulated so much wealth that you don’t even have to worry about or rely on your passive income.

Happiness vs. Joy

Another concept we talked about was the difference between happiness and joy, and balancing the two. You see, happiness is externally driven and has an expiry date. For instance, when you get a raise or buy something you’ve been saving up for. Both of those things would make you happy, for a time, and then it would dissipate.

Joy is internally driven, and is the feeling of being at peace. It’s also less fleeting than happiness, and usually comes about from fulfilling experiences and being around your loved ones.

A big part of the FIRE movement is about focusing on joy instead of happiness. Also, joy doesn’t cost as much as happiness (if we’re talking about happiness through buying goods), so the more you focus on joy, the more money you’ll be able to save to reach your goal of financial independence.

Stocks that Pay Dividends vs. Stocks that Don’t

Not all stocks are the same. Some pay dividends, some don’t. The companies that don’t pay dividends (ie. Facebook) are the ones that are still in a growth stage. Instead of paying dividends to their shareholders, they reinvest their profits to continue to grow the company.

Companies that do pay dividends are companies that are already so big (Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson), that they don’t need to reinvest all of the profits for further growth, so they share their profits with their shareholders (also making those shares more lucrative to potential stock buyers).

Bob’s Top Blog Posts You’ll Want to Read

• FIRE. RIP. 2014-2018
• Building My Dividend City
• How My Struggles with English Taught Me About Financial Literacy

Learn More About Bob Lai (Tawcan)

• Follow Bob on Twitter
• Like Bob on Facebook
• Follow Bob on Instagram
• Follow Bob on Pinterest

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/141

Looking for some inspiration to get your spending under control? There's no better time than the present to try something new, like a no spend challenge. That's why I'm chatting with two of my podcast listeners for this episode, so they can share their experience and tips on how to save money and conquer their bad spending habits by doing a no spend challenge.

Long description:

For my first Listener Series episode for Season 6, I've got not one, but two podcast listeners on the show to share their experience and tips for doing a no spend challenge. Michaela and Dan are a couple, engaged and saving up for their wedding, and they got the idea to try out a no spend challenge by seeing someone do something similar on Instagram. Feeling like they never truly knew where they money was going, they embarked on this no spend challenge that would mean they could only spend money on their essentials, and try to live as frugally as possible.

Their hope was that it would help them reign in their spending and focus their spending on this that really mattered to them in life. They also wanted to stop the endless cycle of consumerism that so many of us or on (and feel like we can't get off). Well, they successfully did the challenge for a month, and now have continued to practice living below their means, saving the extra income, and just living a life that's not as focused on spending and buying new stuff.

After talking with them, it definitely inspired me to reign in my own personal spending and do my own version of a no spend month. For all of January, my husband and I have been making all of our meals at home (save for one lunch that cost us $30) and have not bought any alcohol (though I did buy one beer with a friend, but I'd made those plans back in December!). Like Michaela and Dan, we realized that not spending all of our money on going out to eat or buying beer and wine for our home like we regularly do, hasn't actually affected our happiness at all. Instead, we replaced those two big spending habits with other things, like cooking healthy meals at home, and swapping alcohol for lemon water, tea or coffee.

If you want to embark on something similar, I highly recommend doing a no spend challenge or your own, or signing up to my free Rich & Fit Detox. It's a free 5-day email challenge that shows you how to do a health detox, practice self-care, stop mindless spending and declutter your home.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/140

Yes, you can bounce back from bankruptcy. More than that, you can take it as an opportunity to get your financial life together, never get in debt again, launch a successful business and be on your way to financial independence. Don't believe me? Well, just take it from my guest Perez Hilton, the go-to celebrity blogger who has created an empire for himself as an actor, author, blogger, podcaster, reality star & more.

Long description:

I can’t even believe this is really life right now, because somehow I was able to get the one-and-only Perez Hilton to chat with me on the podcast!

Many of you may already know this about me, but I am a total celebrity news junkie. I know it’s silly, but I think I just like the fantasy of it all. Plus, that life is just so far removed from my own, it’s kind of like watching an episode Teen Mom. It’s fascinating and entertaining, but I’m really glad that it’s not my own reality.

With that said, I’ve been a long-time reader of PerezHilton.com, going back probably when he started his blog back in 2005. I’m not lying when I say I’ve gotten into a routine of checking his website at least once per day, which is how I discovered his video about filing for bankruptcy when he was younger. I couldn’t believe he, a celebrity blogger, also had a personal finance story to tell, and I wanted to know more!

So, after watching his video, I tweeted at him saying I’d love to have him on my podcast, and to my delight, he said yes! And within a week, I had a recording of our interview together and could not wait to share it with you for Season 6 of the Mo’ Money Podcast!

In our interview together, we talk about it all. His money mistakes, the lessons he’s learned, how he hopes to achieve financial independence through passive income streams and real estate investing, and what he’s going to teach his kids about money when they grow up.

I hope you love this episode as much as I do, because it really was so much fun to record! Thanks a million Perez for taking the time out of your crazy busy schedule to talk money with me, I’ll never forget it!

Check Out Perez Hilton

• Read his famous celebrity blog at PerezHilton.com
• Listen to The Perez Hilton Podcast
• Subscribe to Perez Hilton’s YouTube Channel

Follow Perez Hilton on Social

• Follow Perez Hilton (the Blog) on Twitter
• Follow Perez Hilton himself on Twitter
• Like Perez Hilton on Facebook
• Follow Perez Hilton on Instagram

For full episode show notes: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/139

For my first episode of SSN 6 of the Mo' Money Podcast, I interview well-known Canadian radio personality Buzz Bishop about DadCamp & how he teaches his kids about being responsible with money.

Long description:

It’s the start of a new season for the Mo’ Money Podcast (Season 6 to be specific), and I have got quite the line-up of guests for you, let me tell ya!

And similar to last year, this season definitely has a theme. Well, two themes really: financial independence and women authors. For this first episode of Season 6, we’re gonna start with the financial independence theme, since I interview well-known radio personality and influencer Buzz Bishop.

As I mentioned in the episode, I’ve been listening to Buzz since I was a tween, so it’s pretty surreal that I’m now interviewing him on my show! But a lot has changed in his life since those days at Z95.3 in Vancouver. On top of doing radio across the country, he also has two boys and founded DadCamp, a community and website that’s focused on getting dads together to learn from each other, bond and create a discussion surrounding the role of fathers today.

Since Buzz is already a successful media personality, DadCamp isn’t something he created to just earn more money on the side. He wanted to create it as way to help give back. So, all of the money he earns from it, he flips to Diabetes Canada and Team Diabetes, two causes he’s very passionate about. Is Buzz the best?

Aside from talking about DadCamp, we dive into his perspective on money, how he manages his personal finances and invests it, and also how he teaches his kids about money. He learned a lot from his dad, so he wants to make sure he does the same to his two boys. And he teaches them by weaving it seamlessly into regular conversations. Making it a natural topic of discussion is key, as well as being open to answering questions.

He also empowers his kids by giving them work to do on his blog so they can earn money. I think this is a great way to teach kids about saving, budgeting and earning money in a very practical and hands-on way. Kids learn best by doing, so I have a feeling his kids will be experts by the time they reach their 20s.

Learn More About Buzz Bishop

• Check out DadCamp
• Like DadCamp on Facebook
• Subscribe to DadCamp on YouTube
• Follow Buzz on Twitter

For full episode show notes: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/138

For my 4th Millennial Money Meetup (and my last one for 2017), I hosted the event once again in downtown Toronto selling out tickets in only a few weeks to 50 attendees. This event was sponsored by Manulife Bank (thank you for making this event possible during Financial Literacy Month) and featured the special guest Lisa Zamparo, a CPA and financial strategist. The theme for this event was debt and responsible credit card use, just in time for the holidays. This is the live recording of Lisa and I's discussion on the subject as well as audience Q&A.

For full episode show notes visit: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/137

For my season ending solo episode, I share my thoughts on making it to the one-year mark of entrepreneurship, what I’ve been up to & how I’ve grown these past 12 months

Long description:

To wrap up Season 5 of the Mo’ Money Podcast, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do another solo episode to share my reflection of the past year.

A ton has happened these past 12 months, so much so that even though I spewed my guts for 40 minutes in this episode, there was still so much I didn’t share. But I think my overall sentiments on the year got across.

To think back to where I was this time last year, honestly, it’s like night and day. This time last year I was stressed, burnt out, and frustrated. My life was going in a direction I didn’t like, and I knew the only way to get back on a path that felt right, I needed to make a drastic change.

Even though I thought I was prepared before quitting my job to work for myself, looking back I really was taking a huge risk. I didn’t have a business plan, I just had some ideas on how I’d make a living based on how I earned money with my side hustle (being my blog and podcast).

Throughout the year, I fleshed things out a bit more, got more focused (sort of), and now have 10 different streams of income. I definitely want to focus things more in 2018, pair down those streams of income to maybe 5, and increase my business revenue to 6-figures.

And two big ways I hope to accomplish this is by ramping up marketing and promotion of the Rich & Fit Bootcamp and launching my financial counselling practice.

Lots to look forward to in 2018, but before the New Year starts I’m just thankful of how 2017 went. I’m proud that I stayed strong, worked hard and proved to myself (any all the nay-sayers) that I could do this on my own.

Here’s to a New Year and endless possibilities!

For full episode show notes visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/136

Don't think of want to earn more money as being greedy. Think of it as a way to help you help others. I talk about the idea that it's okay to be "money hungry" with the goal of being able to serve others and live your best life with blogger and podcaster Michelle Jackson of Michelle Is Money Hungry in this last podcast interview episode for Season 5 of the Mo' Money Podcast.

Long description: 

Before I recorded this episode, I’d only met Michelle Jackson from Michelle Is Money Hungry a few time at past FinCon conferences. But the few times we did meet, we immediately hit it off. Michelle just has a special energy and light that I couldn’t forget, and because she is all about earning money these days, and that’s what the theme for this season has been about, I knew she would make the perfect guest for my last interview for Season 5 of the show.

The reason I gave this episode the title “Making Life Changing Money” is because it’s one of the things Michelle mentioned at the start of this episode that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It’s just such a great way to express how I also view earning more money. I don’t want to earn more just so I can buy more stuff. I want to earn more so I can do more stuff, including continue to create free content like my blog, podcast and YouTube videos that aim to promote financial literacy. I want to earn more so I can live a life that is full and financially secure. I want to earn more so I can take care of me and my family, but also others who need my help too.

And that’s exactly how Michelle lives her life as a new entrepreneur. She wants to earn more so she can live her best life, but also so she can afford to help others live their best lives too. Throughout this season, I interviewed a lot of guests on how to earn more, but I think this final episode is a great way to cap things off by focusing on the why.

Make sure to check out Michelle’s website and feel free to reach out to her at michelleismoneyhungry@gmail.com.

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/135

I talk with Jesse Gernigin from LiveGoldRich about how we went from comedic hypnotist to freelance copywriter, how he learned to ask for his worth and how he budgets with a variable income.

Long description:

For full episode show notes, visit https://jessicamoorhouse.com/134

Retiring early isn't just for the privileged and doesn't have to be a daydream you refer at your 9 to 5 grind. You can actually retire if you have a plan to get you there, and Tanja from Our Next Life shares how her and her husband were able to do it.

Long description:

Are you getting the most out of your credit cards? It might be time to take a good look at them and check to see if they are really the best on the market. Just take it from Stephen Weyman, blogger at HowtoSaveMoney.ca and founder of CreditCardGenius.ca who knows how to optimize your credit cards, get free trips using points and figuring out a great formula to see which cards need to be ditched and which cards you should consider replacing them with.

Long description:

What's your money mindset and how does it affect how you perceive building wealth? I chat with Kelley Keehn about this and more in this episode.

Long description: