Jessica Moorhouse on asking for a raise and what she’d do if money were no object

Who are your financial heroes?

Andrew Hallam. Six years ago, I read his book, The Millionaire Teacher, and it made things that were difficult to understand just click in my brain. I find that sometimes if you dive into a book that is a little above your level, and you just feel anxious, then you think, “Well, this is too complicated.” But his book made me realize you can learn this stuff. He broke down the concepts in an understandable way. Also, he’s just a nice guy. He’s one of my go-to people. I just love everything he does.  

Also, Melissa Leong. She is so supportive and has been a great help to me. I asked her questions about careers and money, and she’s been awesome. Same with my friend Rubina Ahmed-Haq. She’s such a great person to bounce ideas off of, and she encourages me to learn more. Honestly, I think it was her who pushed me to do the Canadian Securities Course (CSC). I look up to those three a lot. 

How do you like to spend your free time? 

I love what I do so much that I’m a bit of a workaholic. But other than work, I go for walks with my husband, we like to cook, and I like to bake sometimes. I read, I take naps, I watch garbage shows. I like hanging out with friends, playing board games and stuff like that. Honestly, I’m a low-key person.

If money were no object, what would you be doing right now?

I’d be doing something similar to what I’m doing now. I’ve talked to a lot of people on the More Money Podcast about financial independence, like the FIRE community. The whole point of living such an extreme life is so that you can get a big pile of money, and feel financially safe to do whatever you want. For me, I just…didn’t wait until I had that pile of money. I was like, “Why don’t I just live that life now?” I love writing, telling stories, and talking to different people. And if you talk to most of the FIRE people, guess what they do? They start a blog or a podcast or a YouTube channel. 

But, say, I couldn’t do what I’m doing right now, and I got a pile of money to do whatever I want. I would spend all my time traveling and then writing romance novels. If I couldn’t do this, that would be the dream.

What was your first memory about money? 

One of my first money memories, and it’s burned into my brain, is from math class in grade seven. My teacher went on a diatribe about credit. The other students and I didn’t know what credit was—or even what credit cards were. He was talking to us about the pitfalls of spending money you didn’t have. I’m not sure if he was going through something personally. 

Up until that point, I didn’t think about how money could play a negative role in your life, and I was hearing about some of the consequences. It kind of scared me. I didn’t know money could be dangerous if you misused it. 

What’s the first thing you remember buying with your own money?

When I was in grade five, I saved my own money and I bought a No Doubt CD. It was like the most precious gem I’ve ever had. Because like, oh my god, I only have this album, and it’s awesome, and I bought it with my own money.

What was your first job?

I babysat and worked seasonally at the Gap when I was 15, but my first real job was at A&W. I worked there for two years. It was not the best job, but I learned a lot of life skills. I always worked throughout high school and university to earn my own way. My parents didn’t have money for college, but even though they didn’t have savings, their incomes were in that area where I wasn’t able to get any student loans. So, I was a really good saver. I was putting everything in the bank. 

I only spent a little bit going out with friends. I had friends that went shopping every weekend. I was like, I don’t have money for that. I have to pay for university. I was frugal from a very early age. 

What was the biggest money lesson you learned as an adult?

A lot of the advice about money when I was in my 20s was focused on what not to do: Spend less, don’t spend in excess. Now that I’m in my 30s, what has really gotten me to the next level of financial comfort is, honestly, focusing on earning more money.

There’s not as much information about that. It needs to be more integrated in the conversation, especially for women. 

It’s so hard to get out of that mindset of “I’ll take anything and I’ll work really hard.” I never got any raises or bonuses—only one raise because I was earning less than the poverty line at this one job. I negotiated and asked for more money, and they didn’t give me exactly what I asked for, they gave me $500 less than what I asked. 

I feel negotiating a salary before starting the job needs to be talked about more. I didn’t know you could do that. That could have such a huge impact on you for future years, because you’ll be at a higher point when you negotiate for you know, a bonus, promotion or raise. If I could go back, I wish I had been given more information about that and I wish I had negotiated more. That’s the biggest game-changer: Setting yourself up for financial success is making more money.

What’s the best money advice you’ve ever received?

Once you have your debt under control, have a budget, having some savings, have started an emergency fund, shift your focus onto building your wealth and investing.

Even though I started [investing] around age 25, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I have so many conversations with people who just put money into their TFSA. And I’m like, “Well, what’s in it?” They’re like, “I don’t know.” Many people, and especially women, don’t get that information or education until later in life. That’s why I’m so passionate about teaching people to start investing as soon as you can. 

Also, don’t be afraid to learn. I was terrified to learn about investing, but anyone can. It’s not rocket science. Start to educate yourself on this stuff, and then implement that knowledge as soon as you can. Because you’ll look back and be so glad you started.

What’s the worst money advice you’ve ever received?

Pretty much anything Dave Ramsey says. Well, he has this system, and it works for lots of people. But when you unpack it, a lot of it doesn’t make any sense. He’s anti-debt and anti-credit. 

Credit can be a tool that you can utilize for good. I don’t feel like you should save up all your money to buy a car in cash when you can get a very cheap loan—that’s stupid. If you have excess money, then invest that at a higher interest rate [then what you’re paying on the car loan]. 

A lot of the prominent advice in the early 2000s, when I was in my early 20s, was focused on “debt is bad, don’t ever use it, pay for everything with cash.” But they never talked about how to build wealth. It was just about living on cash. That is actually terrible advice, because it’s missing so many details. Also, it’s making people afraid of a financial tool that could benefit them.

Would you rather receive a large sum of money all at once or a smaller amount of money every week/month for life? 

A big lump sum—if it’s tax free.

What does the word “value” mean to you? 

Value is anything that can improve your life or just make you feel good. I don’t really care to spend money on things like clothes, but I do like spending some money on makeup. What brings me joy is food. I love ordering takeout and going to restaurants. So, when I look at my spending every month, that is where it typically goes because food brings me joy.

What’s the first major purchase you made as an adult? 

My house. The biggest thing, besides the house, was my computer. Now that I’m in my mid-30s, if an appliance breaks, I like to get the good version. For instance, my hair dryer broke after eight years, it actually had a good life span, but now I want that Dyson hairdryer. I’m probably going splurge and get it, but it’s one of those things where I do my research. 

Do you have a money regret?

Investing in actively managed mutual funds for a couple of years. The advisor I used was awful—just a salesman, not properly educating me. I didn’t understand what I was investing in. Whenever I would bring it up, he would just tell me about a different product. He’d say, “Oh, you’re not happy with your portfolio. There’s this other portfolio that might be a better fit.” But I didn’t even know what a portfolio was. I mean, I’ll give him some credit, he gave me a lot of motivation to get every single certificate that he had, but he wasted my time and he wasted my money. 

That’s a big issue I have with the financial industry at large. Too many people are focused on sales, even though, ethically, they should not be. I talk to people every single day about this; all these years later, after I got out of that and started doing my own thing. There is too much focus on sales, not enough on education, and people could be missing massive opportunities to build their wealth and retire one day. 

What’s your take on debt?

Debt shouldn’t be something you are scared of. In my mind, once you do that, then you’re giving that tool power. No financial tool should make you feel it has more power than you. Once you feel empowered and in control, that’s when you can make some smart decisions: To pay down your debt and make good choices for your future. 

Money is a tool, and you should be able to control it. The people that get into debt, typically it’s because they don’t understand some of the consequences or what they’re getting into. There are a lot of shady people, they may not give you all the information, or sometimes you need to get into debt because you’re in a financial situation and that’s your only alternative.

You shouldn’t feel ashamed of that. It’s just how it is. It doesn’t make you less of a person or that you’re bad. You don’t have to always be in debt.

What was your most recent splurge?

I’d say the most recent splurge was on a photoshoot for my website. Part of it can be a business expense, like the stylist, but the clothes I purchased could not be a business expense. So that’s a personal expense. I did drop some coin on a new wardrobe. I needed new outfits for public speaking, too. It felt great.

What is the last money-related book you read? 

I loved The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. It’s what I’ve read most recently, and it was also a very impactful book.

What is something you always have in your wallet?

My ID and my credit cards. I haven’t used or carried cash in four years. It’s funny, I saw someone online say that you should always have cash in your wallet. I haven’t touched it or been to an ATM in years. And some will ask, what if you forget your wallet? I actually did that the other day and I used Apple Pay. It is a lifesaver.  

What’s your next money goal?

My next money goal is for me and my husband to reach a $2 million net worth by age 42. I keep earning money, and we keep our costs low and we invest. Fingers crossed; we can figure it out. This is already an expensive quarter because we bought things for the house. So, we’ll see how things go. But yeah, that’s the big goal.

My MoneySense quick questions

Rent or own?

Right now, I’d say own. There’s nothing wrong with renting, obviously. I’ve rented it for a number of years. I do really like being a homeowner, but I know it’s not for everybody.

Buy or lease?

Buy. Unless it’s for a business, and you can really write that lease off. 

Save or invest?

Invest. I used to be all about saving and then I realized I just have a bunch of cash that’s not doing anything in the bank.

Budget or not? 

You need to have a plan for your money. If you don’t, then how are you going to know about your money? One of my biggest regrets is that I always had a budget for 10 years, but I never actually tracked any data. I create systems to implement it, but I never tracked spending or net worth. So, I had no idea what my money was doing for a good chunk of time. It’s hard to know how well we did or if this stuff worked without knowing the data.

Read more My MoneySense profiles:

• Glory Gray shares her big money lesson and how, at 8, she made more money than her mom
• Duane Ledgister’s tips on distractions for investors, the value of volunteering and more
• Street Cents’ Creo Walters on the dangers of debt, why LeBron James is a finance hero and more

About MoneySense Editors

MoneySense editors and journalists work closely with leading personal finance experts in Canada. Since 1999, our award-winning magazine has helped Canadians navigate money matters.

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