Mo' Money Podcast | Personal Finance With Jessica Moorhouse

In this episode, I talk about my experience as a missionary in Africa at 18 and sponsoring a child in my 20s to give back. Long episode description: Hello and welcome to another solo podcast episode with yours truly. I know in episode 1 I said I would just being doing interviewed shows, but what can I say, I love to talk and I’ve got a lot to say. In this episode which I am super excited to share with you, I dive into my experience as a missionary and sponsoring a child to give back. I believe giving back and donating to charities is incredibly important, especially when it comes to personal finance. When we think about money management though, it’s usually the last thing we think of after saving, investing and making more money. Giving back has always been a big part of my life, starting with my childhood in the Catholic church. Participating in giving back through my church’s programs evolved into me deciding to go to Africa at 18 to do some good overseas. It was definitely an enlightening experience, good

Quin Sandler, CEO of fitness technology company Plantiga, and I talk about being a serial entrepreneur and what that means for his budget, retirement plans and career aspirations. Long episode description: My guest on this podcast episode can be summed up in one word: hustler. Quin Sandler, who I was introduced to by my husband Josh, is one motivating character. He’s an entrepreneur and is currently the co-founder and CEO of the startup Plantiga. In this episode we talk about how he’s created several different businesses including a tutoring business and a web design and branding business, and how that led him to his new venture in wearable sports technology. We also dive into how he budgets (or does he?), what he does to supplement his income when money is scarce and what his thoughts are on retirement. We mentioned a ton of things on the show, so I’ve organized everything to make it easy for you below. Thanks for listening and make sure to let me know what you think about this episode or my show by leaving

BrokeGirlRich blogger Melissa Bondar and I discuss the sacrifices you have to make to follow your passion and work in the arts industry, while paying off debt and living on a very tight budget. Long episode description: I was really looking forward to interviewing Melissa Bondar, the blogger behind BrokeGirlRich. Not only were we roommates for FinCon 2014 in New Orleans, but her story is very close to my heart. We both went to art school in university, her for theatre and me for film. But instead of pursuing a career in my field like Melissa did, I kind of chickened out and just ran in the complete opposite direction. No regrets of course, and looking back I can say confidently that the film industry and me would not have been a good fit. That being said, I think it is so cool that Melissa pursued her dream of working in theatre and now she has an awesome job as a stage manager in New York City! You go girl! Melissa and I talked about a ton of stuff on the show, and I’ve listed some of her blog posts that we

Personal finance author (Stop Over-thinking Your Money!) and TV personality Preet Banerjee and I talk about his journey from race car driver to leading Canadian financial expert. Long episode description: Can I just start off with saying how amazing Preet sounds on my podcast? He puts my “radio voice” to shame! I should have known, he is a podcaster and TV personality after all. I’ve got to say, this is probably one of my favourite podcast episodes (not to bash any of the episodes I’ve done up until this point, they are all amazing too!). Preet is such a cool, genuine guy and it was so nice to hear his story. I mean, how many people do you know who went to school to be a brain surgeon, then pursued a career in race car driving and ended up becoming a well-known financial expert on TV? I guess never having a 5-year plan might be the way to go? Before I get to the important links and book giveaway, I’ve got to hang my head in shame because I still haven’t crossed off 1) get a will and 2) get life and disability

In this episode, I interview Wealthing Like Rabbits author Robert R. Brown about how he got into the personal finance world, what inspired him to write this cheeky book and what it means to wealth like a rabbit. Long episode description: It was so great to chat with Robert Brown in this episode, the author of the personal finance book Wealthing Like Rabbits (or it’s original title and my personal favourite, Sex, Zombies and Compound Interest). I was able to review the book on the blog back in November, so it was fun to be able to chat with Robert about some of my favourite passages and find out more about the man behind the book. As mentioned at the beginning of this episode, I will be giving away a copy ofWealthing Like Rabbits so you can enjoy it just as much as I did. Make sure to enter below! And as always, below are some interesting links that we mentioned during the show that you may want to check out as well. Personal Finance Authors Robert Mentioned David Chilton Bruce Sellery Gail Vaz-Oxlade Preet Ba

Music blogger turned entrepreneur Angela Mastrogiacomo discusses why she chose to follow her passion by starting her own business (Muddy Paw PR) and travelling city to city organizing music industry meetups. Long episode description: I was so excited to talk with Angela Mastrogiacomo for this episode because her story instantly clicked with me. It’s actually kind of cool how I connected with Angela. As you know from listening to my podcast episode with my husband Josh, he’s a freelance audio engineer and a big part of his job is to network in hopes of finding his next gig. Well, he started going to this one industry meet-up called Balanced Breakfast and guess who created the whole darn thing — Angela. He came home after his first meet-up and told me that Angela would make the perfect guest for my podcast. Considering she’s a music blogger and started her own PR company at a very young age, he was bang on the money and I contacted her soon after. In this episode, we talk about a lot of different things but mai

It's not easy being in debt while supporting a family. Catherine MacLean from Plunged in Debt and I talk about her debt repayment plan, her new frugal lifestyle and what tips and tricks she uses to cut back on spending to balance her budget. Long episode description: In this episode I talk to Catherine MacLean from the personal finance blog Plunged in Debt. From the name of her blog, you can guess what it’s focus is on. Catherine and her husband have a huge amount of debt to pay off, and it hasn’t been easy. On top of that they are a young family with a 3-year-old daughter to provide for. Fortunately, Catherine is one financially savvy lady and writes about all the different ways she’s found to cut back and save on the little things. If you’re in debt and need some motivation to stick to your budget and kick your debt to the curb, you definitely need to check out Catherine’s blog (and listen to our podcast episode). In our conversation, Catherine and I mentioned a few of her most notable blog posts, so here t

Sarah Peterson from Unsettle and Suburban Finance and I talk about starting an online side hustle to make extra money or to eventually develop a full-time business. Long episode description: Many of you personal finance blog readers may already know Sarah Peterson from when she ran When Life Gives You Lemons Add Vodka, or maybe you read her current personal finance blog Suburban Finance. Or maybe you know her from her new project Unsettle.org. This girl even has her own podcast! She's everywhere! I've known Sarah for a number of years. I actually met her at the same time I met Liquid Independence almost four years ago. I don't know if I've ever told this story on the blog before, but around that time myself and Sarah and a few other personal finance bloggers in Vancouver decided to meet up in person for the very first time. We coordinated everything over email and I just prayed to God that at least one of them would be normal. It's hard to tell how a person really is just by their online persona, and meeting

Liquid Independence, the blogger behind Freedom 35 Blog, and I talk about investing in farmland and his goal to be financially free by 35 years old. Long episode description: When I was in Vancouver in June for my bi-annual visit with the HB, I scheduled some time to talk to one of the first personal finance bloggers I got to know almost 4 years ago. His blogger name is Liquid Independence and he runs the investment blog Freedom 35 Blog. As you can guess from the name of his blog, his vision is to do everything he can to achieve complete financial independence by 35 years old. Not only is that a pretty incredible goal to have (I’m just hoping to save up enough for retirement by 65 personally), but he is super savvy when it comes to property investment. He owns his own condo as well as some farmland in Saskatchewan. In this episode, I discuss with him at length his property investment strategies and what steps you need to take in order to become a farm investor too. Since Liquid’s journey is so interesting, I’

Personal finance blogger Jordann Brown from My Alternate Life and I talk about her paying down $38,000 in debt and completely changing her lifestyle to prevent getting into debt ever again. Long episode description: I am so excited to share my episode with Jordann Brown from My Alternate Life. I’ve been following her blog since it started (close to the time I started mine over 3 years ago), so it was so fun to chat with her about her journey. I actually first met Jordann at the Canadian Personal Finance Conference in 2013 and she was just as sweet and friendly in-person as she is on her blog. We also hung out at FinCon 2014 in New Orleans last September, partially because we Canadian bloggers stuck together for a lot of that conference, and partially because Jordann and I are both major introverts who aren’t good at networking in big crowds. What I think is so cool about Jordann’s story is that it’s the same story as a number of millennials out there. She went to university, graduated with a whack of debt, th

In this candid episode, I share my experience moving away from my hometown and starting over in a new city, in the hopes of increasing my salary and jump starting my career. Long episode description: I know I mentioned in episode 1 that I wouldn’t be doing any crazy long monologue podcast episodes…but I lied. I’ve blogged about my experience moving away from my hometown and starting over in Toronto, but I just felt like since this is such a big part of who I am now — I needed to do a podcast episode about my experience as well. I mentioned a ton of blog posts in this episode to give you a full timeline and understanding of what went down, so brace yourself for the longest list of blog post links ever! I’m not gonna write too much more, because you really do just need to listen to the episode. I’d love to hear from any of you about your experiences, or make sure to send me your feedback in the form of a Stitcher and iTunes review! I’ll thank you by giving you a shout out and reading your review on a future epi

Michelle Summerfield, from the personal finance blog Budget Bloggess, and I discuss the challenges of managing money after divorce, paying down debt and conquering your inner shopaholic. Long episode description: Michelle from Budget Bloggess was one of the first personal finance bloggers I met when I moved to Toronto over two years ago, so it was inevitable that I would have her on my podcast at some point. If you aren’t already a reader of her blog, I highly suggest it. She is super open about her struggles with debt and shopaholism, which we discuss in-depth in this episode, plus I just love her blog post series about her alter ego — Spenderella.  We also got to bond over our frugal dads in this episode, and we even talk a bit about her divorce and how that influenced her debt repayment. Lots of great topics covered in this show I must say! We both mentioned a few of Michelle’s blog posts during this episode, so here they all are. Thanks again for reading and listening, and make sure to check back here nex

Money blogger Tonya Stumphauzer from Budget and the Beach and I talk about going from employee to being her own boss in the entertainment industry. Long episode description: As I mentioned at the start of this episode, I was lucky enough to have met Tonya from Budget and the Beach a few years ago when my husband Josh and I were on our honeymoon in California. Both Josh and I were debating where to go for our honeymoon, and since we’d already done the whole Mexico resort thing a few years prior, we decided to fulfill our childhood dreams of going to Disneyland. It was beyond awesome, I’m telling you. It seriously is the happiest place on Earth. Anywho, while we were in California, we were able to meet Tonya for some beer and tacos near Hermosa Beach. Ok, here’s the thing, when I pictured Hermosa Beach I pictured people in bikinis rollerblading along the seawall. What we ended up getting was cold, cloudy weather pretty much the whole time we were there. When I told Tonya this, she broke the harsh news to us tha

Barry Choi, from the investing and travel blog Money We Have, and I talk about DIY investing through index funds and using the Couch Potato method. Long episode description: If you’ve been a reader of my blog throughout these 3 and half years, then you already know that I am by far no expert when it comes to investing. Not for lack of desire, but I guess when it comes to personal finance I just stick to what I’m comfortable with — saving and budgeting. That being said, I know that in order to continue to increase my net worth, I need to do a better job of investing. Right now, I’m justing investing in mutual funds in my RRSP and TFSA, but I definitely want to diversify in the future. That’s where Barry Choi comes in. Barry has been a DIY investor for a number of years and has been writing about his experience on his blog Money We Have as well. Since I really wanted to learn more about his investing strategies, I thought he would be the perfect podcast guest for this episode. We talk about a lot of topics, inc

Bridget Casey, from the personal finance blog Money After Graduation, and I talk about graduating from post-secondary twice, becoming a dragon (à la Dragons Den) and investing in the stock market like a total boss. Long episode description: Not to say that all the episodes I’ve done up to this point aren’t my favourite, but I’ve got to say that I really loved interviewing Bridget from Money After Graduation. I may add a dash of sass to the personal finance world, but she adds a few cups at least! What I love about Bridget’s personality and her writing style is that she’s real, she’s super smart and she’s downright hilarious. I mean, not many people can make the topics of debt, going back to school and investing in the stock market seem entertaining and fun. In this episode, I start with asking about how Bridget’s childhood influenced her relationship with money, and from there we talk about how she went to university, got into debt, went back to university and essentially became a dragon from Dragon’s Den and

Christine Nguyen, from the personal finance blog The Wallet Diet, and I share personal stories of how money has impacted our relationships over the years. Long episode description: In this episode, I interview Toronto personal finance blogger Christine Nguyen from The Wallet Diet, and we talk about an awkward yet oh so important topic — money and relationships. Christine is a relatively new blogger to the personal finance community (she just started her blog in the fall of 2014), but I knew I had to interview her because honestly I just really liked her online persona. She seemed like a really cool, genuine gal who would be up for talking about anything related to money — and luckily I was right! What I seriously love about having this podcast is that it gives me the opportunity to have conversations I probably wouldn’t otherwise have with people who are so open and incredibly interesting. I really do hope that by sharing more and more of these episodes it’ll help people think about money in a different way o

I interview Borderline Crazy travel blogger and non-profit general manager Stephanie Williams about how she can afford to travel (and not work) for half the year, every year. Long episode description: As I mentioned in the show notes for episode 3 with Cait Flanders, when I was in Vancouver back in March to visit my family, I took the opportunity to do a few podcast interviews while I was there. Luckily, my good friend Stephanie Williams — who is not a personal finance blogger but rather an uber frugal traveller — so graciously agreed to be on my podcast when I was in town. So, off I went with my backpack full of equipment in tow and we recorded this episode in her apartment in Kitsilano (probably my favourite Vancouver neighbourhood fyi). When I started making a list of people I wanted to interview for my podcast, I knew I needed to have Stephanie on it because her story is seriously amazing. Now, me and Stephanie go way back. All the way back to our university days (she was even instrumental in me getting t

Cait Flanders from the popular personal finance blog Blonde on a Budget and I talk about her recent debt pay-off, her shopping ban and her new simplistic lifestyle. Long episode description: I really looked forward to having Cait Flanders from Blonde on a Budget on my podcast. I think she was actually one of the first guests I approached to be on the show and she said yes right away (thanks Cait!). Not only is Cait one of my all-time favourite personal finance bloggers, we’ve also become really great friends over the past few years. She is seriously just as genuine in-person as she is on her blog, which is why I think we get along so well. I’m a give it to me (and give it to you) straight kinda gal and Cait is definitely one of the most honest people and bloggers I know. Not many people could write about getting themselves out of debt and embarking on a shopping ban like she does. A bit of background on how this episode came together, I actually recorded it on site in Vancouver. I went to Vancouver in March t

I interview my husband about life as a solopreneur in the music industry, revealing the hard truth about life as a freelancer. Long episode description: I am so excited about this second podcast episode! Not only is it on a topic that I think many of you are interested in and can relate to (freelancing, solopreneurship, being self-employed, whatever you want to call it), but it gave me a chance to finally prove that my husband (or HB as I’ve previously called him on the blog) is real! I didn’t make him up! He’s an real human being and he was nice enough to be my first podcast guest. On my blog, I’ve mentioned over the years that I’ve always worked a 9 to 5 job, whereas Josh (my totally real husband) has been self-employed since the day I met him 8 years ago. We obviously have very different perspectives on freelancing and working “for the man,” but I think it wasn’t until we cracked open a few beers and hit the record button that we got into a deep conversation about what we really think about it all. That’s

If you’re a longtime blog reader of mine, you may have always wondered what I sound like. Sure, you can guess by my writing style and tone, but honestly sometimes I feel like I make way more sense talking than writing. And that is a big part of the reason I wanted to launch a personal finance podcast of my very own. I love writing on this blog, but I think to take my personal brand to the next level, I needed to do something new and different.  So, with the help of my audio engineer husband (who I interview for episode 2 of my podcast, check it out!), I went out and bought a few microphones, made some cover art for iTunes and started emailing anyone I knew who had a really cool personal finance story. Since I plan on having a new episode for you every Wednesday, finding new guests is going to be a big job for me. So if you know anyone who has a really interesting money story (or that person is you), please email me! For my first episode of the Mo’ Money Podcast, I’ll be giving you a very personal glimpse into