Who are you?
Jessica is a Canadian millennial money expert and hosts the Mo’ Money Podcast as well as blogs on Jessica Moorhouse. She’s also an accredited financial counselor in Canada and the founder of the Millennial Money Meet Up. She does all of that and is the co-founder of Rich and Fit. Her mission is to help promote financial literacy amongst millennials. She does this by empowering others to take control of their lives as a whole by taking control of their money.
Let’s talk about financial confidence.
Jessica grew up in a lower-middle-class family. Although the family had everything they needed, Jessica decided she wanted more as she became an adult. Jessica wanted to be able to say yes more, and she felt more confident in saying yes the more she got her financial life in order.
How can women get more confident about their money?
Jessica believes that achieving financial confidence starts with education. She recommends listening to podcasts, talking to other people, reading books and blogs, and even watching videos. Anything that can help someone start answering the questions that they have. For Jessica, building her financial confidence skyrocketed once she started her podcast and interviewed other personal finance experts.
How does financial confidence influence other parts of your life?
Jessica says her best moments were when she would get a new job or a higher salary, and it would make her feel better about saving and spending money.
What should women be doing to increase their financial confidence?
Jessica admits to wishing she would have negotiated more. She believes it’s always possible for a woman to negotiate a higher salary, better benefits, and more. She says that she has started asking for 30% more money than she typically would, and she’s still hearing “yes” instead of “no” from most of her negotiations. Jessica believes that a no is not a no until it’s like a really final no.
Jessica also says to not be afraid to stand up for yourself and not apologize for knowing your value and knowledge. She believes it’s important for women to define themselves as experts in the fields they are working in, as it helps boost their confidence in money, work, and life.
Do you have any tips on earning more money for someone starting from scratch?
Jessica believes that it’s important to be clear on what you want out of any venture you choose, whether it’s a business or job opportunity. For Jessica, she realized that in order to make more money from her blog, she had to be strategic. So she rebranded, decided she wanted to focus on the blog as a business and made sure she was seen as a personal finance expert. Once she became specific on how she wanted to earn her money, she was able to make more from her business. She believes that each person looking to earn more should ask themselves these basic questions:
What’s my product and service?
How am I unique?
In what ways can I make money?
How can people get woke about their finances?
Jessica recommends keeping business money and personal money separate. For Jessica, she makes this easy by underestimating how much she will make in her business from month to month. That way, if she makes more, it’s a bonus for her. She is able to pay her bills, she has a full emergency fund, and she invests, so she feels comfortable underestimating her business income.
Jessica says that even when someone overspends or pays for something that they don’t feel is worth it, the purchase or payment can be seen as a money lesson vs. a regret. Part of having financial confidence is realizing that everything happens for a reason and it can be used for good. Jessica doesn’t believe in failure, she just believes in learning lessons.