What the Family Studies?
What the Family Studies?
Everything But Money - What's your Money Story?
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Money advice is everywhere, yet so many of us still feel stressed, avoid our bank accounts, or repeat habits we promised we would stop. We sit down with Canadian money expert Jessica Morehouse, certified financial counsellor, podcast host, and author of Everything But Money, to talk about the side of personal finance that rarely gets taught: behaviour, emotions, and the stories we absorb about money long before we earn our first paycheque.
We dig into why traditional financial literacy lessons are helpful but incomplete. Jessica explains how money struggles can be rooted in shame, avoidance, social comparison, and even attachment patterns, plus how our consumer culture is built to push spending whether or not it supports our goals. We also talk about empathy in money conversations and why “just follow these steps” can backfire when someone feels judged or overwhelmed.
Because so many of our listeners are Ontario Family Studies educators, we get practical about the classroom. Jessica shares ways to make money talk safer for students, including anonymous question systems, guiding teens away from scams and misinformation on social media, and using more neutral, mindful language that does not trigger embarrassment or fear.
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Welcome And Why Money Matters
Speaker 3Welcome back to another episode of What the Family Studies, the podcast where we explore the real-world connections behind the family studies courses we teach in Ontario classrooms. I'm your host, Catherine Murphy, and today we're diving into a topic of interest to everyone: money. Today we're joined by Jessica Morehouse. Jessica is a sought-after money expert, TV personality, and speaker. She's a certified financial counselor, qualified associate financial planner, an award-winning financial content creator, and the host of the chart-topping War Money podcast. As a personal finance educator for over 14 years, she's given presentations throughout North America and is regularly featured by major Canadian and U.S. media, including CBC News, CTV News, BNN Bloomberg, the Toronto Star, Forbes, and USA Today. Her debut book, Everything But Money, The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom, came out in 2024 and became an indigo staff pick and made it to the bestseller lists of the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Quill Inquire, and Amazon. Jessica, thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3Well, we are really looking forward to digging into this because there's so much I think that we need to learn as educators and even for our own personal education, you know, about our own money, about our own bank accounts.
Jessica’s Path To Money Work
Speaker 3So can you tell us, first of all, a little bit about your own personal journey? So what experiences, moments led you to your work as a financial counselor and and and then write this book eventually too?
Speaker 2Yeah, it's it's a an interesting journey. I certainly didn't think this was going to be the career that I had. Like when I look back on it, I'm like, where did we, how did we get here? Um, I initially thought I was gonna work in the arts um in in the film industry. I went to Simon Fraser University, uh, studied film, and then the recession happened, the great recession, and that had a you know a big impact on my career and made me rethink, what do I want to do? Maybe working in the arts isn't uh necessarily the most stable thing to do. And so for a number of years, I kind of uh, you know, put together some sort of career in sales and marketing, trying to figure out what do I want to do with my life. And on this side, I was also, you know, personally interested in and the world of personal finance because I didn't have a lot of money and I was on my own and trying to figure out how to pay off my student loans and trying to find this information um online. And it was actually my older sister who's the first person who was like, have you heard about personal finance blogs? People are writing about how much money they're earning and how they're spending it and how they're budgeting. I'm like, I had no idea people would share that publicly. I'm so interested. And then I can kind of, you know, take some advice and do what I will with it. But I was so interested in how people were being so vulnerable. I'm like, you know what? I also was looking for a creative outlet after finishing film school. Maybe I'll start a blog and, you know, have something to do after work and and just explore this world and also, you know, uh, you know, just have a little fun with it. And so I I had a blog from, I mean, I still technically have one, it still exists, but I started it in 2011 and did that on the side for a number of years until I came to that kind of quarter life crisis when you turned 30. And I'm like, what am I doing? Why why am I trying to pursue this, you know, job and or this career in marketing when I'm spending all of my time, you know, working on my blog. And then I started a podcast, and I'm so invested in this other kind of career I didn't really label as a career, which was financial education. I absolutely lit up when anyone would want to talk to me about money. Why am I not doing that as my job? And so I made the really bold, scary decision to leave my corporate job and go off on my own. And it's been nine years since I've done that and somehow was able to put together this whole financial education business that uh, you know, has evolved over the years, but it spans, you know, a YouTube channel, a podcast, public speaking. Um, and then eventually the book. And the book really kind of came, I think, at a time that I really needed it. I've always wanted to write a book. I wasn't quite sure what to write about. I had the luxury of interviewing hundreds of authors on my podcast over the years. And so I kind of knew what was out there, and so I also kind of knew what wasn't. And, you know, I was personally interested in the world of psychology and behavioral economics and how these really connected to just everyday people and how they manage their money. And there really weren't too many books that kind of talked about that on a on a non-super scientific level. You know, some of the books that I I love that I reference in my book, they can be very dense and dry. And most people probably won't finish them because they are hard to get through. And so I really wanted to write a book where anyone can pick it up and feel like someone's talking to them on their level and not talking down to them, talking in a way where they feel seen and heard. Because also, too, often in personal finance books, they can be a bit judgmental or kind of use shame and blame. And then you feel bad after finishing the book is all the things that you know you should be doing and you're not doing them, and someone's kind of reprimanding you. I didn't want to have a book like that. I wanted to have a book that showed you, hey, you may not know this about yourself. Let's dive deeper, let's explore these other avenues of personal finance that you may have never considered before, but maybe the reason you can't stick to a budget you are terrified of investing, or you have all of these kind of quirks with your money and you've never been able to explain them before, these this, you know, might be why.
Everything But Money Explained
Speaker 2It might be your your past, it might be your childhood, it might be some of your life experiences, it might be everything together has made you who you are and how you are with your money.
Speaker 3When you first mentioned that you started out in the arts, I think for someone who maybe hasn't read your book, that might seem like such a stretch, but really when you look at the book and you look at the psychology that you talk about behind the book and and the psychology behind how we manage our money, it really isn't that great a leap anymore when we start thinking about it. So that's what I like about the title. And it's it's very intriguing, everything but money. So what does that mean to you? I mean, you talk a lot about in your book, you talk a lot about other people and what it means to other people. What does it mean to you and and what do you hope that this book disrupts in traditional money conversations?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, no one tells you this, but when you're writing a book, the hardest part is actually coming up with a title. And so that was honestly like the last thing that we came up with, or I came up with. And it was ultimately when I, you know, was able to look at my book in its finished form and be like, what is something that really encapsulates everything that is in this book? Everything but money kind of sprung to mind because the number one thing that, you know, people come to me and they're gonna come to this book because they are struggling financially. And really the book explains that maybe your struggles with money have nothing to, you know, it's not about money. Maybe your struggles with money are actually about everything but money, because we always think it is, well, it's it's maybe an income issue, or it's a financial literacy issue, or it's all these other kind of more practical issues with money, but it might be deep deeper than that. Like, you know, I don't think most people think that their attachment style has anything to do with how they manage their money day to day. They may have only thought, oh, I know attachment theory when it comes to romantic relationships. Have you ever thought about its connection to your relationship with money? And so the book really is about, you know, your your your situation with money is actually not about money at all.
Speaker 3It's about everything, but it and it's it's amazing because I think for me personally, I've never considered that. I've just thought money was money and there was nothing else to it, and it was very no attachment, you know, to to there's no financial or there's no there's no psychological attachment. There's no there's no personal attachment to it, but there there really truly
What Counselling Reveals About Money
Speaker 3is. And so now you've worked for years as a financial counselor. So what has what's been the most surprising thing to you about people's relationship with money?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, oh, that's a great question. I I think probably that it's it's surprising to them, like you kind of said, that there is anything beyond money. They come to me because they're in debt, they don't know what they're, you know, they they don't have any kind of strategy or foundation for their money, or they want to learn about investing and they don't know why it's so hard to learn on their own. When when we look at it in in this day and age, you can learn about anything that you want for free or for a minimal amount of money because it is on the internet. And now we have AI that'll you know spew you an answer. So it's never been easier to learn. So we can fill that gap of financial literacy if we want to, and yet there's still we look at the numbers and the stats, and people are still, you know, having a hard time. Why is that? And so whenever someone comes to me as a new client and we have these conversations, and usually how it goes is, you know, we do a little discovery call and I say, tell me about yourself, and then I just don't talk and just let them talk for as long as they want. We usually, in the end, when they finally come to kind of a finished point, there's always something in there that's like, well, you kind of mentioned this, and that's really fascinating. Have you ever thought that maybe that has a connection to, you know, your your uh recurring debt cycle? Because you mentioned your mom and they're always in debt and kind of maybe mimic a lot of her action, you know. So there's always something in there that I feel like is at the tip of our tongue, or it's like right there in our brains. But unless maybe someone's asking you the right questions, you may never follow that thread. And so that's what I really wanted the book to be is so you can follow those threads, ask yourself questions no one's ever asked you before. Because if you are to go to, say, like a financial advisor or a planner, most of them won't know to ask questions beyond the tell me your income, give me your tax returns, all that kind of stuff. It's becoming a little bit more like we're adding that a little bit more, the behavioral and psycho psychological component in the industry, but it's still very, very early days. And so that's part of the reason I wanted to become a financial counselor before I became a financial planner, is I really was fascinated with that more human component that there's actually this, you know, we're taught to counsel people to listen and not just to the words they're saying, but also the tone, their body language, instead of, you know, a lot of the people I talked to who come to me because maybe they worked with an advisor and they they just didn't feel like they were getting anything out of it, is because they were just, you know, talking at them, they weren't listening to them, they were just, you know, telling them, oh, buy this product or you know, invest this way. But they just missed the important part, which is the human element.
Speaker 3It it's amazing because I do have a financial advisor who is actually a personal friend, but every time we talk about finances, he just wants to know about the numbers. And I'm not I I'm not comfortable talking about that. That's not my wheelhouse. So it's it's amazing. I I did really enjoy reading your book for for that. I think I learned a lot from it. But we'll we'll get to that in a second because I I want to talk too about uh family studies as educators.
Teaching Beyond Budgeting In Schools
Speaker 3That's who most of our listeners are, right? So we are sort of very uniquely positioned to go beyond basic skills of financial literacy. And so we do talk about, you know, we talk about mortgages, financing a car, those sorts of things. But I I think it's really important that we start digging deeper when we're talking about finances and talk about how your your values, your life experiences, relationships, those things impact our relationship with money. So we do focus on teaching skills, budgeting, right? Like I said, mortgages, those sorts of things. Why is that not enough? What's missing from that traditional here's how to budget, here's how to finance a car? What's missing from that in our schools, do you think? What do we need to add?
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, I always kind of compare finance to fitness because these are two of the biggest struggles I think people have is being healthy and being good with money. Again, the information's out there. You can find a template for a budget, you can find a workout routine online if you want. So, why is it that people are struggling so much with these things? Like, and I say this is a personal experience. It's taken me years to figure out what works for me to actually get me into the gym and working out and moving my body, even though I've tried and failed so many different times, tried ads, all these things. Why is that? And it's because I was never really thinking about again, what's the root for me? Why, what's the barrier? What's in my way? Why is this so difficult for me personally? And then once I know that, what are some things that I can put in place to help me? What are some tools that I can use? So, what, you know, for on the fitness side, I realized I need something close to home and I need it to be in a group setting. I need to be around people. I I love to be around people to have that kind of motivation and things like that. If I'm just doing it on my own, I just don't, I just won't do it. And so I think for a lot of people, when it comes to their money, yeah, we need to kind of go beyond just the numbers and like here's how to do a budget. I mean, again, uh anyone can learn how to budget on their own. So why aren't people doing it? There's something missing, there's something in their way. And a lot of it could be, I mean, a very common one is just like the the you know avoidance. Uh, people don't want to confront um their their finances. When you make a budget, you're seeing in black and white, what money do I have coming in and going out? And am I going to like what I see? Maybe I don't want to know that I'm not earning enough or that I'm spending too much or a combination of both. And that will really, then that means I have to kind of confront how I view myself. It may make me feel like I'm a failure. And, you know, we are always comparing ourselves to our peers, our friend group, our family, and no one wants to know that they're doing anything wrong. And so it's easier just to maybe avoid that and say, oh no, budgets don't work. I tried, they don't work, so I'm just not going to use a budget. When really it's like, well, I think maybe the issue could be that you didn't really give it a good try. Maybe the budget system you were trying didn't kind of align with you and how your brain works. There's all these things that are in the way. And so when it comes to educating, whether it's kids, teenagers, or adults, you really do need to find a way to talk to people about what's what's actually like, you know, aside from the budget, what's really going on? What's really going on to make this so difficult and so, you know, hard when for some people are like, oh, this is the easiest thing in the world. Why is that? Could be. I was talking to someone the other day, talking about some of these things, and I'm like, oh, well, that makes a lot of sense that you've never really struggled financially because it sounds like you came from a very secure, a financially secure household. Not just that they had money, they talked about money. There was no shame, there was no negative feelings associated with money. It was just like, oh yeah, I just learned that money is a tool, and then you use it and you can learn from it, and it helps you achieve freedom. And I'm like, wow, that's amazing for you. Most households are not like that. Most people do not have that life experience. They come from a very different background where maybe money was very scarce. It was always talked about in a negative way. And then you bring that with you into your adult years and then keep kind of using money in that way and viewing money that way. And so, again, it's really all about, you know, the the beyond the numbers.
Speaker 3A lot of what you said there resonated with my teacher brain because, you know, when we walk into our classrooms and we have so many different students with so many different ways of learning and we try to reach them all, I think you do the very same thing. You have so many different clients with so many different ways of thinking about money that you you have to try to reach out to them. Yeah. Um and that's something I love about your book too, because you've got a lot of exercises there. You were just talking about fitness goals, but you do have exercises in the book. Now, not, you know, lifting weights, but actual financial exercises, right? So do you think that um any of those could be adaptable for us to use in the classroom with our students, with high school kids?
Speaker 2Definitely. I mean, say I'd say take a look, because sometimes they are they, I mean, it was written for adults, not so much children or teenagers, because we're in different financial situations, right? When you're an adult, you are you have more financial obligations and responsibilities compared to a kid. But I think a lot of them can apply, especially when it is more, you know, talking about your relationship with money and how you currently feel about it, how your parents talk about it. Because then maybe we can, you know, what my book is doing, what I've been doing is like I'm trying to undo all the things, things that are holding you back, kind of all the mess that happened in your earlier years. We're trying to fix that and undo some things and then rebuild. But if we can take some of those exercises and some of the things that I talk about in the book and really dive into like the psychology and behavior of things, we can then, you know, not have to fix anything. We could just build help, you know, these kids build a solid uh financial foundation with all these tools right at the beginning. So they don't have to start confronting some of these issues um in their 20s, 30s and onward. And again, I think it's really important for these things to be talked about in school because these may never be talked about at home, because we also don't know the parents and their relationship with money and all the things that they've gone through. And I believe every parent is just trying to do their very best. But again, there's so many things that kind of come into it. And so we need to recognize, hey, maybe that all parents don't have the the same tools, the same resources, the same, you know, time. So if we can like integrate this stuff in schools, and uh I mean, I think it can help generations of people. And I'm totally fine if we get to a point where there's no need for financial advisors because everyone has their stuff together. That sounds great. I can do, I can find another path. I can find another career.
Speaker 3You're gonna work yourself out of a job. That's fine. But you know, you talk about when I was reading the book, you talk about understanding your your money story, and it really made me think about my parents and how my parents manage money and and also the messages that I'm sending to my own kids too about how we manage money in our house. So it really, it really, really made me think. And in fact, it made me think, I think I'm gonna go back and reread the book because I think there's a lot more to learn there for myself personally. So, as an educator though, why is it important for me to understand my money story to help my kids, to help my my students to help my own children understand their own?
Speaker 2Well, similar to to parents, you need to know where you're coming from so you could be more aware of how you are saying certain things. Because you may not know that you're using, again, a certain tone, some body language that these kids are picking up, or certain words that may, you know, emphasize something. So it's, you know, again, everyone's just doing their best, but it's it's sometimes it's like, oh, did you realize that you're using that word? And that's there's actually like a negative connotation, or it may be negative, you know, a negative connotation to certain students. So being really more self-aware with how we describe things and trying to use more kind of neutral language or positive language instead of kind of negative language. Um, like even writing my book, it's so interesting. There's certain kind of idioms I would put in my book, and my editor would be like, oh, you know, that actually has a really negative um historical connotation. And I'm like, I had no idea. I guess we're gonna take that out. I want to make sure everyone feels comfortable and has it is in a you know safe space when they're reading it. And so, you know, we do that on a daily basis, talking to people uh when any topic, really. And so we really need to be uh mindful of our words and how we're expressing things and things from your, you know, your past, your childhood, uh, and some of your biases may come out. And so we need to especially be be really hyperaware of that. And I say that as someone who also has my own biases, and I'm constantly trying to make sure I'm like, oh, I don't, you know, don't come. It's sometimes it's so easy for me to just want to go be like, but if you just did this one thing, I could see the results. You just have to follow these steps. And you have to be like, no, we got to step back because that's not helpful. And then they may feel like they're failing, and then they may want to not continue with the plan. So we really just need to take, you know, follow their lead and and what's you know, their cues and see, okay, you know what? I think I need to be a little bit softer right now because that's what they need. Because that's how, if I'm a bit softer, maybe they're actually going to hear what I'm saying. But if I use a different tone, they may just shut down because that's you know, maybe something from their past, and that just is not how they register or or gather information.
Speaker 3I think like that's amazing advice. I just everything you were saying, I'm thinking, yep, yep, that I can see that working in my classroom. I can see that working for sure. Um, so I think a lot of us, you know, we know the basics. Like the one that I always think about is the 50-30-20 rule for budgeting, right? Very, very basic, very, very simple. And I tried to pass that on to my own children, and and I had a couple of conversations with some of my students, um, grade 12 students especially, who are going out and into the, you know, the world of post-secondary. Um, so we know those basics, but uh one might know how to create a budget, and maybe we know that we shouldn't use a credit card or to buy something that we can't afford that we can't pay off at the end of the month, but you know, sometimes we still do it. Why
Why Harmful Money Habits Persist
Speaker 3do you think that we continue with sort of those harmful money habits that we know we shouldn't do? We understand it's not the right thing to do, but we do it anyways.
Speaker 2Well, I think there's there's a couple elements. One is it is really hard to break a habit you've had for a long time, especially one that not only maybe you've had this habit of, say, like using your credit card when you know you shouldn't, but if you see everyone else doing that, that's really difficult to be the contrarian and not do that. You know how hard it is when, you know, especially when I work with a client and, you know, they're in debt. I'm like, okay, here's the debt repayment plan. And part of it is not using your credit card because they're trying to pay that off. So we're gonna use, you know, cash or your debit or a prepaid card. It's very difficult when you're in certain social settings to pull out the card that's not like everyone else's and not feel kind of like they're questioning you, or like, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you using your credit card? Is something wrong? And no one wants to admit that there's anything wrong or I'm working on anything, or you know, you're out with friends and hey, let's just split the bill. And then you're like, actually, I just got a light salad. Um, can we not split the bill? That's you know how hard it is to speak up and advocate for yourself. So I think there's an element of that. And think the Other is our financial system and just like you know our capitalist world is doing everything it can to make you spend everything you have. It doesn't care that you're not going to retire one day or you're drowning in debt, it wants your money. I mean, there's a part in the book where you talk about all the things to think about when you're going shopping or even at the grocery store. All of these things are set up for you to spend more than you intended to. And it's automatic and it's invisible and it's ingrained in our human behavior. And we really have to be hyper aware that, oh, wait, that's what's happening. I actually don't need two of this thing just because it's on sale. I came here for one of these things. So I need to, you know, really keep myself accountable. You can make mistakes. It's not about being perfect, it's about just getting it done and keeping, you know, keep moving forward. Because if you have this mentality that, okay, like for example, if I make a financial plan for someone, I was working with someone recently and she's like, hey, I'm just having a really hard time kind of implementing some of these steps. I'm like, it's okay. It's not about being absolutely perfect to the T, to the steps that I gave you. It's about doing like the most you can, 50%, 80%, whatever you can do is still better than what you were doing pre-plan when you're just, you know, uh, you know, it's the wild west with your money. So it's really just about doing as best as you can and never giving up. And then you will see over time, oh, this is how, and then it gets easier to implement. And then you'll see that you're changing your habits because, you know, again, you just kept on moving forward and you kept on, uh, even if you made a little money mistake or something like that, you're like, that's okay. Give ourselves a break, and let's just keep going and trying to fix it.
Speaker 3I think that's amazing. That there's a lot of forgiveness, it sounds like.
Speaker 2Yeah, there's not enough forgiveness when it comes to finance. I think we're very hard on ourselves and hard on others. I mean, just look at any comment section in like any, you know, the globe of mail, whatever. Oh my gosh, people are so judgmental about other people's money when it has nothing to do. It's like that is none of your business. You know, but yeah, and and if they're that, you know, judgmental about other people, just think how judgmental they probably are about themselves. We're our worst critics. And so we really need to add more, I you know, we talk about the book. We need more empathy in in the personal finance world because there is a lack of it.
Speaker 3Yeah, you you do mention that. You mentioned definitely that lack of empathy. I think we're seeing that in a lot of spaces.
Trauma, Triggers, And Spending
Speaker 3Yeah. Um, but you and you also talk about trauma too. Yeah. Right. So like why, why is that so uncomfortable still? What how does that how does trauma work with with money? Why do why does why does my trauma care about my finances, right? Like, why are they why is that ignored?
Speaker 2Yeah, well, I mean, I feel like just even the topic of trauma is is only kind of coming to the the forefront in the past couple years. And and same with just like even just the topic of mental health. So it's think it's for a lot of people, depending on that circles. Sometimes like I'm in certain circles, I'm like, oh, okay, we all have therapists, we're all doing the work. And then you go to a different circle, you're like, oh, okay, not like that here. Okay, great. And so it's still very new and becoming kind of acceptable to talk about these things or even acknowledge these things personally. Um, so I think that's one big part. But in terms of like when I was writing the chapter on the connection between trauma and money, I found it was fascinating because I knew there was a connection. I read some books, but honestly, most of the books are just like it was either finance or psychology. And so I had to kind of find a like put them together, like, okay, I can see the overlap. I can see the Venn diagram here. Um, and doing some uh therapy myself to kind of even have that personal experience with it. And what we may not realize as humans is we all have some sort of trauma. It could be small, it could be big, but something bad has probably happened to you. And what we may not realize is when this trauma, if we haven't healed from it and we are getting triggered by it, well, we act in a certain way to try to get back to regulation. And sometimes we use things that are not actually good for us. So, you know, obviously we use a lot of things that are bad, like, you know, alcohol or, you know, uh drugs. These are things to suppress those things so we can feel better, but they're temporary and they're really not a good fix. It's a band-aid and you know, long-term not good. Um, but also we could use money. Money can be that band-aid. We can use money to go shopping to get a dopamine hit, and then we feel good for a little bit and forget exactly why we were triggered and what and what bad thing, you know, we were reminded of. You know, I share a lot of my personal story in there, and there's a lot of things that I didn't realize even had any connection to money because they they were not like a financial trauma. And I think that's the other element. People think, oh, well, I don't have any financial trauma. Nothing financially bad has happened to me. So why is it that I am yeah, terrified of losing my job or terrified of investing in the market because I don't want to lose the money? Just because it hasn't happened to you, it may have happened to someone close to you and that's kind of affected you, or something else completely unrelated, is still connected to that.
Creating A Safe Classroom For Money
Speaker 3Okay, Jessica, what is one small shift that educators can make to support students while being around money? So, like when I go into the classroom tomorrow, what is something that maybe I can work on to make a safer space for my students to talk about money?
Speaker 2Mm-hmm. I think the hardest element of this is you creating that safe space. Because I'm pretty sure a lot of these kids have questions they want to know, and that's probably why um I there was a crazy stat of something like 50 or 60% of Gen Z is going towards social media for financial information. There's a reason for that. It's because you can kind of look at this information from a person that maybe you can identify with who's maybe your age, but you're anonymous. You don't have to reveal anything about yourself. But then there's not really a two-way, you know, communication. And so you really, you know, as an educator, you want to be able to let them know it's okay to come to me and ask me your questions. And maybe, you know, figuring out are there some mechanisms or tools I can use so they can feel more comfortable asking me these questions? Maybe like setting up some sort of platform where they can ask you questions anonymously. Because, you know, some students, I mean, I remember a few years ago um doing uh a kind of a talk. My mom uh works for a high school, and so spoke to some students, and I remember, you know, there's a Q ⁇ A period, and if I usually do it with adults, you know, there takes some time for people to raise their hands, and then the conversation flows. But the kids, literally zero. And I think part of it is because it's such a it's heightened when you're in high school, the social comparison, and you don't want to either, you know, ask something that's a stupid question, quote unquote. Uh, but also reveal anything about your financial situation because people, again, I remember being in high school and being judged for what I wore, you know, wasn't always wearing the coolest things or what, you know, the latest trends. And people in high school, especially you you take note of people's finances. You don't realize that you're doing that as a kid. You don't maybe have the terminology, but you know who has money and who doesn't. And so it could be very a vulnerable thing in a classroom setting to raise your hand or talk to the teacher about money because it may reveal something about yourself. Having some sort of yeah, mechanism where they can feel like maybe there's a little bit of a layer that no one needs to know who I am, but I can't ask these questions, whether that's an email or instant messaging or some sort of anonymous platform, I think that could be really, really helpful because it already kind of exists on social media, but you're a trusted person that can actually give some valid information because some of the it's it's scary what's out there on social media. There people are saying, you know, everything and anything. And so there's a lot of misinformation out there too.
Speaker 3And I feel like even if we are not experts in money ourselves, at least maybe we have a better understanding of what might be misinformation, hopefully to guide them in in the right direction. Um, I mean, I'm not sure if that's always true, but hopefully it is for for most of the time.
Speaker 2But yeah, I mean, I think as an educator, you'd definitely call out like, um, you heard that on TikTok, did you? I don't know about that. I think that's a scam.
Speaker 3As an experienced adult, let's take a look at that.
Speaker 2Don't do that. No. Yeah.
You Are More Than Money
Speaker 3Okay, so I have to mention m my favorite quote in the book. Um, you state that one thing you hope people take away from your book is that no matter what's happened to you, what your upbringing was like, what behaviors you adopted or mistakes you made, you are more than your money. That's really quite powerful. Thank you. So, again, as educators, how can I bring that message to my students in the classroom?
Speaker 2It's really difficult because how our society is kind of structured, and especially again with social media that really props up people who have the fanciest things and the biggest followers that can lead to more money. How can you, you know, frame life and what life is really about by saying you're more than your money? Money is not the be all end all. It shouldn't be the end goal. It's difficult to, I think, express that to a kid when they are confronted with so much materialism and capitalism at such a young age, especially. But I think it is is something that needs to be um, you know, at the forefront. And I think it's it's sometimes having those conversations of let's talk about what actually brings you joy. You know, I talk about in the book, you know, for for adults, what actually makes you happy? I think kids are actually a little bit um easier. They know what makes them happy. And I feel like as adults, we sometimes forget along the way because we're just bogged down with, you know, life and responsibilities. Kids know what makes them excited and happy, you know, whether it's books or video games or oh, my friends, or my pet or my family or whatever the case is. They know. And so reminding them, that's actually the point. The point is to find joy and peace and have that connection with people. That's the point. Money is just a tool to get you through things, but it's important to never lose sight of that because you can point to so many adults, look at all these people who've lost sight of that. It's not about getting a yacht. Who cares about a yacht? It's about having friends that you can have a good time with on a yacht, or if not a yacht, a canoe, whatever. But it's really about, I think, trying to frame, you know, what is the kind of the point of life? What's this journey all about? And of course, you know, we all have our own ideas of what this journey called life is all about, but at the end of the day, it's it's about these really simple things that are either free or almost free. Those are the things scientifically that will make you happy and make life worth living. And money can help you with that, but only to a certain extent.
Season Wrap And Listener Thanks
Speaker 3Jessica, I have to be honest, I think before I read your book, I was very intimidated by money and bank accounts and investing and those sorts of things. Um, but I just want to thank you. I want to thank you for being with us here too, but I also want to thank you for writing this book and and for helping people get a handle on this and managing their money, something that's so important in our life. Um, but it doesn't have to take over our life. So thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2Oh, thank you. That means that means a a lot, honestly, especially since I worked, you know, I started writing this book in 2023, so I've been living with it for a while, but now it's been out in the world for about a year, and it's really, it never gets old hearing people be like, I read it and I got this out of it. Because for a long time it was just me and my book. It was just me and my words. And so, oh no, people have actually read it. It still like it surprises me.
Speaker 3You are not alone anymore, Jessica. Yeah, for sure. You've got lots of fans now. So thank you for joining us, and and thank you to our listeners for joining us on this. This is our last episode of our fourth season. So please don't forget to follow, rate, share the podcast so more educators can deepen their practice and stay connected with our teaching community as summer approaches and we head into these final weeks of the school year. Remember, what you've planted this year matters more than you can see. So the lessons, the patience, the quiet encouragement, it all sticks. So finish strong, take care of yourself, know that what you do every day truly makes a difference. We're cheering you on all the way to the finish line, and we hope you join us next season on our What the Family Studies podcast.
Join OFSHEEA Board Invitation
SpeakerHello, What the Family Studies listeners. It's Teresa here, the president of OFSHEEA. I'm so glad that you enjoy our podcast, and it means a lot to have great listeners like you. If you like the work that OFSHEEA does, would you consider joining our board of directors and helping us to promote family studies in Ontario? If you would like more information about joining our board, send an email to ofsheea@ofsheea.ca
Speaker 1What the Family Studies is brought to you by the Ontario Family Studies Home Economics Educators Association. Special thanks to our producer, Michelin Gallant, editor Charlie Rogers, and our host, Catherine Murphy.
