Who are your financial heroes?

Andreas Hallam. Six years ago I read his book, The Millionaire Teacher, and things that were hard to understand just clicked in my head. I find that if you’re diving into a book that’s a little above your level, and you’re just feeling anxious, sometimes you think, “Well, this is too complicated.” But his book made me realize that you can learn these things. He broke out the concepts in an understandable way. Plus, he’s just a nice guy. He is one of my favorite people. I just love everything he does.

Also Melissa Leong. She is a huge support to me and has been a great support to me. I asked her about careers and money, and she was great. The same goes for my friend Rubina Ahmed-Haq. She is such a great person to get ideas from, and she encourages me to learn more. Frankly, I think it was she who prompted me to do the Canadian Securities Course (CSC). I really look up to those three.

How do you prefer to spend your free time?

I love what I do so much that I am a bit of a workaholic. But besides work I go for a walk with my husband, we like to cook and sometimes I also like to bake. I read, I take naps, I watch crap shows. I like going out with friends, playing board games and stuff like that. Honestly I am a low key person.

If money were no object, what would you do now?

I would do something similar to what I’m doing now. I’ve talked to many people on the More Money Podcast about financial independence, such as the FIRE community. The whole point of such an extreme life is 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 to get that pile of money. I was like, “Why don’t I just live that life now?” I like to write, tell stories and talk to different people. And when you talk to most FIRE people, guess what they do? They start a blog or a podcast or a YouTube channel.

But let’s just say, I couldn’t do what I’m doing now, and I have a lot of money to do what I want. I would spend all my time traveling and then writing novels. If I couldn’t do this, that would be the dream.

What was your first memory of money?

One of my first money memories, and it’s burned into my head, is from seventh grade math class. My teacher had a diatribe about credit. The other students and I didn’t know what credit was – or even what credit cards were. He talked to us about the pitfalls of spending money you didn’t have. I’m not sure if he personally experienced anything.

Until then, I didn’t think about how money could play a negative role in your life, and I heard about some of the consequences. It scared me a little. 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 fifth grade, I saved my own money and bought a No Doubt CD. It was like the most precious gemstone I ever had. Because like, oh my gosh, I just got this album, and it’s great, and I bought it with my own money.

This post Jessica Moorhouse on asking for raise and what she would do if money were no object?

was original published at “https://www.moneysense.ca/columns/my-moneysense/jessica-moorhouse/”

Richard