How to find ‘financial fulfilment,’ according to a top money expert

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Many people are determined to mark the new year with a new approach to money management. Especially as those holiday credit card bills roll in.

Jessica Moorhouse, host of the popular More Money Podcast and author of the new book, Everything but Money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Your Financial Freedom, is an accredited financial counsellor who says the path to a healthier, and happier, relationship with money is about more than setting up a budget.

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Moorhouse, a Coquitlam native, says the road to ‘financial fulfilment’ begins with facing the truth about our emotional relationship with money.

“Working with people one-on-one, I was realizing that most people’s money issues weren’t actually about money itself. They were usually something deeper, but then those issues would manifest in terms of how they manage their money,” said Moorhouse, who has worked in finance for 13 years.

That realization led Moorhouse to take a “deep dive into figuring out the hidden barriers” that often go unaddressed in many personal finance books.

“Why can’t I move forward when … all the books say it’s so easy? Just work hard and do this and this. And so that’s what I really wanted the book to focus on was to answer those people’s questions of, ‘Why nothing is working for me?’ ” said Moorhouse, who opens her book by asking the reader to look back at early memories of money and how money made them feel.

To reach what Moorhouse calls “financial fulfilment” and break free of the debt cycle, introspection is required to fully understand triggers that lead to poor financial decisions. Just take a minute and think about the concept of retail therapy.

“I’m going to go shopping and buy myself something to make myself feel better. And if you don’t make that connection, you’re going to be in that cycle forever,” said Moorhouse. “You need something different, and you need to figure out what is actually going on, what is driving you and your habits and your behaviours and your thought process when it comes to your money. If you don’t figure that out, you’re never going to change.”

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Five budgeting tips for 2025

As we embark on a new year, we asked Moorhouse for some tips to have a financially healthier 2025:

Ask yourself, ‘What’s not working with my budget?’ Then change it.

Often, we’re quick to blame ourselves when it comes to our budgets. If we overspent, under-saved, or just didn’t meet the expectations we had at the beginning of last year, we may take it as a personal failure or chalk it up to, “I guess I’m just not good with money.” But what if it isn’t you? What if it’s the system you’re using?

Maybe you’ve been trying to stick to the cash envelope method of budgeting, but are a better fit for using a debit card instead? Maybe you’re trying to track every single expense in an old-school budget binder, but are better suited to using a digital budget spreadsheet or budgeting app?

Take a good look at what system you’re currently working with and switch things up so it better fits your lifestyle and personal preferences.

Set goals that move you.

You likely already know about the importance of saving and “paying yourself first.” So why is it still so hard to find the money to put into savings? Sometimes it’s an income issue, in which case the solution is to earn more or spend less, or both. But other times, it’s a goals issue. If you don’t have clear goals that get you more excited to save than to spend, you’re always going to come up short. So, pick goals that move you to take action and use a tried-and-true strategy like SMART goals in which you make your savings goals specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based.

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Don’t overcomplicate things.

Every day it seems like there’s some new budgeting trend, but as someone who’s been teaching people how to budget for over a decade, let me clear something up — budgeting is simple and the rules haven’t changed (despite what social media may make you think). A budget is simply a plan for how you’d like to spend your money. And a good budget will guide you to spend less than you earn, pay your bills on time, and always have money to spare to save and invest. So keep it simple and if you feel confused or overwhelmed, it might be time to silence the noise and remember the basics.

Seek out positive financial influences to stay motivated.

Budgeting can sometimes feel lonely, as if you’re the only one who’s doing it. But let me tell you right now, many of the smartest, most successful and wealthy people stick to a budget. Believe me, I’ve interviewed hundreds of them on my podcast over the years. You’re not the only one budgeting, but if it feels like you are, you may need to start finding some money mentors, in real life or online, to help you feel good about budgeting. Honestly, that’s a big reason I started my podcast. I wanted an excuse to speak to people I admired about how they managed their money, which in turn not only helped me stick to my budget, but thousands of listeners too.

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Leave the past in the past and look to the future.

We’ve all made mistakes with our money we wish we could go back in time to undo. But the last I checked, time machines still don’t exist so you need to let that stuff go, stop holding onto self-blame (no one’s perfect and we all make mistakes), and start focusing on the future instead of the past. You’ve still got time to do better moving forward, so make a plan, learn from those money mistakes from the past so you don’t repeat them, and make better choices now, tomorrow and every day into the future.

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