Latest news with #JessicaMoorhouse
Cision Canada
16 hours ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
New Mydoh Study Reveals Back-to-School Budgeting Struggles for Canadian Parents
81% of Canadian parents stressed by back-to-school shopping, but financial expert Jessica Moorhouse sees it as a teachable money moment TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2025 /CNW/ - Many Canadian families are preparing for what is often one of the most stressful financial seasons of the year: back-to-school shopping. Parents are caught between their kids' big dreams and even bigger wish lists – all while trying to keep their spending in check. According to a recent study commissioned by Mydoh, 81 per cent of Canadian parents report feeling stressed about back-to-school shopping. In response, the Mydoh app, a money management tool designed for teens and kids, has collaborated with financial expert Jessica Moorhouse to offer practical advice that can help families navigate the season with less stress and more confidence. "We know back-to-school can feel like a financial pressure point," said Angelique de Montbrun, Chief Executive Officer of Mydoh. "But it's also the perfect opportunity to build lifelong money skills. We want to help parents turn the seasonal spending standoff between wants and needs into real-life lessons in financial literacy and budgeting." A Strategic Approach to Back-to-School Budgeting Jessica Moorhouse recommends a three-phase approach: Plan ahead by aligning on clear goals Execute with intention during shopping Reflect afterward to reinforce smart financial habits Before You Go One in three parents Mydoh talked to about back-to-school shopping said they often spend more than their planned budget because they never built a budget in the first place. Before heading to the store, Moorhouse proposes sitting down as a family to make a shopping list and set a clear budget. Researching prices beforehand establishes realistic expectations and empowers kids to understand the value of what they're asking for. Use this time to discuss each item, distinguishing wants from needs and prioritizing accordingly – just in case you can't buy everything. "When it comes to money, I encourage a transparent approach and recommend kids contribute their own money toward some of the 'want' items," said Moorhouse. "This is where Mydoh can be a game changer. Its 'Spend' and 'Save' features support goal-oriented saving, allowing kids to set aside money for specific wish list items. Plus, allowances can be automatically split between Spending and Saving, helping make financial responsibility effortless." Keep the child's age in mind during these discussions. For younger kids (up to grade four), parents can lead but involve the kids in reviewing the list. By around grade five, kids can start participating more directly in budgeting and understanding the breakdown. At The Store 60 per cent of parents say their kids have a basic understanding of the financial realities of back-to-school shopping – but that those realities are easily forgotten once they walk into a store. When kids ask for something outside the budget, it's important not to judge or dismiss the ask, and equally as important not to agree by default. Instead, parents can validate the want – and offer them choices. For items kids are responsible for purchasing as part of the budgeting process, parents can give them the opportunity to take control of their spending in the store. Kids can have their own way to pay – like using the Smart Cash Card, which is included with every Mydoh account. Parents stay informed through real-time transaction notifications – and have the ability to lock the card in the event that the card or phone gets lost, which means parents can even send their kids shopping on their own, and still enjoy some oversight and peace of mind. "While 40 per cent of parents said they overspend during back-to-school shopping because they don't want to disappoint their kids, the biggest financial mistake parents make during the season is allowing their kids to set the spending rules," says Moorhouse. "Remember that setting boundaries doesn't make you a bad parent – it helps build long-term financial fortitude." Encourage Ongoing Learning Sticking to a budget often means leaving the store without everything on a child's wish list. But the lesson doesn't have to end there. Using a tool like Mydoh, parents can assign chores that reward kids with earned money, teaching the value of effort. When children return to buy that coveted item, they learn firsthand that some "wants" require patience and dedication. For more Back to School budgeting tips, visit Survey Methodology These findings are drawn from an online survey conducted by Prodege between July 25-27, 2025, on behalf of Craft Public Relations, commissioned by Mydoh. The survey included a total of n=1,000 Canadian parents with children ages 7-15. Respondents reflect the natural demographic distribution of members of Prodege 's research panel, except for the quotas used to ensure that n=200 responses were collected from Quebec to enable reliable segmentation of the results by region, no other demographic quotas or post-survey methodologies were applied. At a sample size of 1,000, the margin of error for the study is ± 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, though margins of error are higher among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 97,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at About RBCx RBCx banks, builds, and invests in the innovation ecosystem – backed by the institutional strength and stability of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). With specialized financial solutions, portfolio building experience, and a collective of specialists that provide powerful support, we help startups and scaleups unlock growth across every stage of their journey. About Mydoh Since 2019, Mydoh has been committed to helping parents raise money-smart youth. Mydoh began with the shared belief that money management isn't something you are taught, as much as something you learn through experience – and that experience should start early. Mydoh has championed this belief since its inception and with it, has been able to help over 280,000 Canadians build a more solid financial foundation for the next generation.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Gen Z Can Make Getting Wealthy ‘Inevitable,' According to Self-Made Millionaire Rachel Rodgers
Some of Gen Z are already years into the workforce. Self-made millionaire Rachel Rodgers, author and founder of Hello Seven, in an extensive interview with Jessica Moorhouse explores ways the generation, often cited as born between 1997 and 2012, can make getting wealthy inevitable. Trending Now: Explore More: Here are four of the considerations. Have That Million-Dollar Dream As the classic song goes, don't stop believing. Dream big — and dream beyond college. Rodgers points out that the path to success looks different today. What do you envision for yourself? 'The plan can't just be to go to college, get a good job,' said Rodgers. 'Because those good jobs are not enough anymore to live off of comfortably.' For a growing number of high school graduates, trade school is the way to go. Trade school enrollment has increased almost 20% since the spring of 2020, according to The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. No matter the chosen path, leadership experts tend to agree that dreaming big reveals your full potential. For You: Get a Job That Funds Your Side Hustle Rodger recommends Gen Z find 'a side hustle that feels like a hobby that you enjoy that makes you money.' Then, you amass enough wealth to start investing. Be strategic. 'The ultimate goal is always to separate your labor from your earnings and be able to earn money when you're not laboring,' said Rodgers. Side hustles have become increasingly common. A recent The MarketWatch Guides survey found that one in two Americans (51%) have worked a side hustle in the past year, and the rate among Gen Z is even higher (72%). Pay Attention to Your Money Rodgers suggests a 'sacred' weekly meeting with yourself that she calls 'Money Church.' While everyone has a personally preferred way for tracking expenses, it's not just dollars and math for Rodgers. 'How do you feel about the decisions you made around your money,' she asked. 'Do you want to return anything you bought? Look at what happened and what's coming up. And, come up with ways to earn more money.' The key is training your brain for money-making opportunities. Be Investing Put a small amount into your investments each month and watch it, said Rodgers who was well into her thirties when she started investing. She suggested generally putting more money into investments than into savings. Investing for growth may have long-term benefits, according to Fidelity. 'Look at the history of stock markets over years and decades — the movement is consistent in a positive way,' she said, although also pointing out that 'nothing about building wealth is guaranteed.' More From GOBankingRates 5 Ways Trump Signing the GENIUS Act Could Impact Retirees7 Ways To Tell If You're Rich or Middle Class -- It's More Than Your Paycheck This article originally appeared on How Gen Z Can Make Getting Wealthy 'Inevitable,' According to Self-Made Millionaire Rachel Rodgers Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
AI-powered personal finance is here: for better and for worse
Opinion Financial advice at your fingertips is by no means a new innovation. Yet with the rise of artificial intelligence, getting insights about your money has been taken to new heights of potential benefit — and dangers. 'There is a lot of upside to using AI, especially for budgeting, and it's often good as a first draft for anything you want to do,' says Monisha Sharma, Toronto-based chief revenue officer at Fig Financial, which provides consolidation, home improvement and unsecured loans. Fig has some insight on AI's benefits. The fintech company leverages AI technology to make loans quickly to Canadians, but its use case is contained to Fig's own specific data to ensure a low error rate. When generative AI tools like ChatGPT are used by consumers to search for answers to their questions about personal finance, 'it's by no means perfect,' she adds. Yet AI-driven insight and advice is likely to get much better in the years — maybe even months — to come. A 2024 study by MIT's Laboratory for Financial Engineering suggests that AI already shows potential in providing good financial advice. Yet it still has challenges ensuring the advice is based on correct information. Overall, the research points to how, with the right data and protective guardrails, generative AI could be pretty good at providing financial advice. Just don't blindly trust it. That said, blind trust in finance is a bad idea with human experts too. By now, anyone who has used the AI tools — Google's Gemini, Microsoft's CoPilot, Perplexity, among many others — understands what a 'hallucination' is. These fabricated errors produced from generative AI models range from rates of less than one per cent to close to 30 per cent, depending on the search engine, according to one study from early August. When it comes to your money, a hallucination could prove costly. 'A lot of people focus on the pros and forget about the cons,' says Jessica Moorhouse, financial counsellor and bestselling author of Everything but money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom in Toronto. The stakes are higher with finances, more complicated and nuanced than, by comparison, meal planning, she adds. 'It's unlikely that ChatGPT is going to give you a recipe that is super unhealthy, but when it comes to using AI for money management advice, you have to be cautious.' That said, a lot of Canadians are using generative AI searches to provide them with money know-how. One BMO study from last year found that a third of respondents use it for their finances, though mostly for financial literacy, and the younger you are, the more likely you're going to use it. AI can be a truly valuable personal finance tool if you remember its limitations, says Christi Posner, a Winnipeg-based fintech strategist helping financial companies develop AI tools for personal finance. 'The beauty of gen-AI is that you can talk to it like you text a friend, and it turns complex topics into something you can understand fast,' she says, noting the algorithmically driven software 'learns' from potentially hundreds of millions of documents on a variety of subjects that it can access. It excels at building budgets, discovering savings and investing strategies, while explaining complex financial concepts in plain language. It can even tell you, based on your savings, age and forecast retirement date, whether you're on track to reach your goal. 'AI makes money choices easier,' says the former debt counsellor, who understands well the impact of emotionally driven poor choices. 'From comparing mortgage options to meal planning, AI can simplify the hardest parts of money management.' That includes helping individuals find the best deals on travel, which another recent study found. The research by Adyen, a payment services provider, found a third of respondents are using it to help with travel decisions. 'We found it's used mostly to build a personalized travel itinerary,' says Sander Meijers, Canada country manager at Adyen in Toronto. He's used it himself when on vacation for finding suitable activities for his kids. 'What might take me a couple of hours to plan, maybe, takes seconds.' Still, the study found people still prefer the human touch — like getting one-the-ground advice from a hotel concierge. Similarly, it's difficult to replace the human mind and its ability for nuance required for personalized financial advice because of the emotions that often factor into them. 'It's tempting to let AI figure it out for you, but financial planning has emotional and behavioural components that AI can't handle,' Posner says. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. It can draft a budget, but it can't make you stick to it. It can point to places where you can cut expenses, but it does not know which ones bring joy to your family, Posner adds. But it does make learning about money more approachable. 'People's financial lives are deeply personal, and talking about money can be scary,' she says. 'AI takes away the fear and stigma about money and debt, and provides a non-judgmental starting point.' Joel Schlesinger is a Winnipeg-based freelance journalist joelschles@
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Is it really a recession indicator?
What does the viral trend say about how we talk about money and tough economic times? Personal Finance Expert and Author Jessica Moorhouse joined us.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
How to keep your finances on track according to Canadian expert
We're kicking off Financial Fitness Week by looking at how you can evaluate your own financial fitness! This week marks Financial Fitness Week and CTV Morning Live looks into how to evaluate your financial situation to grow your net worth. The net worth is defined as the health check for your finances, according to personal finance expert and author Jessica Moorhouse. This includes your assets and liabilities. Moorhouse says that you want to see your net worth grow every month. This can be done through saving, investing and paying your debts, she adds. Emergency funds The most important thing when it comes to finances is making sure you have an emergency fund, Moorhouse said. 'When you think everything is going well, that's when something happens unexpectedly,' she said. 'Your car breaks down, your pet gets sick, you lose your job or your hours are cut. Something is always going to happen.' The rule of thumb, according to Moorhouse, is to have enough money to cover expenses for three to six months. She notes that most people do not have an emergency fund, citing having other priorities and not being able to save. Therefore, her first suggestion when meeting with new clients is to prioritize having that emergency fund. How to manage debt When it comes to debt, Moorhouse says it's usually an emotional topic that comes with shame, embarrassment and anxiety. There is always a way out, she notes. She suggests looking at the interest rates and trying to find the best repayment strategy. 'There are two important ones (strategies), the debt avalanche and the debt snowball. You either want to start paying off aggressively the one with the highest interest rate first, or do you want to tackle the smallest balance,' Moorhouse said. While the debt avalanche focuses on minimizing interest costs by paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first, the debt snowball focuses on paying off the smallest debts before moving on to the bigger ones, she explains. Cash flow vs spending Looking at the cash flow, which is the cash that comes in and the money that goes out, is very important to manage your finances, Moorhouse says. Though people look at how much they make per month, they don't necessarily look at their spending, she says, while suggesting tracking all expenses. 'It is important because we know that we (might have) spent a little too much on eating out. 'Or what was this expense? I thought I cancelled that subscription. Well, I didn't.' So, now I know cause that's my spending,' she added. The personal financial expert suggests aligning your spending with your goals and values. For example, if you want to go on a trip, she suggests cutting off on spending on take out coffees or eating at restaurants. More information is available in Moorhouse's book titled Everything but Money.
