Everything but Money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom

by Jessica Moorhouse

Money therapy to go beyond the budget and get to the root of your relationship with money from Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada® and host of the popular More Money Podcast, Jessica Moorhouse.

Why is money the number one stress in my life? How do I keep getting into debt after I worked so hard to get out? Will I ever have enough money to make me feel secure?”

If this sounds like you, it’s time to think about your money story. For the past decade, Jessica Moorhouse, Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada®, has been privy to some of the most intimate conversations about money with strangers who put their trust in her to listen without judgment and offer solutions. From Jessica’s experience and supported by research, there’s a lot of stuff in the way of thinking about money clearly. This book includes all the insecurities, fixations, and inherited ideas you’re carrying around about money—and how to get past them. No amount of top 10 tips or golden rules will help you with your money struggles unless you confront what’s causing these struggles in the first place — trauma, human behaviour, and an unjust social system. It’s only when you acknowledge and understand the root cause of your money issues that you can start making a plan to overcome them.

These are some of the topics that will be explored in the

How past trauma shapes your negative relationship with moneyUnlearning some of the “truths” about money that are hurting youRecognizing patterns and red flags to stop the cycle of poor financial decision-makingUnderstanding the institutions and systems that are holding you back financiallyRecognizing good and bad financial adviceLearning how to trust yourself and others when it comes to money managementCreating a new path for achieving financial freedomEverything But Money is a practical, inspirational self-help book for readers to uncover their money story and empower them to create a new, healthier and happier relationship with money.

Genres: Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Money, Self Help, Canada, Finance, Personal Development

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2024

About the author

Jessica is a sought-after money expert, TV personality and speaker. She is an Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada®, an award-winning financial content creator and the host of the chart-topping More Money Podcast (4+ million downloads). As a personal finance educator for over 13 years, she has given presentations throughout North America and is regularly featured by major Canadian and US 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 December 31, 2024 (HarperCollins Canada) and became an Indigo Staff Pick, Globe and Mail Bestseller, Toronto Star Bestseller, Quill & Quire Bestseller, and Amazon Bestseller. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

Reviews

[Oceana Reads Co. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first bit about how our upbringing and ancestry influences our relationship with money as adults.
It got into the weeds a bit in the last half and I was checked out.

Some good parts and some parts I would skip. Appreciated the Canadian pov.

[Selina Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, but as someone with good financial literacy, who regularly attends therapy, and a good understanding of societal inhibitors to wealth, this book didn’t provide too much new knowledge. Maybe I wasn’t the intended audience!

There were a few good moments that tied some theories together in my head, but for the most part the author seemed out of her area of expertise and spent a lot of time compensating for not having the lived experiences she talked about. At the end of the day, I do feel better about my relationship with money after reading this and appreciate the final sentiment that I am so much more than my money. But maybe that’s because I come from a place of immense privilege, as described in the book.

However, I’d recommend this to people with less understanding of what I described above. They would likely get more value out of this book.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really read self-help and/or financial advice books. But this one was definitely interesting, at the intersection of behavioural economics and personal finance.

[Leesa Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a most-anticipated read for me this year, and I was so excited I preordered this twice by accident (a common occurrence for me).

I first learned about Jessica Moorehouse through a online workshop put on by The Financial Diet that was geared towards Canadians (eh). From there I became a regular listener to her podcast (Moore Money Podcast). I am so glad this came into my life because it made me want to deep diver into my own finances.

"Everything but Money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom" truly delivers what the title says. This book goes beyond the surface of basic financial concepts and dives into why we may do what we do with our finances. Our upbringing, beliefs, traumas, and mental health all fit into our financial silo, but I feel that no other book has ever explored this quite like Jessica. It was easy to read, follow along, and speaks to a broad audience. While written by a Canadian author, the niches of Canadian-specific products are minimal and concepts can be applied in any country.

I strongly believe that if you're looking to start reading about personal finance, and have no idea where to start, please start with "Everything But Money". Jessica Moorehouse has written a stand-out book.

[Lexie Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my personal goals in 2025 is to be more financial aware and knowledge. Thus, I’ve made a point to listen to finance podcasts and audiobooks when I have the chance. Overall, I appreciated the purpose of this book but found that I didn’t learn much when it came to the stock market, investments, money, etc. Though that’s the intention of the novel, I was hoping to gain more knowledge in that regards.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truthfully feel a little bad not giving this five stars, because I love Jessica Moorehouse and have been a long time follower. But, I also don't think she would want me to be biased ;-) To be clear - this book is great, and a must read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and "digging deep" is right up my alley lol. I think the thing that bothered me, though, is knowing that it was never intended to be an *entire* book about money trauma. But that this was what the publisher wanted. To me, that was unfortunately very, very obvious and it felt stretched, forced, and even rushed, at times (I forget the exact chapter, but there is a part where she's talking about cramming in a bunch of therapy sessions just shortly before her manuscript deadline, trying to get more content in, as an example). Being a long time follower of Jessica, a lot of this came out of left field and didn't feel like her voice, if that makes sense. That being said, it's impressively well researched for something that isn't in her wheelhouse. So kudos to her research and organization skills. Wow. As one other reviewer had mentioned, I'm the type of person who has already done a lot of therapy, and I'm pretty into personal development. So for me, the textbook definitions of basic stuff felt a little tedious. Almost like I was reading a glossary at some points. However, it might be a phenomenal launching point for somebody who is totally new to this stuff. The book is important. It's astounding that discussions on ability, race, privilege, trauma etc are lacking from other personal finance stuff I have read. While this book doesn't "solve" any of this (it only brushes on each thing superficially) it gets the ball rolling on the conversation. I am oddly reminded of Ann Helen Peterson's Can't Even. While these books aren't even remotely similar, I am reminded of Peterson because she would repeatedly say that the book is not a solution, but a lens through which to view your life. And that really reminds me of Jessica's book. It's a lens, and it will help you see yourself, your situation and hopefully other people's situations with a different viewpoint. It could be incredibly validating for someone who isn't hitting their financial goals, and is maybe under-estimating some of the disadvantages or traumas they have faced in life. I will also say it was nice seeing a more vulnerable side of Jessica, and I related to so many random things about her, personally. For example, I also have an anxious / avoidant attachment style. Which is rare, especially for somebody who didn't have any major trauma in their childhood. Some random lines that she mentioned will stick with me. I can totally relate to being guarded, and the way she describes being hesitant to open up to people, for fear of anything she discloses being "weaponized" against her was bang on. And Jessica, if you read the reviews, know that I fell in love with you a little more when you talked about your Nespresso. That is simultaneously one of my greatest and simple joys in life, and also one of my glimmers. I highly recommend this for any hands-on person who is willing to do the work. If you're not there yet, you might find the exercises challenging, and uncomfortable. It's not a book of answers, quick fixes or "secrets" (a good thing!), but rather a tool that will be of great use to you, if you're willing. Thank you so much for writing this, Jessica! Well done!

[Sam G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone should read this book. Through the premise of helping the reader improve their relationship with money, the author takes you on a journey of self-exploration and healing. At the same time, the personal finance throughline grounds the book and prevents it from being too abstract. The author shares about their own trauma and mistakes, making her relatable. The tone of the book is non-judgmental and grants the grace necessary when bringing up sensitive topics.

One of the best chapters was about privilege - how no one wants to acknowledge their own for fear their achievements will be dismissed as not being the result of hard work. The chapter includes a discussion on how race, disability and gender intersects with finances. In my experience, these topics are commonly discussed separately from money but rarely with it.

While reading the book I listened to the podcast "What We Spend", a series of 7-day audio spending diaries. This podcast is the perfect case study compliment to the book. Everything the book talked about was coming up in the podcast in the personal experiences of the guests and it enhanced my experience of the book tremendously.

Overall, I loved this book. You will not regret reading it.

[lindsay.books · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential but I ended up DNF-ing it about 40% in. It reminded me of The Psychology of Money, in that it's not a self-help or to-do guide, but instead provides guidance to help you better understand your relationship to money and how your past experiences may be contributing to your current challenges. (For example, if you grew up in a household where the family lived pay cheque to pay cheque, you may find it hard to spend money even on legitimate expenses you can now afford.)

Where it got off track was the depth the author went into on some topics I considered peripheral to the main (money) topic - for example she spends a lot of time talking about attachment styles and how that applies to your relationship with money, and also going into her family history in a lot of detail to explain that some attitudes can be inherited. After listening to a long section where she went over the financial behaviour of multiple members of her extended family I decided I was done with the book. Onto the next!

[Daina Petronis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider myself financially literate and I'm also in therapy. While reading "Everything But Money," I repeatedly thought to myself, "yep, I'm really good with money." But after I let the book sit for a bit, I started to notice how my nervous system responded to the financial aspects of my life. This led me to some realizations I hadn't considered before.

I found the book approachable and easy to read. From the start, Jessica comes across as relatable and disarming. She shares many personal experiences, as well as stories from others who come from diverse backgrounds. In addition to this, there was a wealth of insight into how social, political, economic, and ancestral circumstances shape personal finances. This provided a lot of valuable context for reflecting on my own money story.

If you're also in therapy, you know that the work is never really "done." I'm grateful for the blindspots this book brought up for me and excited to continue to unpack my relationship with money.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a listener of Jessica Moorhouse's podcast, More Money, for many years and love her approach to financial education for millennials. I'm used to her interviewing various financial experts and breaking down current topics, but this book goes deep, with self-reflection and personal exploration of how things like our family history, trauma, and privilege impact our relationship with and decisions around money. It's fascinating and well-researched, and not at all what I expected to be diving into as part of my personal finance journey. I might need to start going to therapy just to make myself richer. Kudos on this book, Jessica!

[Jennifer Vigil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the content Jessica has provided for years; her podcasts, her YouTube videos and wealth literacy program. I felt so happy for her that she wrote a book and went ahead and bought it. I should have read the synopsis because it wasn’t what I was expecting. This felt more psychological (to understand your behaviour about money) than actual financial literacy content. You really get into the nitty gritty of where your behavior can stem from. I think the best reader that would benefit from this book would be one that has never dug into why they behave they way they do about money. And not necessarily how to manage your money (stocks, ETFs, GICs, etc).

[Niya · Rating 4 out of 5]

While similar to Tessler's work, Moorhouse suggests a more accessible if less comprehensive approach to reworking money stories. The other piece that adds value is the acknowledgement of the significant role that neurodiversity and mental health challenges play in our relationship with money, and that seeking therapeutic support that is affordable to increase earning capacity to improve access to other therapies is a viable way forward. The perspective on epigenetics as it relates to patterns in money relationships is also useful to consider thought it would be nice to see more model minorities represented. Best consumed with your favorite comfort splurge beverage or snack.

[AdeReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand their relationship with money and how their life experience has shaped how they use it and their attitudes towards it. The book dives deep into topics like trauma and privilege (or lack thereof), as well as attachment theory and how different types of biases influence our behaviour. Jessica shares a lot about her own money story and encourages the reader to explore their own. 3.5. It’s well researched and written; it just didn’t offer me any big takeaways, likely because of my existing knowledge on the topic.

[Lydia Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 - Jessica Moorhouse is awesome. I’m not a fan of the self-help genre at all, but I’ve been following her for years and knew that I had to read this when I could get my hands on a library copy. I consider myself someone who has a good understanding of personal finance and the intersectionality of socioeconomics, so most of the info shared in this book wasn’t new to me. However, this was really well written and is something I’d share and recommend to anyone who wants a better understanding of the “why” when it comes to our relationships with money.

[Lori Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focused more on reflecting on your money story (upbringing, trauma, structural barriers etc) and I do think some parts were like a little bit too long, but otherwise it was really good at making you think about what your money story is right now and how you can continue writing it. I particularly appreciated the positive psychology model she talked about towards the end of the book - that was new for me (PERMA model). With that said, it's not the best well-rounded personal finance book, but it goes really well with other more practical budgeting/debt payoff/investment books.

[Gemington · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW: trauma, oppression

While this book’s title says it won’t really be about money, I still wish this money expert spent more time sharing her expertise. This book seemed largely out of scope for the knowledge of the author. Her personal experiences are interesting, but her approaches to “everything” are superficial and not always nuanced. Basically the thrust of the book is that we are all traumatized and that therapy should come before finance. She regularly says the money part is easy and that there are lots of ways to get that advice. But she is a money expert?

[Jessica Moorhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not me, the author of this book, shamelessly giving it a 5-star rating haha. Just wanted to hop on here and thank everyone who has taken the time to read my book and share your thoughts with others on Goodreads. I also wanted to let anyone know that if you wanted to access some free book extras I made (videos, audio, worksheets) that are companion to the book, you can find them on my website at https://jessicamoorhouse.com/shop.

[Katelynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. This directly talked about some of the things I’m working through but there’s a lot here I already know. It’s a lot of starter stuff and if you aren’t tuned into the personal finance world, this would be a good place to begin. But the family exercises were really helpful and I think k it’s a good jump off point for me to try to tackle some stuff I’ve been avoiding.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had discovered Jessica's work pre pandemic and was delighted to see that she had recently published a book. The book wisely explores everything from generational money beliefs to daily habit and beliefs with money.
A unique and wise book that is not just teaching the practical tools of financial life. It's also great reading a book geared for Canadians.

[Eddie Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! I'm only on page 39 and I am glued to this thing...

Thank you so much for the book, and please keep up the great work you're doing. You're helping so many people, and possibly saving lives.

[kinda kakouni · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok! i like that she talked a lot about privilege’s effects on finances, but the book as a whole is really written with a privileged intended audience in mind. i didn’t finish the whole book bc i don’t think im her intended audience, but read most of it and some parts were interesting

[Robert Orgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't what I was expecting but so much more. I really appreciated Jessica's breakdown of different socio-economic groups and how their history affects relationships with money.

I almost feel like this book should be an economics course.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Ardin Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been raving about this book since the first chapter, and will definitely be recommending it to friends and family.

Thank you to Brenann at HCC for the recommendation!

[Paige Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Points off for the inclusions of research by Brian Wansink and for lack of nuance around how it talks about body sizes/ weight gain throughout the book.

[Rena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and thought-provoking.

[Denny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and how it raised important themes around our relationship with money. Even though we’ve heard a lot of these concepts before, it was very interesting to see how the author laid them out in connection to their influence on our financial decisions and financial health. A great read for anyone looking to better uncover what drives their money decisions.

[Stephanie Torr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information and prompts for reflection. The book left me with at least 2 dozen other money authors/experts to look into to continue learning.