Book Reveal! “Everything but Money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom”

It’s been a long road to get here but I’m filled with joy, excitement and honestly relief that I’m finally able to share everything there is about the book I’ve been working on behind-the-scenes for almost two years.

What’s It Called?

My book is called Everything but Money: The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom and it will officially hit bookshelves on December 31, 2024 (yup, New Year’s Eve!). However, you can pre-order your copy now and if you do, make sure to visit my Book page to submit your contact details and proof of purchase to access a bunch of extras and freebies like audio, video, worksheets, a virtual book club, and even a chance to win a one-on-one money story deep-dive with me.

What’s the Cover Look Like?

I’m also thrilled to finally be able to share the cover! I am absolutely obsessed with this cover because I wanted artwork that fit the book’s contents. I didn’t want any of those typical money symbols anywhere for starters, because I didn’t want readers to open the book and expect to find 10 steps to become debt-free or a guide on how to invest wisely. There are already a ton of great books that exist that do just that… but that’s not this book. This is not your run-of-the-mill how-to personal finance book. Instead, it’s a cross between a self-help, and psychology book with its foundation being about money.

That’s why I wanted something with colour that really popped and something that would symbolize the journey you will go on while reading it. That’s also why I really love the different layers or waves on the cover, because to me they emulate the layers you’re going to have to peel back to get to the route of your own money story as well as the different waves of emotions you’ll likely experience along the way.

What’s the Book About?

My elevator pitch for this book is it will help you answer the question “Why can’t I get out of my own way with my money?” I’ve been having conversations with people from all over the world about their finances for over a decade, and often what I’ve found is they aren’t struggling financially because of a lack of financial literacy (which is an easy problem to fix). There’s something deeper going on.

There are so many invisible barriers in your way that you likely have no idea about that are making it almost impossible to push through. This book aims to help you figure out what those barriers are, be it trauma, human behaviour, or societal injustices and then offers solutions on you can heal, rewire, and overcome those obstacles moving forward.

But for a more thorough description of what my book’s about, here’s the synopsis:

Money therapy that goes beyond the budget and gets to the root of your relationship with money from accredited financial counsellor and host of the popular More Money Podcast, Jessica Moorhouse

Why is money the #1 stress in my life? How do I keep getting into debt after working 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, an Accredited Financial Counsellor Canada® and money expert, has had intimate conversations with strangers from around the world who trust her to listen without judgment and offer solutions to their financial problems. It is Moorhouse’s experience (as well as a fact supported by research) that a lot of stuff prevents you from thinking about money clearly and getting out of your own way. This book includes all the insecurities, fixations and inherited ideas about money that you carry around—and provides a guide on how to get past them. No number of top-ten tips or golden rules will help you with your money struggles unless you confront what is causing them in the first place—be it trauma, human behaviour or an unjust social system. It’s only when you acknowledge and understand the real source of your money issues that you can start making a plan to finally overcome them.

Some of the topics explored in the book include:

• Realizing how past trauma shapes your negative relationship with money
• Unlearning some of the “truths” about money that are hurting you
• Recognizing patterns and red flags to stop the cycle of poor financial decision-making
• Understanding the institutions and systems that are holding you back financially and learning the difference between good and bad financial advice
• Learning how to trust yourself and others when it comes to money management
• Creating a new path for achieving financial freedom

Everything but Money is a practical, inspirational book that teaches readers to uncover their money story and empowers them to create a new, healthier and happier relationship with money.

How Did This Book Come About?

A little backstory in case you’re interested about how this book came to be. Since I graduated university and started writing about personal finance back in 2011, I always had a dream of writing a book one day. I just wasn’t sure what that book would look like. Then in 2019, I wrote my first book proposal, shopped it around to a few literary agents, but got nothing but rejections. And just my luck, a few months after my last rejection email, Covid hit. So I set that dream aside to instead focus on keeping my business afloat (since a lot of my speaking and brand work had dried up) and started taking my first steps to become a Certified Financial Planner (which I’m still actively working. As we speak, I’m finishing the QAFP Professional Education Program!).

In 2021, as my business not only recovered from Covid but started to thrive like it never had before, I sought out an agent to help me handle all of the speaking and brand engagements coming my way. That led me to contact Jeff Lohnes of the Talent Bureau to see if he was taking on any new clients. Luckily, he was and he’s been my agent ever since. He’s also the reason I got this book deal.

You see, in the spring of 2022, I was approached by a publisher to write a book for them, but they had a very specific topic in mind. Nevertheless, this gave me a reason to rework my old book proposal, which I did with the amazing help of Paulette Perhach. With a brand new proposal in-hand, Jeff and I decided to shop it around to a few other publishers, which landed us a meeting with HarperCollins Canada in the fall of 2022.

There was an instant connection between me and the HC team and especially me and my soon-to-be editor. But there was one big problem. There was one very small part of my proposal they got really excited about. At the time, my proposal was a more practical guide on money management, but I said there would be one chapter focused on some of the internal barriers we face with our money such as trauma and behaviour. That’s the part they wanted to become the focus of the book. This led me to quickly turn around a new book proposal and a few months later, they offered me my book deal.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that they asked me to rethink my original book idea, because this book is so much better than the original one I had in mind! This book also took me on a personal journey that I could have never expected, and not to sound corny, but writing this book and doing a ton of self-discovery in the process changed my life. I’m a different person today than I was in that meeting over two years ago and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

That’s why I’m not only so proud of this book, but I can’t wait until you read it and go on a similar personal journey of self-discovery and healing.

What’s Next?

Well, for the next several months, I’ll be spreading the word like crazy about my book so it can get into the hands of people who really need a book like this. I’m also hoping to do at least two events in early 2025 in Toronto (where I live) and Vancouver (my hometown). To stay in the loop about when these events may take place, make sure to sign up to my email list to be notified.