To keep you informed, we spoke to Canadian money expert and Qualified Associate Financial Planner (QAFP), Jessica Moorhuisauthor of Everything except moneywhich maps out four crucial updates to the financial playbook.
Dated Rule #1: “Buy a House ASAP”
2025 update: Renting + investing can build more wealth than forcing home ownership.
Let’s break it down. Housing is a major point of friction between generations – and for good reason. Moorhouse says the affordability conversation has been going on for more than a decade: “We always thought there would be some correction, but it never happened. The price for houses has gotten even crazier.”
Traditional advice made sense when home prices were within reach. But as she notes, salaries have hardly changed: “I still see incomes for jobs I had ten years ago and the salary is the same.”
The new rule is that buying real estate is optional and less of a moral achievement. Moorhouse points out that “when you look at the numbers, it may not really make financial sense to put all your money into a shoebox of an apartment,” especially with the current market and some apartments not appreciating it.
Her practical approach for 2025: Open an FHSA even if you’re not sure you’ll buy it (you can always convert it to an RRSP later), keep living costs low and rent strategically while investing the difference. The goal is not the action, it is long-term financial flexibility.
Dated rule #2: “Stick with one employer, loyalty pays off”
2025 update: Financial stability comes from acquired skills, not from tenure. Job hop with intention.
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Boomer career advice emerged in a simpler labor market – one without AI screening tools, mass layoffs, contract work, or entire industries disrupted by emerging technology. Today’s job search, Moorhouse notes, is nothing like her parents’ generation. She gives an example of career advice from a parental figure: “He literally gave this typical advice: Just go into the office, talk to the CEO and say, ‘You know what? I’m a damn good worker. Hire me.’ Because that’s how he got a job. Today I was going to be kicked out of the office.”
Generation Z already understands this, and they no longer remain in a loyalty role. “They think of it more as: ‘If my employer no longer appreciates me and they don’t pay me decently… why should I stay loyal?’ The new standard will be reassessed every two to three years – and will only be retained if it still makes sense.
Side hustles are also playing a bigger role than ever. For Moorhouse’s generation, they were survival jobs. Today they are career testers: “It gives them more freedom and opportunities,” she says, sometimes even leading to full-time self-employment or small business.
The modern rule: build skills, not tenure. Welcome pivots, retraining, and career detours. Think of them as strategy, not instability.
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Dated Rule #3: “Save 10% on Every Paycheck, No Matter What”
2025 update: Stick to the principle – modernize the practice.**
Moorhouse still believes in the classic ‘pay yourself first’ rule, including the famous 10% guideline. “It creates this habit and this proof that there is always a way you can save,” she says. But she also recognizes the financial pressures young Canadians are under.
The modern version of the rule is more flexible. The principle remains the same: save first, automatically, but the quantity can be adjusted. Automate whatever amount is realistic into a TFSA, FHSA or investment account; increase it if possible; and if the calculations are really wrong, focus on increasing your income instead of blaming yourself.
And earning extra money is easier than before. Moorhouse remembers that her own part-time job required her to physically go to another work station after her 9-to-5. Now: “You can find part-time, remote jobs” and pick up flexible work from home.
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