The GARDENA gardening expert
Dear Mr. O. – many thanks for the compliment! The money tree is highly amenable to being pruned back. Basically, you could cut the plant back to one hand's width over the roots, (or far higher), and it would bud again. The best time for pruning is approximately the end of February / begining of March, when the light becomes stronger again. You should water the plant appropriately after pruning it back, and fertilise it slightly (emphasis on nitrogen), for example using foliage plant fertiliser or compound fertiliser.
That the plant loses leaves in this dark time of year is quite normal.
Your plant likes to get rid of its oldest leaves during these weeks. The darker its surroundings and the less or more unevenly it has been fertilised during the months prior to this, the more leaves it will lose.