Our Mission

We believe that you need the tools to create financial success on your own terms.

Conflict-free financial planning equips you to make educated decisions about your future with the information available to you today.

Our Mission

We believe that you need the tools to create financial success on your own terms.

Conflict-free financial planning equips you to make educated decisions about your future with the information available to you today.

Julia Chung, CFP, CLU, FEA, TEP

Partner, Sr. Financial Planner

Areas of Specialty: Retirement Planning, Private/Family Business, Cross-Border Planning

Sandi Martin, CFP

Partner, COO, Financial Planner

Areas of Specialty: Retirement Income Planning, Family Goal Planning

Karen Richardson, QAFP™

Cash Flow & Associate Financial Planner

Areas of Specialty: Cash Flow Planning, Retirement Planning

Kathryn Mandelcorn, FMA

Director, Cash Flow Strategies

Areas of Specialty: Money Coaching, Cash Flow Planning

Darryl Brown, CFA®, BComm

Director of Portfolio Strategies

Areas of Specialty: Investment Consulting,
Portfolio Analysis

Meet the whole team

Connect with the team on social media

What We Do at Spring

To treat you as the unique person you are by listening, understanding what’s important, and working together to create your life, well spent.

We want our recommendations to our clients to be influenced only by what’s in your best interest, and never by the potential for referral fees or third-party compensation.

We don’t sell products , accept commissions, pay or receive referral fees, or earn affiliate income.

We sincerely believe that financial planning – done well – can benefit everyone, and are actively invested in mentoring and developing new financial planners.

We’ve been running a practice management peer-mentoring group since early 2016…it’s how we met, in fact!

Comprehensive Financial Planning
Retirement Income Planning
Cross-Border Planning
Family/Private Business Planning
Portfolio and Cash Flow Audits

Our Process

What We’re Writing

Planning for Retirement: Uncertainty is Certain, so Pick Your Poison

by Sandi Martin | July 28, 2016 | Blog, Personal Finance, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

If you're planning for retirement and make the mistake of scrolling through any finance section in a slow news week, you have to ask yourself: what kind of questions are they asking to produce breathless headlines like these? Half of Canadians don't think they'll be...

Spring’s 2019 Summer Reading List

by Spring Plans | June 21, 2019 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

We love, love, love reading at Spring Plans. Immersing ourselves in data, research, and stories about people is how many of us spend our downtime. We vigorously wave our nerd flags, and each summer build our own individual reading lists to trundle through on our...

Design Thinking: Business & Money

by Julia Chung | August 20, 2019 | Big Picture, Cash Flow, Design Thinking, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Got a business? Self-employed? Looking at a side hustle? Your money just got a whole heck of a lot more complicated. But, not to worry, your friendly neighbourhood financial planners are here to help. In the months and years ahead as you grow your empire, your...

October’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | October 5, 2018 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

Just in time to cozy up in a comfy chair with whatever scalding hot drink you prefer, I present to you a few reads that got me thinking this month. They are loosely grouped around themes of cash flow and money management (like this pair on creating a financial routine...

A Week in the Life of Sandi

by Sandi Martin | April 17, 2018 | Week in the Life | 0 Comments

Monday, March 26 5:00AM My alarm goes off, and I head downstairs for the best part of the day (the quiet part with hot coffee and no random Marvel movie questions because my son -- and everyone else -- is still asleep). I don’t often get up this early anymore, but I...

The RDSP: 10 Years in 2019

by Julia Chung | May 15, 2018 | Disability, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

In December 2008, the federal government implemented the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), a tax-deferred savings vehicle designed specifically to help people with disabilities, and their families, plan for long-term financial security. An RDSP allows people...

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers: Avoiding the Useless Retirement Plan, Step Two

by Sandi Martin | May 30, 2013 | Blog, Budgets, Personal Finance, Retirement, Series: Avoiding the Useless Retirement Plan | 3 Comments

The point: You can't plan where you're going until you know where you want to go and where you're starting from. Do you know what you want out of life? If that sounds like a surprisingly navel-focused question coming from a financial planner, it's only because - dare...

The Secret to a Successful Financial Plan

by Sandi Martin | December 12, 2014 | Blog, contentment, Financial Infrastructure, Goal Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

The daily practices of a life with direction can either be onerous, and chafe so much that you give up or grumble your way through a miserable life, or you can settle into them with an attitude of contentment and get happy on the way to your goals, not just when you eventually reach them.

December’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | December 12, 2017 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

A shorter list this month, because if you’re not baking and shopping and partying and preparing I want you to be relaxing. But if you’re relaxing already and want something good to read, you might enjoy reading about the beauty of re-gifting, budgeting like a...

Go Ahead, Spend Your Tax Refund

by Sandi Martin | March 29, 2016 | Blog, Income Tax, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Ah, spring. The time of year when flowers bloom, birds sing, and the entire internet starts yelling at you for getting a tax refund or - even worse - getting a tax refund and then spending it.The horror.The conventional wisdom goes something like this: You shouldn't...

The Surprising Downside of a Sunny Retirement

by Julia Chung | March 22, 2016 | BBC Capital, Media | 0 Comments

If your residency is changing, it may affect how you’re taxed. Canada, for instance, has many residents that spend half the year in warmer parts of the U.S. “One of the issues there is when you’re considered a resident of most countries in the world, you have to file taxes there,” said Julia Chung. “We have a lot of Canadian residents who are just finding out that they’re supposed to file a tax return with the U.S. every year.”

The “Invest Better” Calculator

by Julia Chung | November 23, 2016 | Personal Finance, Spring Original | 0 Comments

Our own Sandi Martin collaborated with John Robertson, author of the Value of Simple, to create this useful calculator to help investors make an educated decision when choosing from the variety of low-fee robo-advisors now open in Canada. You can try it out...

Magic Potions, Snake Oil & Get Rich Quick Schemes

by Julia Chung | August 10, 2015 | Personal Finance, Spring Original | 0 Comments

Multi-level marketing, supposedly free seminars, pyramids, ponzis and more – oh my. Lately, it seems my radio, television, and internet feeds are promising more and more straight up cash for less and less effort.

Budgets, Cash Flow Plans, and Spending. Yawn.

by Sandi Martin | October 10, 2019 | Budgets, Cash Flow, Meaningful Spending | 0 Comments

(This article is reposted with the permission of the author. It was originally published here.) I know, I know. Budgets just sound like Remedial Personal Finance, don’t they? Everyone knows you’re supposed to budget, so what’s the point of another 800 words or so on...

February’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | February 12, 2019 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

Winter weather often brings blankets, fireplaces, and hot drinks. While you’re thawing your toes, you may feel inclined to dream a little, and Sandi has the reads for you to do just that. Dreams about retirement, and who you might be when you stop working, are right...

Design Thinking: Taxes

by Julia Chung | April 22, 2019 | Design Thinking, Income Tax, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Yum... taxes. As Canadians, we may have love-hate relationships with taxes. Or, like many of our cousins to the south, just flat-out hate-hate relationships. Regardless of how we might feel about taxes, they’re a part of our lives. We can choose to ignore them, we can...

Money Matters: Take Control

by Julia Chung | May 2, 2016 | Personal Finance, PowHERHouse Magazine | 0 Comments

Julia Chung’s article in the Spring 2016 PowHerHouse magazine outlines the basics of goal setting.

UPDATED: Canadian Investment Fee Calculator

by Sandi Martin | February 10, 2016 | Blog, Investment Fee Calculator, Justwealth, NestWealth, Online Investment Management, Personal Finance, Portfolio IQ, ShareOwner Model Portfolios, Steadyhand, WealthBar, Wealthsimple | 0 Comments

NOTE: The calculator has outgrown its old Google sheet and is now at autoinvest.ca. As of 2017, Sandi no longer manages the site, and the new managers have chosen to set up referral fee arrangements with some providers Welcome to the investment fee calculator, built...

Your Financial Plan is Not a Slap-Chop

by Sandi Martin | August 1, 2013 | Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance | 2 Comments

The point: If you financial advisor is giving you a financial plan for "free", what's his incentive for doing it well? These days, we all want to believe that we're savvy consumers. We scoff at TV commercials for products that are worth hundreds of dollars but can be...

Self-Employed & Corporate Income Taxes: Installments, Penalties, and Planning Ahead

by Kathryn Mandelcorn | March 26, 2018 | Income Tax, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Your accountant, the tax software companies, and that place down the block have all been sending you endless lists of deductions, paperwork, and requests for information. It can feel a little daunting. If you’re self-employed, a...

December 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | December 17, 2019 | Cash Flow, Investing, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Financial Planning, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

Your Spring Plans newsletter arrives a little earlier than usual this month because we are very hopeful that you have the opportunity to walk away from your email and enjoy some relaxation in the last few weeks of the year. Of course, we know you’ll want a few things...

2019 Federal Budget Summary

by Julia Chung | March 25, 2019 | Budgets, Home Buyer's Plan, Income Tax, Personal Finance, Retirement | 0 Comments

Every spring, the Federal Government comes out with their budget for the year - all the ways they’ll be putting our tax dollars to use and running this national operation. They often have a news release in fall that telegraphs some of the things they’re thinking about...

Is Private School Worth The Cost?

by Julia Chung | November 3, 2014 | BBC Capital, Media | 0 Comments

Sending your children to private school can mean making some big sacrifices.

Because Money Episode 14

by Sandi Martin | March 21, 2014 | Because Money, Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Despite +Robb Engen's absence from this week's podcast, +Jackson Middleton and I had a great time talking with our guests about why regular Canadians should care about the regulation of financial advice. I've written about the incentives that are holding even the most...

OPTIMIZE!

by Sandi Martin | June 12, 2014 | Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Financial planning is misnamed. It really should be called Figuring Out How Much What You Want Out Of Life Will Cost And How to Pay For It By Finding The Happy Medium Between Doing What You Have To Do And Doing What You Want To Do. I imagine this will never take on....

November’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | November 14, 2017 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

I noticed when I was reviewing the articles I’d marked for sharing with you lovely people that there’s a pretty heavy behavioural finance theme in this month’s reading list, so if you’re a fan of behavioural finance theory, you’re in for a treat. If you’re not a...

What do YOU want?

by Julia Chung | January 18, 2017 | Personal Finance, Spring Original | 0 Comments

It sounds like an easy question.

Practice News: Collaboration with JYC Financial

by Sandi Martin | July 5, 2016 | Blog, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

It's the best time of the year! Summer in Muskoka with three young kids means lots of late afternoons at the beach, so if you happen to be in Gravenhurst on a sunny day right before dinner...you'll know where to find me.Typically, the summer months are when I try to...

Thoughts on Privilege In Financial Advice

by Sandi Martin | November 8, 2016 | Blog, Financial Literacy, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Normally on the first or second Tuesday of the month I'm compiling and sending out a Top Three email to subscribers, highlighting the latest collection of thought-provoking, or informative posts on investing, the finance industry, retirement planning, or budgeting...

A Spender Marries a Saver – Now What?

by Julia Chung | November 2, 2015 | BBC Capital, Media | 0 Comments

You’ve heard that money is the cause of many arguments between partners. But can a spender marry a saver and live happily ever after? BBC Capital interviewed Julia Chung of Spring Financial Planning to find out.

Book Review: Living Debt Free by Shannon Lee Simmons

by Sandi Martin | January 15, 2019 | Accountability, Book Review, Budgets, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

If you have any kind of debt at all, go read Living Debt Free, the no-shame, no-blame guide to getting rid of your debt by Shannon Lee Simmons immediately. Companion book to Worry Free Money: the guilt-free approach to managing your money and your life, Living Debt...

Book Review: Mindset: The New Psychology by Carol S. Dwek

by Kathryn Mandelcorn | October 23, 2018 | Book Review, contentment, Personal Financial Planning, Relationships | 0 Comments

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is the outcome of decades of research by Stanford University psychologist, Carol S. Dwek. Her findings produced the idea of fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. Dwek describes the Fixed Mindset as belonging to those who believe...

Renovation: Profiting from Real Estate

by Julia Chung | August 24, 2016 | BBC Capital, Media | 0 Comments

Planning on earning a fortune in the real estate market? Read this first.

The Family Cottage

by Julia Chung | September 26, 2017 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

One of the great joys of summer for many Canadian families is a family cottage, cabin, or camp. No matter what name you may give the place where your clan gets together to enjoy the outdoors and each other, it’s often an important part of who you are, and how your...

See, Now This Just Makes Me Angry

by Sandi Martin | April 19, 2013 | Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Financial Planners, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

"If you were to assume that many experts use their information to your detriment, you'd be right. Experts depend on the fact that you don't have the information they do. Or that you are so befuddled by the complexity of their operation that you wouldn't know what to...

July 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | July 22, 2019 | Cash Flow, Investing, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

We love, love, love summer. It might seem odd, given that our name is “Spring,” but there is a method to the madness. See, we love summer so much that we spend a lot of time planning for it, to get it right and to maximize our enjoyment. It is the same approach we...

Withdrawing from RESPs

by Spring Plans | May 28, 2018 | Financial Literacy, Personal Financial Planning, Registered Education Savings Plan | 0 Comments

You’ve been diligently saving in your children’s (grandchildren’s, nieces’, nephews’, neighbour kids’) RESP accounts for years. You’ve maximized your contributions, you’ve collected those fabulous CESGs, provincial grants, Canada Learning Bonds, and deliciously...

Book Review: Wealthing Like Rabbits by Robert R. Brown

by Krysten Merriman | March 7, 2018 | Accountability, Book Review, Budgets, Debt Management, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

Note: this is not a sponsored post, but I did receive a free copy of the book. There’s no shortage of personal finance books out there, and so many of them are nearly indistinguishable from the rest. Which make sense: the rules mostly stay the same, with occasional...

October 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | October 21, 2019 | Cash Flow, Investing, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

Well, that’s it. We are truly in the thick of it now. It’s holiday season. If you’re here with us in Canada, you’ve just packed away your Thanksgiving dishes, cast your vote in the federal election, and may have already started carving pumpkins for Halloween. If...

September 2018 Update

by Sandi Martin | September 24, 2018 | Fee Only Financial Planning, Goal Planning, Monthly Spring Update | 0 Comments

Now that summer is officially over (boo! hisss!) it’s time for one of our all-time favourite activities at Spring: using what we’ve learned about ourselves to make life better - for ourselves, our families, our team, and our clients. (We swear we’re fun at...

Avoiding the Useless Retirement Plan, Step One

by Sandi Martin | May 27, 2013 | Blog, Personal Finance, Retirement, Series: Avoiding the Useless Retirement Plan | 0 Comments

The point: A realistic retirement plan doesn't start with a number and work backwards; it starts with the question "why?" Quick, go to the personal finance section of you newspaper or feed reader and count how many articles and posts from last week start with the...

Subscription-based financial advice begins to take hold in Canada

by Sandi Martin | October 31, 2019 | Media | 0 Comments

Some financial advisors are adopting a new, innovative subscription-based model for Canadians to pay for financial advice that could be especially attractive to middle-class and young, professional investors. The new model sees investors pay a regular monthly or...

Is my pension… a pension?

by Julia Chung | October 17, 2017 | CPP, Personal Finance, Retirement, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

“I have a pension through my employer,” says Tim*, in a recent call. “But I don’t understand it.” If you’re like Tim, you’re not alone. In Canada, we have many different potential sources for retirement income, with all kinds of different names. Pensions can be...

The Best Discount Brokerage for Small Index Investors, and How Much it’s Going to Cost You

by Sandi Martin | July 16, 2013 | Best Discount Brokerage, Blog, Investing, Personal Finance | 8 Comments

The point: If you're starting out as an index investor, and are going to be regularly contributing in a self-directed brokerage account, the best discount brokerage for you is TD Direct Investing, but not for any of the reasons most reviewers list. *UPDATED* This post...

Another List: The Best Personal Finance Posts This Week

by Sandi Martin | September 13, 2013 | Blog, Canadian Personal Finance News, Personal Finance | 1 Comment

The point: Last week, I started adding the best Canadian personal finance posts I read to a weekly list. Great idea, since whether I share something to Google+, Facebook, or Twitter is largely dependent on where I happen to be sitting at the time, and adding posts to...

Making it on his own

by Julia Chung | November 15, 2016 | Media, MoneySense | 0 Comments

Sam Omeretti feels financially ready to live on his own. His parents aren’t so sure.

August 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | August 26, 2019 | Cash Flow, Investing, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Are you READY for September??? No, neither are we. In a work sense, absolutely, but are we done with summer? Not at all. For that reason, your team at Spring Plans brings you… a newsletter with the goal of extending that warmest of seasons for just a little bit...

November 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | November 25, 2019 | Cash Flow, Investing, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Financial Planning, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

The last few weeks of 2019 are upon us! We hope you’re feeling less stressed and more in control of your life and your finances this season than you’ve ever felt before. If not, please know that you’re not alone and our cash flow planning team is here to help you...

What We Want for You in 2020

by Spring Plans | January 28, 2020 | Goal Planning, Personal Finance, Planning in Action, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

Have you ever heard someone say, “yeah, well - as soon as you get the financial plan, it’s out of date, so why bother?” We have. More times than we can count (although, interestingly, we hear it from other financial professionals more often than from clients). It’s...

Your Financial Advisor Might Be A Nice Person, But… (Because Money, Ep 13)

by Sandi Martin | March 6, 2014 | Because Money, Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Last week's CBC Marketplace episode Show Me The Money took an average investor (with a hidden camera and glowing lights in her pants) into BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD, Dundee Securities, Edward Jones, Investor's Group, Money Concepts, and Primerica shopping for...

Working with Sandi was everything I hoped for. I felt like you got to know me well and very quickly. I feel like your recommendations reflected my current reality as well as my personality. That is, you didn’t recommend things that I would never commit to.

After going through this process, I feel like I have a much better understanding of my financial picture. I so wish that I would have done this years ago!! H. Bellerose

Having an impartial 3rd-party review our entire financial situation is one of the best business decisions my wife and I have made. We consider Julia our personal CFO and have incorporated her services into all aspects of our financial lives.

There’s no pressure to purchase any investment or insurance through her or any associate she has introduced us to; but rather an assessment and guidance on plans we have for the future. C. Dewar

Well, it’s been a year since we came to see you last and enacted our plan and we are writing to tell you that we are DEBT FREE on November 1ST ON SCHEDULE!!!

Coming to see you, using your services, was the best decision we ever made as a couple. We can’t thank you enough. We couldn’t have done any of it without you. Thanks, Kathryn.

K. & J. Shorrocks

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Our Mission

Our Mission

Julia Chung, CFP, CLU, FEA, TEP

Sandi Martin, CFP

Karen Richardson, QAFP™

Kathryn Mandelcorn, FMA

Darryl Brown, CFA®, BComm

Connect with the team on social media

What We Do at Spring

Our Process

What We’re Writing

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