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, Financial Planner

Areas of Specialty: Retirement Income Planning, Family Goal Planning

Kathryn Mandelcorn, FMA

Director, Cash Flow Strategies

Areas of Specialty: Money Coaching, Cash Flow Planning

Karen Richardson, FPSC Level 1®

Cash Flow & Associate Financial Planner

Areas of Specialty:
Cash Flow Planning, Retirement Planning

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

Bankosaurus Rex: Finding a Banker Who Cares

by Sandi Martin | March 28, 2013 | Blog, Financial Infrastructure, Inside the Bank, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

The point of this post: there are bankers out there who actually care more about doing a good job for their clients than for the bank, and they're worth finding...and keeping. Today, we're making friends with bankers. Lets pause here for a minute, so you can catch...

Capital Dividend Account: Changes to Note

by Julia Chung | December 15, 2016 | IAFE, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

The March 22, 2016 federal budget has resulted in significant changes to the credit to the capital dividend account arising upon the receipt of life insurance proceeds. While these proposals are not yet final, it is expected they will be enacted before the end of 2016 with certain retroactive effect.

You Don’t Have to be Normal

by Julia Chung | July 23, 2018 | Big Picture, contentment, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ~ Maya Angelou We get pretty excited working with each unique individual, family, and business we encounter - and a lot of that is because you’re unique. We’ve never hoped to provide...

February 11th: Living & Investing In the Trudeau Era

by Julia Chung | February 7, 2016 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Join us for a free evening of cocktails, dinner, and insight on February 11th. RSVP today! tycuda@3macs.com

Those February Markets

by Julia Chung | February 26, 2018 | Financial Planners, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

In December and January, we talked quite a bit about the perils of uncertainty and how to deal with them. Then - BAM - the February market came and showed us just what uncertainty looks like. So basically, our publishing schedule is a month or two ahead¹. What Do We...

Fill in the Blank (Part One): I Don’t Want to Spend Money On…

by Sandi Martin | September 11, 2014 | Blog, Goal Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

At first glance, it sounds like an incredibly stupid exercise, I grant you. Um, I don't want to spend money on insurance, on my mortgage payment, on those never-ending, teeny-tiny little school activity requests that dribble home every other day, on fixing my car...

A Spender Marries a Saver – Now What?

by Julia Chung | November 2, 2015 | BBC Capital, Personal Finance | 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.

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...

Money Mindset: Scarcity vs. Abundance

by Kathryn Mandelcorn | December 18, 2018 | Budgets, Cash Flow, contentment, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

We ask some pretty tough questions at Spring. Open-ended, thoughtful and curious questions are among the many keys we use to unlock how we can truly help you move into great success. Without a doubt, some of the toughest questions we ask - the ones we agonize...

Family Values: How to Pay For a Large Family

by Julia Chung | March 10, 2014 | BBC Capital, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Want to have four, five, even six children? Plan ahead and make some smart decisions early to ease the financial burden. Full article on BBC Capital: Family Values: How to Pay For a Large Family

March’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | March 13, 2018 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

It’s that time of year - at least in the middle of Ontario - where it starts to feel like winter’s this close to ending...and then it snows again. Seriously, the only thing keeping me alive right now is that this late winter garbage weather makes great maple syrup....

Learn to Love the NOPE

by Sandi Martin | November 17, 2017 | Christmas, Goal Planning, Income Tax, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

There’s a mostly fun deluge of events, meals with friends, and parties just over the horizon, and, depending on what holidays you celebrate, what your family is like, and how much pie is involved, you might be looking forward to the end of the year with some...

Book Review: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

by Julia Chung | April 23, 2019 | Accountability, Big Picture, Book Review | 0 Comments

The Power of Habit and its follow-up, Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles Duhigg were some of the bright shining spots in my nonfiction reading over the past year. You never know what you’re getting into with any kind of reading, but at least with fiction, you know...

Because Money Episode 21 | The Rise Of The (Not) Robo-Advisors

by Sandi Martin | August 26, 2014 | Because Money, Blog, Investing, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

This month, we were delighted to welcome Michael Katchen of WealthSimple to the show to talk about what's wrong with the asset management industry, how he and others like him plan to break it, and why regular Canadians who, for whatever reason, shouldn't or can't DIY...

Introducing Karen Richardson

by Spring Plans | February 1, 2019 | Announcement, Cash Flow | 0 Comments

We are excited to announce that as of February 1, 2019 we have added a new member to our planning team: Karen Richardson, Cash Flow & Associate Financial PlannerKaren joins Spring after 7 years as an independent advice-only financial planner in Kenora, Ontario,...

I Feel For You, But Busy Isn’t an Excuse to Ignore Your Money

by Sandi Martin | April 18, 2013 | Accountability, Blog, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 2 Comments

The point of this post: being busy doesn't excuse you from having to pay attention to your money. You know that feeling you get when your to do list is so long that you have to turn pages to see it all? When you're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work that your...

Where to Start Saving First

by Spring Plans | November 6, 2018 | Cash Flow, Debt Management, Investment Fee Calculator, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

The following article is an excerpt from our ebook “Women & Money”. You’ll note some gender-specific language here, but don’t let that deter you. Our advice is the same regardless of the chromosomes you carry. You can download the entire book for free here. Let’s...

Frugality Isn’t A Virtue

by Sandi Martin | June 3, 2013 | Blog, Budgets, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning, The cult of frugality | 6 Comments

The point: being frugal just for the sake of being frugal isn't being virtuous. It's being cheap. Let's pretend this is the first time you've been on the internet, and you feel like you need personal finance advice (one of these scenarios is probably easier to imagine...

July 2018 Update

by Sandi Martin | July 24, 2018 | Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

Have you ever experienced a period of time where anything that could go sideways did? Did it feel like nothing you planned to do turned out the way you thought it should? Did it feel like you were too busy to catch a breath, never mind catch up on the vitally...

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...

Canada Pension Plan Maximums January to December 2016

by Julia Chung | December 30, 2015 | Personal Finance, Spring Original | 0 Comments

With few exceptions, Canadians over 18 who work in Canada and earn more than the minimum amount ($3,500) must contribute to the Canada Pension Plan. Your contributory period starts at the time you begin work and ends at retirement.

June’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | June 11, 2019 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

There are a lot of reasons for people to feel a bit wary when it comes to the wide, wide world of personal finance. Whether it’s the quality of advice you receive, the level of precision required for RESP contribution strategies, or what you’re supposed to do with...

Design Thinking: Retirement

by Sandi Martin | March 12, 2019 | Design Thinking, Personal Finance, Relationships, Retirement Planning | 0 Comments

There is a truth about retirement that I want you to understand: You don’t have to know precisely what you want to plan for the day when you stop working. Sure, it helps financial planners if you can say that you want to retire in the summer of 2021, stay in your home...

Dear Everyone, Mutual Funds Are Boring. Please Go Buy Some.

by Sandi Martin | July 10, 2013 | Blog, Investing, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance | 3 Comments

Mutual funds are profoundly boring, although their ETF cousins have been known to be a little saucy. As an investor, you probably have a vague feeling that by buying mutual funds, you're performing the financial equivalent of buying a pink tract home and driving the...

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...

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...

September’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | September 8, 2017 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

In my world, September is a BIG month. Summer effectively ends on Labour Day, the kids are at school, and it’s time for a hard reset (what I privately think of as a second New Year) to prepare myself for the whirlwind of the last three months of the year. In your...

May 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | May 27, 2019 | Cash Flow, Income Tax, Monthly Spring Update | 0 Comments

It has been an eventful month of May here at Spring, with tax season at an end and multiple statements, returns, and updates flowing in from all of you and your accountants. We hope you are as invigorated as we are about all the planning that you can do now that you...

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...

Paying Your Taxes With Plastiq is a Bad Idea.

by Sandi Martin | March 27, 2013 | Blog, Credit Cards, Debt Management, Income Tax, Paying your taxes with a credit card, Personal Finance, Plastiq | 2 Comments

The point of this post: don't pay your taxes with your credit card. Ever. The big news today (for money nerds who read every scrap of money-related news, that is) is that through the online payment system Plastiq, you can put your income tax payment on your credit...

August’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | August 11, 2017 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

I love my reading list this month, I really do. I know I say that almost every month, but guys: there’s some real gold in here for everyone, whether you’re spending the month of August toiling away at work like you do every month, relaxing in a canoe or on a beach...

Book Review: Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

by Sandi Martin | September 18, 2018 | Financial Literacy, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Daring Greatly by Brené Brown is one of those few books that I want to keep multiple copies of, so I can press it into people’s hands and say, “Just read it, trust me.” Brown, if you’ve never heard of her, is a research professor who studies vulnerability,...

April’s Great Reads

by Sandi Martin | April 10, 2018 | Canadian Personal Finance News | 0 Comments

I have a short reading list for you this month, since most of us are either rushing to file our taxes or rushing to get outside after a long, cold winter. Notable articles that didn’t quite make the top three include this one from Andray Domise on how - if 40% of...

A Little Discouragement To Start You On Your Way. You’re Welcome.

by Sandi Martin | February 17, 2014 | Blog, Budget Fatigue, Budgets, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

The point: Learning to live on a budget is hard. Pretending it's not is stupid, and counter-productive, and will eventually end up being the reason you quit. Let’s talk about the most important part of personal finance: debt repayment investing budgeting. I’ll wait...

RRSP Basics

by Julia Chung | January 13, 2016 | Personal Finance, Spring Original | 0 Comments

Many people feel pretty confused about RRSPs – how they work, and why they’re useful. At the same time, people can feel embarrassed to ask for a full explanation.

To help you move forward with this useful tool, here is your RRSP Primer!

How Much Is Enough for Your Emergency Fund?

by Julia Chung | January 28, 2016 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

While the basic rule of thumb is to have enough money to cover at least three months of net income, even that may not be enough, says certified financial planner Julia Chung of Spring Financial Planning in B.C.

“Most people severely lowball their expenses; they think they spend way less than they actually do,” Ms. Chung says. “If you spend 100 per cent of your paycheque when it comes in, as many people do, then your expenses equal your net income.

March 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | March 25, 2019 | Budgets, CPP, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Budgets, budgets and more budgets. The Federal Budget was released on March 19, and you can find our summary here. Some provinces have already released their annual budgets and more are rolling in. If you’re reading as many finance newsletters as we are, you’ll have...

The Hierarchy of Financial Needs

by Julia Chung | April 23, 2018 | Accountability, Budgets, Cash Flow, Credit Cards, Debt Management, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

In the world of financial planning, there are different kinds of planning, with different areas of focus and levels of complexity. At Spring, we divide that complexity up into Cash Flow, Comprehensive, and Advanced planning. But here’s a secret: It always comes down...

What I Want For You In 2015

by Sandi Martin | January 13, 2015 | Blog, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

My hope for you this year is that – no matter what your circumstances – you take the time to get really, really clear about what those circumstances actually are, and plan to repeat the process when they change.

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...

June 2018 Update

by Julia Chung | June 26, 2018 | Big Picture, Monthly Spring Update | 0 Comments

SUMMER!!! Despite the fact that our name is Spring, we have a strong affinity for summer. It’s what we often spend the spring season planning for - and now you can see just one of the reasons why the name resonates: we’re all about creating plans that work. Even the...

An Admittedly Biased Argument in Favour of Banning Embedded Commissions and Instituting a Fiduciary Standard

by Sandi Martin | June 26, 2013 | Banning Embedded Commissions in Mutual Funds, Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Fiduciary Standard, Personal Finance | 2 Comments

The point: I stand to benefit if embedded commissions in mutual funds are banned, and if a fiduciary standard for advisors is enacted. I don't think it invalidates my argument, but - unlike some of the voices clamouring against the increased safety for investors - at...

Couple Money

by Sandi Martin | March 14, 2013 | Blog, Financial Infrastructure, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning, Relationships | 0 Comments

The point of this post: if you can't be honest with your partner about money and financial planning, why are you with them? A healthy financial infrastructure is cost-effective, simple, flexible, and intuitive. It keeps you on budget, moves you closer to your goals,...

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...

What happens if I don’t have a will?

by Julia Chung | November 21, 2017 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Very few people get excited about estate planning, except for financial planners, and we’re admittedly strange folks. Talking about and planning for the moment of your death is not only dark and creepy but also kind of boring - unless you’re the type who gets super...

Life Insurance as an Investment

by Julia Chung | May 17, 2017 | Personal Finance | 0 Comments

We get asked about this every once in a while. Life Insurance and its salespeople get a bad rap. Some of it is incredibly well-deserved, and some of it is just not. Here’s a breakdown of some life insurance basics that you should understand.

Sorry, Who Is It That’s Suffering? Advocis Doesn’t Want Embedded Commissions Banned, Because Financial Advisors Will Suffer

by Sandi Martin | July 9, 2014 | Banning Embedded Commissions in Mutual Funds, Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

Sometimes, someone says something that is so egregiously wrong that it can’t be ignored. Take, for example, this piece, published this afternoon on Advisor.ca, an online magazine for financial advisors in the investment and insurance industries, which elicited this...

October 2018 Update

by Julia Chung | October 29, 2018 | Fee Only Financial Planning, Goal Planning, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance | 0 Comments

For many of our clients, one of the most frustrating moments of working with expert advisors is when you have this realization: There is rarely one “right” answer. Even when you process this initial realization, and think to yourself, “Sure, everyone is...

Business Model, Schmizness Model

by Sandi Martin | May 14, 2013 | Blog, Fee Only Financial Planning, Personal Finance, Wealth Management | 0 Comments

The point: Financial advisors who are compensated based on how much money you have invested with them have less time for the equally complex needs of less affluent clients. You know the old saw "you have to have money to make money"? Apparently you also have to have...

January 2019 Update

by Julia Chung | January 22, 2019 | CPP, Monthly Spring Update, Personal Finance, Personal Financial Planning | 0 Comments

Happy New Year!! Feel free to attack this month’s blog content in bits. Like everything else in January, it’s just best to take it at your own pace, as we have lots to talk about, starting with the markets and moving into tax updates, TFSAs & RRSPs, CPP...

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

Kathryn Mandelcorn, FMA

Karen Richardson, FPSC Level 1®

Connect with the team on social media

What We Do at Spring

Our Process

What We’re Writing

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