August 2020 Update

In Canada, we often think that summer is over when August is over. However, we like to remind ourselves (and anyone else who might listen) that the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere is absolutely not over until Tuesday, September 22nd. That’s right: the summer season lasts from Summer Solstice to Autumn Equinox, and here at Spring, we are not going to let anyone take those last few weeks away from us, just because we spent many years inside a 10-month school system.

We’re not in school anymore – or at least not that kind of school.

At Spring, we’ve always thought of our company culture as one of constant learning… and teaching. We are voracious readers, listeners, and learners. Our many designations require that we attend continuing education programs, and we tend to have far more credits than we need by the time we tally them up at the end of the year. One of the reasons we love financial planning is that being good at it means endless opportunities for learning, as the body of knowledge we are committed to is frankly enormous.

We consider our newsletter and ongoing articles a learning program for our readers, and have been thinking of each of our annual themes as part of your long-term learning plan. We structure our articles to be read as stand-alone, one-off pieces, so you don’t have to dive in any deeper than you want. At the same time, these articles are connected, with the intention that when pieced together, they make up part of your ongoing financial education. 

If you’ve been with us a while, you know that 2019’s theme was Design Thinking, and 2020 has been all about demonstrating the practical application of that thinking in real life case studies (drastically altered and mashed together to protect the innocent). Each article links back to past articles, so if you missed one, you always have the opportunity to head back and find it again. 

This month, we’re introducing you to Jesse and Tulip, who are parenting two boys. One of them has a disability and they want to make sure he’s well taken care of for the rest of his life. They’ve made a lot of changes in their own careers to create the family life and support they want for both of their children, but were starting to feel burned out and worried about the future. Find out here how we helped them strategize to not only care for both their children, but also take care of each other, far into the future. 

We also have a bunch of great reading for you from writers outside of the Spring team. Sandi has curated a list of articles that will help you find good trouble to get into, understand that whole “FIRE” movement, and let you process your fEeLiNgS (that’s how we spell it at Spring). There’s even more beyond that, including planning for incapacity, avoiding overthinking, understanding CERB and so much more. Get into this month’s inspirational top reads here. 

Sandi also got into Eugenié George’s book “Our Money Stories”, and while she very, very much wants you to read it, she’s also got some recommendations for the best chapter, paragraph, and sentence to read if you can’t eat the whole elephant right now. This invigorating financial wellness book links history and structural racism with our own very personal spending and savings patterns, and provides practical tools to get you on our way to success.

Julia is also featured in Rob Carrick’s Carrick on Money newsletter to answer this reader question:

Interest rates on savings accounts are falling day by day. Is there any point in using a savings account when the return may not beat inflation?

You can find out her answer here (scroll down to the Guest Q&A section).

We know September is exciting for some and more than a little daunting for others – especially in 2020 when the world is full of ambiguity and uncertainty. We have always strongly felt that making peace with ambiguity, whether it’s the regular stuff we experienced pre-pandemic or the urgent, stress-inducing stuff we’re going through presently, can always be attainable, to some extent, by getting clarity about what you really want out of life. That’s why at Spring, our focus is always on helping you design your very best life, well-spent. We hope this month’s newsletter, always focused on your learning and growth, supports that goal.

Practice Notes:

Darryl will be off throughout the first week of September, and we’ll all be taking Labour Day, September 7th to spend with our friends and families. From that point on, you’ll have all your Spring planners working away in our remote offices, answering questions and building plans.

“Free” Fridays remain booked permanently in our calendars (even though Sandi’s are on Wednesdays!). These days are free to us at Spring in the sense that they are our opportunity to work on becoming better planners, whether through collaboration and discussion, education, research, or even a little down time. It’s been a regular practice since the summer of 2017, and we will continue to set aside the time to become better versions of ourselves every week. Even 1% better is solidly worth it, because we know that will be reflected in the work we do for you.

Have a question about your cash flow or financial plan? Email us at [email protected].

Our news, updates, and practice notes are in our newsletter, which you can sign up to receive once a month at the link below.

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