2024 November Update

by | Nov 12, 2024

A quick note about the US Election Results…

You might be wondering how or if the results will impact your financial plan, or the markets, or other things. Generally, the markets don’t actually care much about election results (see Globe & Mail article here). Of course, the behaviours of the financial markets are not the only part of your overall financial plan.

Policy and legislation does, of course, have an impact on some of the decisions we all end up making. If you’re a U.S. citizen, Green Card holder, or own U.S. assets – as most Canadians do to some extent – changes to these may impact your decisions going forward.

We don’t recommend making changes based on speculation. Right now, we don’t know what changes may occur. As they do occur, please know that we are watching and will be updating you via this newsletter as to which things may impact you, how, and if there are decisions for you to make.

Now back to your regularly scheduled newsletter…

Throughout the month of October, I’ve been lucky enough to speak to several audiences on different platforms. There was a live (and lively!) discussion with a women’s mountain biking group called the Shore Sirens in a community centre. There was a webinar with Vancity – which you can watch on YouTube right here – as well as a webinar for members of the Financial Planning Association of Canada. Finally, there was a summit on longevity and health in Toronto, with a fancy stage in an even fancier hotel.

All these conversations were about money… and yet, the majority of my time was not spent talking about technical strategies or systems. Instead, I spent most of that time talking about communication.

There are endless (and sometimes expensive!) technical, and elegant strategies to create cash flow systems that work, investments that grow over time, and tax that reduces. While I definitely believe in the value of these, I have found that no matter how well thought out or implemented, if communication is missing, the outcome falls flat. That’s a best-case scenario. A worst-case scenario is that the outcome causes harm.

Why?

Because the purpose of these solutions and strategies isn’t the “more money” or “less taxes” that it may produce. The purpose is almost always … people. People we care about, including ourselves.

Great financial planning both starts and ends with communication. Here are two ways that communications are vital to success in creating financial systems and strategies that work:

Goal Setting

Financial goals are the bedrock of any financial plan. They provide direction and enable measurable progress, be it a retirement plan, buying a home, or building an emergency fund.

Communications: You might be setting goals for yourself, but you need to work with either a technical tool, like software, or a technical person, like a financial planner, to create the execution plan that will help you get there. You might be setting longer term goals with your spouse, your best friend, your business partner(s), your parents, and even your children. In all cases, information needs to flow.

If you’re setting solo goals, you’ll need to clarify to the technical support system and/or people what these goals mean to you, and what priority they take over other kinds of goals in your life. You need to communicate your devotion and commitment to achieving them. Your support people need to communicate what they understand, what they don’t, the limitations they are working with, and more.

When there are other people in your life who will be directly impacted by these goals, it’s vital that each one gets a voice. Goal setting often falls apart when we assume we know what these other folks want, or that they don’t care, or – even worse – that they don’t know enough so we will decide for them.

Assumptions can be useful if we’re planning for the unknown, but not when there are important relationships at stake. If these goals require the devotion of energy and resources by other people, even if it’s to encourage and support you, it’s best if the goals are motivating to them in a way that is unique to them. Otherwise, the likelihood that they’ll support your actions, or even be engaged with the achievement of the goal, are very low. The likelihood that someone, whether it’s you or them, is going to be really annoyed somewhere along the line, is very high.

When it comes to goal setting and aligning, setting aside time to discuss these goals, identify priorities, and understand the parameters that everyone is working within is vital. On top of that, regular check-ins so that everyone can adjust to the changes that are very likely to occur over time, so that adjustments can be made to the goal attainment plan, are equally vital. Without that regular communication, and a specific time and space carved out to engage in it, signals are missed, understanding is lost, and the goal can start to slink out of sight – along with valuable relationships.

Setting Realistic Expectations

Financial strategies often hinge on timelines and realistic expectations. For instance, building an emergency fund or achieving debt repayment by a certain deadline requires both patience and persistence. It also requires that you have an idea of how much you want to have in that emergency fund, how it would be created, and over what period of time.

Communications: Sometimes people can be really engaged with a goal like this. They’re incredibly happy to skip that fancy coffee in the morning or an event with friends that might cost a few dollars, because they’re solving a stressor in their lives. They feel better having the money allocated towards security, and feel just fine about getting those small treats and social needs met in the future.

However, not everyone feels that way. It’s not morally “correct” to prioritize one kind of value such as financial security over another kind, such as social interactions. They can both be important and the level of importance is likely going to be on a spectrum that differs from person to person.

Considering how you might feel at different moments during the work it takes to achieve that goal, communicating this with your support team and the people who get to spend your life with you, is incredibly helpful. Asking the people who spend their lives with you how they might feel when they think about this process will give you a sense of what might actually work. Then the plan can be adjusted based on everyone’s estimations of how they will be able to deal with these actions. From there, it’s important to check in and review. Were you right about how you would feel? How about your partner or other people who might be impacted? Should a change occur before someone decides to throw in the towel and spend all your savings on pumpkin spice lattes and concert tickets?

Iterative discussions, without judgment or shame, are key ways that goals can be achieved. It might be a slower achievement than you’d hoped – or it could be a quicker one. Or you may find that you want to change your direction along the way. Leaving room for all of this increases our chances of success.

Financial and communication strategies are interdependent. Where one falters, the other often follows. By establishing effective communication channels—whether through regular financial check-ins, open discussions about values, or transparent decision-making processes—you create a foundation of trust and shared accountability. Ultimately, this balance of communication and financial strategy lays the groundwork for long-term financial well-being and a stronger, more resilient financial relationship.

 

Your Spring Planning Team

 

Practice Notes:

Spring’s offices were closed on Monday November 11th, to honour Remembrance Day. In our working lives, we have been honoured to support veterans in designing financial systems that work for them. In our personal lives, we honour our friends and family members who have sacrificed much. A donation has been made by our team to the National Poppy Fund. You can learn about how donations to this fund are used here.

Our last day of 2024 will be on Thursday December 19th. Friday December 20th will be a working day but a “free friday” to ensure all the last items that need completion are dealt with before a long and reasonable rest. Your Spring team will be back into the swing of things on Monday January 6.

“Free” Fridays are free to us at Spring because 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.

 

 

Spring in the News:

Julia spoke with Vancity team members and clients during this webinar on Intergenerational wealth planning. It got pretty feely, but it’s a pretty feely subject.

The For Female Founders podcast, hosted by Sarah Bundy, invited Julia back again for a discussion on the big mistakes that small companies often make when setting up their organizations. You can watch it here.

In a recent episode of Cross Country Checkup with Ian Hanomansing, Julia spoke about conversations you should be having about inheritance and how wealth should be spread between generations. Listen to the full podcast here.

Please check out our media page here for videos, podcasts, interviews and more.

 

Planning News Digest:

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Julia Chung
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