2021 January Update
The year 2020 showed us just how unpredictable life can get. Therefore, this year, we’re starting off with a plan to designing your life around your values. And of course, Sandi shares her top reads this month with the intention of clearing your heads and reducing your stress.
What We Want for You in 2021
This year, what we want for you is to help you clarify your values and structure a plan that aligns with your values.
January’s Top Reads
For this month’s Top Reads, Sandi Martin shares a list of a variety of articles on topics from using habits to reduce stress, the benefits of laziness, to sharing some insights about the market, and persisting in the fight for a just society.
2020 December Update
HAPPY DECEMBER!!! Well… that was … a year. With only a few weeks left of 2020 by the time you receive this message, many of us are feeling relieved to recycle this calendar. For the team at Spring Plans, we’ve been particularly relieved that so many of you reached out to us to ask for help and reassurance during this year of ambiguity. However, while thinking about and managing for the unknown is definitely where we tend to shine, it did initially feel very different this year.
December’s Top Reads
Friends, welcome to the end of 2020. We made it! Deep breaths all around. Our final Top Reads is meant specifically for those of us who are burnt out and in desperate need of a rest. While there are some great articles around retirement, investing, and financial...
The Math and Strategy of Retirement Planning: A Case Study
Wouldn’t it be great to figure out your retirement, set it… and forget it? As we mentioned in November’s Rebuilding Retirement case study, retirement isn’t a destination. It’s an ongoing process.
2020 November Update
This time of year can often amplify our anxiety. How do we create the best holiday experience for ourselves and for our families? What’s the right way to express our love and gratitude in the form of gifts? How do I manage family dynamics with a smile on my face?
Rebuilding the Ideal Retirement: A Case Study
Two retirees find themselves rebuilding their ideal retirement after a series of market fluctuations and poor insurance advice.
November’s Top Reads
This time of year can often amplify our anxiety. How do we create the best holiday experience for ourselves and for our families? What’s the right way to express our love and gratitude in the form of gifts?
Market 2020 Clinic
Note: For more information on the coronavirus and how it relates to your finances, see our dedicated COVID-19 resource page. Market 2020 Clinic Transcript: Spring Plans: Alright. Good evening, and welcome to the Quarterly Clinic with Darryl Brown. All participants...
2020 October Update
Happy October! We hope you’re adjusting well to the season and all the ambiguity that comes with it. We know that you have a great deal on your plate and may not have had much time to read about personal finance. Not to worry! Sandi has done all the reading for you.
Helping Parents Achieve Retirement: A Case Study
We’ve been asked fairly frequently in the past what a “Spring Plan” is like and we often find ourselves at a loss. Our work isn’t really about creating Spring plans - although this is what we call ourselves - it’s really about providing custom (or “bespoke”, if you...
October’s Top Reads
Here we are, well into fall...already? What even is time, anyway? Next thing you know it’ll be 2021 and all this will be over, right? The amount of creative energy we’re all using just to get through life these days is enormous, and you may not have much leftover for...
Financial Intimacy by Jacquette Timmons: A Book Review
Because Financial Intimacy: How to Create a Healthy Relationship with Your Money and Your Mate by Jacquette Timmons was written while the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding, its lessons feel particularly relevant in what has been, with a few exceptions, a terrible,...
2020 September Update
How is your September going? Over at Spring, we are all back at our desks after a summer filled with holidays exploring our local communities. With team members spread from coast to coast, we have been able to share our explorations with each other, which is almost...
Portfolio Review and Investment Manager search: A Case Study
Welcome back to another exciting installment in our 2020 series of case studies. This month, we’re introducing you to Olivia, who came to us looking for a portfolio review. Our case studies use real stories about real clients (mashed up with many other client stories...
Money Smart Kids – September’s Great Reads
This month's top reads from Karen Richardson focuses on providing parents and teens with the tools to help create money smart kids! As a mom of a busy family, September is a month full of new beginnings for me each year. Kids are heading back to school (or some form...
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...
Disabled Child: Financial Planning for Long Term Care
In this month’s case study, we’re sharing the financial story of a family with a disabled child who will require long term care. Before we introduce you, we’re circling waaay back to the beginning of the year (was that just eight months ago?!), when we let you in on...
Our Money Stories by Eugenié George: A Book Review
I’ve been waiting for Eugenié George’s Our Money Stories to come out since she talked about writing it on Nerd’s Eye View (a financial planning industry blog written by Michael Kitces). What drew me to Eugenié, and got me excited about her book, was her insistence...
Spring’s August Top Reads
How great was it to enjoy Kathryn’s curating last month and have Karen’s top reads to look forward to next month? I’ll answer for all of us: very. I hope every single one of you is finding a (safe) way to enjoy the summer. Hopefully on, in, or beside the water, with a...
Cross-Border Finances: A Case Study
Cash Flow for Cross-Border Finances Leela is finally doing her dream job, consulting to international companies on how to create inclusive environments within their organizations. She also helps her clients deal with internal biases and speaks to large audiences...
Intentional Money Management – July’s Great Reads
Sandi’s Great Reads have been legendary here at Spring. We always look forward to her list of reads - she’s such a great curator. She’s also reading a lot more than the rest of us, so we thought we’d start giving her a hand. Going forward, the rest of the planning...
June 2020 Update
What a month, what a year. It’s hard to be a person right now, and it’s hard to be mindful, goal-oriented, and thoughtful about our futures. It’s times like these that, more than ever, we need to rely on our plans. We gave our thoughts on all of that in last...
Portfolio Second Opinion: A Case Study
Welcome back to another case study! If you’re new here, our case studies involve mushing together similar client stories, scrubbing away any identifying details, and sharing how we’re helping Canadians in various financial situations with cash flow, retirement...
Your Financial Wellness Plan
Financial Wellness Plan & Amplifying Diverse Voices The purpose of our regular Great Reads feature has always been to reduce the mind-boggling number of smart and interesting articles, blog posts, podcasts (and occasional comic strips) produced in a given month to...
May 2020 Update
The Spring team kicks off each calendar year with a post we call What We Want for You in… *current year.* For 2020, we wanted you to have practical examples of design thinking - the implementation of last year’s theme - so that you have some of the tools you need to...
Variable Income Case Study: Terri
We’re back with another case study, this time with “Terri.” Terri is 42 years old, single, and works as a pharmaceutical rep earning commission income that varies wildly from month to month. With variable income, it’s hard to save money without knowing when the next...
Integrated Investing by Bonnie Foley-Wong Book Review
I had the pleasure of sitting in on a talk by Bonnie Foley-Wong of Pique Ventures on the concept of Integrated Investing for a small group of other advice-only planners. I now have a huge crush on her because of her passion for making a difference in the world through...
Tender Money Conversations
Tender Money Conversations You may have found, like me, that your ability and desire to read anything except for the back of the cereal box has diminished significantly. That’s okay - the written word will still be ready for you when you’re ready for it. I happened...