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...
April 2020 Update
Has it only been a month since our last update? It feels like several decades have passed. The sheer volume of information we’ve received and amount of change that has occurred since the beginning of March 2020 has easily outstripped what we would have experienced in...
CERB and COVID-19 Cash Flow Clinic
Note: For more information on the coronavirus and how it relates to your finances, see our dedicated COVID-19 resource page. Cash Flow Clinic Transcript Kathryn Mandelcorn (KM) 0:16 Good afternoon everybody, everybody’s admitted in, we are recording this call. So...
March 2020 Update
We hope this newsletter finds you as well as you can possibly be. It’s only been a month since our last regular newsletter, and so much has changed. Things are changing on a daily basis now, and there’s a great deal of uncertainty in the air. At Spring Plans, we have...
Financial Markets & COVID-19
Note: For more information on the coronavirus and how it relates to your finances, see our dedicated COVID-19 resource page. Financial Markets and COVID-19 Q&A Transcript 0:00 Thanks for joining this call to review what’s going on in the financial markets, and...
February 2020 Update
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that we spent a few days at the end of January and beginning of February reviewing our 2019 and thinking about our 2020. We were lucky to be able to bring together seven of our team members from across the country for strategy,...
Renovation, Kids, and Cash Flow: Case Study
Every year, we give some thought to what we want for you in the year ahead. We proceed to spend the rest of the year riffing on that subject, hoping that multiple perspectives on a singular concept will provide the means for you to integrate it into your lives. This...
What We Want for You in 2020
Have you ever heard someone say, “yeah, well - as soon as you get the financial plan, it’s out of date, so why bother?”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...
January 2020 Update
Happy 2020! Happy Year of the Rat! Happy EVERYTHING! If you’ve been reading along with us for a few years, you’ll already know that Julia is of the opinion that the time between January 1st and the Lunar New Year (January 25 this year) is our “practice run”. It can...
Big Shiny Numbers 2020
Welcome to 2020! Each new year comes with a new set of numbers and this year - which is either the last year of an old decade or the first year of a new one, depending on who you’re talking to - is no different. Here are some Big Shiny Numbers for Canadians this...
December 2019 Update
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...
Your Design Thinking Action Plan
All year long, your Spring Plans team has been using the concept of Design Thinking to contemplate many different aspects of your personal finances. Why Design Thinking? The answer has remained the same all year long: because we want you to have permission to design...
November 2019 Update
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...
October 2019 Update
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...
Introducing Darryl Brown
We are so excited to announce - as you may have seen already on our home page and in our social media channels - that we have another great expert on our team at Spring Plans. Please join us in welcoming: Darryl Brown, Director of Portfolio Strategies Darryl is a...
Design Thinking: Charitable Giving
Autumn is a great time to think about charitable giving. As you are someone who plans ahead (or really, really wants to), getting these thoughts in place before the insanity of the holiday season truly hits your life and your pocketbook can help you focus on what’s...
Book Review: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
As a business owner, how many times have you wondered why you have little to no profit at the end of the month or year? Especially when your accountant has shown you a profit on your financial statements but you are left wondering where that profit actually is! In...
September 2019 Update
Phew! What is with September? All that back to school/back to work/questioning where time even went after much lounging (we hope!) throughout the brief but spectacular Canadian summer can be A LOT. Thankfully, your team at Spring Plans is here to help you wade through...
A Week in the Life of Karen
Tuesday, September 3rd 5:50 am I wake up because it is pouring outside and I sleep pretty close to a big window. Even though it is Tuesday, my schedule dictates it is more like a Monday. Labour Day was yesterday, and in the part of Ontario where I live, the first day...
Book Review: The Financially Empowered Woman by Tracy Theemes
Working in the financial industry is truly a privilege. Participating in people’s money journey when our clients have the means to pay us and make changes to their financial situation is a great, great job. What isn’t easy is to see people struggling with their money...
August 2019 Update
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...
Design Thinking: Business & Money
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...
July 2019 Update
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...
June 2019 Update
You made it! You’re halfway through 2019, and by the time this newsletter reaches you, will have already experienced the longest day of the year. Your sunshine time is shrinking now - get out there and take advantage! After all those start-of-summer, Father’s Day, and...
Spring’s 2019 Summer Reading List
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: Estate Planning
Way back in January, we told you what we wanted for you in 2019: Permission to design your life Since then, we’ve given you so many different ways you can apply the concept of design thinking to your life, including investments, disability, taxes, retirement, and cash...
May 2019 Update
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...
Design Thinking: Your Business and Disability
When you are working on your business plan - or not working on it, as the case may be - the risks that you are usually considering are things like: How you’ll handle cash flow issues Where your next customer is coming from How you’ll manage staff Your next marketing...
Values
At the end of January, a few members of our team got together in Port Moody, BC (thanks for the hospitality, Kathryn!) and spent several days working with Pam Schmidt, our facilitator, to really dig into our Mission, Vision, Values, and Purpose. Since we live in an...