December 2018 Update

MERRY HAPPY!!!

We hope that by the time you’re reading this, you’re feeling well-prepared for the holidays, however you celebrate them. Regardless of whether you partake of religious, non-denominational, or just no activities throughout this season, we hope you have at least a few days off for rest and relaxation.

We’re no strangers to the stresses of the holidays at Spring, and even though we are fancy-dancy financial planners who think about money all the time, sometimes we, too, can fall prey to the excesses of the season.

You’re not new to those excesses and stresses. You probably have some good ideas in mind to deal with them, and have implemented quite a few already. Maybe you planned ahead, and had a budget in mind. Maybe you agreed to one present per family member (but you know Aunt Jeanie is going to overdo it…). Maybe you convinced yourself you were going to tone it down.

But now, you’re here. You’re less than a week away from the big day – or you’re a week past a full 8 nights of celebration. In any case, there’s some time off work coming up.

You may be tired from all those parties. You may be contemplating even more parties – we hear some of you have more than 5 events to attend in one day, and we feel for you. You’re tired of the shopping or the making or the planning or…all of it. You’ve used up almost all your willpower and you know that if you’re subjected to one more thing, it’ll be eggnog and online shopping with a credit card bill full of regret come January.

We want to give you something fantastic this year, something that will help you avoid the regret, the excess, and the stress. It’s non-transferable, but entirely renewable each and every holiday. It’s your very own:

Free Pass

This Spring-approved, one-of-a-kind holiday gift is customized for you.

You can use it, with our full support, to say no. Say no without guilt. Say no without regret. And most importantly, say no without shame.

If you are doing anything this holiday season that you frankly do not enjoy, that brings you stress, and makes you sad or angry, we want you to put it down…. and walk away.

You can also use your free pass to say yes. Say yes to sleeping in, or wearing pajamas all day. Say yes to that quiet walk on the beach while everyone else is having a big party. Say yes to the thing that will make you happy this holiday season.

The truth is that the people around you, the ones from whom you might feel pressure, who are making demands on your time, they want you to be happy¹. They want you to have a good time. They want you to enjoy the holiday season in the best way possible. So your free pass is a gift to them, as much as it is a gift to you.

If you get any pushback from anyone, you can just pull out that second gift we give you complimentary with every financial plan: Blame Your Financial Planner.

You can put the responsibility for the decision to say no to stress and yes to that which makes you happy firmly on our shoulders. We can take it. In fact, we quite like the weight.

Over here at Spring, it’s possible we’ll be a little late with cards and gifts this year. We may have forgotten how to bake or missed out on a holiday party or two. But we’ve put a lot of thought into your gift this year, your Free Pass. We invite you to share it with anyone and everyone you care about. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.

All the best to you and yours,
The Team at Spring

This month, Sandi has the last of 2018’s great reads for you, Kathryn is helping you move from scarcity into abundance, and we all weigh in on the best financial gifts to give, as well as how to increase your confidence through cash flow planning. If you missed November’s reads, we also had a book review, a new team member, and some help with finding the right financial advisor for you. Don’t forget that 2019 brings you $6,000 more in TFSA contribution room!

¹And if they don’t, to heck with them, we say.

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