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 month’s newsletter, so we won’t harp on it (unless, of course, you want us too, and then GLADLY!!).

As you navigate through the constant changes that have occurred, we know you have questions about the investment component of your plan. Darryl, our Director of Portfolio Strategies gave an online talk in early March about what was happening then, and he’s back in July on the 20th at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT to speak with you again. If you’d like to join in, have a listen, and ask lots of questions – he loves questions.

Of course, there’s much more to your plan than investments – there’s everything else. 

If you’ve been thinking about real estate market changes, the current interest rate environment, and your cash flow, we have been out and about talking to people about all of those things. 

Sandi was chatting with Global News, and answered a question from a reader weighing the pros and cons of making real estate changes. Julia spoke with Investment Executive about low interest rates and some of the ways we might take advantage of them.

Karen also spoke with Global News this month about assessing your “covid surplus” and how best to put that money to work. Kathryn was on the very first edition of the Globe and Mail’s Stress Test Podcast talking about your money in the “gig” economy. Skip ahead to 16:10 of episode one here or read the transcript here.

When we’re not talking to reporters (that was a lot this month!) we’re also writing a bit of our own stuff. This month, we carry on with our theme of design thinking in action, sharing stories of the amazing clients we work with, and would like to introduce you to Isaiyah, a do-it-yourself investor. Darryl worked with Isaiyah to align her portfolio with her goals and dreams – helping her reassess her asset allocation, and make a plan for success in the future. 

Sandi has another edition of her Great Reads, a curated list of interesting articles for your perusal. She’s going to keep reading as voraciously as usual, but making space for Kathryn, Darryl, and Karen to share their own reading lists with you. Stay tuned for Kathryn’s picks next month, as well as a story about Leela, a dual US/CDN citizen with streams of income from both sides of the border and unexpected tax bills every year.

We hope your summer is starting off successfully, and that you are taking the time to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. We can’t control what is happening in the world around us, but we can manage our own behaviour to create our best lives, well spent. Take time for you, for your family, and all the things that help you create success on your own terms.

Practice Notes:

Spring’s virtual offices will be closed on July 1st in honour of Canada Day. Sandi will be on holiday from July 6th through 10th, Kathryn from July 13th through 17th, and Julia for the last week of July and the first week of August. Karen is taking Fridays off throughout much of July, and Sandi will be taking Wednesdays throughout the entire summer. Darryl is roaming free and easy, taking days as they come and making summer holidays decisions as he goes.

“Free” Fridays remain booked permanently in our calendars. 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.

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