2021 March Update

Happy Spring, from your team at Spring!!!

You might be surprised to learn that our favourite season is actually summer, but yes indeed, we did name ourselves after this season of renewal. Why? Well, in order to truly enjoy the summer season – and there won’t be another summer 2021 again – we must spend some time planning.

Therefore, calling ourselves Spring has always made sense. The long winter is over, or at least taking its final breaths depending on where you are, and we’re feeling engaged and invigorated. We’re thinking about possibilities, and how we can create exactly what we want out of the next few seasons. The final touches have been placed on our tax returns, and if you’re a keener like Sandi, you’ve probably already filed yours (due April 30th – it’s a busy year, you should get yours in as early as you can!). Last year’s finances are pretty much over, and if you haven’t already, it’s time to start thinking about this year’s.

If you’re starting that planning mode now, we highly recommend that you “start with WHY” as Simon Sinek likes to say (he’s talking about business leadership, but it still applies). Your “why” is specific and unique to you – and uncovering your own special “why” is an important part of planning.

That’s the reason What We Want for You in 2021 is to help you find real clarity about your values, and how you can live them deeply each day. Your values – your “why” – are the motivating force behind you being able to live your life, well spent – and your life, well spent is the reason why Spring Plans exists.

Last month, we discussed the very important value of Safety and Security – one that all of us share to some extent. It shows up in all areas of finance, from cash flow and portfolio management through retirement and estate planning.

This month, we turn the tables and talk about the process of cash flow planning, and what it means to apply your own unique values to that action. Everyone has a cash flow plan – the money comes and the money goes regardless of whether we’ve structured it well. If you’re finding that managing your own cash flow is dull or, worse, heartbreaking, finding a way to connect it to your own why is the first step to creating a great deal more freedom in your day-to-day life.

Finally, we have two things to celebrate this month. First, it’s the five year anniversary of the Women & Money ebook, written by Julia, Sandi, and Krysten back in 2016. This free ebook was written to answer the flood of questions we regularly receive from people just starting to organize their finances. We wrote it with women in mind, and released it on International Women’s Day because the majority of the questions we received were coming from women – but the advice is great for everyone. Grab your free copy here.

Secondly, we are celebrating our Springaversary! On the Spring Equinox (March 20, this year), Spring Plans turned 4 years old. We all used to have individual practices, and at the turn of the season in 2017, Sandi and Julia’s practices merged into one. As you can see from the ebook release date, we had been contemplating it for a while – planners have to plan though, and we made sure we were confident in the merger before we made it official. Early in the next year, Kathryn joined us, and a year later, so did Darryl. While we’ve all been working in the profession for many, many years, we’re excited to say we’re just 4 years old and looking forward to celebrating many more years together!

Happy Spring from all of us!

Spring in the News:

Julia was excited to speak at the CPA Ontario’s Women in Business Summit on March 9, where she shared important personal finance tips for women.

You’ll find her again on April 20 facilitating a Community Talk at the Canadian Family Enterprise Forum, and on May 18, moderating a panel discussion about office efficiency at the WealthTech Summit.

In case you missed it, Spring’s director of cash flow strategies, Kathryn, is featured in this Globe and Mail article on why Canadians working from home may be ramping up spending on “quarantreats”.

Practice Notes:

Spring is pleased to announce that our very own, incredibly talented Julia Chung, has been nominated for the 38th Annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation category! You can also vote here for Julia to win the “Connecting the Community” award. Winners will be announced at the online gala on June 7th.

Julia will be doing her best to take most of the days between March 27 and April 5 off, and Sandi will be off between April 2 and April 11.

“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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