Meet the Spring Planning Team

Julia Chung

Julia Chung

CFP®, CLU, FEA, TEP, Partner, CEO, Sr. Financial Planner

In 1997, Julia got a taste of the financial services world – and loved it. She took her career through multiple investment firms and credit unions, trying nearly every role she could find and taking advantage of all the education available. In 2011, she left traditional financial services to form a fee-for-service financial planning firm in partnership with an accounting firm in order to serve more people in a conflict-free environment. Just a few years later, she took JYC Financial entirely independent, and a few years after that… merged with Sandi’s firm, Spring Personal Finance, to become Spring Plans.

Julia co-authored the Women & Money ebook with Krysten and Sandi, and regularly writes most of the content in our blog. With Krysten, she co-authored two ebooks on business: The Art of Delegation and The Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide.

Julia has held the role of Business Editor at two magazines, co-founded 4 companies in addition to Spring Plans, and regularly contributes as a speaker to multiple events across the country. Julia is a board member at Family Enterprise Canada, and chairs the FEA Council committee to the board. She and Sandi are both founding members of the Financial Planning Association of Canada, as well as board members and executives.

Julia spends most of her time in BC, has a son in the first phase of adulthood, and is on the Empty Nester Starter Package. She’s still figuring out what the next chapter of her life might look like. It definitely involves planning, writing, and hopefully, a lot of music.

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Sandi Martin

Sandi Martin

CFP®, CFDS™, BA (Major: History), Partner, Financial Planner

Sandi started in banking almost by accident, and quickly realized that she could help clients or get good performance reviews…but not both. After almost ten years, tired of apologizing for how many credit cards she hadn’t sold that day, Sandi became an ex-banker (with an ex-pension) and founded Spring Personal Finance, an independent, advice-only financial planning practice that merged with JYC Financial in 2017 to become Spring Plans.

Sandi, Julia, and Krysten co-authored the ebook “Women & Money” in 2016, and continue to co-author and create articles and resources through industry publications and the Spring Plans website. They founded the Advice Only Planners Forum in 2014, a knowledge sharing and collaboration network that has since come under the Financial Planning Association of Canada’s umbrella as a special interest group, with regular monthly meetings and peer support.

In 2014, Sandi began co-hosting the Because Money podcast, which ran for six seasons (but no movie), and co-founded AutoInvest.ca, a free online tool designed to help Canadians determine the best roboadvisor for their unique situation, which she sold in 2017. Sandi is a dedicated volunteer and Executive Board Member with the Financial Planning Association of Canada, and with the District of Muskoka’s annual tax clinics.

Based lakeside in beautiful Gravenhurst, Ontario, Sandi works virtually with colleagues and clients from across the country, while escaping frequently to take her three kids canoeing.

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Ashlee Mulder

Ashlee Mulder

Administrator

From chaos to organized bliss, Ashlee is a strategic planner skilled in multitasking and prioritizing work who keeps the Spring team moving in operational excellence. She is often the first person you virtually meet at Spring, and the one who will ensure you are well taken care of during your journey with our team.

Ashlee is a results-oriented business professional who has a unique blend of technical, operational, and administrative experience that allows her to ensure whatever needs to get done is checked off the to do list. She is a creative problem solver who thrives on the thrill of the challenge.

Ashlee and her family live in beautiful North Vancouver, BC taking in both ocean and mountains at every chance.

Krysten Merriman

Krysten Merriman

BBA, Partner, Chief Marketing Officer

Krysten and Julia met in 2009, working at an investment firm in collaborative roles. Since then, they’ve dragged each other into every company and opportunity that they’ve encountered. Some teams just work well.

As co-author and designer of the Women & Money and Art of Delegation ebooks, Krysten is well-versed in creating useful, actionable communications and content in the world of finance and business. She takes an educational approach to finance and marketing, determined that her audience is looking for the right information to make great decisions. A creative mind with a fine-tuned computer behind it, Krysten is a digital native with a thirst for knowledge and an addiction to hard work.

At Spring Plans, Krysten is the nitpicky tactical creative behind how we present to the world, managing everything from colour palettes to educational materials, data management, and the delicate construction of sentences.

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