December’s Top Three Holiday Reads
Apparently, “Nothing says ‘Time for Therapy’ more than the last few months of the year”, and Dr. Moira Somers has some great tips for how you and your family can protect your mental health this holiday season.
If you’re a dedicated saver reviewing that long list of holiday gifts and experiencing some trouble actually spending your money - well, I feel you. This may come as a surprise, but I’ve seen it enough to know that hardcore savers often stress over spending through their retirement years. Some even put a portion of their retirement income into… savings… which is where it came from…. out of sheer habit. According to several studies, it’s not an unusual perspective. Are you a reluctant spender?
For those of you preparing for new additions to the family, Emma Pattee shares the four things she did to prepare for the arrival of her baby - and not all of them were related to money. Find out more here.
Got more time to read throughout the holidays? There’s a new financial planning association (you may recognize some of the instigators), some thoughts on projections versus reality, the power of great planning, and why clever and ingenious isn’t always better than simple and obvious. There is also how to protect your financial boundaries (especially during this spendy time of year!), what you want to know about the Ontario budget - especially if you worry about deficits, and what questions to ask yourself when you’re thinking about giving an early inheritance.
Happy reading! I will - of course - have more for you in 2020!
The 4 things we did to get ready for our baby
From Emma Pattee
“In our pragmatic, consumer-obsessed culture, getting “ready for a baby” revolves around purchasing, organizing, and making practical decisions (where will baby sleep? Who will watch baby? Who will be baby’s doctor?)
This kind of prepping is important, but it’s also just one element of preparation.
The other kinds of preparation are spiritual, emotional, financial, physical, and relational. Those ways are maybe not as fun as decorating a nursery but IMO, it's a much more meaningful way to prepare for parenthood.”
Read the full article here.
Got clients or workers in distress? Got people who are distressing you? You’re in luck!
From Dr. Moira Somers
“Eggnog plus year-end reports plus psychotherapy. It’s a winning combination. You might want to suggest it at your next family gathering.”
Read the full article here.
Half of Retirees Afraid to Use Savings
From Kimberley Blanton
“Retirees who want to enjoy their hard-earned savings have to learn to live with some uncertainty so they don’t shortchange themselves.”
Read the full article here.
You can read this month's entire list below:
New association aims to raise professionalism among financial planners | Jason Pereira
“Imagine there was a service that, at its best, provided those receiving it with a sense of security, welfare, freedom, and calm – and enabled them to achieve their goals and dreams in life.
Now, picture that the majority of people providing this service were subject to deficient proficiency requirements. They could give themselves whatever title they wanted. They had no legal requirement to act in the best interests of their clients. They were incentivized primarily by selling products that may not be needed or beneficial to a client. They had no incentive beyond their own conscience and sense of benevolence to do what’s best for the client. They were faced with requirements from their employers to meet weekly or monthly targets. And they only had to provide cursory and often incomplete disclosures about their compensation for acting on behalf of the client.
Given these deficiencies, the unfortunate state of financial planning today is no surprise: surveys show that only one in five Canadians would rate financial planners as trustworthy.”
Guessing Game | Jonathan Clements
“The resulting retirement projections imply a degree of precision that’ll likely look hopelessly naïve once the real world intervenes.”
Eliud Kipchoge & The Power of Great Planning | Alex Riley
“You can only meet your personalised future financial goals if you put in place an actionable tailored financial plan. A financial training schedule so to speak, using proven strategies most others overlook”
“The trouble is clever, ingenious plans are more appealing than the simple, obvious ones. But more often than not, communicating the simple ideas has a bigger impact than some clever, ingenious scheme.”
Do You Need to Create Some New Financial Boundaries? | Jacquette Timmons
“If/when your financial boundary gets tested, it’s an invitation to evaluate your system. Or, set aside time to document it.”
Five things to know about the next Ontario budget | Randy Robinson
“Why do so many Ontarians feel broke? Why is our government acting broke?”
Transferring Wealth During Your Lifetime | Steven Frye
On “gifting cash or assets during one’s lifetime as an alternative method of distributing your wealth and possibly avoid taxes at time of death”