Welcome back!!! I hope that when you look back on 2018, you’re feeling really proud of what you accomplished.

If that pride has oddly led to stress and anxiety, you’re not alone. I recommend that you use Jacquette Timmons’ useful steps to navigate your new reality, and this crazy idea to manage those “shoulds” that get in the way.

Finally, are expensive mutual funds worth it? Here’s what this Canadian Fund researcher thinks. Scroll down for Sandi’s favourite thoughts and quotes from these articles.

Got time to read more than just three? Check out the bottom of the list for a few articles that made the Runners Up list and this one that I’ve named Miss Congeniality.

Navigating Your New Reality When You Get What You Want

From Jacquette Timmons

 “When you get what you want, you will not be the same person as you were when you didn’t have it. And, you’ll be required to navigate and negotiate a new reality. It’s not easy or entirely comfortable. But that is precisely how it ought to be. It’s the natural price of change.”

Read the full article here.

Maybe You Don’t Need to Figure Out What’s Wrong

From Paula Pant

Five solutions to try when you know what you ‘should’ be doing but just aren’t doing it...and don’t know why.

Read the full article here.

The Academic Argument for Expensive Mutual Funds

From John Rekenthaler

“There’s no real-world justification for owning expensive funds”

...Even though this Canadian fund researcher tries REALLY HARD to manufacture one. (Note that you do have to register to view this article, but registration is free.)

Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below:

Money Advice is Usually for Middle Class People, Not the Poor | Talia Jane

“The way I see it, being poor is like having cancer: You can’t bootstrap your way out of having cancer. You can seek medical assistance to fight the cancer (Medicaid). You can seek spiritual guidance to give you mental fortitude to power through the cancer (Jack In the Box two for $1 tacos, a manicure, seeing a movie). You can get surgery and radiation to remove the cancer (loans). But ultimately, you have still had cancer, there’s no guarantee it won’t come back, and your efforts to fight through it have permanently altered your genetic code and brain structure.”

3 Couples on How they Make Financial Decisions Together | Pavritha Mohan

It’s always fascinating to read about the many different ways couples arrange their money infrastructure. Bonus, this one contains the line:

“The secret to a healthy marriage is spreadsheets,”

so you know I’m happy!

How to Enjoy Life | David Cain

“Given that we will spend most of our lives in those sorts of obligatory moments, we’re leaving way too much on the table by assuming enjoyment can only be found later and elsewhere.” 

Well, that’s nearly it, folks. 2018 is marching away, into the darkness, tucked into boots and wrapped into a warm parka, heading towards the shining beacon that is 2019. I’m imagining you up to your chin in blankets, with a warm beverage by your side, cozying up to this month’s top reads. Maybe you’ll even have time to dig into the full list, which includes information on finding your advisor, how to think about risk, retiring at stock market peaks, and how gender identity/sexuality impacts your finances.

However, if you’re like me and time is limited this season, I’ve carved out the top three that are worth a few of your precious minutes. These include a video from our wonderful friend, Shannon Lee Simmons (who just released her second book!), when risky investment behaviour is at its peak, and what wintering cows and your retirement have in common. Happy reading!!!

‘Twas the night before Christmas [Video]

From Shannon Lee Simmons

From our good friend and fellow advice-only planner, Shannon Lee Simmons, a sweet and quirky message all the way from Santa’s workshop. Have some tissues nearby because this one made me weepy. Click here for the video.

The Winter Safe Withdrawal Rate

From Justin Mallory

What do wintering cows and your retirement have in common? Here’s your chance to find out. Read the full article here.

Behavioral Risk Is Highest In The Early Years Of A New Investment

From Joe Picerno

Beware the whipsaw effect immediately following an investment: “the rationale for an asset or strategy isn’t likely to deliver real-world confirmation of the return projections until well after the initial investment. As a result, the preliminary holding period will probably be noise in terms of the returns (or losses), which means that the signal arrives with a lag, perhaps a lengthy one.” Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below:

Mean Reversion of Equity Returns and Retirement Planning | Dirk Cotton

“There is significantly more downside to incorrectly guessing there is less risk than there is to incorrectly guessing there is more risk.”

What If You Retire At a Stock Market Peak? | Ben Carlson

“Financial and investment planning is a process and not an event.”

Therefore the only right answer to this question is: let’s find out together.

Queer Finance 101: Ten Ways That Sexual and Gender Identity Affects Finances | Bitches Get Riches

“Social isolation is the root issue of the financial struggles queer people face. Your family is your first and most important safety net. Your next is your community—your church, your school, your workplace. When these nets chuck you out, there’s nowhere to land but the cold, hard ground.”

Halloween has passed us by, but there are still some slightly daunting things to contemplate throughout the month of November, including talking to your parents about money, what really happens when interest rates rise, and how disclosure isn’t necessarily the solution to reducing conflict that the financial services industry had hoped it would be.

After that, you can relax a bit into self-contemplation, with Michael Kitces’ thoughts on how your birth year impacts your investment experience, John Stapleton’s discussions of biases regarding basic income, and the questions that comedy legend, Martin Short asks himself each year. If you have a little time when you’re done, grab a copy of your car insurance policy, and find out if you have everything you need. 

What to do when your parents haven’t planned

From Julia Chung

You’ve learned to separate your self-worth from your net worth. But your parents? It’s possible they haven’t. This could be a really touchy subject. You’re not sure if you should bring it up, and if you should, how

Read the full article here.

How Your Birth Year Shapes Your Investment Experience

From Michael Kitces

Come for the simple explanation of sequence risk, stay for its generational impact on your investment outlook.

Read the full article here.

Martin Short’s Nine Categories for Self Evaluation

From Ben Carlson

Be like Martin. Ask yourself these nine questions this year - and every year.

Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below: and browse through past lists here.

Everyone loves a basic income – why worry about its pedigree? | John Stapleton

Basic income: apparently,

“unless you inherit it, marry into it, pay into it, or win it, current policy dictates that you shouldn’t have one.”

The Unintended Consequences of Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest | George Loewenstein, PhD, Sunita Sah, MD, PhD, Daylian M. Cain, PhD

How disclosure doesn’t act as intended (to warn prospective buyers of conflicted advice) because we have a deep-seated desire to not seem rude (PDF).

Rube Goldberg | Morgan Housel

Here’s what really happens when interest rates rise: (prepare yourself)

How Much Car Insurance Do I Really Need? | Adam Wagman

Ontario residents, do future you a favour and pull out your car insurance policy to find out how much coverage you have, then call your broker and find out how much it would cost to increase.

Just in time to cozy up in a comfy chair with whatever scalding hot drink you prefer, I present to you a few reads that got me thinking this month. They are loosely grouped around themes of cash flow and money management (like this pair on creating a financial routine and ways couples share money), investing (like this pair on the seductive and false allure of private equity and the seven Ps of portfolio managers), and...other stuff (here’s where the “pairs thesis” breaks down), with a piece on preparing your finances for parenthood, a nerd’s paradise worth of infographics from Statistics Canada, and the critical and unpredictable factors of portfolio ruin in retirement, plus a few more gems you can find below.

Retirement math: Why you may need more (or less) than you think 

From Jason HeathOur friend and fellow advice-only planner, Jason Heath on some of the big mistakes people make with their retirement planning like misunderstanding life expectancy, ignoring the impact of inflation, and overestimating the income tax they’ll have to pay.Read the full article here.

The Cognitive Burden of Poverty

From Evan NesterakSomething for policy makers to think long and hard about when designing poverty reduction strategies:

While, few policies take cognitive demand into account, research shows that relatively simple interventions that reduce cognitive demand–reminders, help with forms and planning, and built in defaults (5) – could be the difference between whether or not a program designed to help the poor works for or against the people it is trying to help.

Read the full article here.

A Financial Hack to Determine Affordability and Best Outcomes

From Doris BellandI love the idea of “trying on” a major change to your cash flow and have recommended it to clients many times in the past.

If you want to test affordability for pretty much anything...spend six months acting as if you had bought the item...then sock away the difference in cash.

Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below:

“Optimal” Asset Location, Applied | Justin Bender

Without that time machine, you may need to accept your inability to predict future effective tax rates, expected returns or asset class investment income distributions. What then?

Happy, Healthy Economy | Livia Gershon

The role of government is, in fact, to promote the wellbeing of citizens. In economic terms, growth is only worth something if it improves people’s lives.

The Critical Factors of Portfolio Ruin Aren't Predictable | Dirk CottonA rare and welcome overview of sequence risk vs probability of dying from Dirk Cotton.

For a given sequence of returns, the probability of prematurely depleting our savings increases if we expect to live longer or spend more, start out with a smaller portfolio, receive better average market returns or experience less volatility of those returns.

So You Want to Have a Baby in 5 Years? | Julia Chung, Kathryn Mandelcorn & Sandi Martin

The last thing we want is for you to fumble through an EI application in the middle of the night with a crying baby beside you, or fall for a group RESP scam er, scheme because you wanted to do right for your kid and just didn’t know any better. Let’s put your amazing and soon-to-be-lost ability to focus to work and prepare your wallet for parenthood.

Why Doesn’t The Stock Market Care About the News? | Ben CarlsonCome for the fascinating chart, stay for the analysis.

Just this year alone [US] stocks have shrugged off trade wars, political instability, emerging market crises, interest rate hikes by the Fed and I could go on.Any rational person would be right to ask: Why doesn’t the stock market care about all this news?

How Many Transactions Does The Average Person Make Per Day? | Owen Winkelmolen

This was obvious (once Owen made me think about it) and fascinating.

How Dafuq Do Couples Share Their Money? | Kitty

I love a good couple money story (evidence here and here) and thankfully our favourite Bitches have lots to choose from.

Keep Things Simple: Create A Routine For Your Finances | Owen Winkelmolen

More couple money: how financial planner Owen and his partner stick to a four month money routine.

When picking a portfolio manager or advisor, remember the 'Seven Ps' | Tom Bradley

There are no guarantees when picking an investment professional or team, but these factors are better predictors of future returns than what investors often use — a casual recommendation, glossy brochure or good recent returns.

Delusions and Entitlement | Josh Brown

Are you being pitched an exclusive investment? Read this before you fall head over heels with the idea of private equity.

I’ve got a kind of dense, philosophical reading list for you this month, just in time for that Second New Year feeling that September always brings. Don’t miss the Top Three (below), but if you have more time be sure to check out Dan Bortolotti’s bond performance time machine and this reflection from Jennifer Chan on how the process of paying off debt can change us forever.Also, be sure to visit the National Pharamacare Online Consultation survey before comments close on September 28th. Your opinion matters!

Now Is the Perfect Time to Ask Yourself: How Am I Doing?

From Jacquette Timmons

I believe when stress surfaces it is an invitation to pause and ask yourself, ‘What is the stress trying to get me to pay attention to?’

Follow up: What Happens When You Expect the Wrong Thing

Read the full article here.

The Future of Financial Advice Must Be More Diverse

From Nick Richtsmeier

The assumptions of the eurocentric, male and gentrified Wall Street, which spawned the wealth management industry, are sundry and deep. What we know is that simply saying, “How do we hire and promote more women/people of color/millennials/Gen Xers?” is not making rich progress. I suggest strongly that it’s because we’re too often unwilling to address the unwittingly uniform views of success, the linear and assumed paths to affluence, and the tired inheritances of our industrial heritage.

Read the full article here.

The Psychology of Money

From Morgan Housel

This is a long but essential read. Break it up over a couple of days so you can really absorb it. Number 12 is key.Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below:

The Most Likely Bookend to a Long, Strong Cycle | Tom Bradley

What to do when the grinding market pullback starts:

First, plan for your portfolio to not come back right away...

What Risks Are Worth Taking | Bob French

For most investors (and most of the financial industry) dealing with risk is a lot like making sausage. People want what it gets them, the investment returns, but they don’t want to deal with the process and the uncertainty that risk implies.

Rocket Men Precision | Ben Carlson

Some fields allow practitioners the ability to work with an extreme level of precision, even in the face of uncertainty. Finance is not one of those fields.

Living With Debt | Jennifer Chan

Eventually, as we cross the finish line and become debt-free, all that will remain is a more resilient, positive, and confident version of ourselves—who we were always meant to be.

National Pharmacare Online Consultation | Let's Talk Health

The deadline to comment on National Pharmacare (and read other people’s comments) is September 28th.

Bonds Behaving Badly | Dan Bortolotti

Take a ride in Dan’s time machine to July 2017 when everyone knew rates were rising and clever folks shortened their bond duration...what happened after BoC rates went up?