It's great to be back in the reading saddle again, and have I got some outstanding pieces for you!

For those of you who are new around these parts, I'm a reader. (My friend Noel asked me the other day if I'd gotten to the last page of the internet yet. I haven't, but I'm working on it.) I curate what I read and send it out into the world on Twitter, but like to come back to my list at the end of the month and pick out some of the most interesting, thought-provoking pieces and share them in one place

.In the past, this monthly exercise went out to email subscribers only, which just seemed selfish of me. From now on you can expect a couple of good reads to get you through the month right here on the regular.

Let's dig in:

Bond Basics 3: Should You Wait for Higher Yields?

From Dan Bortolotti, a simple answer to a question I know you're asking: "With yields so low now, is it even worth it to invest in bonds? Wouldn't I be better off waiting until interest rates go up?"

Read Dan's response here, and while you're at it, listen to the podcast episode he released on the same topic here.

Why is it so hard to close the gender wage gap?

From Kate McInturff, and with the help of two monkeys named Fred and Ginger who are returning pebbles in return for delicious grapes (for Fred) and blah cucumbers (for Ginger), we have this:

"He did his task. He got the grape. Clearly he is a wiz with the pebble. Who knows what Ginger is up to? Don’t tell Fred he doesn’t deserve his grape or that the grape was merely the result of luck on his part. No one wants to hear that.Consider that 74% of members of parliament have lived a lifetime of getting grapes. Not to mention 98% of the top 100 CEOs in Canada. Add in three-quarters of all senior managers in the country.

This may go some way towards explaining why it is so very difficult to convince those with the power to do so to close the wage gap."

Read the rest here

So I Got Chickens

From Kitty at Bitches get Riches, a smart and saucy reminder:

"Life is about more than financial optimization. Financial optimization frees you to make interesting, irrational choices about how to spend your time on Earth. One day I will lay upon my deathbed (hopefully in the air conditioned apartment with a good wifi signal supplied to me by those thoughtful lions). I will look back across my life and think of all the choices that I made."

Read the rest here (No, seriously. You need to get acquainted with Kitty and Piggy.)

What I dearly want for you this year is structure.

(Just what you'd expect from an introverted money nerd who once answered "spreadsheets" when asked to name one thing that made her happy to her son's kindergarten circle, am I right?)

Listen, when you hear "structure" I don't want you to think about restrictions. The kind of structure I'm wishing for you has nothing to do with timetables, spreadsheets, or checklists (unless you're into those sorts of things). I'm not trying to convince you to track your time, food, or money in a little book somewhere, or to twist yourself into knots in an endless pursuit to maximize, optimize, or anything-ize your life according to whatever "10 Ways Successful People Brush Their Teeth" article that's making the rounds this week.

The kind of structure I want for you has nothing to do with conventional definitions of success (higher net worth! efficient use of time! productivity! peak performance!) and everything to do with freedom -- within whatever circumstances life has placed you in -- to be more you and to live more life.

What is structure, after all, but the invisible stuff that does the boring work of supporting the important stuff?

Let's rewind a bit, because this is really part three of a story I've been telling for years.

In 2015, I wanted you to have clarity, remember?

How would your life be better if you were absolutely clear about what you want your life to look like, the resources you have or will have at your disposal, and the obstacles that you’ll have to get over, around, or through to make it happen?

Pursuing clarity means paying attention. Often in financial planning, as in most data-heavy professions, we encourage you to pay attention to easily measurable things like how you spend your money, how it's invested, and what you're going to spend it on over the next five, fifteen, or thirty years.

But how do you feel?

It's equally important to pay attention to how satisfied/restless/anxious you are today and how excited/worried/unhappy you about tomorrow, and how those feelings change with new information, a change in direction, or sometimes something as simple (seeming) as the weather/news/that vexing update on Facebook.

Pursuing clarity means keeping your eyes open to the (changing) combination of circumstances that give you a sustained feeling of contentment with both the present and the future.

In 2016, I wanted you take ownership. To get comfortable with your own definition of success, to stop apologizing for the ways your direction veers away from the conventional path or looks like someone else's definition of failure. To fearlessly be the most authentic version of you. To trade away the things that don't fill you up for things that do.

To outsiders, your contented, authentic self might look too lazy, too ambitious, too social, not social enough, materialistic, ascetic, too involved with your kids, not involved enough at your church...there's an infinite number of ways that a well-meaning community, predatory marketers, and privileged bloggers can make you feel bad about all the things you aren't doing well enough or aren't doing period. Don't let them (not even me).

Well, that's easy to say

Exactly. That's why we need structure.

I'll give you some examples of structure that flows from clarity and ownership in my own life. Be warned, though: they're not particularly counter-cultural. Anyone who's spent more than five minutes with me knows I'm a natural-born Hufflepuff: unambitious, stubborn, plodding...in short: boring and proud of it, so don't expect anything earth-shattering.

First example: I finally realized that Facebook vexes me, and that although I love all (most of) the people I'm friends with and want to stay connected with what's happening in their lives, I don't want to mindlessly scroll through a newsfeed full of whatever Facebook has decided I should look at today. The happiest me is one who connects with people, not an algorithm, and I'm okay with missing a few things and being out of touch by not constantly checking in. It might not sound like structure to you, but the simple act of deleting the app from my phone stopped the mindless scrolling. It's just not something I do on my laptop. 

Another example: For the longest time, I thought I had to have free bank accounts and the best rewards credit card, because only dummies pay service fees or miss out on points, right? This led to a soul-sucking tangle of accounts that took tremendous mental energy to sort through every two weeks. I'm my happiest self when I'm reconciling accounts, absolutely...but not when reconciling accounts and transferring money all over creation is stealing time and energy away from more important things. With inspiration from my good friend Chris, I drew a picture of the fewest number of accounts that will still keep my business and personal stuff separate, and it's so streamlined that I reconciled my bank accounts on New Year's Eve. For fun.

One last example, I promise: Last year I realized just how frazzled it made me to fit focused work in between meetings and phone calls every day of the week while still leaving enough space to be with my family, serve my community, visit friends, and read a book or two. I'm my happiest self when I have big stretches of time to spend on whatever I want without rushing to the next thing, so I stopped scheduling meetings outside of Mondays and Tuesdays. I was worried that clients would be upset, colleagues would give up on me, and potential clients would call somebody else, but clients weren't, colleagues didn't, and potential clients might have but I'll never know the difference.

(I warned you I was boring)

Let me sum up: Structure is intentionally designing the default settings of your life to align with what you want it to be. It's automatic permission to be a little more yourself. Structure is saying no to a lot of things that don't mean much at all so you can say yes to the few things that mean a lot.

In 2017, what I want most for you is to get clear about what fills you up, get brave about pursuing it even in the face of opposition, and set yourself up to say no to everything else.

Originally published on December 22, 2016 in Investment Executive magazine

Sandi Martin offers fee-only planning services to a far-flung base of clients from the comfort of her home in Ontario’s picturesque cottage country

Sandi Martin truly likes “regular people.” So, when she decided to start up her independent practice, she knew those people were the type of client she wanted to help with their financial planning needs.

There are not many advisors available for clients who have competing financial priorities and don’t always have the cash to cover all of those needs, says Martin, founder of Spring Personal Finance in Gravenhurst, Ont.

Martin’s independent practice is the result of an ambition she developed early in her career in financial services. After graduating from York University in Toronto, Martin began working as a personal banker in 2005 at a retail branch of Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in nearby Newmarket, Ont. There, she became interested in helping middle-class Canadians reach their long-term financial goals. Her responsibilities included handling her clients’ investment and borrowing needs. However, the retail banking emphasis on the selling of products was not compatible with the type of service Martin wanted to provide.

“You’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg when all you’re talking about is someone’s mortgage renewal,” Martin says. “That’s only one piece, and sometimes people don’t know what all of the other pieces are and how they fit together.”

Martin and her husband, Seth, were determined to move back to Martin’s hometown of Gravenhurst, north of Newmarket. So, when a position opened up at a CIBC branch in Huntsville in 2007, Martin jumped at the chance to relocate.

Comprehensive planning

Driven by a desire to provide a more comprehensive level of financial planning, Martin left the bank on Dec. 31, 2012, and registered her independent business as an advice-only planner on Jan. 1, 2013.

Martin saw immediate interest in the advice-only planning she wanted to provide. A consumer business publication had begun to publicize advice-only planning through its stories and included her name in its national directory of advice-only planners. She also became acquainted with a popular personal finance blogger who had asked Martin to contribute to his site, which further increased her exposure. Within two months of starting her business, Martin landed her first client.

Martin has clients in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and she prepared 60 financial plans in 2016. She typically works with six clients at any given time – not counting retainer clients and new clients in the discovery stage.

Martin’s ability to attract clients is due in part to being among the minority of advisors who provide financial services in this way, she says: “It is a pretty small pool of people who can work with anybody across the country on an advice-only basis.”

Martin appeals to middle-market clients because she understands that she has to offer flexibility – which is a key component in her service offering.

Her clients can choose how much advice they require, so pricing varies accordingly. Martin has three tiers of service: an hourly fee for clients who simply want to ask a few questions; a project fee for individuals who would like a documented financial plan; and a retainer fee for clients who want ongoing advice.

All fees and descriptions of Martin’s services are available on her website, which reinforces her emphasis on the importance of full transparency regarding her fees.

“The kind of clients that I want to work with typically received their advice for free [in the past],” Martin says. “If they can accept the fees and then we talk, I think that’s a more efficient use of everyone’s time.”

Thanks to the power of technology, Martin serves clients across the country from her home office. Clients can choose how and when they want to “meet” with Martin, who always strives to make her meetings as convenient for clients as the time slots are for her. She conducts meetings by phone or through online video calling at times that are mutually beneficial.

No sales of products

Martin isn’t registered to sell securities of any kind anymore – and she prefers to work that way. She believes the service of providing financial advice should remain distinct from the selling of products. She recently wrote her certified financial planner examination and is awaiting the results.

Martin’s commitment to transparency is not limited to her fee structure. Just as she wants to get to know her clients and understand their priorities, she is very clear with clients about who she is, what she believes in and what makes her laugh. Martin has a lively sense of humour and any conversation with her is likely to be punctuated with laughter and self-deprecating humour.

“I’m not ever going to have perfect hair and be in a suit and act professional all of the time,” Martin says. “I want to act with professional dignity, but that doesn’t mean not being myself.”

Martin’s efforts to avoid the “sober bank manager” stereotype work well with her client base. That image of the serious banking professional can intimidate clients and make them nervous about asking questions, she says.

Educating middle-class clients about the facets of personal finance has become a mission for Martin, who uses social media, a newsletter and podcasting to share her thoughts and resources on these matters.

Martin is one of the hosts of the Because Money podcast, which is in its third season (more than 40 episodes in total) and involves interviews with personal finance bloggers and journalists. The podcasts, which run approximately 30 minutes, cover topics such as the distinctions among investment products, budgeting and the regulation of financial advice.

“I hope that we can make people at least brush up against the topic [of regulation], so that the next time they hear about it, it’s slightly familiar,” Martin says, “so that people who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo or keeping investors from knowing what’s going on can’t do that quite as successfully.”

Martin may seem like a one-person show, but she works closely with other professionals. She co-hosts the current season of Because Money with Chris Enns, a fee-only planner in Toronto, and John Robertson, a financial writer and educator, also in Toronto, whose work focuses on do-it-yourself investing. In addition, Robertson is her partner in the development of an online calculator that allows clients to compare the costs of various robo-advisors.

Martin receives guidance and financial planning help from her mentor, Julia Chung, a fee- only planner in South Surrey, B.C. The two are exploring the possibility of entering into a formal business partnership this year, Martin says.

Comfort of home

Martin, age 37, gets to execute her business model from the comfort of her home in Gravenhurst, a picturesque town of fewer than 15,000 people within the Muskoka District Municipality, which is famous for its Nature trails and lakeside living.

“Ten years ago, if you wanted to be an [advice-only] financial planner or you wanted to do any service-based professional job as your own boss, you needed to be in a population centre that could support it. But, thanks, Internet!” she says with a laugh.

The way in which Martin runs her business has enabled her to spend more time with her husband and their children, Max, 8; Oscar, 6; and Lucy, 4. The Martins can be found volunteering at their children’s school during the academic year and enjoying Lake Muskoka with the kids in the summer.

“I never liked the idea of owing my allegiance and my nine-to-five, evenings and some weekends to some company that doesn’t care if I’m at home for supper,” Martin says. “I like being able to stop in the middle of my day if I have to and go pick my kids up at school if they’re sick. [That lifestyle] is non-negotiable now.”

Originally published on the Canadian Couch Potato on December 15, 2016

This interview with friend and colleague Dan Bortolotti at the beginning of his (now ended) Canadian Couch Potato podcast gets into the important (and frequently misunderstood) differences between financial planning and investment management, why it’s important for plans need to come before products, and the growing presence of robo-advisors in Canada.

Listen to the full episode below.

Normally on the first or second Tuesday of the month I'm compiling and sending out a Top Three email to subscribers, highlighting the latest collection of thought-provoking, or informative posts on investing, the finance industry, retirement planning, or budgeting that stood out for me as I read.

(If this is news to you, you can subscribe over there in the sidebar, or down at the bottom of this post if you're on mobile.)

I didn't send it out this month, what with the launch of season three of Because Money, the rapidly-approaching public launch of the new and improved Canadian online investing fee calculator (which currently lives on a public Google sheet but is moving to its own website on November 20th), and some important client work that just has to take precedence over my more extravagant reading tendencies. (Who am I kidding? It's all important.) 

I have a list of over a hundred articles, blog posts, and journal papers published in November that I didn't get to but will still read through and combine for the Top Three email in December, but in the meantime I'll leave you with two related things that are making me think today: 

Why I (Kinda, Sorta, Sometimes) Hate Calling Myself a Minimalist, by Cait Flanders

Cait is one of the most thoughtful writers online right now, and if you haven't read her stuff before, this post is a great example of the kind of personal growth she's transparently sharing, and one (of many) that resonated deeply with me. 

Here's Cait, on minimalism as a privilege: 

Even my personal definition of what minimalism means to me is a privilege. Being able to decide what adds value to your life and letting go of what doesn’t – how fortunate am I to be in the position to apply that to any area of my life!? If my diet is making me feel bad, I can walk into a grocery store and buy better food. If the work I do is leaving me unfulfilled, I can find other work. If I need/want to learn a new skill, I can take a class. The list goes on and on.

And, from Frances Woolley in the Globe and Mail: 

November is financial literacy month. Canadians are being advised: Start with a budget. It is about as effective as declaring National Fat Shaming month, and advising Canadians: Start with a diet. Saving money, like losing weight, requires fundamental lifestyle changes. But it is hard for anyone to change the way that they live.

You see, we money writers, planners, and coaches are often blind to the privilege we enjoy, and are quick to judge the choices other people make on the scales of our own affluence. Our lack of empathy for people who struggle with concepts that come easily to us translates into contempt and hopelessness when the actions we prescribe turn out to be harder to follow than we make them out to be.

It translates into people not asking for advice, because they're positive they've made too many mistakes to bother. 

It translates into a laser-like focus on optimizing our money and an iron-clad list Things That Are Good (emergency funds, DIY investing) and Things That Are Bad (credit cards, except if rewards points are involved and affiliate commissions are available).

It translates into advice for where people should be, instead of for where they are. 

Looking back, I've often been blithely ignorant of my own privilege many times as I've written, tweeted, or laughed my way through a blog post or podcast episode. I've given clients advice that they aren't yet equipped to follow, instead of focusing on the next right thing. I think I'm getting better at treating people with empathy and starting from where they are, but there's lots of work to do.

The easy finance answers we sell, most starting with that terrible four-letter word "just", as in "just start budgeting" or "just stop using a credit card", might only be easy for people who grew up on an economic spectrum with access to resources and opportunities, or with employed parents and fairly decent money habits, or with healthy bodies and minds.

As we hand out advice, let's remember that we are where we are because of where we came from, and - almost certainly - because of an incredible amount of luck. Let's not chalk it up solely to personal achievement without acknowledging the privilege that made it possible.