Winter weather often brings blankets, fireplaces, and hot drinks. While you’re thawing your toes, you may feel inclined to dream a little, and I have the reads for you to do just that. Dreams about retirement, and who you might be when you stop working, are right up my alley.

If you find yourself in dreams that present themselves as reality - like forecasts on anything from sports to financial markets - I hope you’ll treat them like entertainment rather than hard truths. If your dreams start leading you down dark paths, with nightmares of recessions, I invite you to take a page from the book of Kitty and Piggy, who ask you to focus on managing only that which sits firmly in your areas of control.

The full list of great reads has some fabulous writing, including three by my colleagues in the Advice Only Planners Forum. I hang out with them for good reasons! Whether you’re wondering about Canadian Equity ETFs, the Canada Pension Plan, Optimizing Government Benefits, or why so many finance folks were crying on Twitter when Jack Bogle died, there are many answers - and quite a few questions - for you to consider.

How Retirement Changes Your Identity

From Teresa Amabile

Who are you when you’re not working? Fascinating research on the transition of self-identity when work ends (and a reminder that you don’t have to wait until retirement to decouple your fundamental sense of self and purpose from wage earning!)

Read the full article here. 

Delusions

From Josh Brown

On forecasts (sports, economics, matters, and otherwise):

“There’s nothing wrong with being entertained by information, and to enjoy making and receiving predictions based on it. If we have to make decisions about the future, some information is better than no information. But the extrapolation – that even more information would be better than just some, and having the most information would be better than even more, and so on – it simply doesn’t work this way.”

Read the full article here.

Ask the Bitches: How Do I Prepare for a Recession?

From Kitty

“If the thought of a recession still keeps you up at night, remind yourself that you have no control over what the broader economy does. Everything from weather and agriculture to politics and war influences the global economy. That shit is beyond you.

What you do have control of is yourself. Be prudent and thoughtful in your passive preparations for lean times. Then sit back, relax, and let life deal whatever bumps it may.”

Read the full article here.

You can read this month's entire list below: 

Understanding Canadian Equity ETFs | Justin Bender

A remarkably clear look at what’s going on inside the different Canadian Equity ETFs. Looking forward to the rest of this series!

Common Investment Mistakes by Retirees | Jason Heath

An outstanding summary of some seductive ideas to think critically about in retirement, like dividend investing, claiming CPP early if you have enough savings, and too much in unrealized capital gains.

Optimizing Your Government Benefits: Both Now and In Retirement | Owen Winkelmolen

A great one-stop list of the different income-tested benefits available to Ontarians and the thresholds to watch for if you want to maximize them.

On Jack Bogle (1929-2019) | Jason Zweig

A collection of almost everything Jason Zweig has written over the years about Vanguard’s founder and the father of indexing, Jack Bogle. Bogle passed away in January, and was inflexible in his championing of low-cost investing.

Making a Plan: With a Sketch and a Whole Lot of Stretch | Chris Enns

“A plan is not a strict schedule that I must adhere to, but an exercise in which I use my imagination to sketch a version of the future which helps me answer one question: what should I do next?”

10 Things Investors Can Expect in 2019 | Ben Carlson

An almost word for word repeat of Ben’s column of (almost) the same name in 2018, and the only forecast worth paying close attention to.

 If you have any kind of debt at all, go read Living Debt Free, the no-shame, no-blame guide to getting rid of your debt by Shannon Lee Simmons immediately. Companion book to Worry Free Money: the guilt-free approach to managing your money and your life, Living Debt Free is exactly what those of us who have struggled with persistent debt (sometimes for years) have been missing. In fact, pick them both up, because the first quarter of Worry Free Money is devoted to identifying and dismantling the reasons money and spending are so entwined with our feelings of adequacy, belonging, and success, and I know that up until now you’ve probably only ever heard or told yourself that you have debt because you’re bad with money, full stop.

For as long as I’ve been paying attention, and with only a few notable exceptions, the dominant conversation around debt has been some implicit or explicit version of Just stop spending on frivolous stuff or Just use all that time you spend on the couch to start a side-hustle or It’s just math, see this spreadsheet?, all served with the delectable shame cherry of You’re lazy, entitled, or stupid (probably all three) if you can’t make this work on top.

I’m tired of it, and I’ve been tired of it for a long f*cking time. Getting out and staying out of debt isn’t just math or hard work, and for the love of God I don’t want you to walk around under the burden of the shame and guilt that believing those lies lays on you for one minute more.

Just like her first book, Shannon devotes the first part of Living Debt Free to stopping debt cold. She does this by digging into why it happened, how you feel about it, and how to avoid hamstringing your ability to use the strategies presented later in the book before you even get to them. Like she says—a debt-free plan you can actually live with and execute all the way through is better than any guru-approved, mathematically optimal plan that saps your emotional resources and quickly deposits you back into the familiar grooves of the debt loop.

Once you get to the strategy section, you’re going to get a lot of simple, clear information about setting up your debt plan, building a banking strategy to keep you within your self-imposed boundaries, ordering your debt, and stacking your payments. Plus, the most important set of strategies: troubleshooting obstacles when they show up. What I love most about this book is Shannon’s insistence on trying all of the tools—even the ones that are often cast as even more evidence that you’re bad with money—comparing the projected results, and choosing the ones that you can use best.

Who should read it?

If you have debt, and you have enough income to keep you safe with a little bit of extra left over to use, read this book. Especially if you’ve been fighting both debt and shame about your debt and haven’t found anyone who helps you with one fight without making the other one worse.

If you find yourself regularly giving people advice about their debt and want to remember to be human being about it, you too should read this book.

If you only have time to read one chapter:

I’m cheating and giving you two: a chapter for everyone and a chapter specifically for you if you’ve struggled and struggled and expect to keep struggling forever because you’ve cut back everywhere and still have so far to go.

For everyone: Chapter 2: Reframing your Debt: Beat the Shame-and-Blame Mentality

Why this chapter? You cannot afford to dismiss the emotions you feel around debt, and this chapter is the one to read even if you don’t go any further (but please go further). It’s the one where Shannon guides you through changing your perspective about your debt, and to “focus on what it will mean to your future, not on what it means about your past.”

For you, already years into the struggle and feeling like there are still more tiring years ahead: Chapter 13: Free Up Money Fast

Why this chapter, for you specifically? You may not need to increase your spending money the way Vanessa does, but you need to know that there’s more than just “cut back until the debt is gone” in your toolbox, and it’s completely fine to use those other tools.

If you only have time to read one paragraph:

The first order of business is to stop going into debt. That’s your most important job - always. No matter what. None of the strategies for debt repayment matter if you are taking on more debt. Not sinking into more or at least controlling how much debt you take on, is a huge part of the battle to break the Debt Loop and give you control over your finances.

(Chapter 13: Free Up Money Fast, page 221)

If you only have time to read one sentence:

You don’t have to put an epic amount of money onto your debt to get an epic outcome.

(Chapter 11: Debt-Slammers, page 196)

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.”

It’s the home stretch, friends. Even though we all know calendar years are arbitrary, that humans celebrate the new year at different times, and that your personal and financial growth can’t possibly be measured in tidy 365 day increments, the end of one year and beginning of another still feels exciting and sometimes a little fraught.

This year, as always, I want you to end it well. I want you to make your deadlines (if you have RESP contributions, for example, or have to take an RRIF withdrawal, or need to make a payment on a spousal loan).

I want you to expand your horizons. To look at the fresh, clean year that’s just around the corner (or a few months down the road still if you don’t celebrate January 1st) and decide what needs to happen in it for you to be successful -- whatever that means for you -- to map out the time and money you’ll realistically need, and make whatever trade-offs necessary to get it done.

I want you have such a strong vision for what you’re going to accomplish in the next year that you can’t wait to get started. Relax over the holidays like a rocket, fuelling up to take off as soon as the countdown is over.

If you don’t have that kind of compelling vision for what next year is going to hold for you, may I recommend the book Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans? And if you have the vision, but don’t know whether you have the resources to reach it, please give me a call. Helping you use your resources to create a successful life on your own terms is what I do.

The Federal Government has also announced that effective January 1, 2019 the annual TFSA contribution limit will be increased to $6,000. If you haven't yet contributed to your TFSA that means you have built up a total of $63,500 in contribution since the account opened in 2009!

Because Money Season Five has started, and you can catch me in two new episodes: I Know What You Did on Hiatus and Planning to Get Sick.