Every year, my family kicks off the Christmas season with a trip to Sloan’s Christmas Village — and this past week, we made the annual pilgrimage.
It’s become one of my favourite traditions.
The whole crew comes: my parents, my brother and sister, the nieces and nephews… everyone bundled up, running around, eating way too much, and pretending we aren’t freezing.
Funny enough, even though the Christmas tree goes up at my house on November 1st (yes, really),
Sloan’s still feels like the real start of the season for us.
Now, if you’ve never been — Sloan’s is technically a Christmas tree farm.
But my family?
We’re not there for the trees.
We’re strictly there for the food and the fire.
Most people at Sloan’s are roasting marshmallows and hot dogs.
Meanwhile, my dad is grilling sausages and pancetta over an open flame like he’s back in the old country.
And because we take things to another level…
this year we brought a battery-powered portable espresso machine with us.
Yes — espresso.
At a Christmas tree farm.
While everyone else is making s’mores, we’re pulling shots like it’s Little Italy.
Next year my dad is talking about cooking pasta over the fire.
(He’s 100% serious.)
Every year, the tradition stays the same — but somehow, he finds a way to upgrade it.
**Traditions stay the same.
But the rules underneath them change.**
That’s what got me thinking.
A lot of us have traditions around money too.
Not holiday traditions — but things we were taught growing up:
- Work hard
- Save your money
- Pay down your mortgage
- Avoid debt
- Play it safe
- Trust the system
For decades, that playbook made total sense.
It helped build the middle class in this country.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
The tradition stayed the same… the rules didn’t.
The world underneath those traditions has completely changed:
- Savings no longer keep up with inflation
- The dollar buys less every year
- Asset prices rise faster than incomes
- Government deficits are massive
- We’re seeing rule changes that will make real estate investing harder
- “Safe” assets often guarantee you fall behind
- Leverage (used properly) matters more than ever
People are trying to live by a financial recipe that belonged to a different era.
And that’s why so many Canadians feel stuck.
They’re doing what they were taught to do…
but the system they’re playing in doesn’t reward those behaviours anymore.
**You don’t have to abandon the tradition —
you just have to adapt the strategy.**
That’s what my dad does at Sloan’s.
We keep the same yearly ritual.
The same fire.
The same family gathering.
But the approach evolves.
Sausages → pancetta → espresso →
and next year… pasta over the fire.
Your financial strategy should work the same way:
- Keep the values
- Keep the discipline
- Keep the long-term thinking
But adapt your approach to today’s rules:
- Own scarce, productive assets
- Understand how debt works in a devaluing-currency system
- Focus on cash flow
- Build buffers
- Challenge old narratives
- Position early, not late
Tradition gives you stability.
Strategy gives you progress.
You need both.
If you want to talk through how to adjust your plan to today’s reality — whether you’re buying, refinancing, or planning ahead — just reply to this email and we’ll set up a time to connect.
Talk soon,
— Vince
P.S.
If you ever see a man at Sloan’s grilling pancetta while everyone else is roasting marshmallows…
that’s probably my dad. 😉
