May 18

May 18 Are these the 'good old days?'

I'm getting a lot of 'what do you think about the market right now?' questions from clients, friends, and neighbors. CNN’s ‘fear index’ says we are all in extreme fear. I don’t know about that, but maybe it's time to reflect.

May 10

May 10 Talking Financial Planning, Family and Takoma Park

David Creekmore

Values, Life Goals

Lifetime Financial has morphed into something more important to me. My wife, the mother of my two daughters, died from breast cancer in 2012. We spent the years before she passed travelling to over 40 countries with our young girls. It was financially risky, but we did it anyway. I would have a larger 401(k) now if we hadn’t, but who cares? We have stellar memories and stories with her. I’m trying to keep that ethos alive with clients. Last year I became a Registered Financial Life Planner with the Kinder Institute. I learned how to encourage clients to do fulfilling things they might otherwise have been afraid to do because of money fears. I still develop a safe, smart plan for retirement, but together the client and I find balance that leads to a flourishing life.

Mar 23

Mar 23 A six-month lookback. I should put ‘Virgin’ in more of my titles.

David Creekmore

Values

Six months ago, I wrote my first weekly piece for this newsletter, or blog if you prefer. Since then, many people have joined this little community and it’s growing quickly. Each of these articles requires research, it’s not just musings. For every post you see here, there are dozens of articles read, half blogs written, and notes on scores of topics for future use. In the long run the real benefit of writing this blog is that it keeps me better informed for clients.

Mar 15

Mar 15 Pursuing "enough" is harder than pursuing "more."

David Creekmore

Life Goals, Values, Estate Planning

Imagine you pass away and leave $75,000 in a bank account (approximately the median inheritance for the 50th-90th percentile of total wealth.) That sum represents money you didn't you didn't need to earn, right? Effectively, says author of 'Die with Zero' Bill Perkins, you worked for 'free'. I would add you might have missed out on experiences (like travel) . You could have taken an amazing safari or two with that money!

Mar 1

Mar 1 The two best funds for investing in democracy... and why I don’t use them

David Creekmore

Investing, Values

In 2007, Trish and I took the girls abroad to France, the UK and Ukraine, as my late wife's ancestors were from that area. As kids, 3 and 6, my daughters played on the Volga. Our hearts are with the people, the defenders, the vulnerable, and the families losing loved ones. I shed no tears for the men causing this war — my cynicism expects them to not suffer deeply. For nearly two decades of my professional life, I worked for international nonprofit organizations promoting rule of law, freedom of speech and fair elections. So where are the Socially Responsible Investing funds supporting democracy?

Jan 12

Jan 12 How will you change your life?

David Creekmore

Life Goals, Values

My favorite book last year was the “The Myths of Happiness” by Sonja Lyubomirsky. In a year end ‘best of’ post, the website and magazine Financial Planning featured my book choice along with the favorite titles of a dozen other planners. Having come through my own tough life events, I opened this practice wanting to help people on a deep level.

Dec 20

Dec 20 New study shows money makes us happier... Sort of

David Creekmore

Values, Life Goals

In a perfect world, Financial Advisors would be in the happiness business, not the money accumulation business. What’s the point of money and security if it doesn’t lead to more well-being?

Dec 6

Dec 6 Green stocks don't perform as well as investors hope

David Creekmore

Values, Investing

One could reasonably take the position that a company better poised to manage the changing environmental future would deserve to be priced higher. But is that the case?

Nov 17

Nov 17 What I learned about the promise of ESG from the nonprofit double bottom line

David Creekmore

Investing, Values

ESG are environmental, social and governance standards used to evaluate a company’s operations and help investors screen potential investments. It attempts to quantify the relationship between adherence to ESG criteria and financial performance. Can we rely on ESG?

Nov 1

Nov 1 Investment culture wars?

David Creekmore

Investing, Values

Conventional conservativism was traditionally pro-corporation, profit-first, and generally liked business to stay out of politics. But the more current version of conservativism is more explicitly anti-progressive, and is interested in more than profits.

Oct 4

Oct 4 Eating your own dog food

David Creekmore

Life Goals, Values

I want to travel more with my girls and one of the things we love is to scuba dive. So, I made the decision to go with both on a trip last summer. It felt financially scary because my risk-averse brain was telling me not to take a not-cheap vacation right then.

But I treasure the time spent traveling with them more than anything on the planet. Travel is what we do, it’s our identity. As my coach said: “What possibly could get in the way of something that important?”

Sep 30

Sep 30 Job satisfaction > salary?

David Creekmore

Life Goals, Values

How much of a pay cut would you take to be more job satisfied?

A 2016 study of nonprofit professionals in the UK from 2016 estimated that individuals would need around 22,000 GBP or about $30,000, to make them equally ‘happy’ were they to take a job outside the nonprofit industry. Aside from the crass economics of equating a degree of happiness with a dollar of income – it’s a provocative thought experiment.

Lifetime Financial Blog

Thank you!