749. Expert Interview: Forget About Keeping Up with the Joneses

Court Creeden

“We work so hard to make money, but then we allow all these outside forces and media and entertainment and society and friends to dictate what we’re going to do with it as opposed to just saying no. This is what I want to do with this dollar that I earned and I’m going to do something that is truly in line with the life I am saying I want to live and not worrying about anything else.”

Court Creeden has seen the impact of social media, societal pressures, and the need to keep up with “The Joneses” in working in finance for over a decade. This led him to write his book Blue Goat: The Life Changing Power of Being Yourself. Court now uses his background in finance, and love of personal connection to help people design a life they want to be living. He was recognized as one of the top 40 under 40 Business Leaders in Charlotte. He has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, MSN Money, Dow Jones, and has been a regular guest on Fox News for the segment “Money Mondays.”

Forget Keeping Up with the Joneses

“I’ve spent over 10 years sitting down with individuals and couples every single day and helping them with their finances. I saw a pattern early on that these talented, well-educated, and good people didn’t know what they didn’t know about planning for their futures. Most of us never take the time to figure out who we want to be in life and how we want our lives to go. We’re conditioned from a very young age to work really hard to get into a good college, to get a good job, get married, start a family, climb the corporate ladder and then retire in comfort at some point. Obviously it’s far, far more complicated than that idealized model.”

Why Is This Important?

“My goal in helping people create fulfilling and meaningful lives has always been through the lens of financial planning, and that begins with figuring out the end goal by answering three questions: What do we want to do? What do we want to have? What do we want to be? The key elements involve helping people get clarity on their budget, making sure they have a will in place, getting their legal documents done, have comprehensive insurance coverage, create a plan for college savings, and of course, a retirement asset allocation—these are the very basics that must be considered and handled thoroughly and evaluated on a regular basis.”