Garth started out as a technology development engineer. He says, “For 15 years I tested and developed thermal (meaning hot!) processes for cleaning up hazardous and radioactive waste. Then I was promoted, and for five years I crossed over from technical to executive management and business development. I spent my days listening to my clients, defining their challenges, and rallying a team of experts to exceed their expectations, which is very similar to what I do today—every serious family and business owner wants a coordinated team of pros working to engineer control over their personal financial economy.”
In addition to his corporate role, what really honed Garth’s approach as a financial advisor was overcoming adversity. Three major life events calibrated his view of financial “care planning”—becoming an unexpected caretaker for his wife’s long illness, losing a brother, and abruptly leaving the corporate world. As a result, he appreciates his clients’ challenges and knows what they need to do to protect themselves financially.
During the first part of his marriage, Garth’s wife became ill. He had to take on triple duty as a busy executive during the day, and nurse and housekeeper at night throughout her 10-year recovery. Struggling as a caregiver transformed him, and in fact, he leverages this experience to help others with similar challenges.
A decade later, Garth’s brother, a surgeon and family man, heard those dreaded words from a fellow physician: “terminal cancer.” His brother’s careful planning done well in advance of his diagnosis allowed him to focus on making memories with family, rather than fretting financial ruin.
Where this tragedy coincided with Garth’s departure from cushy corporate benefits, Garth learned the hard way that he should have reined in more financial control earlier in life. He vowed then and there to help other people understand their corporate benefits fully and equip them to optimize their control while they have it.
Garth sums it up this way, “I had been alone and unprepared caring for my wife when she was ill for much of our first decade of marriage. Later, when my employer pulled out of our area leaving me at a professional crossroad, my brother had just lost his battle with cancer. I saw that he had planned well for both his medical practice and for his young family, and that impressed me. I saw how changing relationships mattered as much as the finances. True planning looks at relational issues coupled with money issues. Now I call that ‘Planning Your Endgame’.”
Garth continues, “You probably know at least three people struggling with caregiving or the fallout from a loved one’s poor estate planning. My goal is to make sure that your kids or loved ones don’t suffer this fate,” he says. He has a special focus on empowering women, especially those between 40 and 60 years old who may be concerned about becoming caregivers needing to plan for their own retirement, and make future provisions for their children, particularly special-needs children.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, he published “Keep Your Life: Plan Your Endgame So Loved Ones Stay Loved Ones” available on Amazon in print, on Kindle and Audible. Besides attaining best-seller status in five Amazon personal finance categories, it received endorsements from top names in the financial services field: Tom Hegna, David McKnight, Jamie Hopkins, Dina Fliss, Darra Wray, and Bob Morley. You can visit the website about the book and learn more about the Keep Your Life™ method of planning your endgame here: https://keepyourlife.org/
Preview the book and gain insights into Garth’s motivations by watching a series of video interviews with Garth here.
In addition to end-of-life planning, Garth also specializes in retirement planning. Considering himself a “Protected Retirement Income Optimizer,” Garth was integral in creating the PRO Edge Wealth process used at Global View Capital Advisors of Idaho Falls. “I really think that the moldy 60/40 banker’s approach to retirement doesn’t serve today’s pre-retiree. We can show people when they are five to 10 years away from retirement that they can worry less and enjoy more. Pie chart cheat sheets that mainstream advisors rely on have their place—it’s called the round file. Instead, our clients enjoy optimal fusions of cutting-edge innovation and venerable icons of stability. These include rigorously vetted tactical investment strategies and an elite suite of designs from A-rated insurance companies.”
