Reading is free. The actual work — planning, tax projections, withdrawal sequencing, year-after-year course corrections — happens at Chesapeake Financial Planners, my fiduciary practice in Forest Hill. This site stays a thinking platform; the firm is where we put the thinking to work.
Full-service planning at Chesapeake Financial Planners. Comprehensive plan, tax-aware withdrawal strategy, ongoing maintenance. The firm is the conversion side of all this; this is where we go to do the work.
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Thirty minutes, no pitch. We talk about what you're trying to do; I tell you whether I'm the right fit; nobody is hurt if I'm not. Fastest way to find out if it's a yes.
Real Zoom. Real human. Real answer.
Not ready (or not a fit yet)? Read along. The Rudder is one viewpoint every other Sunday, most of the thinking that goes into client plans, written for the kind of reader who wants the reasoning.
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I work with the same kinds of clients my whole career has been built around: capable people facing a real decision, who want to understand the math before they sign anything.
Saying no quickly is part of the job, for both of us. Drawn-out "maybe's" waste your time and mine. If any of these describe you, I can usually point you to a specialist who's a better fit.
Chesapeake's R.U.D.D.E.R. Method™ — a deliberate, mostly-linear process from first call to first plan delivered, then ongoing.
We learn your situation, income, expenses, assets, liabilities, goals, and decide if there's a mutual fit. You leave with a list of docs needed and the rest of the R.U.D.D.E.R. meetings on the calendar.
We dig into values, priorities, and how you envision retirement. I review your documents, surface risks and opportunities, and offer a high-level analysis with quick optimizations we can make right away.
My team builds strategies that align resources with your priorities, maps sequencing, assigns task ownership, and produces a clear roadmap connecting actions to outcomes. Internally peer-reviewed before you see it.
We walk the proposed strategies, what each does, why it matters, what it solves. Compare options and trade-offs. Capture risks of inaction. Make final decisions and lock next steps.
Decisions become an implementation checklist with owners and dates. We coordinate account openings, reallocations, transfers, insurance changes, and outside professionals so the paperwork and timing line up.
Scheduled review touchpoints, accountability against the plan, and course corrections as life and markets change. I'm reachable by cell when something real comes up between meetings.
Pick a time that works for you. Thirty minutes, no pitch, a real answer at the end. If we're a fit, we keep going. If not, I'll often know someone who is.
Book a 30-Minute Fit Call →Or email jeff@chesapeakefp.com directly · EST hours
Yes. I'm a CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, and AEP®. The advisory work is done through Great Valley Advisor Group, an SEC-registered investment advisor. Fiduciary duty applies whenever I'm acting in that capacity.
No — I only work with ongoing clients. If you need a one-time tax projection, Roth conversion analysis, or second opinion, you'll get better service from an hourly planner or a CPA. Happy to point you toward a good one via email.
The honest answer is "depends on the client and the work." Chesapeake uses several compensation structures because, as I've written elsewhere, picking one and calling it virtuous is mostly marketing. We talk about it on the fit call and pick the one that fits the problem you're trying to solve. If the structure ever stops fitting, we change it.
New client relationships typically need to satisfy one of the following: Investable assets of at least $250,000; Household income of at least $200,000; Engaged for annual Financial Management Oversight; or Referral from an existing client.
Yes. The firm is in Forest Hill but I work with clients across the country, mostly remotely with two or three in-person meetings a year for clients who want them.
