Hi, I'm Derek
I'm drawn to questions people tend to avoid, not because they're not important, but because they're uncomfortable, ambiguous, and don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet.I write and teach about mindfulness, behavior, and money. These are tools: ways into deeper conversations about meaning, identity, values, and the stories we tell ourselves about what a "good life" looks like. My work is grounded in the belief that values matter more than tactics, and that listening matters more than advice.This site brings together my writing, teaching, and ongoing experiments in what it means to live with intention in a complicated world.Learn more about me at DerekHagen.me
Why I Draw
I draw to make sense of things.For years, I've used simple sketches to slow conversations down and make complex ideas easier to see. These aren't diagrams meant to impress anyone. They are just hand-drawn images that help people notice what's actually happening beneath the surface.A sketch can hold tension without resolving it. It can surface trade-offs, contradictions, and questions we usually rush past. In that way, drawing becomes a way of listening... and a way of thinking out loud.
Where This Shows Up
This way of thinking shows up in a few places.I work directly with clients as a financial life planner, helping them figure out what their money is actually for before worrying about the spreadsheets. I write articles and draw sketches that explore how people make decisions, especially around meaningful living, behavior change, and the quiet stories that shape our lives. I make a weekly video where those same ideas come to life a little differently.Sometimes this work looks like an article.
Sometimes it looks like a sketch on a whiteboard.
Sometimes it looks like a pause in a conversation where something finally clicks.If you're curious, there are a few ways to explore further.
My Writing
I write to explore how people actually make decisions, especially when money, identity, and emotion are involved. The focus is on the interior side - meaning, values, and the questions that don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet.
Meaningful Money
(for anyone who wants their money to serve a life they've actually chosen)A weekly blog exploring the psychology and philosophy of money through personal stories and hand-drawn sketches. The writing is for individuals thinking seriously about how to live — though many financial professionals read it too as a way of thinking about better conversations with their clients.Each week's article also becomes a short video on the Deep Dive with Derek YouTube channel, where the same ideas come to life a little differently.Visit: Meaning.blog or YouTube
Selected Guest Writing
From time to time, I write for other platforms that share an interest in the inner side of money and decision-making.• Kitces' Nerd's Eye View - Guest contributor
• eMoney Advisor's Heart of Advice - Guest contributor
My Work
My work shows up in a few different places: sometimes through direct planning and advising with clients, sometimes through writing and teaching, sometimes through speaking and facilitation, and sometimes through projects that don't yet have a clear label.What connects it all is a focus on the human side of decision-making: how people make meaning, navigate uncertainty, and live with intention in complex systems.
Meaningful Money
(writing an illustration for individuals and the professionals who serve them)Through Meaningful Money, I write and illustrate a weekly blog exploring the psychology and philosophy of money. The focus is on the interior side of financial planning: meaning, values, identity, and the questions that don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet. Each article also becomes a short video on the Deep Dive with Derek YouTube channel.Visit: MeaningfulMoney.life or YouTube
Speaking and Facilitation
(for organizations and audiences exploring meaning, behavior, and motivation)My speaking and facilitation work brings together financial psychology, motivational interviewing, and life planning. These sessions are less about providing answers and more about helping people wrestle with better questions, especially around meaning, values, behaviors, and the trade-offs that shape real lives.Topics often include meaning and purpose, behavior patterns around money, money scripts, financial psychology, and values-based decision makingVisit: Speaking
Writing, Teaching, and Ongoing Projects
Some of my work doesn't fit neatly into a single category.That includes writing and curriculum development, educational courses and workshops, and long-form projects that evolve slowly and intentionally.If you're curious where ideas start before they turn into something more formal, this is where much of that work lives.
If you're trying to do meaningful work in a complex system, with money, people, or both, there's a good chance our paths overlap.