What are you really good at? What do you love doing?  If you can find where these two answers intersect, then you have your “sweet spot” – that place where talent and passion coexist. My sweet spot has always been at the intersection of teaching and problem-solving. This combination led me to become a financial coach. But, like most people, I didn’t start in my sweet spot – mostly because I didn’t know financial coaching could be a career.

I graduated from the University of Georgia with an education degree, planning to teach high school students. However, during my senior year in college, I became interested in and worked with computers and technology, leading to a dual degree, the second one being in Management Information Systems. For the next 15 years, I worked as a technology consultant, helping companies understand their vision and how technology could help them achieve that vision. 

It was a good combination of teaching and problem-solving. However, despite loving my work, I didn’t feel fully satisfied. I wondered if there was a way I could apply my sweet spot in a more personal way – a way that would help individuals more directly.

About five years ago, I got the opportunity to start teaching Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University classes at my church. Almost immediately, I realized that financial planning fell directly into my sweet spot and allowed me to work closely with individuals. Being able to teach people who knew they needed to manage their money better to get out of debt and to help them achieve that goal provided me with a sense of fulfillment I didn’t have as a technology consultant. My passion, I realized, revolved around helping families become financially secure.

After a memorable class at church, my next step became crystal clear. It was time to begin pivoting my career towards financial coaching. I wanted to offer financial clarity to individuals and families on a full-time basis.

So that I could offer the best counsel and direction to my clients, I completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Coach Master Training. This helped me strengthen the budgeting and debt-free techniques I had been teaching to those at my church. Next, I completed Wize Financial Coach training which allowed me to focus not just on getting out of debt, but teaching people how to attain financial freedom as quickly as possible.

Dodi, my wife of over 20 years, and I have worked hard to provide a strong foundation for our marriage and also for my teenage son, Avery, and my 9-year-old daughter, Addison. For us, that starts with having a strong spiritual foundation, which is why we are involved in study, worship, serving, and giving at home and at our local church. It also means having fun together. We enjoy hiking, and traveling. With Avery playing basketball and running track and cross country at his high school and Addison being very involved in ballet and gymnastics, there is never a dull moment!

Just like you, Dodi and I want to provide for our family now but also want to make sure we are a blessing, not a burden to our children when the basketball games are finished, the ballet recitals are over, and our children have families of their own. That is why the principles I teach to organize and manage money, get out of debt, and plan for financial freedom are the same principles we use in our family. Following these methods, we have been able to build an emergency fund so when “life happens,” it is just an inconvenience, not a crisis. It has also helped us become debt-free including paying off our house. Now, instead of paying creditors and banks, we can focus on paying ourselves through investing and saving for college.  And last, but certainly not least, it allows us to give generously and be a blessing to others.