Donny | Financial Literacy Educator

The moment that changed everything

"I'll never forget looking for the house number — and seeing a boat parked in the driveway. I thought we had the wrong address."

I was on a home visit with a church friend, going to help a family in need. But what I found stopped me cold. A boat and a nice truck are parked in the driveway. I thought we had the wrong address. As we walked inside, the first thing I saw was a big television — an older model, but the kind that cost three or four times of a regular TV when it was new. Furnishings that told me this family had worked hard, earned money, and wanted a good life.

They weren't reckless. They weren't irresponsible. They just never had anyone teach them how to build a financial foundation beneath everything they were building on top. And when one bad thing happened — the kind of thing that happens to every family eventually — there was nothing underneath to catch them.

That visit didn't make me feel sorry for them. It made me angry at the gap. The gap between what families earn and what they're ever taught to do with it. That gap is what I've spent the last two decades trying to close.

Who I am

A teacher at heart. A servant by calling.

My name is Donny. I'm a licensed Life & Health professional based in Round Rock, Texas. But before any of that, I was someone who kept showing up in rooms where families needed help, and kept asking the same question: why doesn't anyone teach this? I served with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) for more than ten years, eventually as president and district president, sitting across from families in financial crisis. I taught marriage preparation at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Pflugerville,TX. helping couples build strong foundations before life they start on a new journey as a family. And in 2019, I partnered with a local public library and started hosting my own financial literacy workshops. No company behind me. No budget. Just a whiteboard, a room full of neighbors, and a belief that everyone deserves to understand how money works. That's still what I believe. That's still what I do; just with more tools, a bigger reach, and a team growing around the same mission.

How I teach

I take concepts that feel like they belong on Wall Street and translate them into language that belongs at your kitchen table. No jargon. No condescension. Just clear, honest conversations — the kind nobody had with most of us growing up.

Why it works

Ten years leading Toastmasters clubs taught me that the best education is a dialogue, not a lecture. I've spent a decade developing leaders and communicators — and I bring that same energy to every family I sit down with.

For families

If you've ever felt like financial advice wasn't meant for you

You're not behind because you're not smart enough. You're behind because nobody sat down with you and explained how this actually works. Not in school. Not at work. And definitely not from the institutions that profit when you don't know. That's what I do. I sit down with you — no pressure, no sales pitch — and we look at where you are, where you want to go, and what's standing between the two. The first conversation is always free.

For builders

If you want more than a paycheck — a mission

I'm building a team of people who believe what I believe: that financial education is one of the most powerful forms of community service there is. People who want to wake up knowing their work actually changes something in someone's life. If you're driven, you care about people, and you're looking for a place where your ambition and your values point in the same direction — I'd like to talk to you. That's what I do. I sit down with you — no pressure, no sales pitch — and we look at where you are, where you want to go, and what's standing between the two. The first conversation is always free.