About Dave
Tech Career
Dave retired from IBM in Austin, TX after 33 years as a Software Engineer. With 15 patents and significant contributions to the AIX operating system, this was a very fulfilling career. If you want more geeky details, see the LinkedIn link at the bottom (and connect!).
Financial Peace
Dave is a recovering financial hoarder. He started investing in mutual funds in college (just before the 1987 crash!) with every intention of saving and investing his way to immeasurable wealth. Then after college he came across the books of Larry Burkett (which pointed to Biblical teaching on money), and eventually a Crown Financial Ministries study. Dave’s thinking on money was forever changed. Hoarding is replaced by purposeful saving (if you’re saving, know what you’re saving for). Then came Randy Alcorn’s books Money, Possessions, and Eternity and The Treasure Principle. These will change the way anyone looks at money, and giving in particular. With this path to personal financial peace, Dave discovered Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University in 2005 and started leading classes. The beauty of FPU is that it simplifies complex financial issues into a simple roadmap (the Baby Steps) that anyone can use to understand where they are and what their next step is.
Financial Coaching
In the course of leading FPU, Dave often met with married or single folks to help them apply the principles of FPU to their specific circumstances. This was always informal, and often not done the best way. In 2017 Dave enrolled in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Coach Master Training. With online training beforehand, a week at Ramsey’s headquarters in Tennessee, and 3 months of mentoring afterward, Dave took his desire to help people find financial peace, added some structure based on Ramsey’s experience, and in 2018 launched Financial Coaching ATX.
Family
Dave has been married to his wife Kelly for 26 years, and they have 3 kids: Aaron (just started his career as an architect in San Antonio), Caleb (away at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA), and Leah (finishing her senior year in high school). They’ve lived in Wells Branch (north Austin) all that time. Kelly home-schooled all 3 kids as well as working as a Director in their Classical Conversations homeschool community. They are a road-tripping family, and have visited all 48 contiguous states with a focus on National Parks. They are active at Wells Branch Community Church, which they were able to help plant in 2009, and Dave has served 2 terms as an elder.
Contact
Can’t find the answers you’re looking for? Call, text, or email Dave Sheffield:
512-991-2999
Dave@FinancialCoachingATX.com