Hi, I'm Daniel.
After graduating from college, I worked as a freelance Assistant Director on projects throughout Los Angeles. Freelance as a lifestyle meant constantly not knowing when or how much my next paycheck would be. Navigating government programs, credit cards, and trying to live a full life with my friends in a very expensive city left me afraid to look at my bank account. It felt like societal systems were purposefully confusing, and I never knew what my dollars could and could not afford.
Eventually, I reached a breaking point. I knew I had to do something different, and worked up enough courage to dive into the reality of my financial situation and begin setting goals. I made it a point to learn as much as I could, and soon found that budgeting was not solely a way to track dollars, but a way to manage my anxiety and fear. With it, I was able to define my values with greater clarity than ever before, realizing that financial stability and consistency were crucial for me. As such, I made a career change to full time employment. Since then, I have come to a place of genuine enjoyment of my personal finances, and have felt for the first time a sense of agency within our imperfect systems.
After a few years of seeing the once in a lifetime experiences personal finance has brought to my life, I began working with a few friends in a non-professional capacity to develop their financial goals and budget — only to quickly find that I love sharing the tools that have helped me find peace in a historically-very-difficult part of my life. Word of mouth then brought me to my first few other clients, and so on, leading to several amazing opportunities including teaching at local community orgs such as With Love Projects.
Transparency about my privilege is important to me: I graduated without college or car loan debt, advantages that gave me a foundation many people don't have. That's a big part of why I care so much about this work. Everyone deserves access to the tools and knowledge that help them feel financially in control. Working one-on-one with clients to help others find financial peace and freedom has been an experience I truly value. I see budgeting not as a restrictive tool, but as an opportunity to reclaim your agency in an imperfect system.
When I'm not coaching, you'll find me hiking and camping through California's national parks, forests, and mountains. Whether you're budgeting for the first time or trying to untangle years of complicated feelings about money, I'm here to figure it out with you through real tangible steps. No judgment. No shame.