Current:
Since 1999, Mark has been providing personal financial coaching to married couples/individuals and teaching financial literacy seminars to various corporate groups and churches throughout the nation. Mark founded StoreHouse Financial recognizing the urgent need throughout the American culture for common-sense money management and lifestyle adjustments among debt-laden families striving to reach their financial goals. Applying what he learned from his own money mishaps, Mark provides one-on-one personal financial coaching, addressing behavioral and procedural challenges negatively impacting money management and lifestyle choices that undermine financial security. His lively and personable coaching style fosters open communication and financial accountability between spouses. And through unique coaching methods and proprietary online tools, he provides his clients a monthly step-by-step cash flow map for setting and achieving measurable, progressive goals toward a long term financial plan. Mark’s approach has helped hundreds successfully implement their own personalized “Total Money Makeover”—involving an aggressive cash savings plan, rapid debt elimination and building wealth for significant life events (replacement assets, home purchases, children’s education, retirement, inheritance, charitable giving).

Personal:
Since 1985, he and his wife Carolyn have been in and out of debt twice and completely debt free since 1996. They currently reside in Sugar Land, Texas, with their nine children: Caleb, Joshua, Nathanael, Timothy, Hannah, Amanda, Moriah, Stephen and Ethan.

Background:
A native of Palestine, Texas, Mark is the fifth of five children. Mark’s father, Thomas Pickle — a child of the depression and a veteran of WWII — spent 40 years in the banking industry, retiring as a bank president in 1985. He instilled in Mark the time-tested, old fashioned values of saving and investing money, living within your means, and paying cash instead of going into debt. He also educated Mark on the evolution of the current credit and banking system compared to lending practices of decades past. This information alone (as Mark shares in his seminars) exposes many common financial pitfalls and awakens the current generation to how deeply addicted our society has become to consumer credit.

Through both seminars and personal coaching sessions Mark openly shares the ancient wisdom of financial principles found in biblical texts. This wisdom continues to shape his life and also many others (see Testimonies) with hope and practical insight on how to be financially accountable and embrace debt-free living as God intended. In recognition of implementing biblical wisdom into his advice and counsel, Mark has become a Qualified Kingdom Advisor, having met the high standards of this national organization of committed Christian Financial Professionals.

Education / Qualifications:
Mark has a BBA in Accounting from Abilene Christian University and is a licensed CPA^† in the state of Texas. He has 20+ years’ experience in finance and corporate tax, spanning most of his career as a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies. After his position as an executive officer of a national consulting and technology firm, Mark joined forces with Dave Ramsey in 2005 as one of his independent Certified Financial Counselors and Certified Workplace Trainers in the state of Texas.

*This firm is not a CPA firm.