Today we’d like to introduce you to De’Nye Hopkins.
Hi De’Nye, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
People don’t really talk about money, especially in the Black community. Growing up, it was one of those topics that stayed inside the house because you know the saying ‘what happens in this house, stays in this house.’
Everything changed for me in 2018 after I graduated from Michigan State University with my degree in Political Science. I remember calling about my student loans to find out when/what my first payment would be, and they told me it was going to be over $1,200 a month. I was only 23 years old at the time and then they icing on the cake was when she informed that if I made every payment on time and nothing ever went wrong, I wouldn’t finish paying my loans off until 2050.
I remember hanging up the phone, going into my room, crying, and asking God, “What am I supposed to do? How am I going to pay this?”
In that moment, I felt God telling me that one day I would share my journey to becoming debt-free. It took me a while to actually start because I was terrified. Talking about money publicly made me feel uncomfortable, and I worried about what people would think. But I also realized that when I started learning about personal finance, I was learning from people who didn’t look like me. Our stories, backgrounds, and experiences with money aren’t always the same.
I wanted to create a space where people like me could have honest conversations about debt, saving, investing, and still enjoying life. I never wanted financial freedom to feel like punishment. I don’t believe you have to survive on beans and rice and never have fun just to get ahead. For me, it’s about building healthy habits that you can actually stick with.
Over the years, I’ve made progress, I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve even gotten back into debt at different points. But I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to quit. That’s the part of the journey people don’t always see. Growth isn’t perfect, but showing up consistently matters.
Today, I’ve paid off over $11,000 in debt this year alone, including my car and a credit card. I have one credit card left before focusing completely on my student loans, and I’ve also started investing. I want people to know that paying off debt, saving, and investing don’t have to happen one after another, you can do all three.
More than anything, I hope my story reminds people that financial freedom isn’t about being perfect. It’s about having the courage to start, even when the journey feels overwhelming.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not and it still isn’t *laughs* If anything, my journey has been full of starts, stops, setbacks, and having to begin again.
I remember early on I worked so hard to pay off one of my credit cards and finally save my first $1,000. I felt like I had made it and then, just a couple of months later, life happened. That same credit card was maxed out again, and my savings were completely gone.
I’ve had to restart more times than I can count. There were moments when I felt discouraged and wondered if I’d ever get ahead.
But I’ve learned that setbacks don’t mean you’re failing, they’re just part of the process. Maturing is realizing that you’re going to mess up sometimes, you’re going to have unexpected expenses, you’re going to make financial decisions you wish you could take back.
For me, a lot of my setbacks came from trying to skip the building blocks. I was so focused on getting to the wealth-building stage and growing my money that I overlooked the fundamentals, having an emergency fund, staying out of consumer debt, and building consistent financial habits. Every time life happened, I found myself starting over.
I’ve had to restart more times than I can count, but every restart taught me something. Now I understand that financial freedom isn’t about rushing to the finish line. It’s about building a strong foundation first. Once you have that foundation, everything else becomes a lot easier to sustain.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Professionally, I’ve worked in sales for the last seven years. I started my career in tech sales and recently transitioned into industrial manufacturing and automation sales. Every day, I work with plant managers, engineers, and operations leaders to help solve business challenges and improve the way their facilities operate.
What I think sets me apart is that I lead with people first. I’m often in rooms with incredibly smart engineers and technical experts, and while I’m always expanding my technical knowledge, I’ve learned that relationships are just as important as expertise.
People do business with people they trust.
I’ve found that being genuinely curious, listening well, and building authentic relationships has opened so many doors throughout my career. My personality has become one of my greatest strengths because it allows me to connect with people beyond the sale.
Whether it’s my career in sales or my financial platform, everything I do comes back to building trust, creating real connections, and helping people solve problems. That’s what I’m most proud of!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
One of the things I love most about Dallas is that there’s always something to do. It actually reminds me a lot of my hometown, Chicago. Whenever someone says they’re bored or didn’t have a good time, I’m like ‘how, there is always something to do and it’s something for everyone.’
Right now, I’m enjoying all of the the FIFA World Cup events in the city and the best part is that so many of the events are free!!! and if it’s free, it’s for me *LOL* My friends and I have had a great time getting out, watching the matches, and just experiencing something different.
As for what I like least…traffic. Have you ever been on 75 during rush hour? Please, I rather watch paint dry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denyecourtney
- TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@denyecourtney
