John MacDonald was born in 1956 in Niles, Michigan, was raised in Michigan, and earned a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Michigan State University in 1978. John had two minors in business subjects, and rather than pursue a technical computing career decided to pursue a career in business computing applications. John hired on out of college as a business systems analyst with one of the large multinational oil and gas companies. John spent seventeen years with the company in positions of increasing responsibility within the financial systems arena at several U.S. locations. While in Shreveport, LA John earned his MBA at night school at LSU-Shreveport.

John was transferred to Houston in 1991, and separated from the company in 1995 to pursue a career in personal financial planning and services. John earned his certification from the Certified Financial Planner™ Board of Standards in 1999. The certification required classes and exams in the subject areas of Financial Planning and Insurance, Investment Planning, Income Tax Planning, Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits, and Estate Planning, and a final cumulative and integrated class and exam. This final exam is a rigorous 10-hour exam over two days. Thirty hours of continuing education are required every two years to maintain certification.

John's practice specializes very much in retirement and estate planning issues. Most of John's clients are nearing or already in retirement. Some of John's specific expertise is in retirement income and tax planning, IRA required distribution rules, tax-deferred accounts and annuities, portfolio allocation and risk reduction, estate planning trusts, and long-term care insurance. John is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the Houston Estate and Financial Forum.