Three Questions to Answer for a Happier

Step #1 — What does retirement mean to you?


Many people think of retirement as a time in your life where you can work if you want to, but not because you have to. In other words, how would you feel if you could work for fun and/or pursue your passions without worrying about money? This requires financial independence, or having enough money to:

Cover your needs and basic wants

After taxes

After inflation

For some period of time (usually you and your beloved's

lifetime)

The amount of money necessary for financial independence is called "Critical Capital". This is a pile of money that can sustain all your retirement expenses with inflation and after taxes for the requisite time period. This may be in an assortment of piles of money such as funds in your 401(k), Roth IRAs, and taxable money. Retirement could mean reaching a point where you have enough Critical Capital to spend your money making a life versus being forced to spend your life making money. Now that's exciting!

Step #2 — What is the role of mortgage planning?

Your mortgage is most likely your single largest debt, and your house is most likely your single largest asset. Your mortgage and home equity situation impact your:

Cash flow

Tax deductions (or lack thereof)

Net worth and wealth position

Liquidity (access to your money)

Estate and legacy planning

It's important to ask yourself whether your mortgage or real estate equity strategy is helping or hurting your chances of acquiring the right amount of Critical Capital. Does it make more sense to use a smaller mortgage and invest more cash flow into your Critical Capital fund? Does it make more sense to use a bigger mortgage and invest more upfront cash into your Critical Capital fund? What about using or planning to use reverse mortgage now or at some point in the future? Mortgage planning asks and answers all these questions to help you avoid missing your mark and not having enough Critical Capital. Your mortgage, housing, and cash flow strategy play a large role in helping you achieve financial independence.

Step #3 — How will you get enough Critical Capital?

Remember, the amount of money necessary for financial independence is called "Critical Capital". There are three specific steps that I use to help you acquire enough Critical Capital for financial independence:

1. Calculate Critical Capital — how much do you need?

Determine the future value of how much you have already saved — what will your current investments be worth in the future?

2. Determine how much you still need to save — how can you change your cash flow or real estate equity situation in order to make up for the shortfall?

3. As a CMPS professional, I work as a team with your CPA, CFPR and other financial advisors to help you determine how much cash flow you need during retirement and the best way to generate that income. I can also refer you to a financial planner if you don't already have one. Either way, give me a call or send me an email to schedule a time to discuss your options in further detail.

As a CMPS professional, I work as a team with your CPA, CFPR and other financial advisors to help you determine how much cash flow you need during retirement and the best way to generate that income. I can also refer you to a financial planner if you don't already have one. Either way, give me a call or send me an email to schedule a time to discuss your options in further detail.

Can Bad Credit Still Cost You a Job?

Published: Friday, 8 Apr 2011  3:18 PM ET

By: Cindy Perman

CNBC.com Staff Writer

The recession left a lot of people with bad credit — even people that previously had sterling credit. So, are hiring managers now willing to overlook bad credit or can it still cost you a job?


Bad credit is like a ball and chain when you're interviewing for a job.

“I’ve always de-emphasized the credit report,” said Greg George, who does a lot of background checks and due diligence with his firm GTI Advisors. “People face various challenges in life from business failures and layoffs to medical bankruptcy and other issues that may cause/reflect financial distress. This does not mean that they are bad people or necessarily a risk.”

In fact, he said, when it comes to the entrepreneurs he investigates for venture-capital clients, bad credit can almost be a good thing.

“If you understand how entrepreneurs think — they go through one start-up. Blow that up. It’s a lot of work,” George said. “This one individual I was doing a background check on had two bankruptcies. And the investor looked at me and said, ‘that just means he’s more experienced!’”

In fact, he advises clients to not weigh heavily on a credit check — especially in places like Michigan that were hard hit by the recession. What’s more important is to verify the person’s identity — their name, previous employers and where they went to school. It’s also important to check for any legal red flags such as lawsuits against the person for fraud, George said.

Chris DesBarres, who owns Help Unlimited, a company that helps individuals, mostly senior citizens, manager their day-to-day finances, said he uses credit checks when making hiring decisions – but only after he’s decided he wants to hire someone.

“As a screening tool, a credit check is a horrible — and expensive — method,” DesBarres said.

When he does use credit checks, DesBarres said, he’s looking for four key things: The amount of debt the person is holding, any bankruptcies, recent red flags such as maxing out credit cards and any debts that are now in collection.

Many companies limit use of credit checks to positions that include fiduciary responsibilities.

Since the recession, several states have passed laws limiting the use of credit checks during the hiring process, supplementing protections outlined in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Aside from the fact that people with previously sterling credit might have had their credit dinged during the recession, Connecticut state lawmaker Matthew Lesser, in pitching legislation to limit use of credit reports, offered another argument: “Bernie Madoff had a pretty good credit score.”

A survey last year by the Society for Human Resource Management showed that 60 percent of employers do credit checks for some job candidates, while just 13 percent did it for all candidates.

Jay Meschke, president of executive-search firm EFL Associates, said his clients have started to loosen their standards when it comes to credit checks — but not for everyone.

“Since the downturn in the economy and since people have been losing their jobs and being unemployed for long periods of time, hiring managers have lessened their historical standards vis a vis what the credit report might tell about a candidate,” he said, also citing Detroit as an example.

However, those looser standards only go so far up the food chain.

“For executives, the historical standards still apply,” Meschke said. He cites two reasons: First, the unemployment rate for people with a college education is a lot lower — more like 4.8 percent, compared to the overall unemployment rate of 8.8 percent. So, executives would be less likely to be hit by the effects of unemployment. Second, they make a lot more money than most people, so they should have a nest egg to carry them through any periods of unemployment. If they don’t, and they manage their personal life that poorly, why would you hire them to manage your company?

Recognizing that there’s a difference between a person who lost their job during the recession and wound up with bad credit and a person who has always had bad credit, the credit-reporting agencies recently tweaked their scoring methodology.

They use a system called VantageScore to determine a person’s credit score, which takes into consideration a person’s payment history, how much they use their credit cards, if they carry a balance, how long they’ve been using credit cards and how much credit the person still has available. VantageScore 2.0, which launched at the beginning of 2011, blends data from two different timeframes — 2006 to 2008 and 2007 to 2009 — in order to distinguish those people who may have been fiscally responsible before the recession but fell on hard times in the past few years.

“By using a development sample from this extended window, VantageScore 2.0 captures both a broad and recent set of consumer behaviors across the full spectrum of economic events, reducing algorithm sensitivity to highly volatile behavior that can be found in a single timeframe and extending performance stability over time,” VantageScore said in a statement.

Regardless, Meschke said, hiring managers need to dig a little more nowadays to vet a candidate, not just take data from a background check at face value.

Meschke recalls one of his clients, a hospital, that contracted him to help find a chief nursing officer. They found a great candidate but learned through the background check that she had once declared bankruptcy. The job involved some financial responsibilities, so they almost didn't hire her. But, after they looked into it, they learned that the candidate and her family had taken in their grandparents and also taken over the loan on the grandparents’ house. Then, one member of the family lost their job and they had to foreclose on the grandparents’ house, sending the family into bankruptcy. The hospital gave her a second chance and the woman got the job.

Not only are people with bad credit being given a second chance in many cases, there’s also a camp that’s in favor of hiring those with bad credit.

“I’ve heard an argument that hiring someone with bad credit can be a really smart move — that employee really needs the job and will stay longer,” said Bonnie Zaben, the chief operating officer of media-recruiting firm Aclion. “It cuts down on employee turnover, which can be a real cost saver. Using the conventional wisdom that the costs of turnover is 150 percent salary, you’ve now saved a bundle by retaining that employee,” Zaben said.

One thing most hiring managers can agree on: Candidates who might have a blemish in their credit history need to volunteer that information and an explanation of what happened as quickly as possible.

“Don’t just hide behind it … Leaving it up to chance is a bad decision for a candidate,” Meschke said. “They will find out about it. It’s just a fact.”

Employers are more receptive to hearing an explanation than most candidates think.

"If you can give me a plausible explanation about why this derogatory information should not be a cause for concern, I’m more than happy to hear it,” DesBarres said.



April 10th ~ Sunday Brunch Seminar

Turn Lookers into Buyers!

Owner of Imagine Home Staging & Finishes, Lisa Shipley, will share first hand the art and value of staging a home, creating the first & lasting impression upon buyers looking to own your home.

Speakers: Kimberly Shute, Principal Broker, Keller Williams Realty Professionals
                 Lisa Shipley, Imagine Home Staging & Finishes

Cost: FREE

When: Sunday, April 10th, 2011
           1:00p - 2:00p Presentation, Questions & Answers
           2:00p - 2:30p Boutique Shopping

After a great hour of learning and enjoying a delicious brunch, browse and buy beautiful Stella & Dot jewelry and exquisite French linens. 5% of proceeds benefit Alliance Francaise de Portland.

REGISTER: www.RealEstateGuide4Women.wordpress.com

Where: Kamm House (Alliance Francaise)
             1425 SW 20th Ave, Portland

Tram: Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St Max
Parking spaces available

For questions, please contact your host,
Kimberly Shute, 971.2271302

Sunday Brunch Seminar ~ March 6

Importance of Now
                 Why it’s Time to Make Your Move

Please join us March 6th

Sunday Brunch Seminar

Learn:
Rate vs. Price, which is more important
Short sale, bank owned, straight sale–which is right for you
Factors that affect timing ~ why now is prime time




Speakers:
Kimberly Shute, Principal Broker, Keller Williams Realty Professionals
Carrie Reed, Alpine Mortgage, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist


Cost: FREE


When: Sunday, March 6th, 2011
1:00p – 2:00p Refreshments (Mimosas, Fruit & French pastries)
2:00p – 2:30p Boutique Shopping


Where: KAMM House
Tram: Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St MAX Station
1425 SW 20th Ave, Portland
Parking spaces available in front of KAMM House


REGISTER ONLINE ~ www.RealEstateGuide4Women.wordpress.com

Any questions, please contact your host,
Kimberly Shute,
971.227.1302

Who;s House Is Being Saved By Obama?

By Les Christie, staff writerFebruary 1, 2011: 2:07 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- More than half a million Americans have received permanent mortgage modifications from the Obama administration's flagship foreclosure prevention program, the Home Affordable Modification Program.


So who are these homeowners?

To begin with, the reason they are falling behind on their mortgages isn't because their loans are unaffordable, according to a report released Monday by the Treasury Department.

Instead, defaults are stemming from the weak economy and unemployment: In December, 60% of the borrowers who received permanent HAMP mods were facing a loss of income. Just 11% were the result of unaffordable mortgages.

L.A. and New York City have the largest concentrations of these beneficiaries, and their ethnicity roughly reflects the nation as a whole: 33% of borrowers who received permanent modifications were white, while 12% were African American, 18% are Hispanic and 3% are Asian. (The numbers don't add up to 100% because many people did not report ethnicity.)

Median household income for them was just $46,000, well short of affluent. Their credit scores averaged about 570 at the time of modification, which would, under today's lending conditions, prevent them from obtaining loans.

Foreclosure pain index: 10 cities

Their mortgage balances -- after modification -- averaged $232,000. That is about five times median household income, about double what they'd usually be allowed to borrow on income of $46,000.

The help these borrowers receive is substantial, with the typical HAMP modification slashing about 40% off mortgage payments. About 18% of HAMP borrowers were able to reduce their payments by $1,000 a month or more.

Still, receiving a permanent HAMP mod does not guarantee that the borrowers will keep their homes. Of those who received a modification during the third quarter of 2009, more than 46% have already fallen at least two payments behind.

Homeowners with payment reductions of more than 30% were far less likely to become delinquent on their permanent modifications, compared with those receiving a payment reduction of 20% or less.

After 12 months, nearly 60% of borrowers whose loan payments went down less than 20% were at least two payments behind. Only 28% of those borrowers with payments reductions of 30% or more had fallen two payments behind or more

Sunday Brunch Seminar – Stiletto Tastes with Nine West Budget, How to be Financially Savvy When Buying a Home

This year I have combined efforts with other woman professionals to provided valued resources for helping woman. If you are single, divorced, separated, widowed, with or without children, this will be an invaluable resource for information to meet life changings short and long term financial goals.



Content and contacts will be available regarding the following areas:


Divorce lawyers
Financial planners
Mortgage brokers
CPA – tax
Home Stagers
Interior Decorators
Home Inspectors
More, much more!


Stay tuned as we build the blog. To begin, a monthly seminar series is kicking off and would love to have you come. Each month will be a new topic, varied speakers and helpful informative content.


UPCOMING EVENT

Stiletto Tastes on a Nine West Budget ~ How to be Financially Savvy when Buying a Home


Please join us Febraury 6th for Sunday Brunch Seminar Series with a Twist

Seminar Series with a Twist: View Stella & Dot jewelry (available for purchase) while sipping mimosas and enjoying French pastries and cap off with invaluable information about how to prepare for buying a home.

Learn:



 Financial Perspectives from a Realtor, a Mortgage Broker & a Financial Advisor


 Which Loan is Right for You? Key Considerations for an Informed Decision


 Financial Preparation for Your Home Purchase


Speakers:


 Kimberly Shute, Principal Broker, Keller Williams Realty Professionals


 Carrie Reed, Alpine Mortgage, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist


 Adina Flynn, Ameriprise, Financial Advisor


Cost: FREE


When: Sunday, February 6th


10:30a – 11:00a Refreshments (Mimosas & French pastries) + Stella & Dot Jewelry


11:00p – 12:00p Presentation with Questions & Answers

12:00p – 12:30p Stella & Dot Jewelry with Heather Morrison


Where: KAMM House, 1425 SW 20th Ave., Portland, OR 97201


Tram: Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St MAX Station


Parking available in front of Kamm House

REGISTER ONLINE: http://realestateguide4women.wordpress.com/

A secret tribute: Duck honors young man he's never met

Story Published: Jan 8, 2011 at 7:09 PM PST Story Updated: Jan 8, 2011 at 11:18 PM PST (KATU.com)

GLENDALE, Ariz. – One University of Oregon Duck is playing Monday's BCS Championship game in honor of a young man whose life ended too soon.


For more than a month it was D.J. Davis' secret. But after the Ducks' Civil War win, Davis was splashed on the front page of The Oregonian's sports section, leaving some to wonder whose picture was hanging from his uniform.

"Just knowing that somebody can have an impact on you, without even meeting them, is just an awesome experience," University of Oregon Wide Receiver D.J. Davis tells us.

It turns out that the photo tucked into Davis' waistband is of someone Davis has never met.

It's Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old Notre Dame student whose death made national news. Sullivan died while taping a Fighting Irish football practice, when a wind storm toppled the tower where he stood.

"It just stayed with me," Davis tells us. "It's hard to shake something like that when it just stays in you ... I have a little brother who's 20 years old. He'll be 21 come Jan. 24, so I just kept thinking about my little brother being in that situation. I don't know what I'd be able to do if I lost him."

That's why, a few days after the accident, Davis searched for Sullivan's name on a computer at the team's hotel where they were staying before the U.S.C. game, printed a picture of Sullivan and turned a quarterback wristband into a tribute. He has worn that wristband on game days ever since.

"He's been a real help to me, just as far as wearing it and letting other people know the tragic event that happened," Davis said. "...[T]o let them know about his story is one of the things that I want to do."

After The Oregonian's picture took Davis' secret-tribute public, the wide receiver ended up making a connection with Sullivan's family.

"I've actually e-mailed back and forth a little bit with his brother, Max Sullivan," Davis said. "We've had a couple conversations, just about the situation, and ... that he'd be rooting for me come Jan. 10."