Trusted OC Mechanic

Karin and Keith Krawiec from Neighborhood Car Care have moved the shop to ONE location.  You can find Neighborhood Car Care conveniently at: 

23761 Via Fabricante
Mission Viejo
949-707-5991

If you are looking for a mechanic you can trust – Neighborhood Car Care is the place to take your car.  They won’t sell you anything you don’t need — guaranteed!

 

Attention all Moms – Is your life balanced?

Like so many of the working mothers they’ve interviewed, Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple lead lives that resemble musical productions – with changing sets, a colorful cast of characters and lots of costume changes. Neither likes to be categorized, but suffice it to say that Becky is (mostly) a journalist, a mom of two girls and an entrepreneur; Hollee is (mostly) a law professor, a mom of two boys and a columnist.

They’ve designed a website and blog to take readers inside the journey from the perfectionist, Never Enough lifestyle that served both Becky and Hollee well for many years — to the “Good Enough” approach that has led to even greater success and happiness for many modern working mothers.

Together, Becky and Hollee write the work/life balance column for the ABA Journal, read by half of the country’s one million lawyers, and they’re co-authoring Good Enough is the New Perfect: Why Modern Moms Are Aiming Lower — Yet Reaching New Heights, a nonfiction book about how the working moms of their generation are redefining success and taking control.

Argosy University

Has the economy gotten you down? Do you need a new career?  Have you thought about going back to school to get your Bachelor’s Degree or your Master’s Degree?

1)    People with college units, but no degree: with as low as 12 units a person can get the BA with Argosy University in 3 years (working f/t!)

2)    People recently laid off, or looking for a career change: many people are enrolling to be  MBA students looking to increase their competitiveness in this market.  They can apply for student loans (not credit based).  This program can be completed in 1 year (working f/t too).

3)    People who have a burning desire to help others and become a licensed Marriage Family Therapist—our program is top notch and it is what Argosy University is known for.  Also, possible for those working f/t.

They have several programs (17), but those are the most popular.  You can contact Leisa Ruiz for additional information at 714-338-6234.

The American Soldier Network Needs Our Help

Hey friends/fans of American Soldier Network & Project Welcome Home. I know how important it is for grass roots organizations to show letters of support from the public when seeking funding from corporate or private donors, that is one way all of us can directly help this amazing group! Let’s flood their mail box with heart felt letters of support, thanking them for what they do, show our support and our eagerness to see Project Welcome Home on our television sets ASAP! It is not just a concert to support the troops it is so much more!

Are you with me? Blog about it, share with your friends, let’s see how many letters we can flood them with especially now near the 4th of July!

 

Send your letters to

Annie Nelson

Founder

American Soldier Network

24000 Alicia Parkway #17 Suite 244

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

 

Let’s blast this everywhere, I will stay in touch with the organization and post letter count updates! Together we ALL can make a difference and help this organization thrive! 

Thanks so much!

Dedicated Cleaners in Orange County

Have you ever just looked at your house and thought, “I really don’t feel like cleaning.”  That happens in my house all too often. 

I finally decided that I was going to talk to Myrna Di Verde, owner of Dedicated Cleaners, and get her crew out to clean my house.  It made such a difference – my husband and I didn’t have to spend our weekend cleaning and we got to have quality family time together.

If you are looking for quality house cleaners who also do window,  carpet, tile and grout cleaning, I have had a really good experience with Myrna’s crew at Dedicated Cleaners.

Royale Garage Door Service

Have you ever pushed the button to open your garage door and nothing happens?   Well – my family and I were on our way to the Santa Ana Zoo yesterday and realized we forgot something and tried to open our garage door and nothing happened.  It would open about 8 inches and stop.  My husband looked and saw that one of the springs was broken – so we called Chris from Royale Garage Door Service to see if we could get them to come out in the next day or so.  Not only do they come out the same day, but they also fixed the problem.

I highly recommend Royale Garage Door for any of your garage door needs!  Great customer service, great prices!

Economic Times and Financial Security

This is a letter from my financial planner – he has some great advice — enjoy the read!  If you would like to speak with him – email me and I will get you his contact infomation…

As you know, these are very difficult times in global financial markets. A full explanation of the last several months would require more detail than I can fit into this email, but I’d like to summarize a few key points and, by putting all of this into its larger context, encourage you to remain committed to your financial goals.

Credit is a lot like gasoline: when you have a full tank, you can drive far and you might even be willing to drive faster than normal. But, when you’re on empty, you drive much slower and keep a constant eye on the gauge. So, when banks can’t or won’t lend to each other, or to businesses and individuals, it’s like everyone is suddenly out of gas and the system slows to a crawl. That isn’t a problem just for Wall Street; it’s a problem for the entire global economy.

The good news is that policymakers are responding aggressively with a wide range of tools, some of which will help. The bad news is that this process will take time to run its course. Until confidence and capital can be restored to the system, markets will remain volatile and asset prices will remain under pressure.

This is a classic bear market, and it won’t be the last one you’ll see in your lifetime. However, whatever uncertainty you may feel at the moment, it is important that you not panic or take erratic actions, which may ultimately do more harm than good. With that being said, here are some Do’s and Don’ts to consider:

Liquidity

• Do have access to at least 6 months of living expenses.
• Do check your FDIC limits on all bank accounts ($250,000 per depositor). Consider spreading your deposits across two banks.
• Don’t buy CDs with higher-than-average interest rates. It may be a sign of a bank with liquidity issues.
• Do check your exposure to mortgage-backed securities, particularly in money market funds. Some money market funds have a significant exposure to these troubled assets, which may cause liquidity issues.

Investments

• Don’t dump your investments just because the market is down.  Lots of very good long-term assets have been put on sale by people who, for various reasons – some technical, others psychological – have been forced to sell. While we don’t know when the stock market will stop moving lower, remember that you aren’t forced to sell off your investments right now. In fact, you may be able to accumulate assets at very desirable prices, and that’s a supremely powerful position in times like these.

Diversification

• Do check your total asset allocation for any over-weighting in any one sector, particularly in your 401(k) accounts. Without regular rebalancing, portfolios often become over-weighted in one sector (ex: financials) and, therefore, will experience higher-than-average volatility in times like these.
• Do consider increasing your income asset allocation by 10% to 20% as a percentage of your total portfolio. This may help stabilize your portfolio from excessive short-term volatility.

I was talking to my neighbor Stacey Papadakis about her new company, New Life Financial Group, which was formed to help people who are struggling because of the economy and the real estate market.  Here is a little information from their website about them. 

New Life Financial is a full service financial consulting firm located in Orange, CA. They are comprised of a team of people that have been involved in real estate, mortgage, debt settlement and real estate law. They have consultants that include former and/or current debt advisors, loan modification specialists, realtors and real estate attorneys. Their consultants are trained and ready to provide you with information that will best pertain to your situation. In fact 9 out of the 14 Loss Mitigation Experts “in house” worked for the Banks directly before joining our team. Their company has over 48 years of Loan Modification, Real Estate, Mortgage, Debt Settlement and Credit Rebuild experience. They ARE NOT a fix your problem over-night company and they are not advocates for foreclosure, debt settlement or loan modification. What they ARE is a full-service consulting firm that understands “real life”, the issues and dilemmas that face the average American family in today’s economy. They ARE advocates of protecting you and your family and fighting to find the solution which will best work for your immediate and long term future.

If you know of anyone who is being affected by the market we are in now and they don’t know where to turn – have them contact Stacey from New Life Financial Group.