Bellevue couple seek financial advice as retirement looms

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Bellevue couple seek financial advice as
retirement looms
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When I first met Laurie Griffin in early April,
she radiated the values of a career Boeing
employee cheerful, self-possessed, competent,
careful. Her financial-makeover story seemed
straight-arrow, straightforward. At 49,
Griffin, and husband Glenn, 52, also a Boeing
employee, would like to retire in 10 years.
Laurie works as a supervisor in information
technology, while Glenn works in facilities
planning.
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They have a good income, drive older cars, own a
house in Bellevue and have been exemplary savers.
But they also spend a fair amount of their
salaries, and face an upcoming college bill for
their daughter, Taylor, 17. The Griffins are a
blended family its a second marriage for both.
In addition to Taylor, they have two sons, Glenn
III, 25, and Brett, 21, who is finishing college.
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Were getting closer to retirement, but were
not sure we can get there financially, Laurie
Griffin said. Friends offered sometimes
conflicting advice. Were frozen with
analysis-paralysis. It was time to seek out a
financial planner. The Griffins found a good
fit with Aimée Huff, a certified financial
planner and chartered financial analyst with
Bellevues ICON Consulting LLC, which specializes
in fee-only planning and investment management.
One of the firms areas of emphasis is helping
professionals like the Griffins.
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But a few weeks later I received an e-mail
from Laurie Gosh, thought Id better let you
know that weve done something rash and
unexpectedly spontaneous. What were we
thinking? The Griffins found their dream
house. I stumbled upon it when I saw an Open
House sign and took a look (just for fun),
Laurie said. I dragged Glenn back to look at it
a second time because I wanted him to see the
type of house that Id love to live in someday
if we could afford it. He liked it, too. The
house also is in Bellevue, but will cost a little
more than 1 million, well above their current
home. Theyve made an offer on the new house and
are working hard to sell their house for 650,000.
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Said Laurie I guess the theme of your story
may be that even folks who appear to be
conservative in the financial planning may do
crazy things. Some crazy things, but more smart
ones, according to Huff. They have a good grasp
on their finances and have done a lot of things
right to meet their goals, she said. They have
also updated their wills, which is especially
critical in blended families. While the new house
puts an interesting spin on their case, they
should be able to get on a path to retire in 10
years.
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Without the house, it would have been a slam
dunk, Huff said. The timing of the house
complicated their needs because of both housing
and college expenses looming. There are so many
moving pieces coming and going at the same time,
Huff said. The challenge for the Griffins, Huff
added, is how do you do all those things at
once? Boeing provides a bulwark for their
financial situation. Glenn and Laurie make a
combined 205,000 a year. Theyre also putting
about 41,000 into their 401(k) plans. As a
result, those plans held more than 682,000 as of
late March. They also have some 99,000 in
savings, as well as universal life insurance and
a Roth IRA.
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At retirement, the couple hopes to have enough
saved to maintain their lifestyle. Glenn is an
avid golfer and Laurie loves to garden. Both
would like to travel more upon retirement. But
before that can happen, they have committed to
paying for daughter Taylors college, and shes
looking at prestigious out-of-state schools where
she can also continue her water polo. Such
schools could cost almost 130,000 for four
years. Laurie Griffin said now shes not sure
they would have committed to buying the new house
if they had already completed the financial
makeover. But she hopes to make a profit off the
old house and see the value of the new home
increase.
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For more Info
www.iconconsultingllc.com
1412 112th Avenue, Suite 102, Bellevue, WA 98004
phone [phone] (ICON) fax [phone]
(ICON) Info_at_ICONconsultingllc.com
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Thank You