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. http://www.iconconsultingllc.com/

2. 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.

4. 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; it’s a
second marriage for both. In addition to Taylor,
they have two sons, Glenn III, 25, and Brett, 21,
who is finishing college.

6. “We’re getting closer to retirement, but we’re
not sure we can get there” financially, Laurie Griffin
said. Friends offered sometimes conflicting advice.
“We’re 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 Bellevue’s ICON Consulting LLC,
which specializes in fee-only planning and
investment management. One of the firm’s areas of
emphasis is helping professionals like the Griffins.

8. But a few weeks later I received an e-mail from Laurie:
“Gosh, thought I’d better let you know that we’ve 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 I’d 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. They’ve made an
offer on the new house and are working hard to sell their
house for $650,000.

10. 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.

12. “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.
They’re 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.

14. 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 Taylor’s college, and she’s 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 she’s 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.

15. For more Info:
www.iconconsultingllc.com
1412 112th Avenue, Suite 102,
Bellevue, WA 98004
phone: 425-562-4266 (ICON)
fax: 425-746-4266 (ICON)
Info@ICONconsultingllc.com

16. Thank You