Steffanie Larriba shares a message of love and purpose in her new book
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – “He Gave Them Something Extra” (published by WestBow Press) offers an inside perspective on having a child with Down syndrome from author and mother Steffanie Larriba.
After receiving a birth diagnosis of Down syndrome with their daughter Sadie, Steffanie Larriba and her husband Frankie started a new journey that they never planned, but now see was perfect for them. Inspired by God, Larriba shares what they’ve learned about Down syndrome, which is, contrary to what she believes most would expect.
Larriba aims to show that there is purpose beyond the diagnosis. In addition, she challenges readers to get to know someone with Down syndrome or talk to parents of children with Down syndrome.
“I think today’s society is embracing differences but we still have a ways to go. Down syndrome is still viewed by many as defective and babies are being aborted when the diagnosis is received,” says Larriba. “My book declares that people with Down syndrome are precious, worthy and gifts from God.”
“He Gave Them Something Extra”
By Steffanie Larriba
Softcover | 8.5 x 8.5 in | 24 pages | ISBN 9781973654964
E-Book | 24 pages | ISBN 9781973654971
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Steffanie Larriba and her husband Frankie feel truly blessed to have their daughter Sadie, extra chromosome and all. Sadie is the light of their lives, and she teaches them invaluable lessons about love, challenges, and trust on a daily basis. She is an extraordinary child, affecting all who know her. More information is available on her website at: www.hegavethemsomethingextra.com and on Instagram @the_upsideofdowns.
WestBow Press is a strategic supported self-publishing alliance between HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Author Solutions, LLC — the world leader in supported self-publishing. Titles published through WestBow Press are evaluated for sales potential and considered for publication through Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. For more information, visit www.westbowpress.com or call (866)-928-1240. For WestBow Press news, click “Like” at www.facebook.com/WestBowPress and follow @westbowpress on Twitter.
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A new study from financial technology company SmartAsset ranks the most affordable places to live in Utah. This is SmartAsset’s fifth annual study on the Most Affordable Places in America. These communities are ranked on an Affordability Index weighing property taxes, homeowners’ insurance fees and mortgage payments relative to income.
Check out the table below for a more detailed look at the statewide leaders:
1
Sunset, UT
$2,576
$1,080
$410
$6,371
$56,864
50.14
2
Roy, UT
$2,733
$1,362
$485
$7,535
$66,333
49.22
3
Harrisville, UT
$2,837
$1,530
$535
$8,302
$70,849
47.50
4
Clinton, UT
$2,821
$1,491
$610
$9,465
$76,378
45.92
5
Stansbury Park, UT
$2,990
$1,851
$709
$11,010
$88,133
45.28
6
West Point, UT
$2,904
$1,734
$659
$10,224
$81,750
45.05
7
Hyrum, UT
$2,733
$1,035
$485
$7,535
$59,453
45.03
8
Nibley, UT
$2,921
$1,354
$669
$10,380
$80,125
44.84
9
Plain City, UT
$3,000
$1,707
$715
$11,093
$85,290
43.75
10
South Ogden, UT
$2,800
$1,433
$517
$8,031
$63,055
43.23
Rank
City
Avg. Closing Costs
Annual Property Tax
Annual Homeowner's Insurance
Avg. Annual Mortgage Payment
Median Income
Affordability Index
Additional study details including the methodology and interactive map can be found here: https://smartasset.com/mortgage/how-much-house-can-i-afford#
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Poor Planning Could Lead
To 5 Big Retirement Problems
Ideally, retirement is a time someone anticipates eagerly – a reward for a lifetime of hard work and solid financial planning. But nearly half of workers who haven’t reached retirement yet aren’t that excited about the so-called golden years. In fact, they have big concerns.
A Gallup poll showed 46 percent of those not yet retired expect they’ll be financially strapped when they do retire. Gallup’s tracking of that metric has reflected persistent concerns with retirement through the early 21st century. Fifteen years ago, only 36 percent of workers said they wouldn’t have enough money to be comfortable in retirement.
“A lack of sufficient retirement savings is a common problem, but there’s a lot more to the pie chart of a comfortable retirement,” says Chris Hobart, (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com), a financial professional and CEO of Hobart Financial Group. “Even people who have saved and invested wisely don’t factor in enough of the costs in retirement, from health care to single living and taxes.”
Hobart notes five common retirement-planning mistakes:
Underestimating health-care costs. It’s estimated that the average 65-year-old couple will need $280,000 in today’s dollars for health-care costs, and that number doesn’t include long-term care. “Typically, we look at longevity as a blessing, but the longer we live, the more likely we are to have health-care issues,” Hobart says. “The No. 1 solution is being intentional about segmenting a portion of money to address long-term health-care issues and studying the applicable insurance products. Many Americans ignore this problem and hope they don’t have to deal with it, and then when they do, it’s too late.”
Not having a plan for the surviving spouse. On average, women outlive men. “But for either spouse, the main factors to consider for a surviving spouse plan are the potentially reduced income, taxes as a single filer, where they’ll live, and paying for the deceased spouse’s final expenses,” Hobart says. “Another problem results if the surviving spouse was never engaged much in the couple’s financial planning. It pays for both spouses to have a good working knowledge about it.”
Counting on Social Security to cover expenses. The monthly Social Security check usually won’t pay the bills, especially if you still have mortgage payments. “You’ll need to make up the shortfall with other sources of income,” Hobart says. “The important thing to look at here is, in a world where few people have pensions anymore, the onus on saving is on the individual retiree. It’s more important than it’s ever been.”
Thinking you can dictate when you retire. One study showed that 51 percent of retirees retired earlier than they planned – and less than half did so by choice. “You have to expect the unexpected and plan for it well ahead of time,” Hobart says. “Many things can happen – downsizing, health issues, taking care of a family member.”
Signing up late for Medicare. The initial enrollment period is three months leading up to your 65th birthday, during the birthday month, or three months later. But if you don’t enroll, your Medicare premiums can increase by 10 percent for each year you were eligible and didn’t enroll. “Whether you like Medicare or not, you don’t want to pay more for something when you didn’t have to,” Hobart says.
“There is no reason you should trip over these things that you can avoid early on,” Hobart says.
About Chris Hobart
Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com) is CEO and founder of Hobart Financial Group. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Hobart is a nationally-recognized financial commentator, an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR), and a licensed insurance agent. Senior Market Advisor Magazine named Hobart one of the nation’s top independent financial advisors. He’s been a featured guest on CNBC and Fox Business and a regular guest on WCNC’s “Charlotte Today.” Hobart has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, MSN Money, The Charlotte Observer, Men’s Health, Kiplinger, Market Watch, The Street, The New York Times, USA Today and Forbes.
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I the Mighty
Announces Upcoming Tour
With Anberlin
New Single "Cave In" Out Now
Currently On Tour with Polyphia
San Francisco, CA - April 24, 2019 - Alternative rock band I the Mighty are thrilled to announce that they will be joining rock legends Anberlin on their upcoming North American Tour. The shows kick off on June 10th in Dallas, with stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, and more. Tickets are onsale now and available at www.ithemighty.com.
Since the band's inception in 2008, I the Mighty have come to be recognized as one of the most progressive voices in alternative rock. Over the course of the past decade, the band has built a cult-like international following largely through their explosive live show - which has seen the band touring with such notable acts as Coheed & Cambria, Say Anything and Glassjaw, slots at England's Download Festival and Reading & Leeds festival, and a 2017 national headline run that culminated in back-to-back sold out shows in Los Angeles.
I the Mighty have released four full-lengths and an equal number of EPs to date. Their most recent effort was the critically-beloved Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let it Go full-length, which came out in October of 2017 on Equal Vision Records. Though the band has exhibited incredible growth with each release in the past, Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let it Go represented a particularly bold step forward in the band's creative journey. Musically, the album is bolstered by the intricate layerings of guitarwork from Walsh and Ian Pedigo, coupled with the fierce rhythms of Chris Hinkley on bass and Blake Dahlinger on drums. The diverse deliveries of vocals are further highlighted with exceptional framing of impressive multi-layered harmonies and dramatic yet balanced instrumentations.
The acclaimed album is a collection of eleven artistically mature, meticulously crafted rock anthems that sees Walsh, tackling the topics that have shaped his own personal growth since the release of their last album; both in terms of life experience and in regards to more abstract topics. The lead single, "Chaos In Motion," premiered world-wide on BBC1 Radio Rock and also featured the ultimate "unsatisfying" video that was picked up by Viral Thread where it amassed over a million plays in 24 hours. "Chaos In Motion" opened the band to a new demographic of fans that have eagerly sought out the rest of their catalog and seem to have joined the ranks of the band's already large and dedicated following.
"Cave In," I the Mighty's latest single, continues the band's standard of maintaining disarming honesty lyrically, coupled with expansive instrumentals that elevate the song from emotional to heartrending. It's a fluid movement from the sound of Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let it Go that promises a future of even more growth and complexity from the band. For a group whose goal is to continuously evolve and leave their mark on the music scene by creating a sound and identity all their own, I the Mighty is unquestionably up to the task.
I the Mighty is currently on tour Polyphia. Additionally, the band will be performing at the Vans Warped Tour in Mountain View this summer. For a full list of tour dates, please see below or visit www.ithemighty.com.
For More Information, please visit:
Website: www.ithemighty.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ithemighty
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ithemighty
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ithemighty
Upcoming Tour Dates w/Polyphia:
4/25 - Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone Berkeley
4/26 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
4/27 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
4/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
4/30 - Las Vegas, NV @ Fremont Country Club
5/1 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
5/2 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
5/4 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
5/5 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Upcoming Tour Dates w/Anberlin:
6/10 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
6/11 - San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre
6/12 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
6/14 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
6/15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
6/16 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
6/18 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
6/20 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
6/21 - Boise, ID @ Revolution Concert House
6/22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
6/24 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
6/27 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
6/28 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
6/29-6/30 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
7/2 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew's Music Hall
7/3 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
7/6-7/7 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
7/9-7/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
7/12 - Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
7/13 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
7/14 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
7/20-7/21 - Mountain View, CA @ Vans Warped Tour 25 Years
