Meet Shiral

Aloha,

I’m Shiral, the owner of Simply Shiral. A big focus in my life is simplicity—staying calm and centered through life’s obstacles allows me to “stop and smell the roses,” or, thanks to my Hawaiian heritage, “stop and smell the plumerias.”

I believe in the “old school” ways of living within your means and tracking your income and expenses. Budgeting is a gift I inherited from my mom, and the techniques she taught me form the foundation of the simple money management lessons I share in my workshops today.

In the late ‘70s, I faced my very first financial challenge: becoming a teenage parent. My boyfriend (now husband) and I had to account for every dollar we spent. We became the first students of my money management system. Over the next decade, as we welcomed another baby, we focused on frugality to save for our first home—and it worked! Buying that house sparked a new passion in me: real estate.

In my early 30s, I started a new job in South L.A., which meant a 2-hour round-trip commute. To make the most of the drive, I listened to real estate investment tapes instead of the radio. I didn’t know it then, but those tapes would give me the knowledge to quit my job and start a career that has lasted a lifetime.

With guidance from my realtor, Christina Long, and my lender, Safe Habashi, my husband and I gradually purchased properties—first locally, and eventually across the United States. Since 1996, we’ve been landlords managing our properties, and I’ve shared what I’ve learned with other mom & pop owners, eventually teaching professionally.

Respecting, honoring, and caring for the Earth has been of the utmost importance to me since I was a child. As an environmentalist, I teach about what we can do to reverse the effects, or at least halt, the lack of care. In this way, I hope to prolong the life of our environment and everything that lives within it. The damage being caused to the planet by those unaware (and sadly, sometimes aware) of their negligence contributes to climate change, rainforest destruction, and the breakdown of the ozone layer. Aside from bringing awareness to the issue, I practice a few high-impact habits. Here's one example: Every Earth Day (April 22), I eliminate something from my life that harms the environment to reduce my carbon footprint. For more, see “About Shiral’s Causes” under Meet Shiral on the navigation bar.

Raising my family has taught me the value of facing struggles—both personal and observed—and finding ways to overcome them. My family and I support fundraising efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Helping people understand these illnesses and raising money for their charities is deeply important to us.