Meet Shiral

Aloha,

I’m Shiral, the owner of Simply Shiral.  A significant focus in my life is simplicity; remaining calm and centered throughout all of life's obstacles allows me to “stop and smell the roses,” or because of my Hawaiian heritage, “stop and smell the plumerias.”  

I believe that “old school” ways of living within your means and tracking income & expenses are what has made me who I am today. Budgeting is a gift I inherited from my mother at a young age, and the techniques she taught me serves as the foundation for the simple money management portions of my workshops today.  

In the late 70's I met my very first financial obstacle. Finding ourselves in the unexpected position of being teenage parents, my boyfriend (now husband) and I knew it was necessary to account for every dollar we spent. As a result, we became the very first students of my money management system. For over a decade, during which we had another baby, our focus was on frugality intending to save up for a house. Our plan worked! We bought our first house and were ecstatic, not only because it was our first home, but also because I discovered a new passion: real estate. 

In my early 30's I'd just begun a new job in South L.A., which gave me a 2 hour round trip commute to work. To make the most of the long drive through L.A. traffic, I listened to real estate investment tapes (yes, tapes!) instead of the radio. I didn't know at the time that the tapes were providing me with the information I'd use to quit my job and replace it with what would become the career of my lifetime.

Through thorough research and encouragement from my realtor (Christina Long) and lender (Safe Habashi @ https://www.safelending.net/ ) team, my husband and I gradually began purchasing properties (first locally, and eventually across the United States); we've been in the roles of Owner and Property Manager since 1996. In that time, I began to share my knowledge of effective property management with other mom & pop owners, which lead me to teach professionally. 

While on my journey to achieve my best financial self, and helping others to achieve theirs, I also indulged in another one of my passions: environmental and humanitarian work. 

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 year on Earth Day (April 22) I exclude something from my life forever that is harmful to the environment so that as time goes on I reduce my carbon footprint. For more examples, see "ABOUT SHIRAL'S CAUSES" under "MEET SHIRAL" on the navigation bar.

In raising my family I stressed the value of knowing that life offers struggles (whether they be personal or experienced by another) and discovering ways to work against those struggles. My family and I are involved in many fundraising events associated with the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness; we have a personal interest in these organizations. Helping people become aware of these illnesses and raising money for their respective charities is important to us.