LeTip County East met on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. Our chapter was joined two guests, and arborist and a chiropractor.

The speaker was Lonnie Cooper, our mortgage broker from The Rate Kings Mortgage (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The common thought is that it may be difficult to impossible to purchase a home in this time when many people's personal finances and credit are tight. However, Lonnie says the The Rate Kings have still been processing 10 to 20 mortgages per month. He definitely recommends getting pre-approval for a mortgage before starting to look at houses so you know what you can look at be able to afford. For people who are worried about their credit rating, Lonnie informed us that closing out a good credit card will not improve a credit rating. Having the same credit card for a long period of time shows fidelity over time. If you must close a card to reduce potential debt, he recommends closing the newest card. When looking at your debt, the percentage of debt versus the maximum allotment on credit cards should not exceed 50%. Lonnie suggested a yearly visit to annualcreditreport.com to make sure that there are no incorrect entries on your credit report. Checking this website will not count as a "hit." This is excellent advice, even for people who are not planning to apply for a mortgage.

Our showboater was Jen Maggiore, our health and wellness coach (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). She brought in many books about food and diets, many of which were familiar. Her main point was, "Don't diet." Some of the books are helpful, but many are misleading at best. Diets are not the answer to health and weight loss; a sustainable lifestyle change is what will work and keep us healthy for life. Jen is happy to help, and she offers a free consultation that can be scheduled on her website (www.fitness4women.org).

Have a great week!