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“WE’RE COMPLETING OUR JOURNEY from the pit to the palace,” says Samuel Collins Ill. After years of sacrifice, he and his wife, Doris, are preparing to move into an historic estate in Hitchcock, Texas. Once owned by Confederate Army lieutenant and horticulturist Henry Martyn Stringfellow, their new 12-room house has four bedrooms and sits on 9 1/2 acres–which should be plenty of room for the couple and their three kids.

Last summer, while the Collins’ 125-year-old home was being renovated, they opened the estate for a weekend of community events to mark June 19 or Juneteenth, the day in 1865 that slaves in Texas learned they were free. That weekend, Doris and Sam say they also celebrated their financial freedom. The momentous milestone was achieved through strict financial discipline, which allowed the couple to climb out of debt and purchase and restore the historic home.

Just six years earlier, they were neck deep in debt and living paycheck to paycheck in a one-bedroom apartment in Texas City. Desiring more space, the couple purchased an acre of land in Hitchcock for $8,000 and shelled out $500 for architectural plans for their dream home. But when they applied for a $140,000 mortgage, delinquencies on Doris’ credit report resulted in a subprime mortgage offer at an interest rate close to 10%. “I was shell-shocked,” says Sam, who was just starting his career as a financial adviser. They refused the loan.

At the time, the Collins’ combined income of $61,000 was just marginally higher than their $55,000 debt–which included a $15,000 loan they had taken against their plot of land, as well as car loans, student loans, and credit card debt. Discouraged, they resolved to fix Doris’ credit and to tighten their belts.

As a first step, they signed up for a 13-week debt-reduction program taught at a church in Galveston using videos from financial guru Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program. Nine months later, they had paid off $40,000 in liabilities, learning many material and spiritual lessons about wealth along the way.

To reach their goal, they quickly jettisoned their cell phones and stayed “cell free” for more than a year, saving at least $1,200. Doris, 36, and Sam, 35, set a budget, cut excess spending, stopped eating out, and began paying cash whenever possible. Already saddled with a $250 monthly car payment on their 2000 Dodge Neon, Sam refused to pay for repairs or buy another car when his 1989 Honda Prelude broke down. Instead he put his pride aside and caught rides to work with his assistant, paying for gas. If he had a client meeting, Sam took the working car and dropped Doris off at her job as an assistant manager at Walgreens.

Another innovation was family game night, where they played board games or found other free entertainment. They also started the Collins family bank, where all spare change is pooled for family treats, such as movies and ice cream. What’s more, rather than splurging on big yearly vacations, the couple took mini getaways to nearby cities, such as Houston. On a trip to a family reunion, Sam even insisted that Doris buy a soda without ice to fill up the cup so there would be enough to share. “It’s funny now,” says Sam, “but it wasn’t funny then.”

The couple also let go of plans for their dream home; in 2000, they sold their acre of land for $18,000. They also paid off $15,000 they had borrowed to buy discounted Walgreens stock Fortunately, the stock’s price had risen, so the couple sold their shares to pay off the loan and a few other debts.

By 2002, Sam and Doris were able to buy their first home–a three-bedroom fixer-upper in La Marque for $35,000–at a mortgage rate of 7%, which they later reduced to 4.5% through refinancing. They continued to live within their means and sold the home three years later for $57,000. The Collins family’s commitment to climbing out of debt and its financial discipline illustrates Declaration of Financial Empowerment Principle No. 2: I will be proactive in managing my budget, credit, debt, and tax obligations.

Today the couple earns a six-figure annual income and owns four properties in the Galveston County area. Looking ahead, they currently save more than $20,000 each year, and Sam is able to max out his contribution to his 401(k) at the $15,000 limit. “Too often, African Americans have a single-generation consumption mentality, leaving nothing for the next generation,” he says. “We wanted to change our family legacy.”

Declaration Financial empowerment

From this day forward, I declare my vigilant and lifelong commitment to financial empowerment and hereby pledge the following:

1 I will use homeownership as a foundation to build wealth.

2 I will be proactive in managing my budget, credit, debt, and tax obligations.

3 I will maximize my earnings potential, live within my means, and commit to save and invest at least 10% of my income.

4 I will ensure that my investments are properly diversified and correspond to my current financial goals.

5 I will immediately commit to a program of retirement planning and investing.

6 I will preserve and protect my assets through proper financial and insurance planning.

7 I will ensure that my children receive a thorough education on financial matters and business issues.

8 I will ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations through proper estate planning.

9 I will actively support the creation and growth of viable, competitive blackowned enterprises.

10 I will use a portion of my wealth to strengthen my community.

RAMONA HENDERSON PEARSON WANTS her family to join an exclusive club with 9 million members: The households in this club have a net worth of at least $1 million. A past president of the National Association of Black Accountants, the married mother of two heads The Pearson Group, a Detroit-based accounting and financial advisory firm. “My goal is to reach $1 million in liquid assets,” says Pearson, 54. “That should be enough for me to retire. I’m hoping to get there in about five years.”

At first blush, $1 million in liquid assets–cash, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds–may sound sufficient to ensure a comfortable retirement. But research shows that even seven figures in savings may fall short of providing retirees with the lifestyle they want. Retirement has changed dramatically in recent years, because Americans are living longer and are healthier and more active. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, African Americans who reach age 65 are expected to live 17.1 more years, and those who reach age 75, can expect another 11.4 years. So if you want your nest egg to help fund two or more decades of leisure and travel, you’ll need to do some careful planning.

First, consider how much you’ll need to maintain your lifestyle. Bill Bengen, a financial planner in El Cajon, California, conducted extensive research in the early ’90s to determine a “safe” withdrawn rate–one that would help ensure that retirees would not outlive their savings. Bengen concluded that a 4% withdrawal rate should be safe. That is, by tapping a portfolio for 4% of its value in the first year of retirement, and increasing that withdrawal rate by 4% each year to keep up with inflation, the portfolio should not run dry before 33 years and might last as long as 50.

Since then, Bengen says he’s altered his views somewhat. “For most of my clients, I recommend an initial withdrawal rate of 4.5% to 5%,” he says. It’s a matter of striking a balance. Some seniors may be able to front-load their withdrawals a bit and spend more conservatively in later life. As you grow older, perhaps past 75, you probably won’t spend as much on travel and other leisure activities as you did during your early retirement years. You’ll need to be prepared, however, for rising healthcare expenses. “If you go much higher,” Bengen says, “say to a 7% initial withdrawal rate, there’s a much greater chance of running out of money while you’re still alive.”

Vicki Brackens, a senior financial planner with MetLife in Syracuse, New York, says it was common in the past for advisers to recommend higher withdrawal rates. But now “people are living longer, so longevity has become a bigger factor in planning for portfolio distributions,” she says. “Greater market volatility also has made me more cautious.” She suggests, therefore, that clients plan on a 4% initial withdrawal rate.

But be sure to look at the numbers: Pearson would withdraw $50,000, or 5%, the first year of retirement; then $52,000 the second year, assuming inflation is 4%, and so on. “That withdrawal rate, in addition to Social Security benefits, should be enough for me,” says Pearson. “If your lifestyle is not overly expensive and your home is paid for, you should be able to live comfortably on that much income.”

With those assumptions, retirement planning becomes a step-by-step process:

1. Determine how much you’ll need to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. Will you spend as much then as you do now? Will you spend more? Less? Several helpful budgeting calculators are available online .

2. Estimate your retirement income from Social Security, a pension, and other sources. The annual statement you receive from the Social Security Administration can help. For a rough estimate of your benefits, use the Social Security quick calculator . “For most employees, Social Security can be counted on to provide no more than 20% to 30% of a working paycheck,” says Steve Cooper, a principal at Nemco Brokerage Inc., an insurance broker in New York City. “If you earn more than $100,000 a year, your Social Security benefits will an even smaller percentage of your income.”

3. The difference between the amount of your projected expenses and income is the amount you’ll need from your portfolio. Multiply this amount by 20 to get the target size of your portfolio, assuming a 5% initial withdrawal.

Moreover, you should start as early as possible. “If you wait until the peak of your Career–your 40s or 50s–you’ll have to put aside more money to catch up,” says Genevia Gee Fulbright, a certified public accountant in Durham, North Carolina. “On the other hand, you can start putting aside much smaller amounts in your 20s and benefit from a longer time available for the funds to accumulate.”

First-time director Mike White’s Year of the Dog succeeds as a film about animal activists that is both satirical and dedicated. Whimsical yet melancholy, it stars Molly Shannon as Peggy, a 40-ish, unmarried office worker whose only companion in life is her new puppy, Pencil. Living with her dog, Peggy is quietly distant from others. When not cuddling up to Pencil, she spends most of her time stoically listening to other people’s problems, sweetly agreeing or at least empathizing.

Employed by a nondescript insurance company in southern California, she must deal with a severely repressed boss who speaks to her in painfully morose terms. Her coworker and friend Layla is a virtual whirlwind whose main interest is trying to get her runaround boyfriend to make a commitment.

During their one-sided lunchtime conversations, Layla is constantly pushing Peggy to forget her puppy and find a man.

When Pencil dies from toxic poisoning, Peggy is slowly forced to change the course of her life. After a period of sorrow, she finally goes on a date with Al (John C. Reilly), a neighbor who had tried to comfort her. Distressingly, he turns out to be an avid sports hunter.

When the conversation turns to endangered species, he explains that as a hunter, “you have to get as many as you can before they run out of them.” Not surprisingly, she leaves in outrage.

Next, Peggy is contacted by the kindly volunteer at the animal hospital, Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), who on hearing of her loss, suggests that she adopt another dog. When she takes in an abused German shepherd, however, her patience is sorely tried. He not only fails to obey but bites her hand when she scolds him. To make matters worse, Peggy has failed to pick up on the gay overtones in Newt’s behavior. When she falls for him, her affection is coldly rejected.

Undaunted, Peggy expands her love of dogs to other animals. But the film moves to darker humor when she makes a donation to an online animal group, illegally making use of money from her company. She even takes her brother’s kids to a protective farm that frees animals from abuse and slaughter, and in the process ruins her sister-in-law’s furs. We are forced to recognize that Peggy’s quest has become obsessive but can’t help believing that there is a saintly quality to it.

Obviously, director White is trying for a different kind of comedy than the raucously adolescent material he put together as screenwriter for “Nacho Libre” and “The School of Rock.”

With all her failings, Peggy is a frail human struggling to be morally just. The director, moreover, employs a cinematic style that brings out a strange flatness in his characters. The actors look directly into the camera, straight at us, as they speak their lines. We are left with an uncomfortable feeling that becomes self-consciously humorous.

Ultimately, “Year of the Dog” is a big budget picture with a small independent feel. If its quirkiness is not for all tastes, at least it explores some of the more bizarre aspects of the American psyche.

The Hoax is an entertainingly suspenseful movie about one of the most brilliant con jobs in the history of publishing. Author Clifford Irving claimed to have had several clandestine interviews with the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes who had given him exclusive permission to write his biography. His book was based mostly on forged letters and tape recordings Mr. Irving himself had created. After lengthy negotiations, Irving was able to convince his publisher to release the book and Life magazine to serialize it. He drew on memoirs from Hughes’ personal associates and had the luck to obtain military documents from the Air Force. McGraw-Hill published the bogus book but the author was finally foiled when Hughes, a notorious hermit, exposed the whole affair in his last phone interview.

Director Lasse Hallstrom (”The Cider House Rules”) offers a suspenseful and entertaining version of this outlandish stunt, with so many funny moments you may begin to feel nostalgic for the early 1970s. William Wheeler’s screenplay is both nerve-racking and humorous, but the project would have collapsed without Richard Gere’s hyperkinetic portrayal of Irving, who projects just enough chutzpah to be believable. It’s hard to keep from rooting for the con artist because Mr. Hallstrom makes Irving’s dupes in the publishing world so stone-faced, ruthless and uptight.

When we first meet Irving, his ego has just been bolstered by the prospect of having his new novel published. Sweet-talked by his agent and publishers, he runs off to buy a new car and celebrate with his wife, only to be told a few days later that his book is nothing but a third rate imitation of Portnoy’s Complaint. Devastated, in debt, and seemingly inundated with images of and articles about Howard Hughes, he begins to hatch plans for the fake biography. He and his hilariously nervous researcher, played by Alfred Molina, begin to steal documents from the Pentagon by stuffing them down their pants and “borrowing” the memoirs of Hughes’ former business manager, Noah Dietrich, played with confused self-indulgence by the venerable Eli Wallach. Noah is hoping Irving will help him write his own book.