Mortgage Broker

CMB MAGAZINE cmba-achc.ca spring 2019 | 41 memberprofile work-life balance. With two children – Ryder, now 12, and Lyra, 7 – she knew that laying the groundwork for her business would enable her to reap the rewards later. "It was a lot of trial and error and picking up the phone and working around the clock to see this vision come to fruition," she recalls. With a focus on credit counselling as a means to achieving home ownership, Smith opened her company, Financial FX, in Saint John. In 2017, she was approached by Don McVicker of Premier Mortgage and the two companies subsequently merged. Today, Smith is a credit strategies consultant and mortgage broker at Financial FX and Premier Mortgage. "Partnering with Premier was the best decision I have ever made," she says. "It's so incredible when you see a large corporation embrace a family environment. ey're accessible for questions, and they share best practices." WORKING FOR CHANGE e desire to help people is what led Smith to start her own mortgage and financial counselling firm in an industry that she says is lacking in education and information-sharing. "In my opinion, budgets and cash-flow strategies should be a mandatory Grade 12 course," she says. "It's about helping people understand how to come out from that." Last year, Smith was elected Vice-President of CMBA Atlantic. "I was very excited and honoured just to be nominated. I wanted to get into the trenches and be in a position where I could push for change and see it come to fruition." With the association billing itself as the voice of East Coast mortgage brokers, she is focused on increasing industry exposure and educating consumers about the advantages of working with a mortgage broker. While opening her own company was definitely a challenge, Smith did her research and then jumped right in. She takes a similar approach to the rest of her life. When she and Colin bought a hobby farm in Cambridge-Narrows, N.B., and he wanted to buy a horse, she thought that sounded like a good idea, so they bought two – although she'd never ridden in her life. Aer breaking in a very stubborn Morgan, the couple went on to buy two dozen laying hens, five pigs and 100 free-range chickens – no matter that Smith had been raised on a potato farm and her husband had no prior connection to farming. "It was all trial and error," she recalls with a laugh. "I made all my own nesting boxes for the hens. It was a lot of Googling and talking to others and then tweaking it to make it work for us. We even designed a portable chicken coop on wheels that we can pull from one area to another." e family maintains a large garden, which provides vegetables, herbs and spices. Everyone pitches in to get the work done, including Ryder and Lyra. "e farm is a wonderful thing because my kids have chores and they need to work and save for anything they want. Hopefully, they will have a better appreciation for what I call the simple life," Smith says. e Smiths are a self-described "spiritual" family that has always given back to the community. Discussions about random acts of kindness are as common as donations to the food bank – donations of fresh food straight from the farm. HELP CLOSER TO HOME Last fall, Cricky and Colin Smith found their help was needed closer to home. eir good friend, Heather, unexpectedly passed away, leaving three young daughters behind. "She and I clicked right away," recalls Smith. "She was a free spirit and fun-loving. We'd be baking, cooking. We'd crank the tunes and dance around the kitchen." Heather and her daughters – Rylee, 12; Raya, 8; and Ellie, 6 – were frequent visitors to the Smith farm. On weekends, the two women and their children would do cras, bake, make jewelry or spend time exploring the farm. Aer Heather died, the Smiths stepped up to the plate to help the girls and their father. "e girls had always been out at our house so they were used to it," says Smith. "So they live with their dad in Saint John during the week and with us on weekends. We are happy to give them a safe place where there is hope and love and guidance." Smith says it's also an opportunity for her to keep Heather's memory alive. "We'll come in from outside and I'll ask if they remember when their mother made candy-cane hot chocolate for all of us last winter." As the cold weather approached this year, Smith knew the girls would be needing winter gear. She asked their father if he'd be OK with setting up a Go Fund Me page to help with their expenses. As of mid-January, the page had raised $1,947. "It's been a huge relief," says Smith. "I took them out shopping [before Christmas] because they didn't have holiday dresses and shoes. ey needed some personal items. I bought them Unicorn onesies, and they were all in them at the mall and they were dancing through the aisles. Kids are very resilient. ey live and breathe in the moment." Smith says the page allows the girls to have the things they need. "If they need sandals come spring, I don't want to see them go without – especially the essentials." She is proud of her own two children, who are completely accepting of their three "godsisters." "I can't imagine if those were my kids – why would we not want to do what we can for people we know who are in need?" As for the Go Fund Me page, Smith says the response has been truly inspiring. "e amount of support we've received is overwhelming. I can't express in words my gratitude for how much my work family and associates have offered their help. I am so grateful. It just shows you that when bad circumstances fall on people, everyone comes together to help." True to form, when Heather's girls needed them, the Smiths were there. "It's not a sacrifice at all. Like you don't think about not breathing, I don't think about not helping them. I couldn't imagine not doing it." To help Rylee, Raya and Ellie, please visit the girls' Go Fund Me page at https://www. gofundme.com/rylee-raya-and-ellie. It just shows you that when bad circumstances fall on people, everyone comes together to help."

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