Even though Maryland "is not immune" to the credit crisis and rising food and energy costs, "we are weathering the storm better than most states, and that is because we have such a diverse economy," said state labor secretary Thomas E. Perez.
For those who have lost jobs, seen savings plunge or face losing their houses, such diversity provides "little solace," Perez acknowledges.
On her own
For Triplett, 27, the value of money and hard work was instilled after her freshman year at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her parents announced their divorce. Neither would pay for tuition, their finances ensnared in legal proceedings.
Without warning, the effervescent drama standout from Columbia's Hammond High School was on her own.
A roommate helped her navigate the financial aid process. She turned a summer job into year-round employment, telling managers at Romano's Macaroni Grill to keep her on the waitress schedule once the fall semester began.
"I paid my way," she said. "It built my character."
After graduation, a friend recommended the mortgage business. She "just showed up one day" in 2003 at the offices of Castle Point Mortgage in Elkridge and was hired on the spot.
Within four months, she rose from processing documents to selling, becoming the company's top producer.
Times were heady, with a boom-town mentality permeating the office cubicles. She learned to project maturity and confidence over the telephone by talking louder. She collected $241,000 during her first full year in sales. She wouldn't reach that figure again, but her commission-based income remained in six figures.
Her husband, Justin, took an administrative job in the office, earning only a fraction of what she made. Still, the couple had enough money for a $600,000 four-bedroom house in Hanover (monthly payment: $4,000), and a Porsche for Justin - later upgraded to a Maserati (monthly payment: $800). The couple vacationed in Miami and still saved plenty.
But rumblings were ominous. Every day, Triplett dealt with clients seeking to pay down $50,000 or more in credit card debt by refinancing to adjustable rate mortgages. Loans that didn't seem to make sense gained rapid approval, she said, because "there was a lot of pressure to meet goals."
The erosion began shortly after Hannah was born in January 2007. During a tense March conference call, the company president called industry conditions "catastrophic." By spring, her financial prospects were crumbling. Her bosses reneged on a work-from-home promise. Triplett left.
