Posts Tagged ‘dividend-paying whole life’

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Physician heals his financial ills with Bank On Yourself

March 2nd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen

After losing half of his retirement savings not once, but TWICE, during the past decade, Dr. Bryan Kuns decided, “there has to be a better way.”

Dr. Bryan Kuns

Dr. Bryan Kuns

A family and occupational medicine practitioner for 25 years, the doctor realized that, at age 50, he and his wife might only have one more chance to get it right.  “I need some more guarantees than taking a chance and gambling again with my retirement,” Bryan realized.

A little over one year ago, he heard about Bank On Yourself.  Intrigued, he began reading everything he could get his hands on about the concept.  Then he requested a referral to a Bank On Yourself Authorized Advisor and a Free Analysis.

It’s an answered prayer.  I’m sleeping a lot better at night, now.  The guarantees that this program has are what I was looking for.” –Dr. Bryan Kuns

Bryan offered to share his story with you.  Whether you already use Bank On Yourself, or you’ve been considering adding it to your financial plan, you’ll learn something of value from this interview.  You can listen to the interview by pressing the play button below, or you can download the entire interview as an Mp3 and listen on your own player or iPod…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can also download a transcript of the interview here.

In this interview, you’ll discover…

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Posted in 401(k) withdrawal rules, best way to invest money, Podcasts, Retirement Plan Alternative, Stock Market Investing, Success Stories | 6 Comments »


Mission Not Impossible: You Can Teach Teens Financial Responsibility

February 9th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen

Executive Summary: While teens can be hard to reach, the teenage years are the perfect time to teach kids the saving, spending, earning and investing habits they’ll require to enjoy a lifetime free of financial strain and worry.

teenager withdrawing money

These days, money in and money out is mostly electronic, meaning the speed at which our children must make the right or wrong financial decisions has accelerated.  Launch your teens’ money management education by explaining to them why most adults fail.

Let children know that the solution can be found in the proven strategies of fiscal self-reliance that are embodied in the Bank on Yourself system and help your teens create their own vision of a secure and rewarding financial future.

There are plenty of practical steps you can take to make the entire subject matter more interesting to teens.

By Pamela Yellen and Dean Rotbart

Russ Bragg has a higher financial IQ than most parents. He started out as a credit analyst for an international bank and began offering comprehensive financial planning services in 2000.  He is an expert at helping clients define and then achieve financial independence.
Teenager saving
For Bragg, you might imagine, educating his teenage son and daughter about proper money management would be a no-brainer.

If, on the other hand, you have teens of your own, you already know better

Enticed by credit card solicitations with low interest rate come-ons, Bragg’s independent-minded son was in credit counseling by the time he was 18.  Bragg’s daughter, on the other hand, while still a student, applied for and received a prestige credit line that even some of Bragg’s agency clients are unable to qualify for.

“Same mother, same father, same food, same air” and two very different outcomes, observes Bragg wryly of his children’s money management styles.

Many otherwise more-than-adequate moms and dads – those who’ve mastered subject matter as sensitive as teenage smoking, drinking, and drugs – have found their skill sets sorely lacking when it comes to the topic of money.

Welcome to Survivor: Teen Money…

A sprawling multi-year marathon and obstacle course that pits a tribe of well-intentioned parents, grandparents and other adults against the strong-willed, often perplexing sensibilities of the untamed adolescent mind. The challenge? One of modern family life’s most difficult: teaching teens to handle money responsibly.

I remember writing once that as a society we are more comfortable talking about sex and those other issues than we are about money”

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Posted in Cover Story | 1 Comment »


When it Comes to Money Management, Grandma & Grandpa Knew Best

December 1st, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

As detailed in the accompanying article, Sure-Fire Results: How Old Sensibilities Are Proving a Potent Balm for Modern Personal Finance Ailments, Tim Austin is one of the nation’s most-respected and leading proponents of revisiting the financial playbooks of our grandparents and great-grandparents.When It Comes To Money Management, Grandma & Grandpa Knew Best

Using the following core principles, Austin’s clients have reversed years of debt accumulation and money struggles, allowing them to pay for their children’s college educations, repay all bank and credit card loans, and save safely and effectively for retirement.

Here in a nutshell is what Austin advises:

  • Save at least two years’ worth of anticipated expenses before investing a single dime in risk-bearing instruments
  • Set aside 30% of gross income, then budget your lifestyle around the remaining 70%.  Ideally, keeping spending to only 50%, or even 40%, of gross income
  • Put 20% of gross income into short-term and mid-term instruments, including whole life policies, certificates of deposit, money market funds and savings accounts.  Save 10% of gross income for retirement in multiple whole life policies, added strategically over time, and designed for income replacement

[Request a free Analysis and find out the bottom line numbers and results you could have if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan]

  • Teach your children, even at an early age, about the wisdom of saving, spending and investing with a 1940s and 1950s sensibility When you buy a car, hold onto it as long as it remains mechanically sound.  Only purchase a new car when you are left with no choice.  The same approach should apply to other major capital expenses
  • Stop thinking of a home as an asset.  Moreover, stay longer in fewer homes – or even a single home, thereby greatly reducing total interest spent on mortgages
  • Teach your children, even at an early age, about the wisdom of saving, spending and investing with a 1940s and 1950s sensibility

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When opportunity knocks, will you be ready?

November 9th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

In every economy – whether boom or bust – opportunities arise.  Unfortunately, most people don’t have the financial resources to take advantage of them.

This is an inspiring story of how people are using the Bank On Yourself method to be in a position to take advantage of some amazing opportunities…

Here’s a new reality: You need cash now more than ever. Not credit. Not equity. Cash.”

- “Why Cash is King,” Men’s Health, November, 2010 issue

joni-schulz-and-dave

"Bank On Yourselfers" Joni and Dave Schultz

Take Joni and Dave Schultz, who just happen to be my sister- and brother-in-law.  Joni is a hospital department supervisor and Dave just retired from his job in construction.

They came to visit us recently, and Joni’s first comment when she walked in the door was, “Now I get it!  I understand why Bank On Yourself is so much better than using a credit card or finance company, and why it’s even better than paying cash for stuff!”

Joni and Dave started a Bank On Yourself policy about five years ago, in order to supplement their retirement income and add predictability to their financial plan.

But they’d never used it to finance any purchases… until now.

Opportunity knocks…

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Posted in $100000 Challenge, best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative, Success Stories, Tax Advantages of Bank on Yourself | 6 Comments »


Dust off your Dow 10,000 cap again

August 25th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

As I write this, the Dow is flirting yet again with the 10,000 level – something it has done dozens of times since it first closed above that threshold more than 11 years ago!Dow 10,000 Commorative Hat

People are understandably nervous, as evidence abounds that the economic recovery is faltering.

An astonishing fact was revealed in a cover story in “The Hulbert Financial Digest” July issue, titled, “Slow and steady wins the race.” The digest is an independent rating service that has tracked investment newsletters for the past 30 years.

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Posted in best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative, Stock Market Investing | 6 Comments »


Four fascinating facts that affect your finances

July 20th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

I just came across these four surprising new facts that affect your money and finances…

Fascinating Fact #1: 61% of boomers fear outliving their money in retirement more than they fear death

That’s according to a new study.1

Maybe you’re one of them.  It appears that lots of boomers should be scared out of their wits – almost half of them could run out of money in retirement, according to a new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

In fact, most employees recently surveyed – regardless of age – say they aren’t saving enough money for retirement.2

Many people are No more meals outadjusting to “the new normal” by postponing retirement.

But you may not have a choice:  Nearly four in ten retirees say they were forced out of work earlier than they’d planned, because of layoffs, poor health, or the need to take care of a loved one.3

And, for those already retired, 60% say they have been forced to do without things they had taken for granted, to make ends meet.4

Things like meals out, new books and movies, travel, new clothes and home improvement projects.

Can you live without those things?  Sure.

But why should you have to, after a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice?!?

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Posted in best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative | 5 Comments »


Famous people who use the Bank On Yourself method

June 30th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

There’s one surprising thing Walt Disney, J. C. Penney and the Pampered Chef have in common – they all used the Bank On Yourself method to start, grow and/or finance their businesses!Pampered Chef

Walt Disney borrowed from his life insurance in 1953 to help fund Disneyland, his first theme park, when no banker would lend him the money.1

Following the 1929 stock market crash, famous retailer J. C. Penney borrowed from his life insurance policies to help meet the company payroll.2 Had he not had ready access to capital, the company probably would have been forced to close its doors, adding even more people to the unemployment line.

In 2002, Doris Christopher sold her kitchen tool company, the Pampered Chef to Warren Buffett for a reported $900 million.  Seven years earlier, she launched the company with a life insurance policy loan.3

Foster Farms was founded in 1939 when Max and Verda Foster borrowed $1,000 against their life insurance policy to buy an 80-acre farm near Modesto, CA.4

Senator John McCain secured initial campaign financing for his presidential bid by using his life insurance policy as collateral.3

So-called “permanent” or cash value life insurance (versus term insurance, which is like renting insurance) builds up cash value that policy owners can use in difficult times as a ready source of money to cover personal or business expenses for emergencies and even to cover insurance costs.

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Posted in 401(k) withdrawal rules, best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative | 23 Comments »


Hold your financial course or change your course?

June 15th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen


“Those who can't remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana

The Dow has dropped below 10,000 several times recently – a level it first reached more than eleven years ago and has since bounced over and back an astonishing 63 times!

Millions of people who were counting on their homes to help fund their retirement now have no equity to count on, because they owe more than their homes are worth.

Credit is still extremely tight for both businesses and consumers, underscoring just how little control we have when we have to rely on other people’s money.

As we face continuing economic challenges, many people are wondering… what does the future hold?

Ever hear the old saying, “Change is the only constant?”  Today that is clearly true more than ever!  Stephen Covey, author of the run-away best seller, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the following story:

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Posted in $100000 Challenge, best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative | 5 Comments »


How will the debt crisis affect Bank On Yourself?

May 13th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

A question we are getting frequently right now is how safe is your money in a Bank On Yourself plan if the debt crisis in Europe continues and spreads to the United States?

Let’s start by answering the question…

What do life insurance companies invest in

Life insurance companies are highly regulated and required to maintain sufficient reserves to ensure they can pay all future claims.

They are regularly audited by the state insurance commissioners’ offices, and sometimes by dozens of states, to ensure they are on solid financial ground.  And a multi-layer safety net exists to assure your money in a life insurance policy is secure.Safety Net

You may be wondering, “What about AIG?”  Many people missed the fact that AIG’s problems were caused by a holding company, not its life insurance subsidiaries.  Their insurance companies were walled off from the problems, have always been solvent and did not receive a bailout.

The companies recommended by Bank On Yourself Authorized Advisors are among the financially strongest life insurance groups in the world.

They enjoy some of the strongest surplus positions in the industry, approximately double the industry average.

These companies are, in essence, owned by policyowners, rather than stockholders, which allows them to focus on the long-term interests of policy holders, rather than the short-term demands of Wall Street.

Here’s what the companies used for Bank On Yourself invest in:

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Posted in $100000 Challenge, best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative | 25 Comments »


Dow 11,000: Déjà vu all over again?

April 12th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen

Bill Clinton was President, the world awaited the potentially disastrous consequences of the Y2K computer bug, and – oh, yeah – the Dow closed above 11,000 for the first time in history.Yogi Berra

The date was May 3rd, 1999, and to quote Yogi Berra, nearly eleven years later,

This is like deja vu all over again


The Wall Street spin-makers are pointing out what a “big accomplishment it is for a measure that was below 7,000 only a year ago” to recapture the 11,000 level.

Before we pop the cork on a bottle of champagne, here’s a few sobering questions to ask yourself…

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Posted in best way to invest money, Retirement Plan Alternative, Stock Market Investing, stock market timeline, Tax Advantages of Bank on Yourself | 13 Comments »


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