There were many interesting and some heart-tugging entries, making it a bit difficult for our team to pick the winners, but here are the ones we did pick – and why.  Two entries were also chosen at random.

Each of five winners will receive their choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself, for themselves or to give as a gift to someone they care about.

And together, the team picked their favorite entry and that person wins a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Read on for the winning entries…

Shannon, who heads up our Social Media team, chose Barry Levy’s entry because…

I love Costa Rica! In fact, my wife and I got married there. If you’re going to use credit cards, this is the way to do it – get them to pay you! Barry, have a great trip, takes lots of photos, and post a few of them on our Facebook wall at www.Facebook.com/BankOnYourself!”

Barry Levy wrote…

I am planning a trip to Costa Rica to see rain forest, turtles, zip line and enjoy the tropical splendor of the area.  It goes on a credit card, which gets paid when the bill comes in.

It was saved for and it took two months to put aside the vacation funds.  I am not using Bank on Yourself policy to pay for it, and have no problems putting it on a credit card. That way I get cash back, miles back and if a credit card is paid each month in full, it has no interest costs to me or finance charges.

This is a change from my first choice, which was to swim with the whales at the Great Barrier Reef, but that vacation is being put on hold for next year when it won’t conflict with previous plans.”

Lynn, who heads up the Bank On Yourself Customer Service team, picked John Starcevich’s entry because…

I understand his life and his lifestyle, and I love his attitude!  Wish he and his wife could be our neighbors.”

After hearing that, I’ll bet you’re chomping at the bit to read John’s entry, so here it is:

My wife and I go on a “vacation” a couple of times a week. We are lucky to have a great backyard and we enjoy it often. We love our lives and have no need to get away and therefore we don’t take a traditional vacation. Also it saves alot of money when you are satisfied and thankful for what you have, and, we are both very satisfied and very thankful for everything we are blessed with.”

Alan Twelkemeier and his wife

The secret to “guilt-free” vacations…

In my best-selling book I interviewed the Twelkemeier family, who were then saving up money in their Bank On Yourself policy to use for vacations.  Since then, they accomplished their goal and gave us this update on their inspiring story:

Listen »

The first way we used Bank On Yourself was to take a vacation to Mexico – the first true getaway my wife and I were able to take in the eight years we’ve been married. This allowed us to do that guilt-free. You don’t have the guilt associated with putting the cost on a credit card, or using your savings to pay for it. I cashed out my 401(k) plan from my former company to get this started. Then the market went south. The losses I would have had are staggering. I’m analytical and I examined this thoroughly. It makes sense and we are very pleased with the move we made.”

Alan Twelkemeier also told me that he and his wife set up a plan to repay their policy loan over a one-year period.  At the end of the year, that money would all be back in their plan, along with the interest they used to pay to credit card companies, allowing them to recycle those dollars and take guilt-free vacations every year for the rest of their lives.

Here are the rest of the contest winners…

My own top pick is David W., because of his positive attitude about not being able to take a traditional vacation this year and his understanding of several key financial principles:

There will be no traditional “vacation” for us this year because of debt, high fuel prices, a child going to college/moving out, the economy and job insecurity. We’re not really miserable, though. Like others have said, we just try to focus as best we can on being thankful and satisfied with what we have.

That doesn’t mean we don’t want more though! That’s why we researched and ultimately started our first Bank On Yourself policy a few months ago. And it feels great! Knowing the money we put aside each month is safe and growing at a predictable rate is tremendous peace of mind for us. Not to mention being there for us to borrow against when and if we need it – without penalty and without affecting its rate of growth.

Until recently, I had no hope of ever being able to retire. Now, with our BOY policy working for us (with many more to follow!) I’m starting to have real hope again and it feels wonderful. To be able to retire someday and not HAVE to work (unless it’s doing something we love!) would be worth all the vacations in the world to us.

What is a vacation anyway, but an enjoyable rest from “work”? Lord willing, we will have years of “vacation” during our retirement – and we are confident our BOY policies will be a big part of making that possible. Thank you Marilyn for getting us started and helping us get our debt under control – and thank you too, Pam! I only wish I’d followed through on this about 12 years ago when you first sent me the information. Live and LEARN!”

The two entries that were chosen randomly (using the Randomiser software) will receive their choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or an autographed book are…

1. Robert Nehapatain
2. Dawn Clark

And now for the Grand Prize winner

Our team picked Brenda’s entry to win the $100 Amazon Gift Certificate, because she faces her fears head-on, works hard and she has smart savings and spending habits.  Brenda – we hope you have a marvelous trip! You deserve it!

Here’s Brenda’s entry:

My vacation will be in September. I decided that for my 50th birthday that I was doing something special. I will be flying to Rockland, Maine and getting on a schooner for a cruise up and down the coastline. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m afraid of water and told myself that I could either get over my fear enough to do it or just forget about ever doing it. I decided that I could do it. I have already purchased my plane tickets and my cruise package. Buying them early saved me a lot of money and booking my cruise for my birthday saved me 25% off my price. I saved my change that I got from my tips as a waitress for almost 2 years. I didn’t miss it. I never counted on it to help pay the bills. This is my dream vacation and I’m going to enjoy it. Because I already have the trip paid for, all my change now goes to my spending money for the trip.”

Thank you to everyone who shared their personal story!

Tell us in the comments box below. You could win one of SIX prizes we’ll be awarding, including one $100 Amazon Gift Certificate and five prizes of your choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself, for yourself or to give as a gift to someone you care about.

Here’s how to enter…  

Two entries will be picked at random to each receive a dining certificate/autographed book prize.  Three entries will be chosen by members of the Bank On Yourself team to receive dining certificate/autographed book prizes.  The Bank On Yourself team members will also choose the most inspiring or interesting entry to receive a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate (Sorry – U.S. residents only.)

Just post your entry in the comment box below by Monday, May 16

All prizewinners will be notified by email on Friday, May 20, and the winning entries will be featured in our next blog post. So, post away!

Tell us what kind of vacation you’re planning this summer. And be sure to include how you’re paying for it. Have you been saving up for it? If so, how long did it take you? Are you using your Bank On Yourself policy to self-finance it? Are you putting it on a credit card?

And don’t feel left out if you’re not planning a vacation this summer. Tell us that too! Be sure to include why you’re not. Are gas prices too high? Are you working two jobs just to make ends meet and can’t afford to take off work? Are you reluctant to put it on a credit card?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Tell us what kind of vacation you’re planning this summer
• Tell us how you’re paying for it
• Have you been saving up for it? If so, how long did it take you?
• Are you using your Bank On Yourself policy to self-finance it?
• Are you putting it on a credit card?  And how do you feel about that?
• Tell us why you’re not going on a vacation this year
• Post the contest to Facebook by hitting the “Recommend” button (optional)

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

"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…

Joni figured it would be a smart move to convert their home’s electric system to a solar-powered system.  It would save them thousands of dollars every year on their electric bills, which would come in handy, now that Joni is hoping to retire in five years and Dave’s already retired.

Plus, they wanted to make a contribution to a greener planet.

But converting to solar can be an expensive proposition.  Fortunately, Joni discovered that their electric company was offering a 50% credit to anyone putting in a qualifying solar system… but only for a limited time.  So she borrowed $23,500 from her Bank On Yourself policy in order to pay for the system, in full.

A portion of the money went towards something that had long been on their wish list – landscaping and paving their patio and installing an outdoor grill.  (“You know, food really does taste better when cooked on a high-quality grill,” Joni says.)

But Joni and Dave will also qualify for very generous federal and state tax credits for the solar system when they file their tax return, bringing their out-of-pocket cost for it to close to ZERO!

Their electric bill will fall from hundreds of dollars a month, to just under $15 a month, saving them thousands of dollars every single year, for as long as they live in the house!

Joni borrowed the money from her policy without an application, without the approval of a loan committee, and she can’t be turned down for a loan!

She set her own loan payback schedule, and when she finishes paying it off, she’ll have the solar system, a great patio to relax on and entertain, AND all the money she paid for it will be back in her policy, where it will then help fund her retirement.

Want to find out how much guaranteed income you could take in retirement – regardless of what happens in the stock and real estate markets?  Request a free Analysis and find out.

Additional benefits of using the Bank On Yourself method to finance purchases include…

You do pay interest on policy loans, however, that interest ultimately ends up in your policy, as I explain in detail on pages 100-102 of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future

Some companies – like the one Joni’s policy is from – offer a feature that lets you continue earning the exact same guaranteed annual increase, plus any dividends, on the money you borrowed! Which means you can use your money and it keeps growing for you just the same!

If you used a savings or money market account or CD to save up enough to pay cash for a big purchase, you earn ZERO interest on the money you take out to buy something, of course.  Not to mention that the interest rates on these accounts are ridiculously low. The growth in a Bank On Yourself policy beats these other accounts by a mile

If you ever need to reduce the amount you pay back, or even skip it for a few months if you run into a tight spot, you can do that, and no bill collectors will call, you won’t pay any late fees or get a black mark on your credit report

You have the advantage of having a “rainy-day/opportunity fund” that doubles as your retirement fund – growing consistently and predictably every single year – even when stocks, real estate, and other investments tumble!

Unlike Joni’s 401(k) plan, which she had contributed to for decades with little to show for it other than sleepless nights, you can know the minimum guaranteed income you can take in retirement from a Bank On Yourself policy.  And you can access the money with little or no tax consequences, under current tax law

For these reasons – and many more – financing things through a Bank On Yourself-type policy beats traditional financing, leasing, or even directly paying cash for things!

Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes…

For example…

• The Bowsher Family used Bank On Yourself to help raise $100,000 for their church.  This is a very creative way to raise funds for your church, temple or favorite charity that almost anyone can use

Watch the video to learn how

• Greg and Christy Gammon used their Bank On Yourself policies to get the funds to be able to adopt a baby girl when that opportunity came up unexpectedly.  They’ve also used it to finance some real estate investments

Watch the video of the Gammon’s inspiring story here

The ways you can use Bank On Yourself are limited only by your imagination!

But to be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities, you need to get your Bank On Yourself plan in place now, if you haven’t already.

Being a good financial citizen requires that you first build that great wall of cash.” ¹

And we challenge you to find a better place to “store” that cash than in a Bank On Yourself policy.

A wall of cash protects us from everything.” ¹

If you want a better financial life, “small steps, taken consistently over times, are truly the road to success,” according to financial behavior researcher, Sara Wedeman, Ph.D.¹

So, if you haven’t already added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan, why not take the first step now, and request a free analysis that will show you how a program tailored to your unique situation can help you reach both your long-term and short-term goals as quickly as possible?

Don’t know where you’ll find the money to fund your plan?  A Bank On Yourself Authorized Advisor can show you at least eight places to free up funds –  and sometimes that can happen with no additional out-of-pocket cost to you.

Not sure how a Bank On Yourself policy is different from the ones the financial gurus talk about? Learn the difference and see the proof here.

1. “Why Cash Is King,” Mike Zimmerman, Men’s Health, November 2010

And while there are some hopeful signs of new life in the economy, this year has also brought us:

• Massive bailouts
• A tripling of an already-bloated federal deficit
• A falling dollar
• Rising foreclosures (and likely to spike as billions of dollars in ARM’s are now coming up for adjustment)
• Major banks and investment houses taking on three times (!) the risk they were before the collapse

So what do you think next year has in store for us?

No one really knows for sure.  (Well, except maybe the folks at the Psychic Hotline.)  So how do you prepare for a very uncertain future?
Here’s a quick quiz that may reveal an answer for you…

What’s the one financial asset that increased in value during the market crash of 2008?  And in 1929?  And in every period of economic boom and bust in between?

Answer:  The product used for Bank On Yourself:  Cash-value life insurance.

As I’ve mentioned, my husband Larry and I now have 18 Bank On Yourself policies.  I’ve picked one of them to show you how a dividend-paying whole life policy like this can grow over time – even when the markets are plummeting.  It’s a great example of how Bank On Yourself gives you the peace of mind that lets you sleep at night.

Here’s how much this plan has grown each year since the beginning of 2000, a period that includes not one, but TWO devastating market crashes.  In four of these years, the S&P 500 was down for the year, as you can see in this side-by-side comparison:

If you had put $10,000 into an S&P 500 Index fund at the beginning of 2000, how much do you think it would be worth today?

Take a guess before you read on.

Based on where the S&P 500 has been trading this past week (week of December 7-14, 2009, it would be worth only about $7,488!  That doesn’t even factor in inflation over that period, which would slash the value of your investment by about another 27% – to $5,466!

Have you considered that maybe – just maybe – return OF your principal is at least as important as return ON your principal?

If you could turn back the clock, where would you rather have put that $10,000 – in stocks, mutual funds and real estate?  Or in an asset that has only one direction – up – and where all your principal and gains are locked in?

If you look at the chart above again, you’ll notice how this policy – like the rest of our other 17 Bank On Yourself policies – has increased in value each year by more than it increased the previous year, even though our annual “contribution” never increases.

I’ll be getting my next annual statement for this plan soon, and – like every other year – I can’t wait to see it!  Can you imagine looking forward to receiving every account statement, because they always contain good news and never any ugly surprises?

Of course, I already know how much growth I can count on receiving this year (and every year).  The growth in these policies is both guaranteed and exponential – with no luck, skill, or guesswork required to make that happen.

But there’s also the potential to receive dividends.  Dividends aren’t guaranteed, but the companies used by Bank On Yourself Authorized Advisors have paid dividends every single year for more than 100 years – including during every market correction, every bear market, and even during the Great Depression.

So, let’s fast-forward 7 years.  That’s when I’ll be 64. (Yeah, I know a woman isn’t supposed to tell her age.)  Suppose I want to retire at 65?  How much will the Bank On Yourself policy I used in the example above grow that year?

This particular policy is projected to increase by $47,709 that year, based on the current dividend scale.  I also know for sure the minimum guaranteed annual income I can take from this policy in retirement. And I can access that income stream with no taxes due on it, under current tax law.

I have NO idea how much my mutual funds will be worth nine years from now.  Or 30 years from now.  And I have no idea how much income I can count on receiving from them.  Same goes for my home value.  Do you?

And that sums up the problem with traditional investing and retirement planning methods.  They never have been – and never will be – anything other than a crapshoot.

It explains why, sadly, so many Americans are wondering, “Will I ever be able to retire?” and “What will I have to give up to be able to do that?”

But it doesn’t have to be that way!  Not when you Bank On Yourself.  Since I love what I do, I probably won’t quit when I’m 65, but it’s nice to know I’ll have a choice.

Every situation is different, and no two Bank On Yourself plans are the same, so your numbers won’t be the same as mine.  Each plan is custom tailored to fit your unique financial goals and dreams.  So if you want to find out what your bottom-line numbers and results could be if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan (if you haven’t already done so), you can request a free Bank On Yourself Analysis here.

Key Concept:  Unlike investments like stocks, mutual funds and real estate, where your gains aren’t locked in unless and until you sell them, all the growth you get in a Bank On Yourself policy is locked in! It doesn’t vanish because of a market correction.

Not only will you never have to worry about buying or selling at the wrong time, you will benefit from the continuous compounding of an ever-increasing base.

This also gives you some built-in protection against inflation

Can you see how, when you Bank On Yourself, you can shut out all the noise about the whip-sawing stock and real estate markets and other investments?  The peace of mind it brings you is indescribable.

We are only a few short weeks away from a new decade.  How confident are you that this next decade will give you a smoother and more predictable financial journey than the decade now coming to a close?

If you’re tired of hoping and guessing what the future may hold, and you’re ready to have a financial plan you can predict and count on, why not take the first step now?  Request your free Analysis and get a referral to a knowledgeable Bank On Yourself Authorized Advisor who can show you how a custom-tailored plan can help you reach as many of your short-term and long-term goals and dreams as possible!

These Advisors are also masters at helping you restructure your finances to free up money to fund your Bank On Yourself plan.

Perhaps one of the most inspiring stories was shared by Greg and Christy Gammon. Since I interviewed them, their lives have taken some interesting twists and turns, and their Bank On Yourself policies have come to the rescue in surprising ways.

This short video update, filmed during my national book tour, reveals the details. Just click the play button below…

No two Bank On Yourself plans (policies) are alike. Each is custom-tailored, so yours would be uniquely suited to your goals and dreams. It’s easy to find out what your bottom-line numbers and results could be. Simply request your free Analysis here… and take the first step towards taking back control of your financial future. Why not do it now, while it’s fresh on your mind?

The first video (filmed during my national book tour) reveals how the Corey Family is using Bank On Yourself to accomplish a number of goals and dreams, including:

• Funding their kids’ college educations without going broke
• Getting back their real estate taxes… and the cost of custom-made furniture they bought for their home
• Being on track to a six-figure-a-year retirement income they can predict and count on

Just click the play button below to find out how the Corey’s are doing all this…

No two Bank On Yourself plans (policies) are alike. Each is custom-tailored, so yours would be uniquely suited to your goals and dreams. It’s easy to find out what your bottom-line numbers and results could be. Simply request your free Analysis here… and take the first step towards taking back control of your financial future. Why not do it now, while it’s fresh on your mind?

Now find out how the Bowsher Family used Bank On Yourself to help raise $100,000 for their church

This next video reveals a very creative way to raise funds for your church, temple or favorite charity that almost anyone can use.  Just click the play button below and enjoy!
 

Would you like to find out how Bank On Yourself could help you achieve your short-term and long-term goals and dreams? Why not request a free, no-obligation Analysis that will show you how you could benefit from a program custom-tailored to your situation?

The ways you can use Bank On Yourself are truly limited only by your imagination. You can learn more here about what Bank On Yourself is and how it works.

And if you’re wondering where to find the money to get started, here are eight of the most common ways to fund a Bank On Yourself policy.