Dust off your Dow 10,000 cap again

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.

[Read more…] “Dust off your Dow 10,000 cap again”

Wall Street Journal Exposes Stock Market Myths!

A very revealing article appeared in the Sunday, July 25 edition of the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Ten Stock-Market Myths that Just Won’t Die.”

Maybe you don’t quite believe what I’ve been saying for years.  This article confirms exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you…

WSJ 10 Stock-Market Myths That Just Won't Die

This article is must-reading for anyone who’s been scratching their head and wondering…

If what they say about the long-term returns you should be able to get in the stock market is true, how come I’m not rich?!?

Please pay particular attention to…

Myth #1: “This is a good time to invest in the stock market”

Myth #2: “Stocks on average make about 10% a year”

And the article author’s insight into Myth #10: “Stocks outperform over the long term” is priceless.

I’ve quoted many sources confirming what this Wall Street Journal article says.  How many more sources do you need to hear it from, before you request a free Analysis that will show you how much your financial picture could improve if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan?
REQUEST YOUR
FREE ANALYSIS!

gambling with your financial future and start knowing how good it could be!

Four fascinating facts that affect your finances

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 choiceNearly 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?!?

[Read more…] “Four fascinating facts that affect your finances”

Famous people who use the Bank On Yourself method

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!

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.

The Pamperd Chef used dividend paying whole life insurance loan for initial capitalization

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

The Pamperd Chef used dividend paying whole life insurance loan for initial capitalization

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.

[Read more…] “Famous people who use the Bank On Yourself method”

Hold your financial course or change your course?



“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:

[Read more…] “Hold your financial course or change your course?”

How will the debt crisis affect Bank On Yourself?

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 to be able to deliver on their promises to policy owners?

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 Professionals are among the financially strongest life insurance groups in the world.

Safety Net

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:

[Read more…] “How will the debt crisis affect Bank On Yourself?”

Dow 11,000: Déjà vu all over again?

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”

Yogi Berra

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…

[Read more…] “Dow 11,000: Déjà vu all over again?”

What’s the rate of return on a Bank On Yourself plan?

Holding on to stocks and mutual funds

A recent comment made by a reader of this blog inspired this post.  I’ve never gone into detail on the question of how the rate of return on a Bank On Yourself policy compares with investing in stock market and mutual funds.

Holding on to stocks and mutual funds

And is it really true that if you simply hold on long enough, investing in stocks and mutual funds will out-perform just about anything else?

So, I’ve decided to lay those questions to rest – once and for all – right here.  Here’s the comment by a reader who calls himself “Tob” that sparked this post:

This is a ridiculous attempt to compare whole life insurance to the “stock market” after the worst decade. I can show you how investing blows the pants off whole life using investing basics. Balanced Funds. How many funds do you want that have produce 10% per year compounding average to convince you?”

So, has “Tob” really found that elusive investment that gives you a 10% average return, and still lets you sleep at night?

We’ll get to the answer to that question in a moment.

First, let me address the question,

“What the heck is the rate of return on a typical Bank On Yourself policy?”

[Read more…] “What’s the rate of return on a Bank On Yourself plan?”

Bank On Yourself: A financial plan you can count on

Oh what a roller-coaster year this has been!  Our entire financial system and economy almost fell off a cliff.

Bailout

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
Bailout

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:

chart
chart

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.

[Read more…] “Bank On Yourself: A financial plan you can count on”

Six Frequently Asked Questions about Bank On Yourself

FAQ

I thought you might find it helpful to have the answers to the six questions about Bank On Yourself we’re most often asked – right at your fingertips.

FAQ

How many of these questions have you been wondering about?

FAQ?FAQ #1: How does Bank On Yourself compare with traditional investing and savings strategies?

You can compare the Bank On Yourself method to traditional investments here, including stocks and mutual funds, a 401(k), a ROTH plan, real estate, gold, commodities and several other investments.

If there’s a different financial product or strategy that you think can match or beat the Bank On Yourself method, I encourage you to take the $100,000 Challenge. If you’re right, you could pick up an easy $100K!

FAQ?FAQ #2: How does Bank On Yourself let you recapture every penny you pay for major purchases like cars, vacations, business equipment or a college education?

I’ve summarized this in a short video overview of how Bank On Yourself works.

However, for a more detailed explanation, you’ll want to review Chapters 2, 6, and pages 52-54 of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself. If you don’t have the book, we offer a 35% discount on it.

FAQ?FAQ #3: I’ve heard people like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman say whole life insurance is a lousy place to put your money. Is a Bank On Yourself-type policy different from the kind they’re talking about?

[Read more…] “Six Frequently Asked Questions about Bank On Yourself”