Wealth Talks

There are many Retirement Calculators out there, insert your numbers and Ta-Dah! The calculator spits out how much money you need to have in order to retire. But these calculators can't guarantee how much money you will need in retirement. What chunk of your money will inflation gnaw off throughout your retirement? Are your retirement savings tax free? Or only tax deferred? Will you ever require special medical care? What about assisted living? Or emergencies, or… or… or… Today on Wealth Talks, Tom and John talk about events that can catch you by surprise in retirement. Don't trust typical financial calculators to tell you what you "need" to retire on. Call our office to see how Participating Whole Life Insurance can help you plan for more sustainable passive income in retirement. Call 702-660-7000 or schedule time to Talk with an Agent.

The Federal Reserve has been artificially lowering interest rates for years. This has been driving up the cost of stocks, far beyond their economic value. Meanwhile, other central banks are printing up legal currency in order to buy shares of stock. Our own Federal Reserve is printing up currency with which they are purchasing mortgages. Sooner or later, a return to economic reality will have to take place. Today Tom and John are joined by Dr. Paul Cleveland, Ph.D. in Economics and Professor of Economics and Finance at Birmingham-Southern College. Join the conversation as they talk about the ways to prepare for the upcoming "return to reality". Resources: Get Dr. Paul Clevelands books at boundarystone.org

Risk tolerance is a big term in typical financial planning. Basically, risk tolerance is the amount of nerve you have to watch your investment portfolio lose money without flinching. According to typical financial planning, the higher your "risk tolerance" the more money you should risk losing to try and get big returns. But typical financial planning isn't working out so good for most Americans. People are running out of money in retirement and the median savings for someone age 65 or older is only $63,000. If you are allergic to risk and you hate losing money, if you believe that when you're 65 you should have more than $63,000 in savings then you probably shouldn't follow typical financial planning. Doing nothing is not enough though, you must do something better, that's what we talk about on episode 248 of Wealth Talks. Listen Now. Wealth Seminar on February 20th. Register Here»

How is wealth created? According to George Gilder, there are three things that create wealth. (Listen to find out) People who put money in a 401(k) limit their access to their own money which makes it hard to create wealth… and 401(k)s aren't treating people all that well, to begin with. The average 401(k) balance is pretty low especially considering many employees are betting on their 401(k) to make retirement a reality. That's probably the reason most retired Americans depend on Social Security for at least 50% of their retirement income. People who believe in the future use their money to create wealth. Can you do that too? Discover the three things that create wealth. Listen Now.

Governments and central banks are taking the low road. They are attempting to artificially stimulate the economy by implementing negative interest rates. John says it will work probably work short-term Tom says it could cause people to hoard tangible assets like gold, silver, antique automobiles and art. What is it that really stimulates an economy long-term and causes wealth to be created? Why do you think most business regulations are put in place? A. To protect small business from getting overrun by big business B. To make it hard for small business to compete with big business Now picture yourself approaching retirement… what would you do if interest rates went negative on all of your retirement savings, and instead of earning interest on your money, you had to start paying just to keep the money you'd saved? All this and more on episode 246 of Wealth Talks. Listen Now.

Most people think saving money is about cutting lifestyle and luxuries. This is certainly one way to save, but it is not the only way because where you save your money can make a big difference in how much you get to keep. 💵 Benjamin Franklin says, "There are two ways to increase your wealth. Increase your means or decrease your wants. The best is to do both at the same time." But increasing your means is not always as easy as increasing your income because expenses tend to rise to equal (or exceed) income (Parkinson's law). 😟 When you have a good plan for your finances you can save more money without working any harder; you can have peace of mind and be ready for good investment opportunities when they come to you. Whether you're trying to save more money for retirement, to make an investment, or just saving money for a rainy day it's always a good thing to minimize fees and taxes. And you want a big word called LIQUIDITY. Find out why this is so important. Resources: 10-20-70 Cashflow Worksheet Tool Tips for Saving More Money in 2020 - Video Wealth and Poverty book by George Gilder The Black Swan book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

he SECURE Act was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. Here are some key changes you should know as you plan for retirement: Generally, the SECURE Act: Removed Maximum Age limit for IRA Contributions Increased the age for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from age 70.5 to 72 Enforces a 10yr distribution window for most inherited retirement accounts - no more stretch IRAs The SECURE Act is likely to increase age tax-qualified account balances because people will be encouraged to save more in these accounts. It will also increase government tax revenues because of the 10yr distribution rule on inherited accounts. Also under the Secure Act, employers get a tax credit by automatically enrolling employees in the company sponsored retirement plan (Small-Employer Automatic Enrollment Credit). If you don't want to be automatically enrolled into contributions to your company retirement plan you may need to take action to opt-out. Now is a good time to consider how much of your money you wish to invest in tax-qualified accounts compared to paying the tax and building wealth in other types of accounts where you have more control, lower fees and less market risk. For example: Target-date mutual funds are a default option for most retirement plans with an automatic enrollment. Target-date funds are sold as a "set it and forget it management strategy" and they are also notorious for high fees. Fees are a killer whenever you try to grow your money. Compare target-date funds with the guaranteed values that build in participating whole life insurance policy over a similar time period. It could make sense to keep the control of your money and lock in guaranteed growth through life insurance + leave any legacy to your heirs income tax-free, instead of putting them into a higher tax-bracket with required distributions on an inherited tax-qualified account. Wealth Workshop in Las Vegas Jan 18th - Register now Most people are losing money with typical financial planning. Learn to use Life Insurance as a Financial tool while you're living so you can keep more of the money you make and have financial peace of mind.

Can you really eliminate the control of Banks and Financial institutions in your life by using Life Insurance? Or should you own Life Insurance for different reasons? Discover the best reasons to own and use Life Insurance as a financial tool in 2020. With the New Year just around the corner it's a great time to reflect on the history of Life Insurance and how to achieve your goals in 2020. New Year's resolutions are infamous for lasting only a few weeks. What does it take to get the follow through you deserve and achieve the results you really want? Consistent Action is one key. And so is Consistent Motivation. One way to stay motivated in 2020 = Subscribe to Your Monday Motivation a 2-minute weekly motivational message from Ben McFie. Subscribe to Your Monday Motivation on Apple Podcasts OR Subscribe by text message by texting: MMM to 77222

What are people talking about when you hear the term "Investment Grade Life Insurance"? Answer: It can be just about any type of life insurance under the sun because the "Investment Grade" part is marketing fluff. The Supreme court has ruled that life insurance is not an investment but rather an asset, so what you really want to know is how the underlying life insurance works and how it would fit into your portfolio. This podcast show makes it easy to understand the value of guarantees from WHOLE life insurance in your portfolio, and why it pays to be wary of any other type of risk management scheme contrived within a UNIVERSAL life insurance contract. When you know what's really happening, you'll know what to do. Resources: Get the Tool: Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for Policy Values Register for the: Jan 18th Workshop in Las Vegas

Should you rely only on Group Life Insurance through your employer? Or does it make sense to combine your group coverage with individual coverage? What option(s) will cost the least over time? What else should you know of when it comes to Group Life Insurance? Find out now. Hear the pros and cons of Group Life Insurance and how it compares (or can work together) with personal Term Life Insurance and Participating Whole Life insurance to get you the best coverage. Resources: Get a Quote for Term or Participating Whole Life Insurance here

Stories from the Plymouth Pilgrim colony and the modern Farming community help to explore the way Socialism differs from Mutual Assistance, Mutual Organizations or acts of Charity in a community. Ask yourself, what model will best protect wealth? And discover how you can you participate in a mutual framework to protect the wealth you create. Obviously, charity is important, while greed is destructive. The right method and attitude for creating and protecting your wealth follows the same guidelines. Do this right and you will experience a wealthier life beyond just the money you accumulate in the process. This show also includes some fun facts on life insurance…how much life insurance was in-force in 1930 compared to 2018? Listen and find out. Resources: 2018 Life Insurance Stats - Statista.com

What you need to know about government, money systems and market environments to build sustainable wealth - we make it all easy for you. Understanding these systems conceptually, will help you grow your wealth and keep more of the money you make. Did you know Sir Isaac Newton (the inventor of calculus) made a significant contribution to a stable monetary system in England? This helped to set the stage for the great wealth accumulated by the British Empire. Hear the story on today's show. Today's discussion also sheds light on why you should become wealthy in the first place. It boils down to how you get the money, and that should be a virtuous activity. As writer George Gilder points out, wealth is only valuable when it is combined with wisdom. Same reason why currency trading doesn't "create" any value. "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness", is the foundation which allows opportunity for you to create value out of nothing which is the only model that "creates" real wealth. Other methods just shuffle money around but DO NOT CREATE any new wealth. Summary includes a tool you can use to avoid some of the imperfections in the "system of the world" in which we live today. This helps maximize your opportunities to create wealth and keep control of the wealth you do create. Resources: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17&version=NASB https://www.life-benefits.com/how-to-protect-your-money-from-inflation/

You've heard of income-based repayment aka income-driven repayment plans for student loans. Do they apply to you? How do you know what income driven plan is best for you? What about the tax liability when the loan is forgiven? Is it really worth jumping through all the recertification hoops? Will you have to limit your service potential to keep your income low enough to qualify? Or could there be a strategy for you that ties it all together and gives you a better deal? Maybe you can save enough cashflow over the next 20-25 years to take care of the tax liability with no problem. Maybe you can turn your debt into an asset and actually have "money saved" to show for your effort when everything is done. There is a strategy and this show will help you discover what you need to know. Resources: https://forms.gle/bc9x5cHh4Rpf5tkNA

From the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis, through Greek Culture, even through the Dark Ages, and now through modern day Marxism in America, humans often think it is wrong to be wealthy. They think it might be better to redistribute the wealth. Maybe everyone could enjoy prosperity equally and fairly - it sounds really nice. But life isn't equal or fair, so what's the best solution? Today you'll hear some history around the idea of Wealth Redistribution and the different forms it assumes throughout history. This discussion makes several references to the Bible. Basically you can choose from 3 systems: Socialist/Communist system = Direct Redistribution by government Capitalist system = Redistribution through markets, services and charity Neo-Capitalist or "Crony" Capitalist = Redistribution through manipulated markets Consider how these three systems distribute and redistribute wealth and then you'll be able to make better sense of the wealth in your life to manage it wisely. Resource links: https://www.life-benefits.com/podcasts/wealth-redistribution-where-the-idea-came-from-and-what-it-means-for-you/

Did you know, that a withdrawal from any type of Universal life insurance policy, is substantially different than a withdrawal from a Whole life insurance policy? Policy loans may also affect universal life insurance and whole life insurance products differently. On this show you'll hear what you need to know about policy loans and withdrawals. It doesn't matter whether a universal product is called Indexed Universal Life (tied to a market index), Variable Universal Life (tied to various stock accounts), or plain Universal Life (usually tied to an interest rate). Withdrawals from any type of life insurance policy can easily be taxable. Loans are usually not taxable but can become taxable if you borrow too much and cannot pay the interest. Don't lose money. Discover what you need to know to keep more of the money you make. You will also hear guidelines on when it makes sense to take a policy loan and when it makes sense to use other money. Call Life Benefits for specific guidance 702-660-7000

Conversation with Krish Dhanam and Dr. John Bergman highlighting some of the wonderful experiences and content from the 2019 Wealth Cruise.🚢 From financial wealth building to world views and knowledge for cultivating physical health and well-being, this cruise reflects a recognition that humans are tridimensional in nature with Mental, Physical and Spiritual aspects. To achieve real and sustainable wealth you have to become successful in all 3 dimensions. Mentally you can design a strategy to create financial wealth and exercise discipline to follow your plans and make important adjustments along the way. Physically you want to recognize when your body is stressed and how that could affect your ability to perform and experience life at your full potential. Fundamental world views (aka spiritual beliefs) affect your work ethic, and give you the dignity to serve and do the things you need to do in the other two dimensions. Ultimately you want to grow in a balanced way. Krish Dhanam explains the wheel of life and how this can help you develop a large "wheel" in a balanced way without getting side tracked by circular logic or passing emotional desires. Resources: Zig Ziglar's Wheel of Life - How does Your Life Measure? >>>> Subscribe to Life Benefits for info on the Next Wealth Cruise

🗓 Open Enrollment for Health Insurance starts Friday November 1st running through December 15th 2019. Special guest Jack Hooper from Take Command Health shares 2 new HRAs available for businesses in 2020 - ICHRA and EBHRA in addition to QSEHRA from 2017. Acronym Definitions: ICHRA = Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement EBHRA = Excepted Benefits Health Reimbursement Arrangement QSEHRA = Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement These HRAs can add more options and flexibility for employers and employees searching for the best health coverage and benefits. Business Owners in any of the 50 states can choose from a couple types of HRAs to eliminate the hassles of trying to choose the best group health plan, and deal with premium increases. You can also outsource the on-boarding, compliance and reporting to make an HRA the obvious simple solution for your business health benefits program. Shopping for individual coverage? Use the Take Command Health system to find the best health insurance options across ___ states. And if you're an employee who's not entirely happy with your employer offered group health plan, you may want to take this information to your employer and encourage them to implement an HRA that could give you better options in 2020. Resources: For more information on shopping for Individual and Family Health Insurance Coverage see: How to Save Money on your Health Insurance - 2018 podcast with Jack Hooper and Comparison of Heathcare Sharing Options - Podcast

🗞Everything you need to know, and probably more than you'll ever need to know, about Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL). Universal Life Insurance has been promoted since the 1970's. IUL insurance is even more recent, but still based on the same idea of buying term insurance and investing the difference. If you like risk, fees, a possibility of greater gain when the market goes up (never when it goes down), an ever increasing cost of insurance, and a thick contract that obviously protects the insurance company over the policy owner…you might want IUL. Yes, we're biased toward good traditional Whole Life insurance, and you'll understand why as you listen. Complexity is not your friend when it comes to IUL. Resources: If you already have an IUL policy contact Life Benefits for a review: 702-660-7000 How Indexed Universal Life Insurance Works: https://www.life-benefits.com/how-indexed-universal-life-insurance-works-iul/

19 out of 20 Americans with a 401(k) are paying fees of some sort whether they know it or not. 😰 Even if the account, or advisor, does not charge a management fee, there are usually fees hidden in various ways. If you know these fees are present you can figure out how to deal with them, overcome, or avoid them strategically. Just don't be a sucker and think you have no fees until it's too late to recover the money you lose. If you're going to invest, be aware of expense ratios, transaction fees, and front-end or back-end fees. There can even be custodial or accounting fees. Not all of these fees are easy to track down especially when they are pre-packaged within various investments or funds so you simply see a net return. Even when you just have money in a bank there are possible fees so it pays to be vigilant and strategic about how you save money and where you save your money.

Best known as a billionaire tycoon and a hostile corporate takeover entrepreneur, T. Boone Pickens was an amazing person with great financial sense. But in 2008 one of his ideas crashed. Pickens had helped Oklahoma State University buy life insurance through Premium Financing. After the 2008 crash T. Boone Pickens stepped in personally to bailout OSU and they still lost the life insurance. Today you'll see a lot of people encouraging premium financing on the internet or in seminars. Unless you have deep pockets or a rich benefactor like T. Boone Pickens it's much better to stick with a "comfortable and affordable" strategy for funding your life insurance assets. If Premium Financing was a wildcard for T. Boone Pickens, what makes you think it could be different for you? Resources: Premium Financed Life Insurance: A Risky Endeavor

Today is #InternationalPodcastDay! And we have a winner for the Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones - announced during this show. Thank you for participating in the WealthTalks celebration sharing your favorite podcast shows! And some of you went above and beyond sharing more on how you use your policies + asking questions for the WealthTalks show and leaving reviews on iTunes & Stitcher. We appreciate you! Hear an answer to 4 of the many great questions you asked through the celebration entries: 1. How do you decide when to take a policy loan or when to use outside money? 2. At what point do you become maxed out on your life insurance coverage? 3. How can this concept be integrated with real estate and business cash flow strategies? 4. What is the fastest way to pay down debt? Resources: How Life Insurance Works - Human Life Value Calculation

How do you maximize growth in your policies (and outside your policies) with strategies like the Infinite Banking, Bank On Yourself or The Perpetual Wealth Code™? This can depend partly on how your policies are designed. If you have a policy that is "maxed out" under the Modified Endowment Contract rules you might not be able to maximize the policy much more. What then? When your policy growth and guarantees are maximized it's time to look to your money management for the optimal growth opportunities. Listen for details on the balance to make this all work for you so you can stop losing money and keep more of the money you make. Celebrate #InternationalPodcastDay this week by sharing your Favorite Podcast Shows and entering to win a set a Beats Headphones on September 30th: Enter to Win here - #InternationalPodcastDay

Many budget systems give you a good feeling as you start, but cannot produce the sustainable results you need to build real prosperity. As an example take Senator & Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's book which recommends a 50-20-30 budget system. This budget system reminds you of a typical government budget when you realize that only 50% of your income is allocated to necessities that require 60% of an average American household income. Oops! Maybe you could fit necessities into 50% of your income, especially if your income is above average, but this is not a great plan for keeping more of the money you make OR building prosperity. Better start with something you know will be sustainable and a plan to NOT lose the money you save. Try the 10-20-70 system and make sure you "pay yourself first". This system has been around for a long time. You know it will be sustainable and if you can save more than 10% (or 30%) of your income, all the better. Resources: See how the 10-20-70 Budget System Works + Get the Worksheets Free

Special guest Dustin Mathews from WealthFit has seen people MAKE a lot of money in the Speaking & Marketing world, but KEEPING that money is another story - they usually don't. Yes, there are shooting stars that burn brightly for awhile and they burnout too. It's good to ask yourself, from time to time, whether you want to stay on the path you're traveling or if, like Dustin was, you're addicted to the search for a BIG payday that never comes. Don't simply follow a primrose path to the detriment of real wealth in your life. Make sure you create sustainable results for yourself and your family. Dustin has repurposed his life to make more time for family and the things that really matter. And he hasn't neglected Money either because money is an important part of Wealth. Hear how Dustin has used his whole life policy + a lesson he learned that could save you money on your next vehicle purchase. Resources: Get your cabin on the Wealth Cruise: Cruise Information here or call 702-660-7000 Get the McFie's WealthFit courses here: Wealth That Lasts - Dr. Tom McFie Getting Out of Debt - Michele and John McFie Note: When you get these courses there is an optional upgrade to access ALL courses on the WealthFit platform. If you try that, but decide not to continue after the free trial be sure to check that it doesn't renew automatically anyway. This seems to be a technical problem which the WealthFit team is still working through. Disclaimer: Life Benefits does not recommend or endorse any other WealthFit courses, content or strategies.

Compounding is wonderful when it's working continuously for you - and not so wonderful when large losses interrupt the process. But you don't have to lose money if you don't gamble with risk. ♠️ You can't always trust what people tell you to do with your money, but you can watch what wise people are doing with their OWN money. Warren Buffet says to be "Fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." Stock-piling cash when other people are greedily chasing the market, can be a great strategy; then instead of gambling with risk you can take more calculated risk (if & when you wish) and you can secure a compounding foundation of guarantees. Start with guarantees and you can build a financial portfolio with both guarantees and results from calculated risk. Start by gambling with risk and you will never see the full potential of guarantees in your portfolio. Disclaimer: Life Benefits its agents, and representatives are not authorized to give investment, legal or tax advice.

Few people in the world can define and highlight, social paradigms so clearly as Krish Dhanam, your special guest on this show. Krish is entertaining as he brings a wealth a knowledge and understanding of multiple world views, into wonderful perspective so you can apply the lessons in real life. You might be thinking: "Why are you talking anthropology on a Wealth podcast?" Because, Popularity ≠ Truth and the popular definition of truth as something relative, is a social issue of our time, with far-reaching reverberations; absolutely affecting your wealth and prosperity. Creating wealth requires you to connect with people. When you connect with people it's important to find common ground where you can agree upon certain absolute truths in order to work together effectively. When you understand different world views and how people are thinking, you'll be able to make more quality connections. Some people do this instinctively. When you understand the process consciously, it is empowering and exciting. Resources: Wealth Cruise October 19-26th in the Eastern Caribbean

Strife over money is the #1 reason couples bring up as they file for divorce in America. The amount of money involved doesn't seem to be a significant issue, nor how money is saved or what is purchased, but rather how one spouse (or both) makes the other FEEL about money. You see, blaming money is an easy way out. Communication around money is often the key problem, and this requires both spouses to take responsibility for at least part of the problem. Good News! A communication problem can likely be resolved so the differences you do have (and will have) about money will seem trivial in the end. On this show you will hear ideas for communicating with your spouse about money matters. You'll hear why you should NOT try to "change your spouse" or share everything "equally" and why the His/Her money option is not a good way to cope with a problem. Even if you're not married, the material in this show can help you become a better communicator and to get along better with more people. Do you have a marriage with successful communication around money? Please share your thoughts in the comments below or write in to [email protected] Resources: Wealth Cruise October 19-26th in the Eastern Caribbean: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/7-day-wealth-cruise-seminar-tickets-56010515961

Truth has been so distorted, and redefined in our world that it's easy to wonder if there really is absolute "truth" anymore. Experts tell people to embrace a new world 🌎 where everything is "relative" to everything else - a world where Opinion trumps Fact and nothing is totally certain. This is a corrupt idea with dangerous consequence for your prosperity and wellbeing. The issue is politically charged too with far-reaching effects into education, interpretation of history, nationality, and a redefinition of family and individual rights. These elements are ALL important if you want to realize full prosperity and financial wealth in your life. The financial world is no exception: Average and Actual Rates of Return are confused and promoted along with a myriads of assumptions and sleight of hand reporting practices which lead to outright guessing and fabrication around most financial projections. Remember to pause and think through information before choosing your position. This isn't a simple feel-good choice, like which sports team will be your favorite - this is about your wealth, prosperity and the world you want your children and grandchildren to live in. Resources: "The Dress" - Is it White and Gold or Blue and Black?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress

In the 1970's DMSO was very popular with athletes🏃🏽‍♂️but you had to go to the vacuum store to get it. Where is DMSO today? What about other Fad remedies that come and go? You can see a similar pattern in the Financial World too. Fads come and go, the Guarantees stick around through thick and thin. Some fads are harmless, but many times the smartest thing you do with a Fad is - avoid it. Just because "everybody is doing it" doesn't mean that automatically becomes a good thing to do. Processionary caterpillars provide a great example on how this habit can be fatal. When it comes to your money, don't let an overnight fad burn out, taking your life savings along with it. Always make a point to look deeper than the superficial excitement around any proposition. Resources: Order Doctoring Data by Dr. Malcom Kendrick on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1907797467/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lifebenefit09-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1907797467&linkId=abd39d49d531ff6552edeebead064532 Black Swan Video Summary by John McFie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K74rH0OriI

Life Insurance, Index Funds, Mutual Funds, Low Fees, Lower Fees, - hey even Negative Fees now! 💫 Risk, Risk Management, Risk tolerance... how in the world do you know what to do, let alone know how the results will turn out? Only by building on a foundation of Guarantees can you navigate the financial world with any sort of confidence. No mortal can tell you exactly how the future will turn out. Accept this truth and protect yourself from volatility, then take a cue from 🍔 Burger King and 🍟 McDonalds, and you'll be able to bypass most financial advice (and shenanigans) no problem. Truth can be tricky to search out; it is very simple and logical when you find it. Manage your own money and this can mean lots of extra $ that stay in your pocket rather than subsidizing superfluous money managers.

In this episode: Life Insurance Companies are updating their products for the latest 2017 CSO Mortality tables (CSO = Commissioners Standard Ordinary). The previous major CSO tables were assembled in 2001. There are some changes that will affect new policy values because people are living longer now. Listen to hear what these changes mean for you. Special history on the Apollo 11 astronauts! (timecode: 4min 37sec) 🚀 As we celebrate their achievement with the Moon landing 🌙 and their safe return to earth 🌎 50 years ago this week, it's a great time to reflect on how the astronauts planned for their families just-in-case they did not make it home alive. These 3 heroes could not qualify for Life Insurance, but they did have the brilliant values to protect their families before they left on the dangerous and historic trip to the Moon.

Deferral has been called "magic" 🎩 in the financial world. Deferral can help you accumulate more money, but will it actually provide you more money to use? This is a gamble on where tax rates could go and how the market might perform. Where are taxes going in the Future? Listen for what you should consider before jumping on the Tax Deferral bandwagon. Just because "everyone is doing it" doesn't automatically make deferring your taxes the best thing to do. Right now, Congress is contemplating changes to deferral/distribution rules such as the "SECURE" Act which has passed the House of Representatives and sits in the Senate. If you have deferred taxes over your lifetime, it's worth considering the possible outcomes while there's still time to make some changes before you actually need the money. Don't gamble with your with your financial future! Make sure you have a guaranteed foundation of at least some money you can access tax-free. This gives you better options for your Passive Income and providing a legacy. Resources: The Big Bank Bailout - Forbes.com Article Come on the Wealth Cruise October 2019 - Link

Did you know that nearly 3 out of every 10 people provide care for chronically ill, disabled or aged members of their family? 😨 It's true, and more than 1 out of 10 of these family caregivers provide 40 or more hours of care per week! Whether you're directly providing this care or financing the care for your family - this can really affect your finances FAST. But your retirement and legacy shouldn't have to suffer for this important priority IF the family plans ahead. Don't wait until it's too late. Explore the options and get perspective for your family plan. There's a good case for Adult Children to Insure their Parents, but this isn't always possible. Even if parents don't want to leave a legacy, the best solution includes a way to restore the financial burden resting upon family care-givers (or care-financiers). Resources: The Case for Insuring Parents and Loved Ones - Article on InsuranceNewsNet.com Get a Life Insurance Quote Wealth Workshop in Bellingham, Washington July 27th Wealth Cruise October 2019 - See Event Details

Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸 It's a great time to consider how you exercise your Financial FREEDOM. Financial planning used to be simple. Today there are infinite possibilities - some good - some bad. You want sustainable Passive Income in your Golden Years? Now is the best time to optimize your money - create stability and better options for the future. This is not as hard as you might think. Traditional tools with solid guarantees are still the best way to build your foundation. Also a follow up to last week's show… people say "you won't need a Life Insurance Death Benefit" in the future - discover why this is probably not true. Of course a life insurance death benefit can be income tax free, but that's not all. Listen and discover another role where a permanent death benefit can become a unique planning tool for your future and passive income. Resources: How Much Will You Need for Retirement - Podcast Retirement Remastered - Smart Strategy for Passive Income in Your Golden Years - Article Wealth Cruise October 2019 - Info Link Coming soon - a video bringing unique perspective to how you want to manage your finances. Subscribe here for updates

A L Williams popularized the concept of "Buy Term and Invest the Difference" in the 1970's. When market returns are looking good this concept seems to make a come-back even though it's flawed with big assumptions. They say you won't need a death benefit when term insurance gets expensive. They say your investments will do better than whole life insurance. Maybe, and maybe not. You want guarantees? Then you want to build a strong financial foundation with guarantees before you invest. Investing isn't bad, but don't throw away guarantees for speculative possibilities. Resources: Buy Term and Invest the Difference? - Video Example with ROR How to Build a Secure Financial Foundation - Video with Ben McFie and a Donut Stack

Catch this Special Interview with Alex. Alex contacted our office for some policy reviews after his agent told him "let policy loans pay your premiums." This started in the 90's. 20+ years later results are plaintive. These were (and still are) good policies, but the funding strategy backfired. Policy loans can enable you to take great financial opportunities without giving up guaranteed growth + dividends on your money, and like any good strategy this can be taken too far. Good rule of thumb for Policy Loans = Make sure you're always making or saving more money than the interest when you take a policy loan. Can you use a policy loan to pay a premium if you're in a cash flow crunch? Of course, just don't make this your long-term habit. DO make sure you're always aware of the interest on any and all policy loans that you take. Plan to review your strategy regularly - about 1x year is a good idea. Contact Life Benefits for a complimentary policy review.

Most public facing insurance companies today are organized as stock-held companies. 🏢 Many mutual carriers have reorganized as mutual holding companies. What does this mean for you? Example: You get a whole life policy from a mutual carrier. BUT then the contract says your policy was issued by a stock company! You still participate/receive dividends + have voting rights as a mutual policy holder, so what just happened? No cause for alarm. If you chose a mutual holding company, this is normal. Here's how a typical mutual holding structure works and what you should know as a policy holder with a company organized in this manner. Topic #2: What is the 7-pay test? One of you recently asked a question about the 7-pay test. Today you get the answer + hear why some people intentionally want policies that are Modified Endowment Contracts. And yes, this does make sense sometimes. Resource: Here's the link to order Winning Your Financial GAME - Book and Study Guide

Some gurus say you can "make money" by taking a vacation financed by a policy loan, but is this really true? 🤨 Taking a vacation is an obvious expense - there is a cost - at some point you have to make the money to pay for your vacation. Here's how to tell the Facts apart from Fluff. Yes, you can "Recover/Offset" money on your next vacation… and it also takes TIME. Checkout How to Recover Thousands on Your Next Vacation - Article for further info with a numeric example. When it comes to your Homeowner's insurance 🏠… How many times have your filed a claim in the last 7-10 years? Do you usually file small claims (say under $5,000) or take care of them out-of-pocket? What is your deductible? Your answers to these 3 questions could help you save on your premiums in the future. Resources: Get Your LexisNexis Personal Report To Claim or Not To Claim - Article More About Umbrella Insurance (including Average cost) - Article

Some advisors tell you to Buy Term Life Insurance and Invest the Difference, but there is a better way (no secret). 🤔 Some advisors tell you to Buy Universal Life Insurance (UL, VUL, EIUL or IUL variants), but this is really a pre-packaged form of the same strategy 🎁 - Buy Term and Invest the Difference. There's still a better way! We tell you to buy Whole Life Insurance with a strong PUA rider (Paid Up Additions) + maybe some convertible term insurance (separate policy)…AND you will hear WHY this is the best way to go. When all the pieces come together it just makes sense! You want to keep your options on the the table as fully and as long as possible, and you remember Warren Buffet's first 2 rules: #1 Don't Lose Money; #2 Don't Forget Rule #1. Also on this show a quick review of how long you should think of keeping the PUA rider on a Whole Life Insurance policy for the best results. Resources: Do You Have a Friend Selling Indexed Universal Life Insurance? - Podcast Nassim Taleb - Author, Investor & Philosopher Should You Have a Term Rider? - Video

Did you know, that successfully avoiding risk can be more important to your wealth than finding great returns? ⚠️ But most people (including financial planners) think they can "manage risk" when they're simply hiding the risk instead. Don't let this bite you.🦈 Learn from a real-life story of Steve Wynn's Mirage Hotel & Casino + the fact that "In the last fifty years, the ten most extreme days in the financial markets represent half the returns. Ten days in fifty years!" In 1911 the Supreme Court ruled Life Insurance was a Transferable Asset, and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the court opinion saying life insurance is one of the "…best recognized forms of investment and self-compelled saving." Discover how you can manage risk through whole life insurance in a way that's impossible through the Stock Market alone. Resources: Supreme Court Ruling Grigsby v. Russell (1911) - On Life Insurance as Transferable Property How to Read a Life Insurance Illustration - Video The Black Swan - book by Nassim Taleb

You will hear all sorts of fluffy marketing terms when it comes to building wealth with life insurance. 🎧 Listen for tips on how to cut through to the real meaning and understand the keys to manage your money wisely. A good litmus test that still holds true = "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Of course Truth does provide amazing results, AFTER the foundation has been laid. Good things take time to grow. It's not so much about the money you SAVE - its about the Money you KEEP and there is a big difference! Not all advice is applicable for all levels of financial strategy - This is one lesson that will always help you stay on track at every level of your financial journey. Resources: How to Read a Life Insurance Illustration - Video Life Benefits Website - Blog, Podcast, Videos

Are you having to pay more income tax for 2018 than you planned?🇺🇸 Jack Cohen CPA joins us for a quick interview to share what he's seeing as 2018 returns are processed. You may not be getting as big a tax refund this year because of the way withholding is calculated under the new law...instead, you most likely keep more with every paycheck. The IRS will be releasing a new W-4 form later this year which could complicate withholding for employees. Most Americans are indeed paying less federal income tax overall UNLESS you live in a high-income/property tax state like California, New York, New Jersey or Illinois. Section 199A of the new law is great for business owners, but there are special situations CPAs are working through for the first time. Small changes can significantly affect your bottom line and calculations can be complex. Good idea to get a second opinion if your 2018 return doesn't seem quite right. Contact Jack Cohen for a Free Review of your tax return - no strings attached: 702-255-2330 Resources: 2017 Law Cut Taxes for Most Americans - NY Times Campbell Jones Cohen CPAs - Website

Similar to a 1031 exchange in Real Estate 🏘, a 1035 exchange lets you avoid tax and transfer your "cost basis" when exchanging life insurance policies. Do you have a policy that isn't performing the way it ought to be? Is your insurance agent wanting you to exchange into a new life insurance policy? Should you do this? Here's an overview with Pros and Cons and what you want to know to decide whether a 1035 is the best idea for you. Also some clarification around when it makes sense to take a policy loan - triggered by a recent conversation with Dr. Jim. Thank you Dr. Jim! Resources: Atlanta Workshop - May 4th 2019 How to Read a Life Insurance Illustration - Video

🛳 Come experience the Wealth Cruise Oct 19-26th 2019! Launching from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and touching ports in St Thomas, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and San Juan you can expect delightful destinations with beautiful blue waters AND… You'll get to hear proven practices for wise Money management, strong Family Relationships and good Health from the McFie Family, Krish Dhanam and Dr. John Bergman. This will be an experience much different than the Wealth Summits! Cabin prices start at 1,698 (double occupancy). Only 350 deposit per cabin is required to reserve. May 1st is the soft deadline. This means prices can go up after May 1st and availability is not guaranteed. Reserve your cabin now and start looking forward to this one-of-a-kind experience. Contact Anila Dhanam to reserve your cabin: 469-261-6067 Contact Life Benefits for general cruise questions: 702-660-7000 Resource Links: Wealth Cruise Info Interview with Dr. John Bergman - Podcast Archive Interview with Krish Dhanam - Podcast Archive

Wikipedia reveals 91 different types of insurance 😲 - many of them you will never need. Life Insurance gets high attention on this show with good reason. There is a place for other types of insurance too. Did you know there is insurance that will pay you an income if you become disabled (Disability / Disability Income Insurance)? There's also insurance to help cover expenses for Long-term care such as Assisted Living. Today John and Gracine McFie share what you should know about these 2 types of insurance. Call for personalized quotes: 702-660-7000 Resources: More info on Disability Insurance - www.ProDisability.com

What's the difference between direct and and non-direct recognition? Does it matter? 🤷‍♀️ How does Re-insurance protect policy owners and beneficiaries? An inside perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI) coming into underwriting processes. Official Ratings versus strong financials and Capital Surplus. Special Interview with 2 Vice Presidents of Ameritas Life Insurance Company: Rob Sharp and Kelly Halverson (Kelly is also an Actuary - one of the scientists who crunch the numbers behind life insurance) Ameritas provides a great selection of whole life and term life insurance policies with strong guarantees. Questions answered, big words made easy + an inside perspective on what it takes to make strong guarantees for policy owners at Ameritas. Resources: Ameritas 2018 Annual Report - Open Ameritas Financial Highlights - Web Link Direct of Non-Direct Recognition: What Difference Does it Make? - Blog

Come behind scenes and hear the reasoning around insurance company ratings, portfolio management, dividends and what it all really means for you in this special interview with Karl Kreunan - Vice President of Ohio National Financial Services. Karl makes detailed life insurance topics easy. "Life insurance is a significantly underutilized financial asset" - use it in your life and enjoy the financial security it will provide for you and your family. Astronaut Neil Armstrong knew the value of life insurance, but he couldn't get any before his trip to the moon because of the high risk. Find out what he did instead. Call us for a personal strategy session: 702-660-7000 Resources: Ohio National's 2017 Annual Report - Open

You will love this entertaining and useful example of a 5% average rate of return! 😯 And you'll never think the same way about AVERAGE returns again. Explore how returns work in life insurance and what type of life insurance works best as a guaranteed foundation of protection and savings for your family. Information is everywhere today, but real Knowledge and Understanding are the keys 🔑 you'll need to win big because at the end of the day it's not all about how much money you can MAKE, rather how much you KEEP. Make sure you are playing the LONG GAME. Resource: How Life Insurance Works - Video

When first hearing about The Perpetual Wealth Code™ you might wonder if you need to do something else first. Do you need to SAVE first? Or PAY OFF DEBT first? Or should you INVEST first so you have more money to do the Perpetual Wealth Code™? Discover what you should do first and what comes next on the best road to financial freedom. It all makes sense when you get the full perspective. Call us for a private strategy session to gain perspective on your finances and how the Perpetual Wealth Code™ can work for you: 702-660-7000 ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: A recent caller with maxed out credit cards 💳 wants to retire in 5 years by investing in Real Estate. 🏠 Is is it possible? Listen to this episode to hear the details

Recent questions reveal a natural perspective around using participating whole life insurance to build your wealth. Discover how policy loan interest works, what "backdating" means and what the "break-even" point means for you and your wallet. In the second half of the show, you'll learn the power of the Perpetual Wealth Code™ and tips for managing money in your financial toolbox. Resources: Definition of the 7-pay period Dividends Explained - Podcast