The Money Advantage Podcast

Want to get billionaire investing strategies and learn how to model the successful few? If you want to know how to invest like a billionaire, you'll want to pay attention to our guest Richard Wilson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4792l4CVsU Today, we’re talking with Richard Wilson, CEO and Founder of the Family Office Club. Richard has helped create and formalize 100+ family offices. He counts a shark from Shark Tank, several billionaires, many REITS, and 500+ high Net Worth investors as clients. He works with clients through InvestorClub.com and Doctor’s Investor Club where he helps them access top screened direct investments. Richard’s 18-person team operates multiple media platforms including Dentist Investors, LLC, InvestorResidences.com, Billionaires.com, and CommercialRealEstate.com. If you’re looking for insights, strategies, tips, and secrets for how to invest like a billionaire… tune in now! Table of contentsLifelong LearningFind Your Target and LearnHow Learning Leads You to Invest Like a BillionaireMental Models that WorkWhy Deal Structure is Critical to Invest Like a BillionaireContact Richard WilsonAbout Richard WilsonBook A Strategy Call Lifelong Learning [6:20] Bruce: I’ve noticed that really high net people—not just billionaires, but hundreds-of-millions millionaires—are lifelong learners, and they’re not the brash type of flamboyant people with a lot of energy. They are actually very pensive, and they actually listen, and they choose who they listen to very carefully. They’re always learning; lifelong learners. And I think that is probably why they’re able to amass the kind of wealth they are.” [7:45] Richard: “[Charles Munger] talks about how over your life to be successful you need to collect a hundred plus mental models of things that work for your industry. And you might try on an idea from someone and maybe it doesn’t work well for you and your business, or not right now, and you may use that model later. And several times in my business I’ve seen a model that I want to use sometime, and I might use it three to five or seven years later. But when I see a really smart model, I’ll take note of that. Then I’m collecting these models and stacking them on top of each other. And that’s really how I grow my business.” Find Your Target and Learn [8:25] “Who would [business students] like to learn from? Well, it would be from somebody that has a successful business with millions of dollars of revenue, or tens of millions of dollars of revenue. It’s a very logical thing. Even if they never get to tens of millions of dollars of revenue, it might help them get to millions of revenue because there are so many best practices that people learn along the way. They don’t stop doing those smart things once they become successful… they keep the strategies that work and discard the things that don’t. And so the same is true with billionaires… seeing how billionaires work and seeing what they do leave you clues to how to become worth ten million dollars, perhaps.” You’ll often hear us close podcasts and articles with a very similar send-off: “success leaves clues.” We believe this is paramount to learning about wealth because common advice is catered to the masses. Yet the successful follow the lead of the successful people before them. Part of what Richard does to further this mission is to post interviews with billionaires on Billionaires.com. This way, more people can benefit from the knowledge and skill sets of those who have walked the path already. If you want to invest like a billionaire, listen to the billionaires. How Learning Leads You to Invest Like a Billionaire Most of the billionaire clients that Richard works with are calling themselves to a certain standard of excellence. Beyond that, they all seem to have an intense passion and love for what they do. Ultimately, it’s these values of passion and excellence that unite these billionaires. [20:00] “I think that what I enjoy most about watching the billionaires is that I get to pick out the ones who I can relate to most, and I really see… an example of how somebody became a billionaire with [my] type of thinking.”  For example, Richard cites Richard Branson and Steve Schwartzman. Both of them have multi-faceted businesses that they oversee at the same time. The models they implement in their business have helped influence how Richard runs his business. One way to find your mentors is to find successful people who think like you and study them. Mental Models that Work [24:10] “The three things I see [billionaires] using most would be choke points, platforms, and funnels.” To invest like a billionaire is to adopt the mental models that they use. Richard explains that a choke point is something that, upon acquisition, lowers your costs or increases your momentum. It should also help you solve the number one bottleneck in your business. When you own the chokepoint, it also gives you or your business a level of stability. For example, if you worked with a non-profit organization full of investors, the “chokepoint” might be a leadership role. By being in that position of leadership, you have access to all the possible relationships with investors. You also can’t be easily removed from that role as long as you’re doing a good job. Other examples of choke points could include being the number one podcast in a niche (free), buying a hyper-specific domain name (moderate investment), to something like buying out suppliers in your industry (large investment).  “Platform” is a strategy about creating high-level offerings that serve your audience because you’ve listened to their needs and concerns. Ultimately, this stage is about creating and developing relationships, bringing people into the fold of your business, and tailoring what you do to these high-value relationships.  Finally, funnels are a marketing strategy that moves potential clients or leads through resources that you have in your business until they convert into customers. So, for example, creating books, webinars, podcasts, and other content is the basis of your funnel. The funnel itself is the strategy of moving people through the consumption of this content in a way that inspires them to become customers. It’s the marketing strategy for nurturing relationships.  Why Deal Structure is Critical to Invest Like a Billionaire [44:36] “Investors who are worth thirty million dollars, a hundred million dollars plus, care a lot about structure. And all else equal, I believe that for my investments, structure is more important than the strategy. Meaning that, if you look at any investment that you’ve done… and you allowed me to structure it any way I wanted to, then I’d rather have something that is an okay investment but a really excellent structure than have an excellent investment but the structure is kind of bad. Because if you can control the structure and customize it, which you can in direct investments when you directly negotiate deals, you can make it so that you have more collateral. You can make it so that you get the income first, you can make it so your money comes off the table first.” Contact Richard Wilson Richard@familyoffices.com1-305-333-1155Family Office Club About Richard Wilson Richard is a third-generation Eagle Scout, husband, and father of 3 living in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is the CEO & Founder of the Family Office Club, the #1 largest association of over 3,000 registered ultra-wealthy families and their family offices. He has helped create and formalize 100+ family offices and counts a shark from Shark Tank, several billionaires, many REITS, and 500+ investors with an average net worth of $28M as clients. Richard works with clients through InvestorClub.com and Doctor’s Investor Club where he helps them access top screened direct investments. Richard’s 18-person team operates multiple media platforms, including Dentist Investors, LLC, InvestorResidences.com, Billionaires.com, and CommercialRealEstate.com. Richard has written three #1 bestseller family office books on Single Family Offices, How to Start a Family Office, and Centimillionaires ($100M+ net worth families). Richard has an undergraduate degree in business, an M.B.A., and has studied post-masters psychology through Harvard University’s ALM Division. Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Have you heard about Nelson Nash, Infinite Banking, Becoming Your Own Banker, Bank on Yourself, and want to learn more? Or maybe you’re already using Infinite Banking, but would like to explain it better. We're continuing our series on the basics of the Infinite Banking Concept and answering your "what" questions. Today, we'll unpack, What is the death benefit? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbpNX3c35bo So if you want to see the power of the death benefit… tune in now! Table of contentsWhat Makes Up the Guarantees of the Death Benefit?What Are the Differences Between the Death Benefit Guarantees of Whole Life Insurance and Universal Life Insurance?What Are the Chronic Illness and Terminal Illness Riders, and How Do They Compare to Long-Term Care Insurance?What Effect Do Outstanding Loans, Reduced-Paying Up, or Chronic/Terminal Illness Riders Have On the Death Benefit?What is Human Life Value?What Does Life Insurance Do for Your Estate?Book A Strategy Call What makes up the guarantees of the life insurance death benefit?The life insurance death benefit is the amount that is guaranteed to be paid out to your listed beneficiary at your death. What Makes Up the Guarantees of the Death Benefit? The death benefit is the amount that is guaranteed to be paid out to your listed beneficiary at your death.  The key to guaranteed death benefit is having whole life insurance, which is permanent. When you have whole life insurance, you’re in a position where you know that the death benefit will pay out at whatever point you die, between now and the end of that policy. And at the end of the policy, if you are still living, the insurance company still guarantees the death benefit to pay out to you. This is not the case with term or even universal life insurance (which claims to be permanent).  This also means that when you pay premiums, you’re paying into your policy with the certainty that you’ll get a “return.” Whereas with term insurance, you can pay into it for 20 years and never see a dime back.  What Are the Differences Between the Death Benefit Guarantees of Whole Life Insurance and Universal Life Insurance? While both whole life insurance and universal life insurance are technically permanent insurance, universal life insurance has several variables that can cause a policy to implode or lapse. In other words, universal policies are typically not permanent in practice. One of the major factors that makes universal life difficult to maintain is because it has flexible premiums. While many people assume that this gives them the flexibility to pay whatever they want, that’s not the case. So if you choose to pay less, you can underpay for your insurance coverage. This then eats into your cash value account, which may implode the policy if you continue to under-fund it.  With whole life insurance, premiums are guaranteed as well. This means that they cannot increase, so your base premium will always be enough to cover the costs of insurance. You won’t risk underfunding your policy, and you have the freedom to pay more in the form of PUAs if you wish.  What Are the Chronic Illness and Terminal Illness Riders, and How Do They Compare to Long-Term Care Insurance? The chronic illness and terminal illness riders allow you to use your death benefit while you’re still living. If a physician certifies that you have an illness that will cause your death, many insurance companies now grant access to the death benefit while living at no additional cost.  Long-term care insurance is an additional cost, as well as some additional stipulations about when you can use it. Plus, the insurance company can increase premiums over time because of the costs when you have Long-Term Care. While we want companies to be able to offer the coverage, they do have to stay in business. What Effect Do Outstanding Loans, Reduced-Paying Up, or Chronic/Terminal Illness Riders Have On the Death Benefit? All three of these provisions or actions will reduce the total death benefit available to be paid to your beneficiary.  You use your cash value as collateral when you take a policy loan. This means that if you do not pay the loan back, or die before you pay the loan, the company can remove the outstanding balance from your death benefit.  To reduce-pay up your policy means that you decide you’d no longer want to pay premiums into a policy. If you do so, the company will reduce your death benefit to reflect your current cash value and premiums paid. This way, your life insurance policy is completely paid. You can still use the cash value and get loans, but you will no longer have to pay premiums. This does, however, reduce the amount of death benefit you have.  Lastly, the chronic and terminal illness riders allow you to use a portion of the death benefit while living. You simply get an “advance” of your death benefit. Then, upon passing, the death benefit goes to your beneficiary minus your advance.  What is Human Life Value? Your Human Life Value is the monetary value of your income during your working years. So if you can expect to earn a $200,000 income every year for 30 more years, your human life value is about $6 million. To figure out your actual HLV, you can go to Life Happens. Attorneys usually use human life value calculation in court for wrongful death claims. However, this is also the amount of money a life insurance company will typically insure you for. So while you may only think you need $1 million of life insurance coverage, you could be entitled to several million or beyond.  What Does Life Insurance Do for Your Estate? [48:28] “I would encourage you to realize that having a death benefit is tremendously peace-of-mind-bringing. As I mentioned earlier, just having a guaranteed dollar amount that I know will be paid out to take care of my kids. What gives me a lot of peace of mind is that in a whole life policy, I know that I’m going to be transferring this to them and that they will be using it for good. I’m giving them direction to be able to know what to do with capital whenever it comes into their hands.” [49:12] “I almost had the gift of facing my mortality early with a near-death experience about three years ago. And I call it a gift because it allowed me to look at the economic value of my life and recognize how powerful we all are to be able to leave something to the people who outlast us. And if I focus on having as much as possible at the end to leave [beyond] me, I will create a lot more in my life along the way.” Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

What is the difference between those who achieve financial prosperity and those who do not? How do you build sustainable wealth? Rabbi Daniel Lapin is back to talk about the mindset of abundance rather than shortage, the financial power of reading over watching, and why giving comes before getting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur0KWvfH7p4 So, if you want to increase your income while becoming a better person … tune in now! Table of contentsWhy is Financial Prosperity Difficult to Grasp?Overcoming Your Spiritual SchematicsThe Five FsWhy You Should Read for Financial ProsperityConnect with Rabbi LapinAbout Rabbi LapinBook A Strategy Call [6:15] “Honesty compels me to concede that what I am is an exceptionally good transmitter. I like to think of myself as a clean window: you can see through me into the scintillating and incandescent brilliance of ancient Jewish wisdom.” Why is Financial Prosperity Difficult to Grasp? In many ways, our culture makes money a sin and poverty a virtue. However, this gives money far too much credit in either direction. Money itself is a tool with no morality. Money simply represents value, and money goes where people find value–in products, things, people, and communities.  [9:48] “One of our greatest joys is to do a seminar for that church [with a poverty mindset] and then come back six months or a year later, and see the change.” [10:13] “Mindset is very important. I mean, at an Olympic level, what separates athletes is not bodily perfection—they are all at the peak of physical perfection—what distinguishes them is simply psychological and spiritual; the will to win and the ability to endure pain.” [12:15] “In the United States, people’s negative attitudes towards finances and prosperity happen to correspond with America’s deterioration from basically a Judeo-Christian, bible-based worldview to a secular worldview." As Rabbi Lapin explains, those with a secular worldview are uncomfortable with the idea of “making” money over “taking” money.  Overcoming Your Spiritual Schematics Your spiritual schematics, as Rabbi Lapin shares, are the formative experiences that you have that shape your worldview. For many people, their upbringing can be a major catalyst for their adult beliefs that to make money is immoral and that they’re taking something from another.  [36:20] “Making money is, at its heart, one of the most moral and dignified things you can possibly do. Because the only way you can get it is by pleasing other people.” Money represents value, and people use money to prove that they value a service or product you provide. Therefore, it stands to reason that money cannot be evil or immoral. If we can change the cultural outlook on money, more people can thrive. The Five Fs One of Rabbi Lapin’s programs is about developing the Five Fs: family, faith, finances, friendships, and fitness. This helps people rewrite their spiritual schematics and strengthen these important areas in life.  [43:19] “The secret of the Five F, what makes it counterintuitive and difficult and challenging, is that you have to develop all five simultaneously and in balance. Anyone who focuses on one to the detriment of the other four is going to find themselves in trouble.” When you focus on all Five Fs, you create a pretty amazing life for yourself. And what happens in this instance, as the Rabbi shares, is that you create a community of people who are walking in step with each other. Your family and your friends have the same values, so of course, they’re people you can trust with the other Fs, like your finances. Why You Should Read for Financial Prosperity [51:50] “Watching destroys the imagination. With no imagination, there’s no way you’re ever going to dream up a business plan. You won’t. It’s as simple as that. Imagination is an incredibly powerful business tool. I’ve got to imagine how life could be better; not only for me but for my potential customer. And I can’t do that if I have no imagination. Screens, movies, anything that you watch is a destroyer of imagination. Reading… does exactly the reverse.” [52:30] “Reading exercises the entire cognitive process. And what’s more, [it] gives you information with a much higher chance of retention. And finally, what reading does is equips and enhances your most powerful business, money-making organ, and that’s your mouth: the ability to communicate effectively.” Connect with Rabbi Lapin YouNeedARabbi.com About Rabbi Lapin Rabbi Daniel Lapin, author, speaker, and TV host immigrated to the United States from South Africa after studying mathematics, physics, and economics in Israel and the United Kingdom.  Some of his seven books are America’s Real War, Business Secrets from the Bible, and Thou Shall Prosper, all of which have been translated into Chinese and Korean. Rabbi Lapin is a frequent speaker for trade groups, political and civic organizations, financial conferences, and companies in the US, Europe, and Asia. He regularly guests on radio and television shows. Newsweek magazine included him in its first list of America’s fifty most influential rabbis. His weekly podcast now enjoys over 100,000 downloads, as do his weekly columns. With his wife Susan, he hosts the daily TCT television show Ancient Jewish Wisdom. An enthusiastic boater who has sailed his family across the Pacific in their own boat. The Lapins, who home-schooled their seven children, live in Maryland.  Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Have you heard about Nelson Nash, Infinite Banking, Becoming Your Own Banker, Bank on Yourself, and want to learn more? Or maybe you’re already using Infinite Banking, but would like to be able to explain it better to your spouse, your parents, your children, business partner, or friends. We're continuing our series on the basics of the Infinite Banking Concept and answering your "what" questions. Today, we're unpacking: What is the Cash Value of Life Insurance? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVAk0pT7kgY So if you want to see how cash value works as a living benefit that enhances your life today … tune in now! Table of contentsWhat is the Cash Value of Life Insurance?How is Cash Value Related to Death Benefit?What is the Net Present Value of a Future Death Benefit?What Makes My Cash Value Grow?What is the Effect of Guaranteed Interest on My Policy?What is the Benefit of Having Cash Value?What Part of the Policy Can I Borrow Against?What Happens to My Death Benefit When I Take a Policy Loan?What Happens to My Principal and Interest on a Policy Loan When the Loan is Repaid?What If There Is An Interest Balance Leftover?What Can I Do With My Dividends?Book A Strategy Call What is the Cash Value of Life Insurance? What is the Cash Value of Life Insurance? Cash value is the equity portion of your whole life insurance policy that you can access and use. It is a part of your death benefit, not separate, and you can access and use it during your lifetime. Cash value accumulates in a few ways: premium payments, guaranteed interest, and non-guaranteed dividends.  How is Cash Value Related to Death Benefit? Because cash value is like the equity of your death benefit, the value represents the accessible portion of your death benefit. As your policy matures, it rises to meet your death benefit. So your cash value is designed to equal your death benefit by the time it endows. The current endowment age is 120. Since endowment represents your ability to access the full value of your death benefit, the policy pays out to you and the contract is complete. However, you’re still guaranteed to receive the full death benefit if you pass away at any point before endowment. That’s the power of a whole life insurance contract. But because the cash value is equity, not a separate account, the payout is not cash value + death benefit. You receive the full death benefit.  What is the Net Present Value of a Future Death Benefit? The Net Present Value of your future death benefit is another way of describing the equity in your policy. The “net present value” is the current present amount of your cash value account, which is a portion of your future death benefit.  What Makes My Cash Value Grow? Over time, your cash value grows as a product of your premiums, interest, and dividends. Your premium–the payment you make to keep your insurance in place–is the main source of cash value growth. However, insurance companies also guarantee that they will pay a certain amount of annual interest, as well as any company profits in the form of dividends. The cost of the insurance itself affects the growth. For example, premium payments must first cover the cost of insurance. When you pay a premium, that money contributes to payroll, investments, and commissions. The remainder is what you have available in your cash value. Since the cash value is the net present value of a future death benefit and the risk to the company lessens with time. Think about it: the risk to the insurance company is greatest when you open a policy. There’s a chance, however small, that you only make one premium payment before you pass away. But because the policy is in force, the company must pay the full death benefit. Over time, you pay more and more into the policy, so the actual costs are decreasing and instead contribute more heavily to your cash value.  Another way to grow your cash value is through guaranteed interest. This is the dollar amount your policy is guaranteed to grow each year, as shown in an illustration. You also have non-guaranteed dividends, which are profits from the company. These profits can come from the company’s investments, as well as the interest paid to the company from policy loans. Any profits are distributed annually.  What is the Effect of Guaranteed Interest on My Policy? The value of guaranteed interest is that you can be confident in what you will get, if not more. One strength of this guarantee is that any time your policy increases, you set a new floor that your policy cannot drop below. This means you can trust that your value can only increase.  The guaranteed interest is also often higher than a typical savings account. When you factor in potential dividends, the value of this steady growth is priceless. Another benefit of life insurance is that your money is private and secure, so you are not taxed on your interest accumulated on your life insurance cash-value. Note: there is one way that your cash value can decrease, which is through withdrawal. Because of the structure of life insurance, there’s no way to “put back” money you withdraw. You can only continue to make premium payments and add new equity.  What is the Benefit of Having Cash Value? Cash value creates opportunities when you use it as a savings vehicle and wealth warehouse. The life insurance policy loan provision allows you to leverage your cash value for anything you want. You can fund vacations, buy real estate, and so much more with cash value.  When you repay your loan, even partially, that repaid portion of the cash value becomes accessible again. This means you can grow and leverage large sums of money within your own personal banking system to fund anything you want. This can even create opportunities that a bank might not give you because you don’t need to create a proposal to get a policy loan. Your life insurance company will simply give you what you ask for if you have the cash value to support it.  During your policy loan, your cash value continues to accumulate interest and dividends on the full amount. This means that you don’t lose out on compounding interest if you want to use your money. What Part of the Policy Can I Borrow Against? When you want to take out a policy loan, you can borrow against your cash value. This is why Infinite Banking often prioritizes early cash value growth. Over time, as your cash value increases, your access to cash increases. Policy loans work like a line of credit. As you pay down your loan balance, your access to your cash value replenishes. Additionally, your cash value grows even when you leverage it. It continues to earn interest and dividends, plus your premiums also increase your cash value floor. This means your capital increases over time, and your access replenishes as you pay back your loans.  Your cash value gives you the opportunity to recycle your dollars and give you the ability to leverage the same pool of money infinitely. What Happens to My Death Benefit When I Take a Policy Loan? When you take a policy loan, you leverage your cash value. However, your cash value is the accessible portion of your death benefit. This means that if you pass away with an outstanding loan, the death benefit is paid less the value of your policy loan. In short, your death benefit is only affected if you have outstanding loans at the time of your death. Otherwise, you can take loans and pay them back with no permanent impact on your death benefit.  What Happens to My Principal and Interest on a Policy Loan When the Loan is Repaid? When you take a policy loan from your insurance company, you can pay that loan back on your own timetable. This gives policyholders lots of freedom. However, it can also stir up questions on how interest is applied. In short, interest is applied based on the time frame it takes to pay off the loan.  For example, say you borrow against your cash value to buy a property intending to rent it out. Your original goal is to pay the policy loan back like a mortgage, using the cash flow. Instead, you end up flipping the property nine months later. Now, you want to pay the loan back in a lump sum–how is that interest applied? In this instance, you would have accumulated interest for the full nine months at whatever rate the company gave you when you took the loan. Policy loans are for one year at a time, and if a balance is still due at the end of the year, then it is renewed. Since the interest is charged up front for each year, the insurance company would credit you back for the 3 months remaining in the year you paid off the loan. In fact, each time you make a loan payment before the end of the year, you are credited back interest. So the faster you pay off the loan the less interest you are actually paying. What If There Is An Interest Balance Leftover? If, however, there’s a balance left over at the end of the year, you must pay the interest balance, or roll the remaining balance into a new loan for another year. If you do not pay it within a year, you will accumulate interest on your interest. The main point being that if you are paying down the loan balance the actual amount of interest will be less than the original loan interest charged, in addition to the interest your policy is accumulating. The guaranteed interest plus dividends earned means you are both paying interest and earning interest on the same money while using it to finance purchases. If you use this to finance investments then you are earning a return in two places at the same time, whereas if you pay cash you only get a return on the investment, but you then give up the ability to earn interest on that cash. What Can I Do With My Dividends? There are many ways to use your dividends. While many people choose to purchase Paid-Up Additions (PUAs), you can also take dividends in cash, apply them to future premiums,

Have you heard about the Infinite Banking Concept, and you want to learn more? Or maybe you’re already using Infinite Banking, but would like to explain it better to your spouse, your parents, your children, business partner, or friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD3NvQBiqaI In part 1 of our series on Infinite Banking, we're unpacking the basics of policy design and what that means. You can view the first part of the series here: What is the Infinite Banking Concept? Part 1. Here’s your cue to see what the fuss is all about… tune in now! Table of contentsWhat is Specially Designed Whole Life InsuranceWhat Makes it Different from Ordinary Whole Life Insurance?What is Base Premium?What Are Paid-Up Additions?What is a Mutual Company?What is a Dividend?What is the Difference Between the Policy Owner and the Insured?Roles Are FlexibleShould You Buy a Specially Designed Policy or an Ordinary Policy?Book A Strategy Call What is Specially Designed Whole Life Insurance What is Specially Designed Whole Life Insurance?The “special design” is dividend-paying, high cash value whole life insurance with a mutual company. This is the simplest definition, and we’ll break down the pieces and parts over the next few questions. This answer gives you something to come back to and ground yourself. What Makes it Different from Ordinary Whole Life Insurance? Essentially, ordinary whole life insurance is a basic policy that has a simple, non-optimized cash value component, and death benefit. With this type of policy, you only pay the base premium. A Whole life insurance product is a permanent, guaranteed insurance policy that lasts your whole life. However, if you are interested in using an Infinite Banking strategy, you’ll want to ask for a more customized policy. For example, you can either buy a policy with a stock company or a mutual company, which can affect your cash value growth. Similarly, you can also customize what you pay in premiums vs. paid-up additions, which affects your cash value growth. An “ordinary” whole life insurance policy may not grow cash efficiently, yet for Infinite Banking having a specially designed policy is important. What is Base Premium? The base premium is the minimum premium that you must pay in order to keep your policy in good standing. This premium is calculated by the underwriters who use actuarial science to determine your premium based on age, health, and death benefit amount.  Your base premium contributes to your cash value over time, just like mortgage payments contribute to your home equity. If you want to speed up your early cash value growth, you can add PUAs to your premium payments.  What Are Paid-Up Additions? Paid-Up Additions, or PUAs, are additional portions of insurance that you can buy fully paid up each year. This means that on top of the premiums you pay toward your base policy, you can buy a certain amount of additional coverage each year. This gives you additional death benefit, and it also gives you additional cash value.  When understanding PUAs, it’s important to grasp how cash value works. Your cash value is the equity of your death benefit, just like you build equity on your home. That means that as you pay your premium, you build equity on your insurance policy. Cash value is the accessible portion of your death benefit.  Additionally, your early premiums have a slow build-up. This is because the costs of your policy are front-loaded. So, at the beginning of your policy, your cash value won’t increase at a rate equal to what you pay. Though, over time, more of your premium will contribute directly to the cash value.  PUAs are like micro policies that you can tack onto your premiums each year, up to a limit. Your PUAs are a fully paid-up portion of insurance. This means that when you pay it, you’re directly increasing your death benefit and cash value. By adding PUAs to your base premium, you can speed up your cash value build-up in the early years, making your policy more efficient in the beginning.  What is a Mutual Company? A mutual company is a company that acts in the interests of the policyholders, rather than stockholders. There are two main types of companies: stock companies and mutual companies. Stock companies are owned by stockholders, and mutual companies are owned by policyholders. This affects who the company pays profits to. Because mutual companies are beholden to the best interests of their policyholders, they invest very conservatively in bonds and other assets. They pay any profits to policyholders as dividends. Stock companies, on the other hand, are making investment decisions in the interest of stockholders. This can lead to riskier investments since they're not acting in the interest of their customers, but their stockholders.  What is a Dividend? A dividend is a mutual company’s distribution of profit to policyholders. The confusion comes from the technical classification, which is a “refund of premium.” However, what happens is mutual companies invest their capital into bonds, real estate, and other investments. They even receive a profit on interest paid on policy loans. When the companies make a profit, they distribute that amongst policyholders. And companies have a sound track record of paying dividends over the last hundred years or so.  What is the Difference Between the Policy Owner and the Insured? The owner of a life insurance policy is the person who funds the policy (pays the premiums) and has the contractual right to access the cash value. The insured is the person whose life is underwritten, and the death benefit pays out depending on when the insured passes away. While the owner and the insured do not have to be the same person, they often are. However, there usually has to be “insurable interest” to fund a policy on someone else. This means that the owner has a reasonable connection to the insured, such as being a family member, business partner, or employer.  There’s another important party, which is the beneficiary. This is the person who receives the death benefit when the insured passes. Roles Are Flexible It’s also worth noting that the owner of the policy can change, and so can the beneficiary. For example, a parent may choose to transfer the ownership of a policy to their insured child after they turn 18. This would make the child the owner and insured, and the child may then choose to change the beneficiary. Another common scenario is during a divorce, people will often remove their ex from the beneficiary list, or at least move them from the primary spot. The only role that cannot be altered in a life insurance contract is the insured. That is because when the policy goes through the underwriting process, all the numbers are calculated based on the insured. The premium, PUA limits, and other factors are set in stone. To insure a new person, you have to buy a new policy. Should You Buy a Specially Designed Policy or an Ordinary Policy? The bottom line is that this depends on you, your personal economy, and your financial goals. For example, a high-cash value policy may be an ideal first policy for you if you intend to use it as your emergency and opportunity fund. A specially designed policy can help you use your cash value as soon as possible. However, you may want or need just a simple policy for a death benefit, to protect your family and lock in your insurability. In this case, an ordinary policy can serve you well. One is not better than the other, they simply serve different functions. Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

We often talk about multigenerational legacy and multigenerational wealth, but beneath it, you need a multigenerational family team. Not just in name, but a strong team deeply committed to flourishing for generations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWRk1N_Bdw Jeremy Pryor, Partner and Co-Founder of Family Teams, is helping families build a multigenerational team on a mission. They help parents think of families as a team, and coach the team to work together toward a common mission. They also give practical guidance for developing family rhythms, training, traditions, business, and home life. If you’re looking for practical tools to strengthen your family, work together in business, and flourish for generations… tune in now! Table of contentsJeremy's Introduction to Multigenerational Family TeamsIndividualism is the Default TodayIndividualism vs. the Multigenerational Family TeamCreating a Balanced Multigenerational Family TeamThe Hundred-Year HorizonThe “Intangible” Family UnitAre There Dysfunctional Family Teams?About Jeremy PryorBook A Strategy Call Jeremy's Introduction to Multigenerational Family Teams Jeremy grew up in Seattle, and he describes it as a place that had very few flourishing families. It wasn’t until Jeremy studied abroad in Jerusalem that he became immersed in a culture that valued family foremost. Fatherhood, particularly, was a critical piece of the family culture in Jerusalem. To the people he met, the family was about legacy, and people viewed their family as a team or unit. It was at this point that Jeremy’s interest in creating his own multigenerational family sprouted. What he found in his research was that multigenerational family teams or structures tended to occur when people were in survival mode. During periods of war, recession, or other hardship, families would rely more closely on each other. This helped to ensure the well being of everyone. Yet as things adapt to become "safe" again, the world becomes more individualistic. The problem is that when people are individualistic, they lack stability, and can ultimately become isolated. Not only does this mean people are spending their final years alone, but there is little to no sense of generational security. Creating a family culture that centers around the whole unit's ability to thrive fosters connection, confidence, and security. Individualism is the Default Today [11:58] “You actually have to ask people to make a choice, and it is a choice. Like you could just raise… your kids to be a group of individuals, and to reset every generation, and to have that 80-year memory that the typical western family has. Or, you could choose to be a multi-generational team and take on some things together, and have that long legacy memory. But you get to choose.” [12:24] “In our culture, the vast majority of people… will choose to live out that individual life… because that’s the default, unfortunately. And that’s the reason why they’re doing it. That’s the reason why more and more people are living and dying alone. Because we don’t realize that we’re making a thousand small decisions to isolate ourselves from other relationships.” Individualism vs. the Multigenerational Family Team Because of an assumed sense of stability, as Jeremy shares, the multigenerational family team has all but disappeared in the US. People now rely on their own devices, rather than working with their families to create wealth and support each other. After all, in times of survival, it makes sense for families to rely more closely on each other. And when the nation prospers and life is good, people tend to branch out and forget the power of a family who works as a team.  [15:23] “You will, if you go on default, build an individualistic family; a springboard for individual success. That’s okay, you can do that…[but] there is another option. You can instead build a multigenerational family.” The latter option takes work because it’s a family model that many people are unfamiliar with. It's difficult to model something without a reference. Jeremy himself didn't know a multigenerational structure was possible until his trip to Jerusalem. So it's the onus of the parents to choose to raise their families more deliberately in this way.  Creating a Balanced Multigenerational Family Team Building a multigenerational family team doesn’t mean the death of individuality. There actually has to be room for the members of the family to have individual expression within the family structure in order to thrive. There’s a balancing act of building a cooperative family that supports one another, with individuals who have a strong sense of self.  [17:24] “In our culture, we struggle with hyper-individualism. In other cultures, they struggle with hyper-familism, where the individual doesn’t matter. To me, the way that I’ve worked this out, is that I believe that the individual needs to be sovereign. In that, they need to make the decision. But that then, they need to be called to voluntarily sacrifice for the family team. So that’s the order in which I think is most healthy.” This balance allows family members to live in their purpose or unique ability, rather than being crushed by the expectation of the family unit. However, it also creates a space for each individual to care about the whole family’s well-being in a way that helps everyone thrive.  [18:32] “In our family, I realize that that really kind of starts with me. My children have to see me making voluntary sacrifices of my individualism for the sake of the family team. And as they see that experience, they can make that decision or not make that decision. They can go on their own journey towards understanding how valuable this is, and choosing to sacrifice for it.” The Hundred-Year Horizon A trademark of the hyper-individualistic lifestyle is that it has about an 80-year memory. People are only planning as long as they’ll be alive, and not much beyond that. They’re not seeking to make their children rich, or their children’s children. They view every aspect of the family through the lens of separation and individualism. Yet, this individualistic thinking can keep people from creating a truly powerful legacy. It prevents people from leaving their families better off for generations to come.  [27:45] “If you have a hundred-year horizon, there’s so much you can do in a hundred years. But if you’re hyper-individualistic and consumeristic, who cares about a hundred years?” Creating a multigenerational family team requires you to adopt a big-picture thinking. It compels you to aks the question: How will this decision impact my family a generation from now, or two generations? This type of processing helps you to be more intentional with each decision, and more actively cultivate a family culture of support. For example, an investment decision may have great short-term potential, but a long-term project may help you better convey family values and financial concepts to your children. The “Intangible” Family Unit There’s incredible value in crafting a multigenerational family team, yet for many people, it can seem like an intangible goal. If you weren’t raised within a team, or are still on your wealth-building journey, it’s difficult to think too far forward. If the idea of a multigenerational family sounds good to you, just know that you can get started today. One of the most important parts of creating this type of family structure is to create a family culture that the members of your family can live up to. For example, you may create a family mission statement that inspires your children to live up to certain values and rules. When you encourage your children to take responsibility in the family culture, you create something that they want to contribute to, which is how you sustain the family for generations.  [34:58] “If the family is a group of individuals, the family is a bad experiment. It’s a poorly designed thing.” Are There Dysfunctional Family Teams? [38:11] “The dysfunctional family, the idea, has sort of become a meme. Like, ‘Of course every family is dysfunctional.’ That’s not true. There are all kinds of functioning families. The reason why that’s sort of becoming an assumption is because when you persistently go against the design, of course every one of those families is going to be dysfunctional. That’s almost the definition of dysfunction… We just have to introduce people to the fact that the family has a design, and it’s beautiful, and it works, and it’s highly functional. But if you don’t understand the design, and you continuously violate it, then of course it will devolve into dysfunction.” [49:54] “That balance… is the ultimate challenge of family life… We cannot leave any of our kids behind and just say, ‘Oh… you are going to be sacrificed on the altar of the family.’ Like that is not a beautiful story. We need to make sure that our family, our identity, the family vision, what we’re doing as a family is broad enough to encompass all that the family is.” The ideal family team, as Jeremy describes it, supports all of its members, not some of them. So if you grow your family to have someone with wildly different gifts, you expand your family to encompass that. That's the true beauty of creating a family team—you are creating room for everyone to thrive individually, together. All for the greater good of the whole team. About Jeremy Pryor Jeremy met his wife April in Jerusalem in 1997, when they were students. They've spent the last 20 years building Team Pryor together. They have five kids: Kelsey, Jackson, Sydney, Elisa, and Kaira. They live in a multigenerational house with Jeremy's parents and April's mom in Fort Thomas, KY just a few miles from Cincinnati, Ohio.  They've founded and led several businesses and non-profits including Epipheo (a video production agency),

What Is Infinite Banking?  Have you heard about Nelson Nash, Infinite Banking, Becoming Your Own Banker, bank on yourself, or be your own banker and want to learn more? Maybe you’re already using Infinite Banking but would like to explain it better to your spouse, parents, children, business partner, or friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSCWZD5Hpbo Today, we're starting a new series on Infinite Banking Basics. We'll be unpacking all of your "what" questions about Infinite Banking. In this conversation, we answer: What Is Infinite Banking?What Is Whole Life Insurance?What Is the Purpose of Life Insurance? So if you want to see how Infinite Banking gives you control and options, why you don't want only term life insurance, and why insurance is still for you, even in your latest decades… tune in now! Table of contentsWhat is Infinite Banking?What is Whole Life Insurance?Term Insurance vs. Whole Life InsuranceWhat is the Purpose of Life Insurance?Book A Strategy Call Infinite Banking Explained The infinite banking concept is complicated, and something that most people learn over time. Even seasoned users of infinite banking have “ah-ha” moments as they grow in their understanding. The purpose of this conversation is to accelerate some of those “ah-ha” moments so that you can have the tools to get started.  [5:44] “Let’s be honest. Do you really, really, really need to know how something works? Or do you want to know what it does for you, and what it allows you to do in your own life? So we’re going to play that balance delicately today.” What is Infinite Banking? The simplest answer to this question is that infinite banking is a strategy of using specially designed whole life insurance. However this may call up many other questions, such as what is whole life insurance, and what does it mean to be specially designed?  To take the topic in a broader direction, let’s say that infinite banking is about creating financing opportunities. We all finance things: mortgage payments, car payments, bills, groceries, credit cards–-all of these are financing scenarios. An infinite banking system creates an additional, efficient pool of money for financing your life.  [8:22] “Nelson [Nash] said your need for finance is greater than your need for saving.” The beauty of infinite banking is that you get to do both–save money, and finance purchases. This is because you’re creating a financial system for yourself that mimics the banks. [10:58] “What infinite banking puts in your lap, or in your hands, is this ability to model the bank and act like the bank and control capital. And that’s at the core of why it allows you to finance well and save well, because you’re in a position of controlling capital like the bank does.” The preferred vehicle for infinite banking is whole life insurance, which helps you create a pool of money that is safe and growth-oriented. What is Whole Life Insurance? Life insurance is insurance that you pay a premium for, and if you die while the policy is active, your family receives a payout of money. The simplest definition of whole life insurance is life insurance that lasts for your whole life and provides a cash value account.  The reason it lasts your whole life, as opposed to term insurance, is because of the structured agreement. You agree to pay a certain amount of premium over your lifetime, in exchange for coverage over your lifetime. [14:54] “Whole life… takes the insurance cost and it spreads it out through your entire life.” This model guarantees that you will have coverage in place if you die, so long as you hold up your side of the deal: paying premiums. Fortunately, these premiums don't just vanish. You actually get to access your cash, through the policy's cash value component. Cash value works like home equity. The more premiums you pay, the more access you have to your cash value while you’re living. Mutual insurance companies, which are owned by policyholders instead of stockholders, can even pay dividends to your account.  Term Insurance vs. Whole Life Insurance You may be wondering why whole life insurance is critical to the infinite banking strategy, over regular term insurance. One of the best ways to explain the difference is with an analogy. When you’re at the grocery store, and you see two similar items, you want to buy the cheaper product, right? You may even wonder why the higher-priced item exists at all, especially if the price difference is significant.  Yet think of all the things you may not know that contribute to that price difference. Where was the product made, with what materials, and how long will it last? While the less expensive item may provide a bargain at the moment, what happens if it wears out quickly? What if it doesn’t meet your expectations? This describes the key difference between whole life insurance and term insurance. Whole life insurance is a more expensive insurance option than term insurance when you look at the “face value.” However, while whole life insurance is permanent, and provides cash value, term insurance is temporary and has no cash account. If you die after your term insurance expires, there is no monetary insurance benefit to all the money you’ve put into the policy.  While term insurance may seem like the better option because it’s cheaper, it doesn’t have the same benefits as whole life insurance and may end up costing more in the long run. Term insurance may even get more expensive once you reach an age where you really need the insurance. (However, we do advocate for having term insurance as a supplement to whole life insurance.) Bottom line, whole life insurance is an asset that guarantees you access to cash and a death benefit, while term insurance has no such guarantees.  What is the Purpose of Life Insurance? The purpose of life insurance is, during your earning years, to protect your income. The death benefit provided by a life insurance policy replaces your income for those who depend on you for income. However, this does not mean it is only beneficial to you during your earning years.  Another benefit of whole life insurance is that it creates a net of safety that allows you to spend your other assets freely, knowing that your insurance will fill the bucket back up. This can help you live a more fulfilling retirement without disinheriting your children or leaving your spouse penniless.  [39:45] “What I would say if we had to pack ‘what is the purpose of life insurance' into a nutshell, I would say that it is the foundation of a financial plan that provides you control and options. And that can seem very ambiguous, but… there are so many things you can do because you have life insurance, when you have life insurance, that if you didn’t have it that door is closed.” Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Why would a commercial real estate investor, author, and syndicator move away from apartments and become a self-storage investor? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y_47Zr3F6g Paul Moore, real estate investor and author of Storing Up Profits, demonstrates how to capitalize on America's obsession with stuff by investing in self-storage. So, if you want to find out what's to love about self-storage, learn the risks and downsides of self-storage, and get the scoop on how it performed during the pandemic ... tune in now! Table of contentsPrior Interviews with Paul MoorePaul's Introduction to Self-StorageBigger PocketsWhy Self Storage?What is Value-Add in Self Storage?The Risks of Self StorageHow to Get Started in Self-StorageConnect with Paul Book A Strategy Call Prior Interviews with Paul Moore Lessons from a Commercial Multifamily Investor, with Paul MooreWellings Capital: Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate, with Paul Moore Paul's Introduction to Self-Storage After selling his company to a public firm in his 30s, Paul thought he was going to get out of the game and focus on his family. However, he quickly realized that he wasn’t fulfilling his calling, and therefore was not being the husband or father he wanted to be. On top of that, he was bored.  This spurred him to seek a way to fill his time in a purposeful way that could also help him protect his family’s wealth. What occurred to him was real estate, so he started flipping houses and lots, and finally building houses. [4:28] “I found out something really important that everybody needs to know. If you don’t know how to tighten the doorknob on your own house, you probably shouldn’t build a house.” Eventually, he found his place in multi-family real estate. But after a while, he felt like what he thought was the “perfect investment” was no longer perfect because he had to overpay to get it. After research and time, his team discovered self-storage investments and created a fund to invest in that space. Bigger Pockets Paul started his work with Bigger Pockets as a blogger, sharing his wisdom on real estate. And every six months, he would ask, “Is there anything else I can do to serve you?” Because Paul was invested in their success, and helping Bigger Pockets succeed, they’d let him do videos, live shows, and write books through them. [7:17] “Bill Gates, he did three things to become the wealthiest person in the world. Number one, he decided at a young age what he wanted to do and he stayed in that lane… Second, he… found the biggest, most influential platform in the world that would be willing to let him partner with them. And then the third step is… not obvious. He did everything in his power to make them successful. Not himself, but them.” Why Self Storage? One of the benefits to self-storage, as Paul shares, is the short time frame the asset operates on. When you lease commercial property to someone, those leases are often a decade or two long, which means that rent is locked in. With self-storage, leases occur on a month-to-month basis, so you can raise prices as you see fit each month.  [10:58] “The thing I like best, though, is the fragmented industry. Now self-storage has about 53,000 facilities in the US. That’s about the same as McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Subway combined.” About 75% of these facilities are run by independent operators, and two out of every three independents own one facility. This means they’re classified as a mom and pop, and they don’t have to have a lot of knowledge to make a good profit. However, this creates opportunities for experienced investors to come in and acquire the property, and capitalize on any oversights to drive further profits.  What is Value-Add in Self Storage? [18:06] “The first time I heard value-add and self-storage, I think I laughed out loud. I mean, where are the countertops and cabinets and flooring and bark park and lighting and, you know, new appliances? None of that. We’re talking about four pieces of sheet metal, some rivets, a floor, and a door. Yet the opportunities for self-storage value-add are amazing.” Some ideas for value-add that Paul shares include: Filling vacant unitsReining in delinquency Add a billboard, cell tower, filling station, or ATMPartner with U-HaulAdd point-of-sale itemsInclude RV and Boat storageIncorporate climate-controlled facilities All of these things can increase your profits and make your business more valuable for yourself and the people using your facility.  The Risks of Self Storage The biggest risk of self-storage, Paul shares, happens during lease-up. During Paul’s first self-storage investment, he ran into this issue. He bought a self-storage property around the same time two other national competitors moved into the area. This meant for all three companies there was a much slower lease-up period because that particular community had several good options.  Another downside to this situation was that the national competitors had more ability to undercut their prices and get business, without feeling pain from the reduced prices. These national companies also, at the time, had better management and software.  Paul also shares that there’s a risk that your seller lies to you about their numbers, which can make it difficult to perform well in the early months or years. How to Get Started in Self-Storage If you have a lot of capital, getting started can be as simple as making an offer. However, you don’t have to be sitting on cash to break into the self-storage business.  Paul shares many ways to get started in the industry, including: Working through the ranks at a storage facilityGetting a job as a broker or lender or asset manager for the facilitiesPurchasing a really small, inexpensive facility and learning the ropesJoin a company as a capital raiserBecoming a deal finder for larger companiesGetting a paid coach or mentor, then partnering with them and othersInvest passively in self-storage, through a syndicator or fund Connect with Paul  To invest with Paul, you must be an Accredited Investor, but you can access the following resources, no matter your income or Net Worth: WellingsCapital.com/resourcesBiggerPockets.com/storage Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help! Book an Introductory Call with our team today at https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/ and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Here’s a listener question about personal finance for beginners: "What is the foundation or the starting point of wealth building? What are the core things I would want in place to start building wealth?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0T2gjJvaAg You might be asking the same question. Do you have savings you want to do something with? Are you wondering if you are making the best personal finance decisions? Is it time to talk with a financial advisor? What do you need to know to figure out if the plan you create is going to be best for you? Many people with great money habits realize that it’s time to do some planning when they have a stash of savings. Should you invest? In the stock market? Which stocks? With which company? How much risk should you take? How do you track your performance? Will your plan get you closer to financial freedom? Let's talk about the 10 things you want to have in place in your personal finance, to make sure you’re headed in the right direction with a plan you feel good about. Tune in now! Table of contentsWhat is Wealth?Ways to Define WealthOther Ways to Think About WealthWhat is Financial Planning?How Do You Optimize Your Financial Life?Optimize Your Personal Finances: 8 Habits to Have in PlaceConsistent SavingsIncrease Your SavingsSave with Safety, Liquidity, and Growth in Mind15-Minute Money6-12 Months of ReserveThink of Savings as Emergency and Opportunity FundNever Stop SavingLook Into Infinite BankingInvest with Knowledge and Control Start Your Personal Finance JourneyBook A Strategy Call What is Wealth? [8:58] Bruce: “The first thing I would say is that you really have to decide what your definition of wealth is for you.” Bruce elaborates by sharing how, when asked about his Net Worth, he had to unpack the statement. Because typically, Net Worth is someone’s “pile of money.” It’s the culmination of their assets against their liabilities. To some, this may be the most important financial marker. However, Bruce and his wife decided that they valued cash flow more than a pile of money. So for them, Net Worth doesn’t necessarily scratch the surface of what they can do with their money.  Ways to Define Wealth There are three fundamental ways people define wealth, which may help you get clearer on your own personal definition of wealth. Net Worth is the first definition, which is viewing your finances like a balance sheet.  Another way to define wealth is to consider not just your cash flow, but how that cash flow represents your wealth potential. This is more abstract, but consider it for a moment. Say you have $400,000 of cash flow. This is a fraction, or percentage, of your total wealth potential. That total wealth potential represents what your cash flow would be if you saved that money in an account earning, say, 4%. That would make your wealth potential $10 million. If you reverse engineer this, you could theoretically live off of 4% of that same $10 million, which would be the $400,000.  Finally, many people today consider their time to be their wealth. So this may not be represented by a certain dollar figure, but by how much control you have over your time. Many people today choose to be entrepreneurs for this reason or work in the “gig economy,” so that they have more time.  The point is not that there is one ideal of wealth, but that you can reach a point on your journey where you feel as though you are wealthy. So, you must define wealth for yourself. Your definition of wealth may include some combination of these aspects or other ones entirely.  Other Ways to Think About Wealth In the book “Complete Family Wealth,” the authors define wealth as a family flourishing. They pose the idea that if you’re not happy, healthy, well-connected, and in control (among other things) then you are not truly wealthy. Wealth is not simply about money, but about whether you are living the life you wish to live.  Defining wealth for yourself takes on a new meaning when you look at it from this perspective because you’re forced to consider your “why.” Why do you want wealth? What is the purpose of your money? What does it mean for your family to flourish? This encourages you to involve your family in your wealth journey.  When you think about your financial goals, in the context of your family’s flourishing, you can start thinking in a more flexible way.  What is Financial Planning? Once you’ve defined wealth, and you’ve accumulated savings, you may be at the point where you’re ready to consider financial planning. Financial planning, by definition, is taking stock of your current financial situation and your goals for the future, then creating a strategy to get there.  A good financial plan is comprehensive and includes considerations such as: LiquidityRate of returnRisk exposureCash flowSavings for a variety of eventsHow much control do you have?Tax liability InflationWhen you want to access certain funds (like college or retirement) The Guesswork of Personal Finance A lot of typical financial planning is guesswork, unfortunately. There are a lot of things that you cannot predict in this life. Economic crises, inflation rates, tax rates, and much more are just the beginning of events that can’t be predicted. And the problem with much of the typical financial advice out there is that it encourages guesswork. People are advised to invest in stocks with high-risk exposure that can make things much more difficult in unexpected circumstances.  Using a vehicle like life insurance for the basis of your personal finances, on the other hand, can mitigate many of life’s negative side effects. Properly structured whole life insurance can help with liquidity, control, taxes, risk exposure, and the other major bullet points above.  Rather than simply seeking to accumulate a massive pile of money that can outlast life’s variables, what if you instead asked, “What do I have to work with today, and how can I do as much as possible?” How Do You Optimize Your Financial Life? There’s a process that we use when helping people to optimize their personal finances, that happens in 9 steps. These steps can serve as a point of reference for you as you get your own financial house in order.  The first three steps, or the foundation of this process, are about keeping as much of the cash that you make as possible. This doesn’t mean you have to scrimp and live on scraps, it simply requires you to be cognizant of your spending habits so that you can plug as many of the financial “leaks” as possible.  Once you can keep your money, you want to think about protecting that money. This protection is about having insurance in place, as well as estate plans, so that nothing unexpected can erode or steal your reserves.  The final three steps of this process are then about using the wealth that you’ve accumulated and protected to create more cash flow and wealth. At this stage, you’re looking to invest with growth in mind, taking control of your funds, and building out your legacy for your family.  Optimize Your Personal Finances: 8 Habits to Have in Place If you’re interested in optimizing your finances and creating a good financial foundation, you’re in the right place. We’ve gathered a list of what we consider to be the fundamentals of personal finance so that you can get your house in order.  Consistent Savings Consistent savings is one of the first things you can do to change your financial circumstances. Saving money is a habit that you have to cultivate, and it’s worth doing.  Saving money can give you the freedom to partake in opportunities later, as well as cover emergencies.  When you earn money, you want to pay yourself first. It’s wise to save money first, so you can then spend freely. If you struggle with saving, creating an automatic system can help, such as an automatic transfer, or direct deposit into your savings.  https://themoneyadvantage.com/how-to-save-like-the-wealthy/ Increase Your Savings Once you’ve created a good savings habit, you want to work on strengthening your savings capability. It’s a good idea to think of percentages, rather than a dollar amount so that your savings can keep up with your earnings.  When you start out, for example, you may only save 10% of your income. As you’re able, ‌increase what you can save by a few percentage points. The ideal target is usually somewhere between 10-30% savings, but wherever you can start is good. Even if you can only save one percent of your income to start. Another way to increase your savings is to start plugging your financial leaks. As you track where your cash is flowing, you may identify expenses that don’t align with your money principles. Eliminating this expense and saving that money instead is a perfect way of plugging financial leaks.  Save with Safety, Liquidity, and Growth in Mind If you’re going to put in the work of saving money, you want to save your money in a place that is safe, liquid, and growth-oriented. Otherwise, you’re losing out on the efficiency of your savings. Think about it. If your money isn’t safe, it isn’t going to be a good emergency fund. If your money isn’t liquid, it isn’t going to be a good opportunity fund. And if it’s not growing beyond what you contribute, it’s not going to keep up with inflation.  15-Minute Money You’re always going to have the need for 15-minute money. This is money that you can access within 15-minutes–either by a short drive to the bank or in a fire-proof safe in your home. While you may have a liquid asset like whole life insurance, it isn’t quite 15-minute money.  So establishing some savings outside of your main savings account is important. That way you can spend money quickly, as needed or wanted. Just because you’re plugging financial leaks does not mean you’re scrimping in your day-to-day life.  6-12 Months of Reserve

Are you working too many hours?  Chances are, you don’t have the right people on your team. And if you don’t, chances are, your hiring practices are causing more problems than they are solving. Ryan Englin created Core Matters to fix your recruiting and staffing headaches. He coaches and trains business owners to hire better people, faster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8N47KLdPH4 So, if you want to hire and retain rock star employees… tune in now! Table of contentsHow Ryan Got StartedThe Hiring BottleneckThe Importance of a Good ProcessThe Jim Collins Bus AnalogyHow Do You Start?The Trick to InterviewingBehavior-Based InterviewsConnect with Ryan EnglinAbout Ryan EnglinBook A Strategy Call How Ryan Got Started Ryan's father worked in manufacturing, and his early memories are of spending time with his dad at the plant. He often spent nights and weekends there. It wasn’t until much later that he realized that he was inexpensive labor. And while Ryan’s dad had lots of people working for him, he still struggled to find the right people.  [4:15] “One rock star employee will replace two or three mediocre employees all the time.” It’s really hard to fathom this, though, as a business owner. Most people think they want three sets of hands instead of one. However, as Ryan points out, there’s massive value in having one person that doesn’t make mistakes or create drama.  When Ryan was older, he saw the same issue with his clients. They were struggling to find the right employees, and it was eating into their personal lives. He experienced the problem himself when he became a father, and wanted to spend time with his family. So he began to solve the problem for himself, and later his other clients.  The Hiring Bottleneck Hiring is one of the most common problems for entrepreneurs, and Ryan attributes this to a lack of information. There are so many books and resources on practically every other facet of entrepreneurship that most business owners can easily access answers. There simply seems to be a lack of accessible information about hiring the right people.  In fact, when it comes to hiring, most of the information is about getting bodies in the door and retaining them. It’s about creating the “Silicon Valley” environment of game rooms and food bars, and other attractions. But this has very little to do with finding people who are a good fit, beyond just their resume.  [8:35] “When it really comes down to people–and understanding their hopes, their dreams, their goals, the things that they want to accomplish—there are not a lot of books about that as it relates to business. And so what I think a lot of people do is they look at efficiency as a way to improve their business.” But there’s only so much efficiency that you can accomplish. For example, you can cut expenses as much as possible to make more efficient use of your dollars, but you’ll never get to zero. There are always going to be expenses. When you focus on people, however, you can look toward increasing revenue, and you can increase revenue infinitely. The right people are going to improve your business. The Importance of a Good Process [9:35] “What I believe is—this is probably no secret—humans aren’t perfect, we all make mistakes. And what I believe is, if you have an employee that’s a good employee, and you give them a great process, you’re going to have great results. If you have a great employee and you give them a mediocre process, you’re gonna have mediocre results.” Good people are the first step to good results, but people can only be as good as the process you give them. As a business owner, it’s critical to have a good process.  The Jim Collins Bus Analogy Jim Collins, a prolific business researcher and author, has a bus theory that explains the importance of the “right people.” In essence, it’s about having 5 or 6 leaders on your bus, or team. Ryan takes this analogy a bit further, and considers who else might be on that bus. In other words, what other team members are going to be involved?  Ryan asserts that this is a huge opportunity to hire people with a similar vision. Because while the rest of the people may not have a say on where the “bus” is going, like the leaders do, they are critical. The people who stay on the bus are the ones who are excited about where it’s going and will do everything in their power to make sure it gets there.  When you only think about filling the rest of the seats with bodies, you inevitably get some who jump ship early, or who don’t have an interest in getting to the destination. How Do You Start? When Ryan’s company takes on a new client, they begin with automation. You take stock of the business’s important functions, and make as much of it automatic and systematized as possible, or find the right people to do the job. At the same time, it’s also important to identify who you are as an organization, and where you want to go. This can look like identifying company values, vision, and a purpose statement.  When you know who you are as a company, you also broadcast to potential employees what they can be a part of. The trick is to be honest because that’s the only way you’ll find true alignment with the people you hire. When you’re not honest about who your company is, you take a chance away from the employee to find a “bus” they really want to be on, and you rob yourself from keeping the bus full.  [17:24] “Every job ad out there is about filling a job, about doing the work. More than two-thirds of job seekers say the number one thing missing from a job ad is who you are working for. Not the history, not the bios that are on every website and that we keep touting—like tell me that the guy I’m going to be working for is passive aggressive and he’s going to make me feel like garbage if I show up late every day.” People want to know exactly who they’re working for, and the company culture they’re going to be entering. What are your non-negotiables, your good and bad traits, your working habits? [18:42] “When a job seeker goes to Indeed or any other job board and searches for a job they’re looking for, all the ads look exactly the same.” The Trick to Interviewing Interviewing is a critical part of the hiring process, and if you’re trying to hire the right people, you need to know the right questions. [24:55] “I think it’s all about behavior; everything in the interview process should be about behavior.” Ryan even recommends getting rid of the resume—don’t request it, require it, or even look at it. This is because there’s ultimately two types of resumes in this world: the ones written by professional resume writers, and those written by people who don’t know how to write a resume. In either scenario, you’re not getting an accurate assessment of what’s important about a person. He also believes that resumes can’t even give you an accurate assessment of work history anymore. Thanks to the gig economy, it’s easier than ever for people to freelance and try new things, or switch jobs. This information can be difficult to include on a resume, and many people wrongly assume that because a person has switched jobs that they’re unreliable. In today’s working economy, that’s simply untrue.  [25: 45] “If they’re switching industries, they just don’t know what they want to be when they grow up… But if they’re staying in the same industry and they’re switching employers, they just haven’t found the right one.”  Behavior-Based Interviews [26:00] “When it comes to behavior, interview people based on the way they’re going to be working.” Ryan frequently works with companies that are hiring people to work in customer service. These types of positions are often over-the-phone or online positions. But businesses will request in-person interviews for this type of job and find something wrong. Maybe with how the person holds themselves, or how they dress, or some other factor. But this isn’t how they’re going to occur to the people they help. If the employee is going to be on the phone all day, why would you interview them face-to-face? Especially if they knocked the phone interview out of the park?  If you’re hiring an account manager in a face-to-face role, put them in front of the customer. Let the customers see who they want to work with. It’s out of the box, but it ensures that your customers get the best service, and you get to see the candidate's skills upfront.  Connect with Ryan Englin ryan@thecorematters.comCustomer mobile phone1-480-237-3755 About Ryan Englin Ryan Englin is passionate about supporting growing businesses, particularly in blue collar industries, to build amazingly productive companies by hiring the right people. Growing up, he saw his own father working 12-hour shifts and weekends as an owner/operator, witnessing firsthand the struggles that these companies have in hiring quality frontline employees. Ryan was determined to help them find a better way. His company, Core Matters, provides coaching and training on attracting, hiring, and retaining rock star employees. Using his proven process, the Core Fit Hiring System, small and midsize businesses learn how to start hiring better people, faster. With almost a decade in the business, Ryan has worked with over a hundred clients, helping business owners achieve their goals by hiring the right people. Book A Strategy Call Do you want to coordinate your finances so that everything works together to improve your life today, accelerate time and money freedom, and leave the greatest legacy? We can help!  Book an Introductory Call with our team today https://themoneyadvantage.com/calendar/, and find out how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said, if you want to find out more about how Privatized Banking gives you the most safety,