The Money Advantage Podcast

Want to raise children with responsibility and teach them how to become contributors? Looking for ways to make your capital work harder? Today, we’re talking with Gary Boomershine, CEO of RealEstateInvestor.com about creating a family economy and private lending for real estate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm6ZYP_4xg If you’re an investor or business owner who wants to create the life you envision… tune in now! Table of contentsWhat is Private Lending?Real Estate Professionals Need CapitalThe Basics of Private LendingThe One Requirement for Private Lending for Real EstateThe Importance of the Down PaymentHow Do You Get Into Private Lending for Real Estate?Rule 1: Think Like a BankerRule 2: Have Your Own CriteriaRule 3: Leave the Paperwork to the ProfessionalsPrivate Lending and the Family EconomyLeveraging You Family’s Skills Connect with GaryAbout Gary BoomershineBook A Strategy Call What is Private Lending? [2:31] “If we look at...the biggest buildings on every street corner in the world, they’re not rehabbers or real estate companies. Okay, you’ve got a few of them. But you’re not going to see a flipper or a rehabber. The biggest buildings on every street corner, in every part of the world, are banks. Why? Because their business model works.” Gary points out that many people see a bank, and only really view it as a natural part of their money cycle. They don’t fully understand the concept of banking, and how it is one of the most profitable business models. He points out that the population has been trained to be a cog in the banking system, without questioning it.  Yet, he also says this: [3:25] “It’s really easy to vilify the banks. But...you know what? The business model works. How can we look at things and act like a banker?” This is the foundation of private lending. Real Estate Professionals Need Capital No matter which way you slice it, capital is necessary for real estate investors. They can come up with the cash themselves, or they can leverage other people’s money to make the sale. Typically, this is when investors visit the banker for a loan.  [5:50] “Who writes the rules for finance? Is it the hard-working real estate investor? No, it’s always the lender.” If the bank is the lender, they want to see your credit and tie up all your assets in collateral. They also likely want a down payment. Then, once the investor secures the property, who gets paid first? The bank. Banks almost view investors as employees—they’re doing all the heavy lifting and bringing business deals straight to the bank.  And there is tremendous opportunity in becoming like a bank and loaning your capital to other investors if you have the right vehicle to do so. In other words, you also want to leverage other people’s money, like that of a life insurance company.  The Basics of Private Lending Gary’s first lesson of private lending is that he doesn’t go directly to borrowers. Instead, he goes to a hard money broker or private money broker. That way they can bring him the deal flows. The brokers talk to borrowers and handle the paperwork, as well as vetting properties. These are licensed brokers. Then, all Gary needs to do is wire the money and he gets a deed of trust (rather than a deed).  [8:25] “Private money lenders typically don’t use their own money. They’re using people like us. So if you have an infinite banking system, or if you have cash sitting in a bank account, [you] can go put that to work.” In such deals, Gary prefers to be lending in the first position (as opposed to the second position), because there is less risk. This way, the loan is secured by a piece of real estate, and he gets a fixed interest rate.  [9:05] “I’m usually getting anywhere between eight and a half percent, and sometimes as high as ten percent. Some people can get higher than that.” He also requests a 30% down payment, which mitigates much of the risk in the event that the housing market goes downhill or the borrower defaults. The One Requirement for Private Lending for Real Estate The one requirement for private lending, as Gary puts it, is capital. A minimum benchmark to start lending would be $100,000 to $200,000. While investing in real estate gives you an opportunity to technically make money out of thin air, you do need money to be a lender. You can’t be the bank if you haven’t built the capital.  The Importance of the Down Payment In private lending, the down payment is extremely important. Because without the downpayment, your risk can increase tenfold. If the person you’re lending to defaults, or the market goes sideways, you’ll be in the hole. Receiving a large down payment, on the other hand, might just give you the property free and clear in a bad market.  You might have a slightly lower return this way, however, you’ve significantly reduced your risk. You’ll be in a safer position, which is wise in the current real estate market.  How Do You Get Into Private Lending for Real Estate? [25:30] “A lot of people are like, ‘How do I get into it?’ It’s not hard to learn, but there are some rules.” Rule 1: Think Like a Banker The main rule is that you want to approach your investments the way the bank would approach them. As Gary puts it, banks are always looking at the downside of deals, while investors tend to look at the upsides.  Looking at the downside is just going to help you avoid unnecessary risk with the money you lend out.  Rule 2: Have Your Own Criteria The second rule is to establish your own lending criteria. In other words, the pieces of a deal that must be there in order for you to do business. Banks have criteria such as a certain credit score, or a certain debt to income ratio. It’s important you know your own lending criteria. [26:05] “I think one of the most important things, as a lender, is you want to know what your criteria is, and never break the rules. So for instance, one of my rules [is that] I only invest in the first position right now...The second is I want a sizeable down payment. I want skin in the game from the borrower.” He shares that ten years ago, that down payment didn’t need to be 30%. They could actually be pretty successful with a 10% down payment. In the current real estate market, however, it’s better to be conservative. Sometimes Gary even wants a 40% to 60% down payment.  Gary’s other criteria is to only work with secured loans. A promissory note and a deed of trust are essential to him when lending money. Another word to the wise: make sure that the deed of trust has a lender’s insurance policy on it. That way if an insurance claim is filed, such as a house fire, you’re the first to get paid.  Rule 3: Leave the Paperwork to the Professionals The final “rule” of private lending is to never fill out the paperwork yourself. It’s better to have a licensed broker or an attorney do the paperwork, because of usury laws and other legalities. Charging a fee to do the paperwork yourself might seem like an opportunity, however, Gary calls it a huge opportunity for risk. It’s better to entrust the paperwork to someone who knows the letter of the law.  This also applies to payments. Wiring payments to the broker or attorney and allowing them to disburse funds keeps your money safe. You do not want to wire money directly to the borrower, under any circumstance. Follow the legal process, and everyone is protected.  Private Lending and the Family Economy Gary’s advice to his children has been to find something they’re passionate about and uniquely gifted for. Yet that doesn’t always pay the bills. So something like real estate investing is unique in that it is one method of providing cash-flowing income to support one’s passion. For example, Gary’s daughter has a big heart and wants to be a nurse in some capacity, and use real estate for additional income.  This is where the “family economy” comes into play.  [52:50] “As an example, we closed on a property—it’s an Airbnb. She’s learned the whole process, she’s involved—we’re having some work done to it... and she’s driving and project managing. And then she’s going to be running the Airbnb. She’ll learn that, and she’ll get good at it... with the goal on the next property she’s going to be part owner.” So rather than giving his daughter the money directly, Gary is partnering with his daughter, with a goal that over the next seven years she’ll acquire five properties for passive income. They’ve also created a plan for her to buy a property that she can then rent out to friends and live in without rent, so she can build equity and repeat the process.  Leveraging You Family’s Skills  Another of Gary’s daughters is passionate about social media and is extremely savvy in that area. So he’s hired her in the company to help with social media, so he can directly encourage and reward her passion and skills—rather than hiring someone on the outside.  Gary’s in-laws are also a part of the family economy and help with real estate investing. So all members of the family are working within this family system, doing what they’re uniquely suited to do. Everyone in the family, then, benefits from this family economy and learns practical skills in the process.  Ultimately, Gary’s family economy system is centered around the question: How can we best use the resources within our family? Connect with Gary Business Growth Toolbox (Sign up to get special access to his latest book, The Freedom Code, when it releases.)Real Estate InvestorThe Real Estate Investor Huddle About Gary Boomershine Gary Boomershine founded RealEstateInvestor.com in 2005 out of the need to scale and grow his own real estate investing and home buying business. With a family legacy in the real estate niche and a long successful career in enterprise and emerging technology markets, Gary saw the vision for RealEstateInvestor.com.

Want maximum immediate liquidity with an IBC policy? Planning to fund a 10/90 infinite banking policy and then take max loans to fund real estate? Are these double-dipping returns too good to be true? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAwhBlF3XVs STOP. Listen to this first. The allure of making an IBC policy better than even the creator of the term IBC has many people shopping for “Skinny Base” whole life policies with maximum early cash value. But there are problems on the horizon. And we’re scared of what 10/90 infinite banking policies mean for many who want guarantees. Today, we’re talking with James Neathery, fellow IBC thought leader, Nelson Nash Institute certified IBC practitioner, and executive producer of the best-selling documentary on the Infinite Banking Concept, Banking with Life. In this rare panel discussion, we’re collaborating to give you the truth about policy design and what you need to understand that most financial advisors will never tell you. So, if you want to ensure you build your IBC policy on solid rock and not shifting sand, tune in now! Table of contentsIllustrations Aren’t Always HelpfulThinking Big-PictureDon’t Steal the Peas10/90 Infinite Banking Policies and the Long-TermGiving Up Guarantees with 10/90 Infinite Banking PoliciesAbout James NeatheryBook A Strategy CallFAQsWhat is a 10 90 insurance policy?Is 10/90 whole life insurance the best option for Infinite Banking?What are the risks of a 10 90 split in life insurance design?Can you fix a poorly structured IBC policy later? Illustrations Aren’t Always Helpful [5:45] “Specifically speaking about equipment financing in his first book, Becoming Your Own Banker... [Nelson Nash] said… if he were to rewrite the book, he would not put illustrations in the book. Because they serve, really, as a point of confusion. You know, you cannot look at a life insurance illustration—the tabular detail where all the numbers are—and make a coherent decision.” We believe this is a significant point because examining the numbers seems like a logical step. Yet, the illustration is a projection of what we expect to happen, not a guarantee of the policy's outcome. Examining all the numbers can be overwhelming and muddy the concept as a whole. Not to mention, if you’re looking for early cash value and comparing illustrations, you may even overlook the big picture. Illustrations often reflect best-case scenarios based on assumptions that may never come true. The reality of how your policy performs depends on factors such as dividend rates, costs, and how you utilize the policy. As James Neathery says, an illustration is a snapshot, not a strategy. [8:15] “In the agent’s heart of hearts, they think that this is right, squeezing the base down…so you can have a high PUA or high cash value, or a high immediate loan value. But then they don’t realize what they’re sacrificing in the future with those policies. And there is absolutely a trade-off.” Thinking Big-Picture While the goal of infinite banking is to create a system of wealth for yourself that is liquid, reliable, and certain, it’s often mistaken for a magic pill, especially when people hear about strategies like the 10 90 split.  People want a quick solution, with a quick cash value build-up. They want a magical pool of money to dip into. Unfortunately, this short-term thinking can prevent you from seeing and fully appreciating the long-term benefits of whole life insurance.  Early cash value build-up isn’t inherently good or bad—it depends on the purpose of your money. However, it isn’t magic. It still takes time and diligence to maintain a policy. Life insurance is meant to be a generational tool—well beyond even your own life.  [11:05] “You are afraid to capitalize, you are afraid to pay a premium if you have to have access to 100% of it.”  James Neathery isn’t disparaging access to capital; however, he is pointing out a system of flawed thinking here. While a 10/90 whole life insurance policy may give you access to more of your premium immediately, it also tends to be a slippery slope. In James’ experience, he has seen people take out an early policy loan and feel overconfident in the early cash value, and repay the loan irresponsibly. This, and other factors, can actually limit the long-term benefits. This is why 10/90 whole life insurance should be approached with caution. Policy design must strike a balance, not maximize one metric at the expense of future flexibility or growth. Infinite Banking isn’t about fast cash value; it’s about building long-term control over your capital. The best decisions are made by thinking in decades, not months. Don’t Steal the Peas In Nelson Nash’s book, Becoming Your Own Banker, he equates owning a life insurance policy to being a grocery store owner. And as the owner, you’ve got canned goods like peas out on the shelf. As the store owner, you could argue that it’s cheaper for you to take the peas from the back room instead of paying for them upfront.  However, in doing so, you must sell your product at a higher price in order to retain the same profits. So you kill your profitability by stealing from the back end. Furthermore, stealing the peas sets the example for your workers. When you are creating your infinite banking system, it may also be tempting to take the easy way out. You may not want to pay the loans back or pay them on any kind of schedule. But in the long run, this only hurts your policy. You have the right to do this, but you must also think about how you want your policy to function long term. Not to mention, consider potential emergencies. And the fact of the matter is that defaulting on your policy loans can create a taxable event, in addition to permanently reducing your cash value. 10/90 Infinite Banking Policies and the Long-Term [21:20] “Every year that we are alive, every year we get closer and closer to mortality. So [cost of] the death benefit goes up, right?” For example, you can purchase a term insurance policy at 30, and the same amount again at 40, but the policy you buy at 40 will cost more. And it costs more because you’re closer to mortality, so it’s funded over a shorter time frame. James then argues that the more you front-load a policy, the harder it becomes to maintain that premium. While 10/90 infinite banking policies may offer more liquidity in the early stages, they can actually prevent long-term dividend growth. [23:55] “You want as much liquidity—and I agree with that, you want liquidity in the early years, no question—but you don’t want to distort the policy to get artificial liquidity… Why would you not pay, or stop yourself from the ability to pay a premium, when it’s just become extremely efficient in year five, six, seven, or eight?” [32:00] “You go look at the 10/90 construct, or the 5/95, the 15/85 and just compare out at age 120… So when you’re looking at all those numbers and being mesmerized by the first-year or second-year cash value, go ahead and go to the 120th year. Look at the guaranteed cash values compared to the non-guaranteed cash values… And when you see a five and seven, and ten times difference—you tell me if that life insurance company is going to pay that dividend.” Giving Up Guarantees with 10/90 Infinite Banking Policies Contractually, your policy’s cash value must grow each year. It must grow so that it equals the face amount of the policy in year 120. The face amount is also growing from the day you put the policy in place. James then asks, do you want a small death benefit at age 120, or a large death benefit? In all likelihood, you probably want as much death benefit as possible to pass on to your heirs.  The best way to have this death benefit guaranteed for life is to have as much base as possible. However, 10/90 infinite banking policies are something to be cautious of if what you’re seeking is growth and guarantees. You must ask yourself what you want from your life insurance to determine what will work for you. [47:15] “If we’re talking about the infinite banking concept, I think the source—the original source—is the correct place to start. Nelson’s Becoming Your Own Banker book, the second book Building Your Warehouse of Wealth, and some of the other books that are available at the Nelson Nash Institute.” About James Neathery James Neathery specializes in providing strategic financial advice, drawing on decades of research and experience in finance and economics. James is a disciple and student of R. Nelson Nash, the creator of the Infinite Banking Concept®. He is also a student of the Austrian school of economics. James holds several designations, maintains multiple affiliations, and is active in the financial services industry. He has been in the life insurance industry for over 30 years, educating clients and personally practicing the Infinite Banking Concept™ for over 17 years. James C. Neathery & Associates, Inc. has provided sound, successful advice to thousands of clients. Over the years, he has helped them protect millions of dollars in wealth and assets through several boom-and-bust cycles in the U.S. economy. James is the Executive Producer of the best-selling documentary on the Infinite Banking Concept, Banking With Life. The powerful information in this film is being used by financial professionals across the country to educate their clients on how to take control of their money by solving the banking equation in their lives. 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 to learn how Infinite Banking, alternative investments, or cash flow strategies can help you accomplish your goals better and faster. That being said,

Shaahin Cheyene built a billion-dollar business by the time he was 18 by creating a thrill pill cult. He’s an award-winning business mogul, author, and filmmaker. He is also the inventor of Herbal Ecstacy, the nootropic that sparked the (100% legal) Smart Drug Movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYNnni4kKsw He’s been called the “Willy Wonka of Generation X.” Now, he’s the world’s leading Amazon industry expert. If you’re looking to accelerate your business, and learn from Shaahin Cheyene… tune in now! Table of contentsGrit and ResilienceMaking Entrepreneurs Out of CriminalsGoing to Brick and Mortar ShopsThe Amazon EmergenceLinksAbout Shaahin CheyeneBook A Strategy Call Grit and Resilience [2:16] “Third world, Bruce. It brings grit and resilience. When you are not expectant of everything being handed to you, and in fact, you have to fight for everything you’ve got, it creates a certain kind of stick-to-itiveness. It creates a certain type of resilience in human nature.”  When Shaahin came to the United States from Iran, he didn’t speak English. His family was poor after their immigration, despite having been middle class in Iran. Shaahin learned from a young age that he had to be able to hold his own.  From his family’s perspective, his goal should have been to become a doctor. From Shaahin’s own perspective, his neighbor the doctor had mountains of student debt, kept crazy hours, and didn’t have the time to look after himself and his interests. So Shaahin knew there had to be a better way to “make it.” Making Entrepreneurs Out of Criminals Shaahin shares his own story about how he helped dozens of petty drug dealers become legitimate business owners through his product. While living in LA, he saw the power that drugs had over people and the incredible profit that could be made... if there was a way to create an entirely safe and legal alternative. Without the money or means to have a full-scale operation, Shaahin leveraged the use of his girlfriend’s kitchen to experiment with herbal remedies. Eventually, he was able to develop something that worked—it gave people energy and made them happier, minus some of the negative side effects of drugs.  Then, he took that product to a well-known drug dealer. Out of desperation, the guy agreed to sell his product, and it slowly helped dozens of drug dealers legitimize their business and actually back out of the illegal drug trade. Going to Brick and Mortar Shops After helping these dealers, Shaahin took his business to brick and mortar shops and actually sold it across the world. Six months prior to this, he was sleeping in abandoned buildings. He built something from the ground up and was creating massive jobs. As he puts it, he hired “anyone who could fog a window.” In that first year, he broke a billion dollars in revenue. Anyone who was anyone wanted him on their show.  After that, Shaahin has developed two new nootropics or brain-enhancing drugs.  The Amazon Emergence Somewhere around 2008 or 2009, Shaahin reached out to Jeff Bezos, who had recently opened Amazon to third-party sellers. He listed some of his new products on Amazon and made thousands of sales overnight. So Shaahin knew that Amazon was going to be something huge.  [30:28] “I decided that I was going to master this platform. I put all my chips in on Amazon, and we learned.” He had so many people coming to him for advice, at one point, that he decided to develop a course to help people become sellers on Amazon.  Links Billion by Shaahin Cheyene Shaahin’s YouTube channel Hack and Grow Rich Podcast Email Shaahin: darkzess@gmail.com  (Write: Send Me the Free Course) About Shaahin Cheyene RANKED #1 Amazon Accelerator. I help you CRUSH IT on Amazon. $350 Million In Sales. Herbal Ecstacy, Vapir, and many more! During the Iranian Revolution of 1978, Shahin’s family had to escape to survive and ended up finally migrating to Los Angeles, CA. At 15 years old, Shaahin left home with nothing but the clothes on his back and created over a BILLION dollars in revenue by inventing the legendary smart drug known as HERBAL ECSTACY. These childhood experiences had a major impact on his perspective of freedom, hard work, and entrepreneurship. Later, Shaahin went on to invent Digital Vaporization (the forerunner to today’s vapes) and start a number of successful businesses (with a couple notable failures). Today, he is the Founder and CEO of Accelerated Intelligence, Inc. a major Amazon FBA seller with millions in sales. He is also the lead coach at Amazon Mastery where he teaches entrepreneurs how to CRUSH IT! You can also find him on YouTube. Shaahin is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in e-commerce, Amazon, and the internet. The London Observer and Newsweek describe him as the “Willy Wonka Of Generation X," and one of the most forward thinkers in business. With his Amazon Mastery Course, he acutely recognizes trends and patterns early on the Amazon platform to help others understand how these shifts impact markets and consumer behavior.  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, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

We’re so thankful for the opportunity to answer your money questions and clear up your confusion. If you’re stuck, we want to help you make sense of the situation so you can move forward.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeWqkGwSBq4 Today, we’re continuing the conversation to answer questions from you—our audience. We want to help you on your quest to control your financial future. There are some great ones here that might be on your mind too. So maybe you’ll get the answer you’ve been needing, and get one step closer to your goals… OR maybe it will prompt you to ask a question of your own… tune in now! Table of contentsWhy is Whole Life Insurance “Better” Than Indexed Universal Life Insurance?Can You Explain “Other People’s Money”?Can You Explain the Difference Between Dividends and Interest?Is it Wise to Run Expenses Through an Infinite Banking Policy?Book A Strategy Call Why is Whole Life Insurance “Better” Than Indexed Universal Life Insurance? The answer boils down to the contractual guarantees of whole life insurance versus IULs.  An IUL contract is roughly twice the size of a whole life insurance contract. The reason it is so lengthy is that the insurance company has to include explanations of all the risks involved. An IUL carries much more risk because of its correlation to the stock market. And because it’s risky, taking policy loans from an IUL shifts even more risk off of the company's plate and onto yours.  Agents often sell IULs as the best of the stock market’s upside, and you can’t lose money. However, that isn’t actually true. To begin with, you don’t get the best of the market, because IULs often have a maximum rate, or a participation rate, or some other provision that limits how well you can do. And while you cannot lose money from a downturn in the stock market, your policy cash value can decrease. Unfortunately, people don’t understand that if the policy doesn’t perform as well as the “hypothetical examples” given by the insurance company, the companies can increase the cost of insurance, which reduces your account balance. Whole life insurance guarantees that the money credited to your cash value will not decrease. So although dividends are not guaranteed in whole life insurance, they have a great track record. That, and the only way your policy will decrease is through withdrawals. In fact, your whole life contract guarantees that your cash values floor will increase every year. The bottom line is that we do not endorse using an IUL as an infinite banking policy. You can learn more about this in Privatized Banking: What Kind of Policy Do You Use? Can You Explain “Other People’s Money”? One viewer asked:  Can you explain OPM further? In real estate, when you use OPM as a loan, your cash in the bank is readily accessible. For example, let's say I have $100k in the bank & I borrow $100k to buy a property instead of paying cash. I've borrowed $100k and still have access to $100k to buy another identical property for cash (access to $200k total). But with a policy loan, if my cash value is $100k, let's say the insurance company collateralizes my $100k cash value and they lend me $100k, I can not go back to my policy and cash out my $100k cash value since it's collateralized. This means I only have access to $100k, not $200k, like in the first scenario. Am I mistaken? We love that this question is so thoughtful and detailed. To answer the first part of your question, we agree! If you have $100k in the bank as cash, and you get an unsecured loan of $100k, you are leveraging OPM (other people’s money) to have greater access to capital. If you’re using infinite banking, and you have $100k of cash value and you collateralize it, you are tying it up so that you can no longer use it. However, you’re getting access to $100k of the insurance company’s money and leaving your cash value to sit and continue accumulation. Essentially, you’re trading your access, so that you can have uninterrupted compounding growth—with dividends and interest.  Making an Apples to Apples Comparison A more “apples to apples” comparison would be if you used your $100k of cash to secure your bank loan. And the reason you might do this is to have better interest rates. Then, in both instances, you have $100k of access while still growing that money. Also, just because you have the ability to use your policy as collateral for a loan, doesn’t mean you have to. You may have a better interest rate on a bank loan in general and may choose to start there. Then you still have access to that cash value down the road. In other words, you can leave your cash value where it is, and get a loan with the bank, and still have a total pool of $200k accessible. The real difference here is where your store your cash, and how you use it. And we think life insurance gives you better compounding growth and more options. Additionally, as you pay down your loan, and as your cash value increases, you replenish what’s available to you. So if your policy grows substantially in a year (and its growth will get better and better each year, thanks to compounding), you’ll have more cash value to leverage. A typical savings account doesn’t grow as quickly, and if you withdraw the cash, you interrupt any compounding taking place.  Here are several articles that will help with this concept: Opportunity Cost: https://themoneyadvantage.com/opportunity-cost-the-invisible-cost-of-financing/Spender, Saver, Steward: https://themoneyadvantage.com/spend-money-spender-saver-steward/ Can You Explain the Difference Between Dividends and Interest? Dail asked us:  My initial understanding of dividends (repayment of premiums) is a single annual event but I don't get how folks are saying Cash Value earns "interest"? There's one CFP that constantly says Cash Value earns 4%. Is this true? I thought dividends were the ONLY tax-free capital gain. Look forward to your unique explanation of where my confusion occurs. There is in fact interest that you can earn on your cash value, which is one guarantee of life insurance. Often this interest rate is a 4% gross interest rate. The company takes the costs of running the insurance company out of this gross figure. Costs, and the calculations of those costs, differ by company. And that growth actually gets added to your policy every day. If you checked your cash value every day, you would see it growing.  Then, every year, mutual life insurance companies declare a dividend rate. Dividends are non-guaranteed but highly anticipated. The dividend is simply excess profits, which is why you sometimes hear people say, “All they’re doing is returning your premium.” In the eyes of the IRS, that is true. However, what’s really happening is the company is experiencing better than projected profits from their bonds, as well as potentially lower mortality rates and other factors.  This means that even without dividends, your cash value will grow because of the guaranteed interest portion.  We also want to address where Dail mentions “tax-free capital gain.” This tax-free aspect is actually less about how your account grows and more about how you access the money. If you withdraw cash from your cash value, you do have to pay taxes on any gains. However, using the policy loan provision allows you to use your growth without causing a taxable event.  More on dividends: https://themoneyadvantage.com/whole-life-insurance-dividends/ Is it Wise to Run Expenses Through an Infinite Banking Policy? An unnamed viewer asked: Does this make sense to you? I'm not fully 100% sold on this Infinite Banking thing but I'm thinking of starting a small policy to take it out for a test drive.... begin small, test it with loans and payback schedules and see how it functions in a 5 to 10 year environment. I have a rental worth $650,000. It brings in around $27,000 in income a year, or $2300 per month. We own it free and clear. Would it make financial sense to set up a policy to run my yearly expenses through that policy? I figure I spend around 20,000 per year on expenses including taxes, insurance, and future capital cost and vacancy allowances. What are your thoughts on establishing a policy of around $20,000 max per year and maybe a $2,000 minimum premium in case we could not fully fund in extreme emergencies? We love this question because starting small is a fantastic option. As Bruce says, take small steps, but take quality steps. We consider this small step a quality one. For starters, the sooner you have life insurance coverage, the sooner you will see your policy grow, and be able to use it. Another reason is for the pure protection that life insurance offers, and having coverage in place can go a long way to ease the stress of “what if” thinking. Starting small will also help ease some of the skepticism you or your wife may feel, without either of you feeling as though you’re going off the rails.  Funding vs. Taking Loans When it comes to paying your expenses via policy loans, especially in the early years of your policy, we recommend proceeding slowly. One reason is that cash value accumulation often starts slow. So you won’t have access equal to what you pay in premiums when you start out. It may be wise to fund your policy for a few years—we recommend at least one year, preferably two or three years—before seriously employing the infinite banking concept. You can employ it earlier, however, this becomes an administrative nightmare working with low cash values. Once you’ve built up enough cash value, instead of making monthly transactions in and out of the policy, you can take one larger loan to pay your expenses, then pay the loan back with your rental income. This way you only have one “withdrawal.” Doing this strategy even semi-annually can simplify the process and make it easier to complete.

Are you repeating the same day over and over again, or building momentum and springing forward by leaps and bounds? Are there opportunities buried in your own business? Today, we’re talking with Adam Hommey, author of Groundhog Day Is an Event, Not a Business Strategy.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubie5ZpV45o If you want to find out how to connect your brilliance and your passion to WIN in business and marketing… tune in now! Table of contentsAdam Hommey’s BeginningsGroundhog DayHave You Instituted “Permanent Reactions”?What Could You Have Someone Else Do?What is the SPRING Formula?Transaction Partners vs. CustomersMinimalism vs. Essentialism in BusinessShould You Nix the Business Phone?Availability vs. AccessibilityConnect with Adam HommeyAbout Adam HommeyBook A Strategy Call Adam Hommey’s Beginnings Entrepreneur and author Adam Hommey began his entrepreneurial journey in 2003. Yet almost a decade later Adam found himself wondering where he wanted to go next. He didn’t have a vision. For a few years, all he used to get leads and share his ideas was podcasting.  At this time, he was also posting frequently to his social media. When a friend remarked that he enjoyed seeing the “daily Adam,” he had an idea. Thus began a blog called the “Morning Adam.” For 90 days he cross-posted his social media posts onto this blog without specific marketing goals. This helped Adam to release what was blocking him and just create. [5:30] “I notice entrepreneurs find themselves on these plateaus, no matter what happens... when the dust settles, they find themselves at the exact same level of profitability or lack thereof—sometimes even the same dollar amounts—and they’re having the same conversations they’ve been having for five years.” Groundhog Day This revelation led to his book, which talks about the cycles entrepreneurs get stuck in. And when the actual holiday rolled around, Adam wasn’t fully ready to publish this book. However, he didn’t want to wait another full year to take advantage of the holiday. So he made time to launch it, anyway.  [7:48] “The ‘how you’re supposed to do it’ is, in more cases than not, a permanent overreaction to a temporary blip on the radar. You can break those rules like I broke those rules getting the book done.”  [8:10] “You are allowed to be unconventional. I created an entire marketing program that had no avatar, and no target market, and no product behind it--and that created my core following that is still the basis of my fan base for the Business Creator’s Radio Show to this day.” Have You Instituted “Permanent Reactions”? Adam shares with us a brief parable of a woman who cuts off the ends of her roasts before she cooks them. When her husband asks her why she does this, she answers that it makes the roast cook better. This is what she’s been told her whole life. In reality, what she didn’t know is that three generations back, during the Great Depression, her family began doing this because they couldn’t afford a bigger pot. It became a habit, or a “permanent reaction,” due to a temporary situation.  [11:35] “That is what I think constrains us in many cases. I urge business creators, entrepreneurs, whoever you are, to look at the things you’re doing on a daily basis, and ask yourself continuously, ‘What would happen if we didn’t do this at all?’ And that creates a challenge. It helps to surface those things that may be permanent overreactions to temporary blips on the radar.” Adam continues that not only does this give you an opportunity to see new, potentially more efficient, ways of doing things. It can also help you identify your real, high-value actions, so that you can do more of those.  What Could You Have Someone Else Do? When you take time to answer Adam’s question, you may start to realize that there are things you can move off of your plate. There’s no reason someone else can’t do the things that you don’t want to do, aren’t efficient at, or simply don’t have time for.  There’s also no reason you have to operate your business in a specific order of operations just to be successful. Who says you have to have a logo or a color scheme before you can do business? This is just an arbitrary rule that doesn’t have to keep you stuck before you’ve started. [14:20] “When people first get into entrepreneurship, they are in some cases told to believe that branding is about your logo, your color swatch, your letterheads. I have interviewed branding expert after branding expert after branding expert on both my podcasts...and the common theme through all those conversations is that branding is ultimately some combination of the energies put out by the human figurehead driving the business, how the business positions itself within the world community, and the customer experience they create for the people that interact with the business.” What is the SPRING Formula? [16:00] “It’s my belief that you can convey messages and ideas when you can create acronyms around it. So what does the groundhog do when he comes out of the burrow? He looks at his shadow and tells you whether or not you’re going to have six more weeks of winter, or whether you’re going to go into SPRING.” Science of the Mindset. Understanding and managing your mindset will take you far. Prospect Attraction. Attracting new business to you.Ripple Effect. The actions of your employees or contractors will make ripple effects in your business, good or bad. Identify and Intake New Customers. This isn’t just about identifying people who will pay you, it’s about people who stand for you and your business. Name Your Terms with Powerful Language. Creating powerful terms and language can activate something in the people you serve, and contributes to understanding and brand recognition. Greater Efficiency and Service through Minimalism. Adam adds that if he were to rewrite his book, he’d also add essentialism after the phrase.  [18:00] “All these things come together as a way of utilizing the power of language and human thought and combining that with a simplifying formula for how you do things, to create the success you’re looking for and get off that plateau.” Transaction Partners vs. Customers [18:58] “As I say in the book, I frequently myself will call somebody who just gave me money a customer because we’re so programmed to do that. However...just because someone gave you money doesn’t necessarily mean that it was a great thing.” Adam highlights several instances where you may transact with someone, but it’s not what you’re looking for. This includes: High maintenance clientsRelationships that went south despite your best effortsClients who don’t understand the end goal, or what you’re accomplishingOther circumstances that you don’t enjoy or want to repeat On the other hand, customers are going to be people who love what you do, are easy to work with, and may even turn down similar services in favor of working with you. They’re also going to be your biggest advocates. They are going to recommend you to friends, and root for your success because they love what you do.  [22:30] “You don’t have to march in lockstep with a decision you made last year, just because you made it.” Minimalism vs. Essentialism in Business [23:20] “We can spend all day talking about the fine point definitions of words like minimalism and essentialism; what it really comes down to is optimizing that which benefits you and cutting out that which doesn’t.” This may mean living in a smaller space because it suits you, not because you have to but because it works for you. This also means not living way beyond what you need. In business, this can mean focusing on the highlights of your business and not thinking too hard about the bells and whistles that aren’t necessary.  Should You Nix the Business Phone? Our conversation with Adam took an interesting turn when we brought up voicemails and business phones. As it turns out, many companies are doing away with business phones completely, because depending on your business model, it can actually be disruptive.  Bruce is a great example of this, who in one of his own businesses eliminated the business phone. This has empowered potential clients to go to the website for information about what is in stock and what the hours of operation are, and in turn, has allowed his employees to serve the in-house customers better. In reality, the phone habits of people today are avoidant--people don’t like to be interrupted, and they like to do things on their own terms. As a business owner, eliminating a phone from your operations can reduce calls forwarded to your personal phone, and allow you to stay in control of your time--depending on your business model.  Availability vs. Accessibility The key factor in your decision should be striving for accessibility, rather than endless availability. Because as a business owner, you’re just not going to be available all the time. However, accessibility is the function of making yourself and your business easy to navigate and get answers—without being disruptive.  This could translate to a portal for existing customers that makes it easy to get answers or talk to you directly via a chat box. This could be contact forms or calendar booking, with limitations that fit your personal workflow. Connect with Adam Hommey booking@createyourbusiness.today The Business Creators' Institute 1-888-536-5596Get your copy of Groundhog Day is an Event, Not a Business Strategy About Adam Hommey Adam Hommey, Founder and Creator of The Business Creators Institute™, helps entrepreneurs and business creators, like you, Emancipate the POWER of INFORMATION™ and WIN at the Game of Business and Marketing™ so you can thrive from the intersection of your brilliance and passion!  For years,

Are you considering whole life insurance, but want to know more about the new products the life insurance companies have released in response to the 7702 changes in 2021? How a whole life dividend rate is computed? Is cash value life insurance improving? Well, the new products are finally here! Let's dive into the 7702 whole life insurance dividends update discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvRI9r7cEqk What does the 7702 tax code mean for whole life insurance dividends? Tune in now to get the need-to-know information so you can see what to expect for new Infinite Banking policies. Table of contentsRecapping the 7702 Whole Life Insurance Dividends UpdateGuarantees Have Gone Down... What Does This Mean?Gross vs. Net How Interest Rates Really Work7702 Whole Life Insurance Dividend UpdatesIllustrations are Not ContractsIs Death Benefit More Expensive Now? Is it Too Late to Have a Policy Without The Changes?How Does Convertible Term Work with the New Changes?Book A Strategy Call Recapping the 7702 Whole Life Insurance Dividends Update In our previous blog post(7702 Whole Life Insurance Updates), we discussed some of the changes to life insurance products because of the updated 7702 tax code. Naturally, this raised some questions that we want to personally address. This is a new thing for us all, and it’s important to have a good understanding of it going forward.  These new products are great for the death benefit, which is really the insurance portion of your insurance. The death benefit is what protects your future income, and can help your family members in the event of a loss. Yet, we’re rightfully getting a lot of questions about what this means for cash value.  Guarantees Have Gone Down... What Does This Mean? Most of the new life insurance products have lowered their guaranteed cash value increase, yet what does this really mean? Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? We think it all depends on your point of view.  The obvious concern is that if the guaranteed interest rate is lower, that means that cash value build-up is going to be much slower, right? Fortunately, this isn’t quite true. A life insurance company’s first responsibility is to meet contractual obligations. This means delivering all death benefits, paying out profits, etc.  In a low interest rate environment, especially during a long-term one, this can be detrimental. By lowering the guarantee, insurance companies can continue to fulfill their role with confidence, and without needing to take more drastic measures, like demutualizing.  Gross vs. Net  It’s also important to know that guarantees are Gross—this means that they are projected before fees and other costs of the policies. So a guaranteed rate, no matter what the number is, is likely to be lower than you think it is. Does this make it bad? No, this makes it realistic.  Fortunately, there are a number of other ways your policy can grow, including the profits the company makes, in the form of a dividend. If you didn’t know, the guaranteed interest rate is actually a portion of the total declared dividend. So what the companies are doing is actually changing the structure of the declared dividend, and making a lower portion of the full declaration guaranteed. In other words, if they’re making a reduction in the guaranteed interest rate growth of your policy, that does not necessarily mean that they’re reducing the declared dividend rate. What the insurance company is doing is reducing the guaranteed portion of the total declared dividend. This may have very little impact on what you actually make in growth each year.  How Interest Rates Really Work If you’re thinking that a 1% increase or decrease doesn’t matter all that much, here’s some food for thought. When interest rates go down, bond values tend to go up. This happened in the 80s and 90s, and we’re likely to see it again.  And even a 1% increase can make a large impact on bond rates. For example, say the bond rate increased from 2% to 3%, as a result of dropping interest rates. That’s not a 1% increase, that’s a 1% spread. The increase is 50% because you have increased the rate by half of its original value. 7702 Whole Life Insurance Dividend Updates That’s some powerful math, and might help you better contextualize the power of how interest rates impact bonds. Insurance companies are primarily invested in investment grade corporate bonds. This also shows how bonds directly feed into the dividends of policy owners. Illustrations are Not Contracts Another point of confusion for many people is in life insurance illustrations themselves. It is important to understand that illustrations as snapshots in time, not contracts. That’s because each time you run a new illustration of your policy, you’re seeing the future projections based on current dividend rates.  All of your history is cemented, but your future is still able to change. And as soon as you receive a new dividend, your illustration becomes outdated. This happens because instead of guessing what you might receive, now you know for certain, which changes all future projections.  The declared dividend rate can also change once per year. So even if you received exactly what the illustration projected in one year, your illustration would still change the next time a dividend is declared.  In the example we show during the podcast, the actual returns of a particular policy were 29% greater than what the illustration projected. This happens because dividends can change each year, and profits are hard to predict. Yet time and time again, policies perform better than projected.  Is Death Benefit More Expensive Now?  One of our viewers raised an important point about new whole life insurance policies: you can now put in more cash value for the same death benefit. Depending on your goals, this can be a negative. For example, insuring up to your full Human Life Value may become more difficult.  This could mean you need term insurance, or convertible term insurance, to have your full death benefit.  Is it Too Late to Have a Policy Without The Changes? All insurance companies must offer these new policies by January, and many of them have already made the switch. There is a lot of noise on the internet using fear to push sales before the end of the year. I am personally applying for a new policy using the newer product when I could have gone with the current products. For all intents and purposes not too much is changing. The biggest difference will be early cash value build-up and death benefit. But premiums build cash value, so don’t shy away from higher premiums.  Working with a trusted advisor can help you design a policy that meets your needs. These changes ultimately reflect the strength of the life insurance industry and ensure that these companies can continue to serve you.  How Does Convertible Term Work with the New Changes? A listener asked, “If you already have a convertible term policy when converting portions of that policy into whole life must it convert to the new product, or would someone be grandfathered into the old?” Unfortunately, it’s not possible to be grandfathered into the old. Your convertible term insurance is just term insurance until you choose to covert it. When you do convert it, you enter into a new contract. The actuaries who calculate these things cannot possibly calculate the old pricing with your future age, at an unknown amount. All convertible term insurance is converted into products that the life insurance company has at that given time.  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, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Are you considering whole life insurance, but want to know more about the new products the life insurance companies have released in response to the 7702 Whole Life Insurance updates in 2021?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCMQruG3bVQ The new products are here. What does the 7702 tax code mean for whole life insurance? Tune in now to get the need-to-know information so you can see what to expect for new Infinite Banking policies. Table of contentsWhat are the 7702 Whole Life Insurance Updates?What Happens to the Infinite Banking Strategy?Are Lower Guarantees a Bad Thing?Is Less Death Benefit Bad?Is There a Big Difference Before and After?Book A Strategy Call What are the 7702 Whole Life Insurance Updates? If you’re scratching your head when you hear 7702, don’t worry. This simply refers to a section in the IRS tax law that dictates the tax treatment of whole life insurance. At the end of 2020, this tax law was updated.  While some have voiced concerns over how this will affect future life insurance policies, we’re more optimistic. You can read our initial analysis of the 7702 whole life insurance updates in our post, Is Infinite Banking Dead? Fortunately, we’re now seeing actual life insurance illustrations that reflect these changes. That means we can dive deeper into the discussion with real numbers so that you can make the most informed decisions possible about your insurance. What Happens to the Infinite Banking Strategy? While there’s still a lot of unknowns, we’re starting to see new developments in the 7702 change. These updated products and policies will take full effect by January 1, 2022. Not all major life insurance companies have begun to sell these new policies.  From our preliminary analysis of what’s available right now, here’s what we know: Guarantees have gone from 4% to somewhere in the 2-3% range on most productsYou’ll see less total death benefit compared to older policies of the same premiumTotal dividends, which include guaranteed and non-guaranteed, should not be impacted much Are Lower Guarantees a Bad Thing? Not necessarily. In fact, as we mentioned in our first 7702 whole life insurance updates article, lowering the guarantees can actually strengthen your company’s longevity. Remember that minimum guarantees are just that: minimums. As a policy owner, you get to partake in the company’s profits. This means that if and when interest rates bounce back, we would expect to start seeing higher returns on the non-guaranteed side.  We should also note that the guaranteed portion of your policy is a part of the declared dividend. For example, if the guaranteed side is 4%, and the declared dividend rate is 5%, you’re (roughly) getting an additional 1% in growth. However, there are certain factors that change exactly how this calculation works.  Ultimately, remember that an illustration of a policy is simply a snapshot in time. As soon as companies pay dividends, that illustration is inaccurate. So a policy illustrated in a low-dividend year won’t reflect the real trajectory of your policy. It’s simply a guideline.  We discuss this further in 7702 Whole Life Insurance Dividends Update (2021) Part 2. Is Less Death Benefit Bad? While total death benefit is going to be lower overall, this actually pushes the cash value up. This happens because your cash value is the portion of the death benefit that’s accessible to you. And by the endowment age, your full death benefit is accessible to you. As your policy matures, the death benefit increases, and your accessible cash value increases.  With a lower death benefit, this means that your cash value is proportionately higher than a similar policy.  While you may be losing some death benefit, what you’re not losing is cash value and the ability to access that cash in a tax-advantaged way. To solve for the death benefit, you can consider a convertible term insurance policy or put more premium into your policy.  Is There a Big Difference Before and After? Truth be told, we’re not seeing much change between older and newer policies in terms of projected rates. As we alluded to, this is because while the composition of guaranteed to non-guaranteed is changing, the actual projection is not.  Considering this, we believe that the non-guaranteed portion of the dividend is going to make up for any lack of guaranteed growth. This still remains to be proven, however, mutual insurance companies manage their money very conservatively to take care of their contractual obligations. We don't see the 7702 whole life insurance updates as something negative, rather it's a tool, and one that may even prove to be beneficial for your overall IBC strategy. 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, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

What are the top 1% of high-performers, producers, and achievers doing differently? How is it possible to get more done, scale your business, and have MORE time for what matters, not LESS? The answer is simple: high achievers realize that being a disciplined person is as crucial as any other aspect of their business. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AoOx5OIRhc It’s what you need, but it’s not what you think. You can’t hustle and grind into your ideal life. Our guest, Craig Ballantyne, shares with us an alternative definition of becoming more productive through discipline…and how working less may actually get you where you want to go. Intrigued? Join us for a conversation with “The World’s Most Disciplined Man,” author of The Perfect Week Formula, The Perfect Day Formula, and Unstoppable, coach, and builder of multiple 7-figure businesses. If you want to achieve more than you thought possible, while working less… tune in now! Table of contentsWhy is Craig Ballantyne the World’s Most Disciplined Person?Becoming More Productive Creating Systems in Your DayWhy Value-Alignment MattersAbout Craig BallantyneGet Free Copies of Craig Ballantyne’s BooksBook A Strategy Call Why is Craig Ballantyne the World’s Most Disciplined Person? [2:30] “It came about…because about 10 years ago I was finishing up my career in the fitness industry, and I was starting another business, helping entrepreneurs be more productive. And some of my friends would be like, ‘Man, how do you get so much done?’… And they first started calling me the most productive person. Then that just kind of morphed into the most disciplined, because in order to be productive, you really have to have discipline.” Craig Ballantyne’s journey began as a fitness coach, where his intense structure and repeatable routines laid the foundation for his later success as an entrepreneur and author. His book, The Perfect Day Formula, outlines the core of his philosophy: that sustainable habits, not fleeting motivation, drive lasting success. Craig has a reputation for extreme consistency. He is known for waking at 4 a.m., sticking to strict routines, and following a minimalist daily structure that eliminates decision fatigue. It’s that level of commitment that earned him the title of the “World’s Most Disciplined Man.” However, the way Craig Ballantyne identifies a disciplined person may not be what you’d expect. Craig shares that most people define discipline as additional tasks to do.  [3:20] “I actually take the opposite approach, and I call it effortless discipline. And what this is, is it’s really not using willpower, it’s not making your life harder. It is simply building systems into which success becomes automatic.” This same principle applies to financial habits. Just as Craig relies on systems to eliminate friction, tools like Infinite Banking help you automate good money behavior by controlling your personal economy. While being a disciplined person is indeed about waking up early and sticking with routines, it’s also about building systems that work for you, whether in business, fitness, or finances. Becoming More Productive  [5:40] “…I joked that I was lazy and undisciplined because I didn’t have the systems and stuff at home in order to be effective, disciplined, and productive. But anybody can build the systems around themselves to be successful.” The trick, Craig asserts, is not adjusting your life to fit his productivity principles and systems. Instead, you adjust the systems to fit your life. For example, he frequently shares the idea of “attacking your morning” with his audience. Some may interpret this as a call to wake up earlier, however, Craig recognizes that many people are night owls. So it’s less important when people wake up, and more important that whatever time they wake up, they make use of that time.  If you’re wondering how to be a disciplined person, it starts with designing a routine that eliminates distractions and gives your best hours to your highest priorities. Craig encourages you to identify the “3 most important tasks” for the day and complete them early, before the chaos sets in.  This structured approach allows you to stay focused, reduce decision fatigue, and accomplish more with less effort. Here are a few of Craig’s go-to tactics for becoming more productive: Establish a consistent morning routine that suits your lifestyle. Start your day by completing your top three priorities. Avoid using email, social media, and phones during your first few work hours. Build systems that automate repeatable decisions and free up mental space. Rather than relying on bursts of energy, Craig shows that becoming more productive is simply about building a routine that makes discipline automatic.  Creating Systems in Your Day [12:30] “We can control our morning: we can control what time we get up, we can control what we have for breakfast more than most other meals. We can control what time we get started on our work—that sort of stuff. And we control what we let into our heads—whether we go to YouTube immediately, or Twitter immediately, or we actually sit down with a book. Or we sit down and work on our number one priorities. We have a lot of control in the morning. And the more control we put over the morning, the better we’re going to be able to deal with the chaos that comes in the afternoon.” [15:30] “Everybody listening to this is probably familiar with Dilbert, you know, the cartoon. And Scott Adams, who writes Dilbert, has actually written some really great books on being successful in life… The title of his book is ‘How to Fail at Everything and Still Succeed in Life,’ I think. And he just talks about how everything is not about goal-setting, it’s about system building.” Craig Ballantyne continues to say that goal-setting is really like wishful thinking. Creating a system, on the other hand, helps you make strides toward your goals. Goals don’t necessarily have systems in place, though. So you can make a lot more progress setting up systems that keep you consistent, rather than goals with no structure. [17:51] “One of the things I have as a system is public accountability… That works really well for me, and I build it into my systems.” These daily systems are what separate a goal-setter from a truly disciplined person. Craig’s approach includes time-blocking key hours of the day, eliminating unnecessary decisions, and establishing routines that run on autopilot.  Instead of relying on motivation, he builds guardrails that make the right actions almost inevitable. In doing so, he shows others how to be a disciplined person without forcing themselves to grind through every day. There is also a clear link between personal discipline and financial control. If you’re looking to apply this same structure to your money, start here to see how the Infinite Banking strategy helps build systems for long-term financial success. Why Value-Alignment Matters [23:55] “I see people who are productive in life, but you actually look at the things that they’ve done, and they’re productive at the wrong things. So you can get 118 things done in a day, but if they’re things that don’t actually do anything for your real, true goals… It’s like being in Los Angeles and running really, really fast west if you want to get to New York City.” [24:35] “Your values and vision drive every decision.”  [25:40] “You say that you want to go this way in life, but your actions are actually going in the opposite direction. And you’re not aligned. That misalignment causes stress, anxiety, fights with your spouse, and all that sort of stuff.” [27:35] “It takes a lot of introspection and self-reflection to figure out what you truly, truly want. Because a lot of us, what we say we want are things that society has suggested that we want, that our friends want, that our friends have.” This is where many people get stuck. They chase productivity without direction, discipline without alignment. But a truly disciplined person doesn't just follow a routine; they also build habits that serve a purpose rooted in personal values.  Craig Ballantyne emphasizes that sustainable discipline begins with clarity. What do you want? Why do you want it? Once those questions are answered honestly, your daily actions gain meaning rather than just being motion. About Craig Ballantyne Craig Ballantyne is known as the “World’s Most Disciplined Man”. Born lazy and introverted, and suffering crippling anxiety attacks, Craig built systems that allowed him to become more productive, resulting in the development of multiple 7-figure businesses stress-free.  His first multi-million dollar business was his Turbulence Training fitness empire with over 151,000 customers and 25 million YouTube views. He then wrote his first book, The Perfect Day Formula, which has helped over 50,000 entrepreneurs learn how to be a disciplined person, ultimately getting more done and making more money. Today, he owns EarlyToRise.com and coaches thousands of entrepreneurs from over 45 countries. His latest book, The Perfect Week Formula, shows you how to build your business around your life, rather than trying to squeeze in a little bit of life around working all the time in your business. Craig lives with his wife Michelle in Vancouver, Canada. Get Free Copies of Craig Ballantyne’s Books Craig and his team have a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) of giving away 100,000 digital copies of his books. That’s because Craig knows his books can change lives--and we do too! You can connect with Craig on LinkedIn, on Instagram @RealCraigBallantyne, or by email at craig@craigballantyne.com. 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!

How are whole life insurance dividends and interest rates faring in this low interest rate environment? Is today's long stretch of low interest rates a bad sign for whole life insurance in the future? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYMHKtVtVKI Today, we're having a candid conversation about today's interest rate environment, the impact on bond rates and prices, and how that impacts whole life insurance dividends. If you want to know how your whole life insurance will weather any environment… tune in now! Table of contentsThe Role of Bonds on InsuranceHow Do Insurance Companies Invest?What About Policy Loans?Life Insurance Companies Invest ConservativelyHow Do Bonds Work?What a Portfolio of Bonds Means for Insurance CompaniesWhy You Shouldn’t Worry About Low Dividend RatesAdditional ArticlesBook A Strategy Call The Role of Bonds on Insurance Bonds play a significant role in the dividends you receive as a policyholder. This happens because life insurance companies invest heavily in conservative bonds. So rising interest rates should lead to higher declared dividend rates. Similarly, a falling Federal interest rate will likely result in a decreased dividend rate.  Are there long-term effects of a low interest rate environment? Well, not to spoil things completely, but life insurance has been around for a long time. It has survived many low-interest rate environments, paying dividends through wars, depressions, recessions, and much more.  We’re going to dive deeper into why this is, and how life insurance is still one of the safest choices for your money.  How Do Insurance Companies Invest? When you pay premiums, the insurance company doesn’t just throw that money into a savings account and wait. They actually put the money to work. Some of this money goes into securities, however, it’s a minuscule amount. Many companies have anywhere from 0.58% to 2.49% of their portfolio in common stock.  The much more significant portion of life insurance company’s investments is in bonds—either corporate bonds or treasury bonds. Bond investments often range from 60.2% to 75.5%.  Then, there are preferred stocks, which work similarly to bonds because it produces interest. Additionally, preferred stock means that stockholders get paid before anyone in the common stock gets paid. This means preferred stockholders have low liability. The range for preferred stocks is about 0.25% to 1% of the company’s portfolio. The next biggest investment in an insurance company’s portfolio is going to be mortgage-type investments. Companies allocate anything from 0% to 16.3% of their portfolio to mortgages. To reduce risk, they invest in high equity mortgages. Real estate investments, separate from mortgages, range from 0.33% to 1% of the investment portfolio.  What About Policy Loans? The last kind of “investment” life insurance companies make is contract loans. And these are the loans that insurance companies offer to policyholders. Contrary to popular belief, when you take a loan, you’re not taking a loan from yourself. The life insurance company is giving you the money because your cash value is backing the loan. This also means that when you pay interest, you’re paying interest to the life insurance company, not yourself.  Life insurance loans make up anywhere from 2% to 7.24% of an insurance company’s portfolio.  Policy loans, even in a low-interest rate environment, are great for insurance companies, and by extension you, as the policy owner. It all comes down to the way mutual companies are structured and the dividends they pay. In a low interest rate environment, with many loans fixed at about 5%, this is actually some of the greatest returns companies get during such times. Plus, they can take comfort knowing all loans are backed by cash value.  This is beneficial to you, the policy owner because you want your insurance company to do well. You partake in the profits of the company, so it’s a boon to you and all other policy owners. Life Insurance Companies Invest Conservatively The insurance companies have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. They invest conservatively because they have contractual obligations to millions of people to pay out a death benefit. Permanent insurance, unlike term, is guaranteed to pay out so long as the policyholder keeps the insurance in force. This means there’s a higher standard that companies who offer permanent insurance must adhere to.  Mutual insurance companies specifically cannot invest recklessly because of this responsibility. There’s a lot of capital management happening behind the scenes, and to assume that a dividend is solely “return of premium” doesn’t capture the whole picture.  Not only is there a chief officer in charge of capital management at the life insurance company, but there’s also an entire team, an entire strategy, and structure. How Do Bonds Work? Bonds have an inverse relationship to interest rates and their value. The following is a hypothetical example to explain how bonds work. Say you buy a 10-year treasury bond at what’s called “par value,” or $1,000. You lock in the interest rate when you buy the bond. So say the interest rate is 1.5%, you’re going to earn that rate every year for ten years.  If the interest rate goes up while you own that bond, you still only earn 1.5%. While the rate of your bond hasn’t technically decreased, the value decreases because it’s technically underperforming. However, the inverse is also true, and this is the power of those bonds.  If the interest rate were to decrease while you own the bond at 1.5%, the inherent value of your bond increases. This happens because your bond is now earning more than the new bonds are earning.  Then, let’s say someone wants that higher-earning bond and they offer you more money for it. If, for example, you bought a bond at 6% and rates decreased to 5%, someone may offer you $1,100 for your bond. That offer is actually a 10% earning, which may be a 4% spread, but is a 66% increase from what you were working with.  In an environment that interest rates go down, current bonds are at a premium. What a Portfolio of Bonds Means for Insurance Companies Insurance companies determine profit by taking all the gains from investments and subtracting costs. Costs usually include death claims, wages, commissions, etc. Companies then take this profit, which is proprietary information, and declare a dividend. The higher the profit, the higher the dividend.  Unfortunately, one of the most difficult things that can happen is what we’ve seen in the last ten years or so. Not only did interest rates go down, but they’ve stayed relatively flat. So insurance companies are still getting yields on their bonds, but they’re not able to sell them. And this is one of the greatest sources of profit.  However, because bonds still earn that locked-in rate, companies are still doing well. This is why they declare a lower rate, so the financials can stay balanced in times where there isn’t as much profit. So while it may feel stagnant as a policyholder, this is the type of strategy that allows companies to thrive in the future.  Additionally, bonds are stable because of the way they continue to pay steady interest over the allotted time period. It may not be as exciting as the stock market, yet in a low interest rate environment, it is a “sure thing” for the companies. Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Low Dividend Rates While low dividend rates can appear scary at first, they’re actually more significant than you’d think. When you realize that low dividend rates are actually a proactive response by insurance companies, everything shifts.  Low dividend rates don’t necessarily mean the company is in bad shape, or that their investments aren’t doing well. On the contrary, low dividend rates allow companies to navigate low interest rate environments more conservatively. It’s a power play, which helps the company weather the low rate environment. Consequently, this allows them to come back even stronger when interest rates increase.  It looks, perhaps, like on the surface, the highest dividend rate is going to outperform a lower dividend rate. But what we often don’t look at is the insurance companies' responsiveness to the environment. Because lower whole life insurance dividend rates may push away new policies, however, companies are often lowering rates to protect the company for a future when the interest rate environment changes. These are companies who are thinking of the long game, as we hope people utilizing infinite banking are thinking about the long game.  Additional Articles https://themoneyadvantage.com/life-insurance-company-ratings-why-they-matter-right-now/https://themoneyadvantage.com/how-safe-are-life-insurance-companies/ 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, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.

Want your charitable giving to make the greatest difference in the world? Today, we’re talking with Kris Putnam-Walkerly, author of Delusional Altruism, who advises philanthropists who want to achieve greater clarity, impact, and joy with their giving.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWVQF5___XQ&t=11s We’ll discuss why how you give matters, the 7 delusions of altruism, and how to create lasting change. If you’re a philanthropist, donor, or an everyday person who donates time, money, and experience to help create a better world… tune in now! Table of contentsDelusional Altruism: What Makes Philanthropy Effective or Not?Invest Like It’s Your BusinessHow Do Philanthropists Get in Their Own Way?How to Ask the Right QuestionsHow Can You Be Transformational in Your Giving?Links Mentioned: About Kris Putnam-WalkerlyBook A Strategy Call Philanthropy Coaching [7:08] “I also provide a lot of coaching and advising. So most of my clients now retain me as a private coach to help them navigate their philanthropic journey and help them get clarity on what they’re trying to accomplish. And help hold them accountable to accomplishing it. And really being a sounding board to them, because it can be a very lonely place to be. Either you’re the executive director, perhaps, of a foundation...but also for, perhaps, an ultra-high-net-worth donor...it can feel lonely because you can feel a lot of guilt with having all that wealth.” The reason it’s lonely, as Kris mentions, is that there aren’t many people you can have a conversation with about your finances. Either people are asking for that money, or they don’t validate your struggles because you have money.  Delusional Altruism: What Makes Philanthropy Effective or Not? [9:35] “Delusional Altruism is really about how donors of all sizes and types are generally genuine in their altruism. They really want to make a difference, change the world, want to help others; but are getting in their own way and are preventing themselves from having the impact that they seek….So part of the challenge with effectiveness is, it’s hard to be effective when you’re getting in your own way.” [10:05] “One of the challenges is a scarcity mindset, and this is when donors believe that maintaining a spartan operation for themselves or their grantees...somehow equates to delivering greater value in the community.” [11:00] “If you want a non-profit to be successful, just like a business, it requires investment in your growth and in your success.” [11:55] “I think a lot of people of wealth feel guilty. They feel guilty because maybe they inherited the wealth and didn’t earn it, and therefore don’t deserve it. Or maybe they made more money than they ever thought they’d make in their lifetime, sold a business, and suddenly have wealth... But the problem with that is it really holds funders back, from a mindset perspective. It often causes people to shrink, to kind of mask their talent and mask their ability to make a difference in the lives of others.” [13:04] Rachel: “The business in the first place is service to mankind and to the world. And you are not taking money from society; you are giving something that’s more valuable, and the exchange of that is that you are profitable.”  Invest Like It’s Your Business [18:50] Kris: “Is that how you invest in your business? Do you only allow one cent of every dollar to go to pay your staff salaries? [Or] to go to pay for your own business development? So why are we asking a non-profit, who’s trying to save people’s lives, why are you asking them to do [that]?” How Do Philanthropists Get in Their Own Way? [20:20] “I think fear really is the primary cause of the scarcity mindset. And there are lots of different ways funders feel fearful; which might surprise you because you assume that the donor is wealthy, and with wealth should come confidence.” [25:30] “Sometimes we...sort of stumble through our giving based on what’s presented to us—the appeals that arrive at our doorstep. But often people haven’t had a chance to really reflect and think as an individual or as a couple or as a family or a business, [about what the] issues are that [they] really care about.” [27:58] Rachel: “At the root of doing the most good, we have to first understand what do we truly value. And I love that you’re saying that that’s really important.” How to Ask the Right Questions [31:15] Kris: “Questions are really powerful, and I think if you ask the right questions, they send you down the right path. And if you ask the wrong questions, they send you down the wrong path. And one of the questions that I think people ask—and it’s really about ordering them—is they ask how to do something before they ask themselves what it is they’re trying to accomplish. Really what that means is they’re focused on the tactics of doing something before they’re thinking through the strategy... You can’t possibly know how you want to go about doing something unless you have clarity on your objective.” How Can You Be Transformational in Your Giving? [37:40] “I’ll share two things if I can. The first, very briefly, is just recognizing that as a donor you have more to give than money...It’s not just wealth, you also have your expertise, you have your volunteer time. You also have your ties and your communicate, your contacts.” [38:52] “So I think just thinking about bringing your whole self is part of being transformational. The second thing I’ll say is, and this gets back to strategy...it’s really having a shift in mindset around strategy and planning. And the mindset shift is instead of letting that unknown future paralyze you, to really let it free you.” Links Mentioned:  8 Things Every Philanthropist Can Do to Change the WorldPutnam ConsultingDelusional Altruism About Kris Putnam-Walkerly Kris Putnam-Walkerly is a trusted advisor to the world’s leading philanthropists. For over 20 years, ultra-high net worth donors, foundations, Fortune 500 companies, celebrity activists, and wealth advisors have sought her advice to transform their giving and catapult their impact. As a philanthropy advisor, speaker, and award-winning author, she’s helped hundreds of philanthropists strategically allocate over half a billion dollars in grants and gifts. Kris’s clients include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, J.M. Smucker Company, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundations, Fujitsu, Blue Shield of California, and Avery Dennison Foundation, among many others.  A thought leader in transformational giving®, Kris has been named one of America’s Top 20 Philanthropy Speakers for the past three years. She is the author of Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail To Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving (Wiley, 2020) and Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders; a Forbes.com contributor on philanthropy; a global philanthropy content partner to Alliance Magazine; and the US philanthropy expert to the leading Dutch philanthropy media outlet De Dikke Blauwe.  Prior to forming Putnam Consulting Group, Inc., Kris was a grantmaker at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and an evaluator at Stanford University School of Medicine. She holds a master’s degree in social work from San Francisco State University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. She and her husband have five children and reside near Cleveland, Ohio. Learn more at putnam-consulting.com.  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, liquidity, and growth… plus boosts your investment returns, and guarantees a legacy, go to https://privatizedbankingsecrets.com/freeguide to learn more.