From the category archives:

Debt

Avoid 10 Key Mistakes To Ensure A Fruitful Retirement

July 18, 2010

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, July 20th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Are You Prepared for the Problem of Long Life?

Many thoughts of long lives and long retirements are of vacation trips, no debt, and plenty of disposable cash on hand to be able to give to your children, grandchildren, favorite charity.

Sadly, for most Americans these remain only thoughts as growing percentage of Americans are outliving the money they have set aside for retirement.

They literally cannot afford a long life. Instead, they become financially depend on others.

It seems absurd that after working an average of 40 years in the richest nation in the world that only a very small percentage of people can afford a long retirement, but that is the reality.

The reasoning is simple. It is because 95 percent of people are investing the same way and making the same mistakes.

The IRA and the 401(k) are the most popular retirement strategies in the U.S. With these strategies people are hoping to grow their investments and postpone taxes until they fall into a lower tax bracket because they are earning less.

This concept is riddled with problems. Most notable is that hopes of being in a lower tax bracket will not be realized because even though there is less income, there are often less deductions as well.

That, mixed with the fact that congress is continually raising taxes, means if anything people should expect higher taxes.

Other people follow the financial advice that paying off all debt will create financial independence.

These strategies implore people to send extra principle payments into their mortgage companies to alleviate themselves of any debt.

This strategy has caused many people to ultimately lose their homes because they lacked liquidity so when the economy dropped they couldn’t even afford to make the scheduled payments.

How Can You Protect Yourself & Afford a Long Retirement?

In order to protect against the common mistakes people are making in retirement planner, it is first necessary to know what these mistakes are.

There are ten mistakes I detail in my e-book, Baby Boomer Blunders, which are as follows:

Short-term investments being used for long-term goals.
Thinking that you will only live, therefore need to budget, for 15-20 years of retirement.
Believing that paying off your home will give you peace of mind.
Believing that $100,000 to $400,000 will be enough of a nest egg to fund your retirement.
Thinking that you will be in a lower tax bracket when you retire.
Believing that deferring taxes on retirement funds saves you on your taxes.
Thinking IRAs and 401(k)s are the best way to fund your retirement.
Reaching retirement age and not drawing out retirement funds from IRAs and 401(k)s because you don’t need the money, instead of doing a strategic rollout.
Viewing retirement as a time when you can do all of the things you always wanted to.
Thinking retirement is the time to coast instead of keeping a purpose.

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisorand learn to avoid the baby boomer blunders and be introduced to the empowering 31 F.L.A.V.O.R.S. of missed fortune.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Prevent Obama’s Increasing Debts from Bursting your Nest Egg

July 11, 2010

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, July 13th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Government Confusion Has Led to Gambling Plan

Is our nation’s best hope for an economic recovery left to officials who will continue increasing our debt at an alarming rate?

Nile Gardiner voices his alarm at this question in “America is sinking under Obama’s towering debt”:

“I hope the White House is paying attention to the latest annual Congressional Budget Office Long-Term Budget Outlook, which offers a truly frightening picture of the scale of America’s national debt, with huge implications for the country’s future prosperity. According to the non-partisan CBO, “the federal government has been recording the largest budget deficits, as a share of the economy, since the end of World War II…

“As a result of those deficits, the amount of federal debt held by the public has surged. At the end of 2008, that debt equaled 40 percent of the nation’s annual economic output (as measured by gross domestic product, or GDP), a little above the 40 year average of 36 percent. Since then, large budget deficits have caused debt held by the public to shoot upward; the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that federal debt will reach 62 percent of GDP by the end of this year—the highest percentage since shortly after World War II.”

In the last year the debt has risen from about $11.7 trillion to $14 trillion. And with the baby boomers coming up on retirement needing social security, Medicare and Medicaid, this number should be expected to soar.

As a result about a quarter of the population believes that the economic stimulus package has created jobs. In fact according to a recent Rasmussen report, over 40 percent of the population believes that the economy is now in a worse position as a result of the implementation of this plan.

Social security seems to use the same plan that Bernie Madoff used causing him to go to jail. It simply takes the money from the newer members and uses it to pay off the benefits promised to older members.

The only difference is this “robbing Peter to pay Paul” plan is considered legitimate since is falls under government control.

At this point it seems that the government is confused and policy makers have decided to bet that the private sector can make for some of the stimulus over the next few years.

If they are right they can get a head start on trying to close the budget deficits, but if this gamble is wrong they may set off a vicious new cycle in which drastic spending cuts could greatly weaken the world economy.

How to Protect Yourself?

We can no longer expect the government to fix everything. Those in a position to promote growth should do so.

It is time for individuals to take ownership of their future, health-care needs and retirements and create their own stimulus plan.

In “Create Your Own Economic Stimulus Plan — Save Yourself Because Big Government Can’t” six points are addressed teaching the ways to create economic growth for yourself no matter what schemes the government is trying to ‘fix’ the economy.

The following are the initial three points of this plan that can lead you toward financial growth no matter what is going on in the world economy.

1. Learn how increasing your credit score from 680 to 720 can increase your monthly income by $700 a month.

2. Learn to use $150,000 of equity in your house to create an additional $2.3 million in your retirement.

3. Forget 401(k) and IRA plans and learn to earn, grow and upon death even transfer money tax free.

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor to gain a greater understanding of these points and learn to avoid being a pawn in the governments stimulus gamble.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Cash Returns, But Prudent Debt Still Good

April 6, 2010

Since the economic crisis hit, we’ve all seen America go on a credit diet.

Commercial and industrial lending has declined 19 percent since fall of 2008, according to a recent Newsweek article.

Consumer lending has likewise decreased, with banks and credit cards diminishing or cutting off lending nationwide.

For the first time in a long time, America is remembering what it’s like to deal in cash.

Newsweek reported,

“Just as families are paying down credit-card debt and building up cash reserves, businesses large and small are learning to operate in an environment where cash once again is king….

“The real discipline of cash may be that it causes executives, consumers, and investors to think twice—and to think about the long-term consequences—before spending. The need for instant gratification is part of what created the current mess.”

But even in this era of better self-control and smarter spending that cash has helped restore, it’s important to realize that there is still indeed “good debt.”

If we borrow to conserve, not consume, we are doing what banks have always done (and continue to do even now)—using Other People’s Money to make money.

We can continue to use that same principle of arbitrage to prudently save for our own retirement.

By optimizing your assets, you can borrow at one rate to earn at a slightly higher rate, and benefit not only yourself, but also your family, your community, your favorite charities, and ultimately, your heirs.

And by investing your serious money in safe retirement savings vehicles, it’s possible to maintain liquidity—which is what today’s cash-conscious are focused on.

What’s more, by properly structuring these vehicles, you get the added benefit of tax-advantaged saving.

Find out how to use maximum-funded tax-advantaged insurance contracts to protect your financial future. Borrow wisely to conserve, not consume.

And live in a world where better spending decisions can create a better life, for everyone.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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More Foreclosures Ahead

March 16, 2010

Why They Wish They’d Known What They Didn’t Know

The nation’s economic crisis has affected people’s lives in countless ways – even threatening the roofs over their head.

While millions of families faced foreclosure last year, recent articles reveal that economic experts are predicting continued foreclosures this year:

“Experts fear that a new wave of foreclosures will hit this year as prolonged unemployment makes it difficult for millions of homeowners to pay their mortgages — and many of them aren’t likely to get much help from a federal program aimed at keeping them in their houses.” –The Los Angeles Times

“More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan has helped only a small slice of them. Consumer advocates, economists and even some banking industry representatives say much more needs to be done.” –The New York Times

It’s true in life that often “we don’t know what we don’t know.” And it’s probably safe to assume many families facing foreclosure didn’t know successful equity optimization strategies that could have helped save them from foreclosure.

Do you know what you don’t know?

Do you know the best way to protect yourself from foreclosure is NOT necessarily to pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible?

Do you know how to take the idle equity in your home and put it to work so it can be safe, liquid and earn a rate of return?

Do you know how this could protect you in economic downturns?

Find out more, and find out now, so you can avoid future regrets.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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Learn Now So You Don’t Have to Pay Later

March 2, 2010

Take the money now, pay later.

This is exactly what millions of Americans have hungrily done for years.

Consumed with consumption, they were lulled into a sense of entitlement and security, believing they’d always be able to pay it off down the road.

Then the economic crisis hit.

Since then, jobs have been lost, homes have been foreclosed on, and nearly everyone has had a hard lesson in the dangers of reckless debt.

American consumers aren’t the only ones whose poor financial habits have had to be accounted for.

American financial institutions have had their day of reckoning, and many long-revered companies have been shaken – some, like Lehman Bros. – to their very foundations.

But news of poor financial decisions and subsequent carnage hasn’t stopped there.

Just recently, Greece’s financial woes have rocked Europe’s economy, weakening the euro and threatening to set back the entire continent’s economic recovery.

What’s worse, American financial institutions allegedly helped fuel the fiasco. A New York Times article revealed:

“As worries over Greece rattle world markets, records and interviews show that with Wall Street’s help, the nation engaged in a decade-long effort to skirt European debt limits. One deal created by Goldman Sachs helped obscure billions in debt from the budget overseers in Brussels. Even as the crisis was nearing the flashpoint, banks were searching for ways to help Greece forestall the day of reckoning.”

Whether on a personal, corporate or government level, fiscal irresponsibility can lead to dire consequences.

Whether you’ve been above the fray or found yourself a bit unraveled by your own past habits, there is no better time to set a course for financial responsibility.

It’s imperative to learn to borrow to conserve, not consume, and to prepare for your own retirement so you can enjoy an abundant life now, and later.

Find out now how Successful Asset Optimization strategies can help protect you and your financial future. Because you don’t want to have to “pay later.”

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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Learn How to Leverage OPM to Stimulate Your Personal Economy

February 21, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, February 23rd at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “Successful Equity Management.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Will the Real Obama Please Stand Up?

After catering to moderates throughout his campaign, Obama is proving to be far more liberal than anyone ever suspected him to be.

His agenda is shaping up as one of the most radical since the New Deal, and it will have drastic consequences for Americans.

In an article entitled “Barack Has a Truth Ache,” Michael Goodwin reported in the New York Post:

“[The American people] believed him when he said he was a moderate who would lead from the center. But a clear majority, 54 percent, now says the president is ‘mostly liberal’ and his policies tilt left.

“They’re not happy, because that’s not what they expected or wanted…

“Quite simply, the president is squandering the trust the American people vested in him. It could not be otherwise when so many suspect he pulled the wool over their eyes to get elected.

Analyzing the poll, Gallup editor Lydia Saad writes that only 48 percent of the 1,521 adults surveyed in mid-October say Obama has kept his campaign promises, a sharp decline from the 65 percent who felt that way in April.

The poll, which didn’t track specific policies, leaves little room for doubt, with 48 percent also saying Obama ‘has not’ kept his promises.”

Hopefully, the 2010 elections may overturn the current surge toward socialism.

In the meantime, however, you need to be doing everything you can to create your own economic stimulus plan — because, thanks to liberal policies, taxes will go up and the dollar will be worth less over time.

Economic Stimulus Point: Learn How to Leverage OPM

Sadly, when most Americans think of using other people’s money (OPM), they think of borrowing to purchase consumer goods and depreciating assets, such as cars.

Because of this, we’ve come to think of debt as a bad thing — even though we’re clearly addicted to it.

But debt can be a powerful source of investing when used to conserve and produce, rather than consume.

This is precisely how banks make money — by borrowing OPM at low interest rates, then lending it to other people at higher interest rates.

Wouldn’t you like to learn how to think and operate like a bank? Wouldn’t you like to learn how you can use debt as a tool of production?

To do so, join us on our next webinar, “Successful Equity Management,” then set up a free consultation with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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With Taxes Rising & the Value of the Dollar Falling, What Should You Be Doing?

February 9, 2010

When David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), left office about two years ago, he stated he needed to retire so he could tell the American public the truth.

The truth is we currently have national debt that exceeds $13 trillion, which represents a liability of $43,000 per American citizen.

It’s also estimated that this year’s deficit will equal 2009’s deficit and will likely add about $1.6 trillion to the debt.

Yet we continue to experience stagnant unemployment, shrinking tax revenue and a struggling economy for the foreseeable future.

Not only that, but the Trustees of Social Security estimate a current unfunded liability in excess of $100 trillion in 2009 dollars.

This means that the federal government has obligated itself to pay more than $100 trillion over and above any taxes it expects to receive.

In other words, that’s how much would have to be invested at U.S. Treasury rates to pay the future liability owed to Social Security recipients who have faithfully paid into the system during their careers.

Most people can’t even begin to comprehend what $100 trillion is. It’s “100” with 12 zeros to the right. Just $1 trillion would be $1 dollar bills lined up end-to-end from here to the moon and back—200 times!

Even though many believe that Social Security is our greatest entitlement problem, Medicare is six times larger in terms of unfunded obligations, according to David Walker of the GAO.

It would require $700,000 from every full-time working individual in America in order to cover this huge liability. How is that going to happen?

On top of that, Congress estimates that if the proposed health care reform comes to fruition, it will be at an estimated cost of just under $2 trillion during the next ten years.

In the meantime, the interest alone on the national debt accrues at $41 million an hour (just under $1 billion a day)—that’s $690,000 per minute, or $11,500/second!

When individuals find themselves with more outgo than income, they are forced to either cut expenses or increase income. Well, the federal government is definitely not cutting its spending, so it is clear it will be forced to raise taxes dramatically and will likely be printing more money.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, by mid-century, a middle income family will have to pay two-thirds of its income in taxes!

I can confidently assure you that:

Your current tax bracket will likely be the lowest bracket you will ever be in, and
Your money will never be worth more than it is today.

So, what should you be doing?

Many smart people are now converting their IRAs and 401(k)s (and other qualified accounts) by doing what I call a “strategic rollout.”

This is a method of taking care of taxes now on those accounts at a lower rate and repositioning the money into vehicles that will accumulate tax free from this point forward and more importantly, will provide tax-free income later.

Why wait for your IRAs and 401(k)s to recover from their losses and then pay tax on that higher amount later? You can either pay the IRS now or you will pay them more later.

Now is the time to convert your IRAs and 401(k)s to better plans. There are safe and proven strategies that will help you get your future back!

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The Power of OPM: How to Leverage Debt Safely & Wisely

January 10, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, January 12th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “Successful Equity Management.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Investors Losing Big with Small Returns

The New York Times recently published an article entitled “At Tiny Rates, Saving Money Costs Investors,” which reports that “millions of Americans are paying a high price for a safe place to put their money: extremely low interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.”

This is particularly detrimental to the elderly and others on fixed incomes. As the article reports:

“Indeed, after fees are subtracted, inflation is accounted for and taxes are paid, many investors in C.D.’s, government bonds and savings and money market accounts are losing money.”

Of course, the traditional financial services industry will tell you that people need to take higher risks to get better returns.

As the article states, “People who rely on income from such investments for support, however, are being forced to consider new options.”

Unfortunately, most of the options people are considering are misguided and damaging.

Missed Fortune, however, provides the best option: Maximum-funded, tax-advantaged life insurance contracts which provide liquidity, guarantee safety of principle, while still producing a healthy rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Furthermore, with the right equity management strategies many elderly and Baby Boomers can discover financial security with their existing assets.

The Power of Equity Management

While people scramble to recover from the recession and explore new ways to build their retirement funds, many of them are sitting on the answer, but are completely unaware.

That answer is home equity.

Before the recession there was $19 trillion dollars of residential real estate, with about $10 trillion sitting as idle equity and no loans attached. After the recession that dropped to about $17 trillion, with at least $8 trillion unencumbered.

About 60% of this total belongs to Baby Boomers, which represents $4.8 trillion in lazy, idle equity.

However, many people are fearful to leverage equity because they think it increases their risk. While this can be true in certain circumstances, Missed Fortune provides a way for you to decrease your risk by leveraging your equity.

It’s exactly how banks operate. If we could educate more Americans to do this we could turn the economy around without federal stimulus spending.

Register now for our next webinar to learn how to become your own bank and borrow to conserve, not consume. You’ll learn how to safely leverage your home equity, maintain liquidity, and increase your rates of return.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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CPR: Your Personal Economic Stimulus Package

January 7, 2010

The economy has tanked. Our current national debt costs us $1 billion a day, or $41 million an hour. Despite opposition from most Americans, Congress continues its reckless, self-serving spending spree.

So who’s stepping in to save the day? Will the government economic stimulus packages really revive America?

What can you do to save yourself from rising taxes and ballooning inflation? You need to perform CPR, meaning “Creative Practical Recovery,” on your personal finances and create your own economic stimulus package.

Watch this video to learn more:

*If you are getting this feed in RSS or email and cannot see the video, please click on the header to view it on the blog.

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The Government’s Day of Reckoning

December 27, 2009

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, December 29th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Wealth & Total Asset Optimization: How to Establish Your Own Family-Empowered Bank.”

You’ll learn how to safely accumulate an additional $1 million tax-free that can generate $70,000 per year in tax-free income. This is much better than receiving $100,000 per year from a 401(k), IRA, or other vehicle that requires you to pay taxes on the back end.

Register now by calling 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346).

Just for registering you’ll receive a bonus e-book and audio book on the IRA/401(k) dilemma.

Furthermore, all attendees will receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

The Day of Reckoning

The verdict is in: Our government is headed toward disaster.

Social Security — the biggest ponzi scheme on the planet, is already technically bankrupt.

The current Social Security debt stands at $60 trillion. Due to inflation, its current unfunded liability is $100 trillion.

One crippling force catching up to us is age demographics. When Social Security was introduced there was one recipient for every 60 workers. Within a decade of instituting the ill-fated program the ratio was one recipient to 15 workers. By 1986 the ratio was one recipient per every 6 workers.

The current ratio is one Social Security benefit recipient per every 3-4 workers.

For the first time in history, in the first week of October of this year Social Security paid out more in benefits than it received in taxes. This wasn’t predicted to happen until 2042.

If those statistics aren’t enough to jolt you, consider this: Medicare has six times the amount of unfunded obligations than Social Security.

Our national debt stands at $11.7 trillion, which would require $38,000 per citizen to pay off. National health care alone will add another $2 trillion.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that by mid-century a middle income family will have to pay over 2/3rds of its income in taxes.

And let’s not forget about inflation.

Meanwhile, Congress is preoccupied rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Why doesn’t the government have to live basic economic principles like the rest of us?

The answer is simple: Because it has the power to print money and take it forcefully from wage earners.

This recklessness, foolishness and oppression is unsustainable. At some point there will be a day of reckoning.

The question is, what are you doing about it?

Your Personal Economic Stimulus Plan

While you can’t control what the government does, you can control your own finances. You need a personal economic stimulus plan to help you outpace inflation and minimize taxation.

And the Missed Fortune strategies provide both of these through specific asset optimization strategies, as well as properly structured maximum-funded, tax advantaged insurance contracts.

Get started now with your economic stimulus plan.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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