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This week Doug Andrew discussed the following:
Upcoming Free Webinar
Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, January 31st 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 and Wealth Optimization.” You’ll learn how to choose the right investments for liquidity, safety, rate of return and tax benefits.
All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.
Setting Intentions for a Better Financial Future
One of the great benefits a new year brings is the opportunity to improve our individual situation from the previous year.
Some people choose to seize that opportunity by setting goals pertaining to weight loss, stopping smoking, or accomplishing new ambitions. The key to realizing a brighter future always hinges upon doing certain things different than they were done previously. If we persist in doing things as they’ve always been done, we cannot expect to get a different result.
A good example of this can be found in how a person goes about taking ownership of their financial future.
Too many people have persisted in habits like following the crowd and continuing to put their retirement money into 401(k)s and IRAs where taxes are deferred. They do this with some perceived future tax benefit in mind such as being in a lower tax bracket when they reach retirement.
They stubbornly keep their money in the market where it is most vulnerable to economic volatility and they ride out the ups and downs waiting for the market grow enough to regain their losses.
But the future reality they’re more likely to encounter will include higher taxes rates at the precise time that they have the fewest deductions to offset their liabilities. It’s entirely possible that they’ll end up paying higher taxes than they did when they were earning more.
The past decade has been especially tough on those whose retirement nest egg lost, on average, nearly 40% of its value.
On the other hand, those people who are willing to make necessary changes in the way they do things will get different results than they did before. For instance, thousands of Missed Fortune clients have learned how to use a strategic rollout to safely move their money from their 401(k) or IRA.
By doing this, they pay the applicable taxes today and then move those funds into a vehicle where their money accumulates tax-free from that day forward.
They learn to use indexing strategies that indirectly link their money to market performance in such a way that they don’t lose a dime when the market goes down yet they benefit from any upside immediately. People who’ve implemented our indexing strategies sleep soundly at night with zero stress over what the market may be doing.
They’ve taken the time to learn and apply proven principles and they get very different results from when they were simply following the crowd. This brings confidence in the future and peace of mind.
Three Things Investors Must Know
There are three critical components to a prudent investment. When potential investments are lacking any one or more of them, you’d be wise to reconsider.
The three essential ingredients of a prudent investment, in order of importance, include:
- Liquidity. This is a primary concern whether it involves your serious cash that you’re earmarking for retirement. In simple terms, liquidity means your money is accessible when you need it and isn’t tied up in your real estate, your IRA or anywhere else that you cannot get to it.
- Safety. The safety we’re looking for is not just of an institution, but also safety of principal. It’s not enough to simply protect the principal that you invested initially. In addition, any year that you make money, your gain should also become newly protected principal that also continues to grow tax-free.
- Rate of Return. A predictable, safe rate of return that is tax-free is the ideal.
These three ingredients combine to form the acronym LSRR (Laser) that is familiar to Missed Fortune clients everywhere. In order to choose the best investments that pass the Laser test with flying colors, you need to understand how the various investments stack up.
The sad truth is that most of the popular investment strategies advocated by many advisors fail the Laser test miserably. Liquidity, safety, and rate of return–in that order–are the hallmarks of a prudent investment. If you have them, chances are that you’re watching your money grow safely year after year.
If you don’t yet have them, it’s time to visit with a Missed Fortune advisor and learn how to put them to work for you.
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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