Keep Your Future Bright

When times are tough, we all have the same options: 1) make more money to cover our costs, or 2) reduce our spending. What has the government done during these recent hard times? Spent more. Of our money.

While many of the banks that received TARP bailout money are repaying their debts, we’re still headed for a major loss. In fact, the Associated Press recently reported that the Obama “administration is now projecting the losses to the government from the bailout program will be about $120 billion, most of it due to auto and AIG assistance.”

Where do you think it will go to make up for that loss ? You’ve got it. Our money.

This is just one of the many reasons it would behoove all of us to find tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement, so our savings won’t be at risk for even bigger, greedier swipes from Uncle Sam.

Rather than relying on the traditional options for your retirement savings, such as 401(k)s and IRAs (that have proven to be at serious risk for losses during economic crises), you can find safer havens for your money in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts.

With proper structuring, you can leverage your assets – including your idle home equity – and allow your money to grow in MFTA contracts.

And you can enjoy more peace of mind in the future, even when the government starts to take action to make up for the past.

By Doug Andrew

Lifestyle Inflation

Isn’t it amazing, that we feel like we are working so hard for less. Yet, we’ve said before that the richest man in the world couldn’t afford air conditioning. Who was that? It was Getty, but air conditioning wasn’t invented in his life time. We take it for granted now. It would take us 8 months of work to afford the same material goods in 1950, versus less than 2 months today.

Take a look at what we “pay in time” working for things in today’s cost versus that cost in 1950 in the picture below.

When we think about spending money on things it is a good idea to start relating to our things in a fashion like this. All we really tend to do is focus on the money itself and not what we have to do or sacrifice to get it. For instance, in 1950 you needed to work over 240hrs just to get a freezer!! Today it is only 23 and the difference is that our conveniences change. Something that was luxury yesterday is just a common thing today.

What we also tend not to do is focus on what is going to give us the highest return on our dollar. Then when you work, you know that all the time spent is for something of high value.

Remember, the two industries that cost more today, than in 1950, are Healthcare and Education. It might pay to focus in the future on how you can better align with those two industries. Cost may come down, but if you have to choose between a new refrigerator and an appendectomy I would guess the debate will end quickly as to how you’ll spend your money. Same with education, the cost of ignorance is getting steeper, and as Benjamin Franklin says: “An investment in Education pays the greatest interest.”

Does Size Really Matter?

“Discovery consists in seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” – Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi

What you see is not always what you get. That’s why size really doesn’t matter when it comes to retirement income. The video in this post goes into an explanation but let me cover this and add a little more in a quick synopsis:

Many traditional strategies focus on having the biggest “pile” at retirement age and size doesn’t matter when:

* You don’t have access to your funds until retirement age, somewhere around 59, or you are hit with penalties
* Your tax bracket is higher compared to when you were working becasue distribution is taxed as real income and you have far less tax deductions in retirement
* You have a pile that will disappear when you exhaust it and don’t have the ability to “bankroll” itself”
* You think you have enough to pass on something to your heirs….until the “tax man” comes in and takes a majority

So, begin to take a look at the way you structure your retirement in a different way. See what other’s have seen and think what most have not thought. When we “follow the crowd” most of the time it really is just the easiest thing to do or, understand at that. What has happened in our economy in the past few years has made all of us take a step back, so we can now think “outside the box” for solutions to what we all now want:

A Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Fulfilling Life in Retirement

WHAT IS ENOUGH?

In my life, I have gone through alot of ups and downs, both personally and financially. Through These trials and tribulations I have learned some great lessons and become aware of some very powerful things. I am sure you agree with me, that you learn from your mistakes soooooo much more than you learn from your success. One of the things that came about my experiences is defining what W-E-A-L-T-H really means to me. On thing I did is I figured out What Is Enough

What To Do With The 401k

With so many people changing jobs or facing unemployment during this economic upheaval, many Americans are faced with the question: What to do with the 401(k)?

In a recent article by The Associated Press on this topic, the advice was expectedly traditional: 1) leave the money in the account with the former employer (you can’t make further contributions, but your 401(k) will continue to go up or down with the market); 2) roll it over into your new employer’s plan; 3) roll the money over into an IRA; or 4) cash out the account and suffer the early withdrawal penalty and a mandatory 20 percent withheld in taxes (you’ll still owe more in taxes if you’re in a tax bracket above 20 percent, which most Americans are).

There is a better option. Implement a strategic roll-out of the money in your 401(k) and leverage True Wealth Asset Optimization tactics to put your money to work for you in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts.

With this strategy, it is possible to create new tax deductions that can offset some or all of the tax liability incurred during the roll-out process. But even if you do incur some tax liability, it is advantageous to get the taxes over and done with now when you are likely in as low a tax bracket as you will ever be, and when your money is worth more than it will ever be.

These maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts can do more for your serious money than 401(k)s, IRAs or even Roth accounts, because they allow you to withdraw money tax-free (even before age 59 ?, without penalty). They also allow your money to accumulate tax-free, and when you pass away, your money transfers income-tax free to your heirs.

So if you’re contemplating the next step for what’s left of your 401(k), explore maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts. It’s possible to protect your financial future so you never have to lose again.

FREE ONLINE FINANCIAL EDUCATION

http://www.thebryanmcdonald.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/nifelogo.gif NIFE is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to unbiased consumer education. NIFE seeks out exceptional leaders, educators, and professionals to donate their time as Faculty members – sharing personal experience about Real Estate, Investing and Borrowing. Their experience is shared via live online classes, and recorded web videos – if you can watch TV, you can master your finance.

We believe that Financial Freedom Begins with Financial Education™.

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