Personal Finance Blog for Retirement and Investment Advice

Wall Street Journal Exposes Stock Market Myths!

July 27th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 6 Comments

A very revealing article appeared in the Sunday, July 25 edition of the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Ten Stock-Market Myths that Just Won’t Die.”

Maybe you don’t quite believe what I’ve been saying for years. This article confirms exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you…

This article is must-reading for anyone who’s been scratching their head and wondering…

If what they say about the long-term returns you should be able to get in the stock market is true, how come I’m not rich?!?”

Please pay particular attention to…

Myth #1: “This is a good time to invest in the stock market”

Myth #2: “Stocks on average make about 10% a year”

And the article author’s insight into Myth #10: “Stocks outperform over the long term” is priceless.

I’ve quoted many sources confirming what this Wall Street Journal article says. How many more sources do you need to hear it from, before you request a free Analysis that will show you how much your financial picture could improve if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan?

Famous people who use the Bank On Yourself method

June 30th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 45 Comments

There’s one surprising thing Walt Disney, J. C. Penney and the Pampered Chef have in common – they all used the Bank On Yourself method to start, grow and/or finance their businesses!

Walt Disney borrowed from his life insurance in 1953 to help fund Disneyland, his first theme park, when no banker would lend him the money.¹

Following the 1929 stock market crash, famous retailer J. C. Penney borrowed from his life insurance policies to help meet the company payroll.² Had he not had ready access to capital, the company probably would have been forced to close its doors, adding even more people to the unemployment line.

The Pamperd Chef used dividend paying whole life insurance loan for initial capitalization

In 2002, Doris Christopher sold her kitchen tool company, the Pampered Chef to Warren Buffett for a reported $900 million. Seven years earlier, she launched the company with a life insurance policy loan.³

Foster Farms was founded in 1939 when Max and Verda Foster borrowed $1,000 against their life insurance policy to buy an 80-acre farm near Modesto, CA.⁴

Senator John McCain secured initial campaign financing for his presidential bid by using his life insurance policy as collateral.³

So-called “permanent” or cash value life insurance (versus term insurance, which is like renting insurance) builds up cash value that policy owners can use in difficult times as a ready source of money to cover personal or business expenses for emergencies and even to cover insurance costs.

Hold your financial course or change your course?

June 15th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 5 Comments

“Those who can't remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana
The Dow has dropped below 10,000 several times recently – a level it first reached more than eleven years ago and has since bounced over and back an astonishing 63 times!

Millions of people who were counting on their homes to help fund their retirement now have no equity to count on, because they owe more than their homes are worth.

Credit is still extremely tight for both businesses and consumers, underscoring just how little control we have when we have to rely on other people’s money.

As we face continuing economic challenges, many people are wondering… what does the future hold?

Ever hear the old saying, “Change is the only constant?” Today that is clearly true more than ever! Stephen Covey, author of the run-away best seller, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the following story:

How will the debt crisis affect Bank On Yourself?

May 13th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 27 Comments

A question we are getting frequently right now is how safe is your money in a Bank On Yourself plan if the debt crisis in Europe continues and spreads to the United States?

Let’s start by answering the question…

What do life insurance companies invest in to be able to deliver on their promises to policy owners?

Life insurance companies are highly regulated and required to maintain sufficient reserves to ensure they can pay all future claims.

They are regularly audited by the state insurance commissioners’ offices, and sometimes by dozens of states, to ensure they are on solid financial ground. And a multi-layer safety net exists to assure your money in a life insurance policy is secure.

You may be wondering, “What about AIG?” Many people missed the fact that AIG’s problems were caused by a holding company, not its life insurance subsidiaries. Their insurance companies were walled off from the problems, have always been solvent and did not receive a bailout.

The companies recommended by Bank On Yourself Professionals are among the financially strongest life insurance groups in the world.

They enjoy some of the strongest surplus positions in the industry, approximately double the industry average.

These companies are, in essence, owned by policyowners, rather than stockholders, which allows them to focus on the long-term interests of policy holders, rather than the short-term demands of Wall Street.

Here’s what the companies used for Bank On Yourself invest in:

The truth about investing in mutual funds

May 5th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 6 Comments

Investors earn returns over time that are far lower than those quoted by mutual fund firms. In fact, it’s not even a close race.”

This is the conclusion of DALBAR, Inc., the well-respected independent investment research firm.¹

For the past 20 years, “the average equity investor barely managed to eke out an annualized return that outpaced inflation.” The average return was 3.49% per year – just slightly more than the inflation rate for that period!

Asset allocation and fixed income investors weren’t so lucky (if you can call that “luck”); they lost ground after adjusting for inflation.

Why most investors don’t come close to getting the returns touted in mutual fund prospectuses…

There are plenty of reasons for this. For starters…
[Read more…] “The truth about investing in mutual funds”

Does money buy happiness?

April 28th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 3 Comments

There is probably nothing in the world that people spend more time discussing than money.

Countries go to war because of money. People marry and divorce because of money. And we spend the biggest part of our waking hours working to earn it.

The age-old question, of course, is, does money buy happiness?

While writing a fascinating book, John Stossel, the highly regarded former anchor of the investigative TV show, 20/20, did some research into the answer to this question.

Dow 11,000: Déjà vu all over again?

April 12th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 13 Comments

Bill Clinton was President, the world awaited the potentially disastrous consequences of the Y2K computer bug, and – oh, yeah – the Dow closed above 11,000 for the first time in history.

The date was May 3^rd, 1999, and to quote Yogi Berra, nearly eleven years later,

This is like deja vu all over again”

The Wall Street spin-makers are pointing out what a “big accomplishment it is for a measure that was below 7,000 only a year ago” to recapture the 11,000 level.

Before we pop the cork on a bottle of champagne, here’s a few sobering questions to ask yourself…

Bank on Yourself hits The New York Times Best Seller List!

April 8th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 1 Comment

The recently released paperback edition of Pamela Yellen’s first book on the Bank On Yourself concept will debut at #3 on the coveted New York Times Best-Seller List on April 11.

It also hit #2 on the USA Today Money Best Seller list for the week ending March 28th.

The hardcover edition was released a year ago and immediately hit the USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best seller lists.

Find out what all the buzz is about and learn more about this proven, time-tested way to grow a nest egg, so you can take back control of your money and finances today.

What’s the rate of return on a Bank On Yourself plan?

March 18th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 138 Comments

A recent comment made by a reader of this blog inspired this post. I’ve never gone into detail on the question of how the rate of return on a Bank On Yourself policy compares with investing in stock market and mutual funds.

And is it really true that if you simply hold on long enough, investing in stocks and mutual funds will out-perform just about anything else?

So, I’ve decided to lay those questions to rest – once and for all – right here. Here’s the comment by a reader who calls himself “Tob” that sparked this post:

This is a ridiculous attempt to compare whole life insurance to the “stock market” after the worst decade. I can show you how investing blows the pants off whole life using investing basics. Balanced Funds. How many funds do you want that have produce 10% per year compounding average to convince you?”

So, has “Tob” really found that elusive investment that gives you a 10% average return, and still lets you sleep at night?

We’ll get to the answer to that question in a moment.

First, let me address the question,

I just came across these four surprising new facts that affect your money and finances…

Fascinating Fact #1: 61% of boomers fear outliving their money in retirement more than they fear death

But why should you have to, after a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice?!?

Here’s what the companies used for Bank On Yourself invest in:

Why most investors don’t come close to getting the returns touted in mutual fund prospectuses…

“What the heck is the rate of return on a typical Bank On Yourself policy?”