Category: best way to invest money

The Recession is Over… If You’re On Wall Street

July 28th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 9 Comments

There have been a spate of articles in the financial media recently encouraging retirees to catch up on savings shortfalls by investing as much as 40-60% of their nest egg in the stock market.

These “experts” promote the concept as if it makes perfect sense to make up for your gambling losses by doubling your bets.

To me, it’s appalling that anyone would advise those who are already retired to gamble their life’s savings on the volatile, risk-filled world of Wall Street.

But my message – that Wall Street is unstable and potentially as explosive as nitroglycerin – is really not age specific. The stock market can (and will) blow up in your face at any age.

For most Americans – and Wall Street goes to great lengths to hide this truth – the stock market is a promise unmet.

The success myth hyped by the financial services industry is like a casino showcasing its big winners, without mentioning that the prize pool derives from the much larger pool of losers who generate huge profits for the operators, but who themselves walk away worse off than if they had stayed at home.

Money isn’t the only price that the Wall Street casino extracts from most investors

Getting to Know Pamela Yellen, President of Bank On Yourself

July 21st, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 13 Comments

In this candid conversation, Pamela Yellen really lets her hair down and reveals things about herself she’s never talked about before.

In this interview, you’ll learn…

Pamela’s early investing mistakes
How she first learned about the Bank On Yourself method of wealth building
How Walt Disney, J.C. Penney and other influential people have used this method
Why Banks use this to meet their Tier One (safe and liquid) Capital reserves requirement
Why Bank On Yourself Professionals earn much lower commissions than other forms of life insurance sales
Why this concept is not included on insurance licensing exams
Pamela & her husband Larry
Bank On Yourself “Inc.” doesn’t sell insurance or charge consumers anything…so how does it make money?
Introducing the Bank On Yourself Nation…soon to be the center of the universe when it comes to financial literacy education and learning to be self-reliant

So checkout this fast-paced interview now by pressing the play button below, or you can download the interview as an Mp3 and listen on your own player or iPod…

And if you still have any unanswered questions about Bank On Yourself or Pamela Yellen, please tell us in the comments box below…

Grow your money safely and predictability even when the markets crash…

Wondering how the Bank On Yourself method can help you reach your financial goals and dreams in the shortest time possible… without the stomach-churning ups and downs of traditional investments?

Request a free, no-obligation Analysis now to find out. When you request your Analysis you’ll also get a referral to one of only 200 financial advisors in the country who have met all the rigorous requirements and training needed to be a Bank On Yourself Professional.

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for week of July 13, 2011

July 13th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 2 Comments

Here are short summaries of three of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week. Enjoy… and tell us what you think!

Would you be prepared if you suffered a 30% pay cut?

A shocking new report reveals that the average person’s pay levels off when they’re in their 40’s. After that, about all you’ll be likely to count on will be cost-of-living adjustments to keep pace with inflation.

That will come as a real surprise to many people who assume their pay will continue to rise as they get older.

And if you lose your job while in your 50’s, you’re likely to remain jobless longer than when you were younger, according to the report.

Read this sobering and well documented article from the Wall Street Journal.¹

What’s your best self-defense? When planning for retirement, assume the only salary increases you’ll get will be cost-of-living adjustments. And identify a worse-case scenario – such as a 20% pay cut during your final ten years in the workforce – and try living on that income and putting the rest into savings.

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of May 18, 2011

May 18th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

I hope you enjoy these short summaries of four of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week…

401(k) savings reach a 12-year high

However, half of all workers aren’t confident about their retirement future. No wonder, considering 56% say they’ve saved less than $25,000.¹

According to an article in USA Today², many 401(k) participants increased their contribution some this past year. If you’re one of them, or are considering doing that, here are some things to think about:

After a “lost” decade for stocks, before the market turned around in 2009, the 10-year returns of the S&P 500 were negative. Even after a near-record recovery, the 10-year returns remain meager – just 2.7% on an annualized basis for the ten years ending in April.³

Compare investing in a 401(k) to the Bank On Yourself method

That just about equals the inflation rate for that period, wiping out any real gain you might have had for the decade. It also assumes you have no fees or costs (401(k)’s have some of the highest costs) AND assumes you’ll pay no taxes!

And speaking of taxes… what direction do you think tax rates are going over the long term?

If you think they’re going up, as most people we’ve surveyed do, and you’re successful in growing a nest-egg in your 401(k), you’re only going to pay higher taxes on a bigger number!

Beware the "Behavior Gap": Interview with Carl Richards

April 27th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 2 Comments

I’m delighted to share this fascinating interview with Carl Richards with you. Carl writes a weekly essay for The New York Times “Your Money” section and has been a Certified Financial Planner for 15 years. His witty sketches have appeared in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Morningstar and The New York Times.

Over the years, he noticed that the actual real-life returns the average investor gets are dramatically lower than the return of the average mutual fund. He named this phenomenon the Behavior Gap^TM and began devoting his energy to explaining why the Behavior Gap exists and what constitutes smart investor behavior.

Carl recently shared his surprising insights, tips and strategies with me in an audio interview. I hope you’ll listen to it today – I know you will find it very helpful!

You can listen to the interview by pressing the play button below, or you can download the entire interview as an Mp3 and listen on your own player or iPod…

You can also download a transcript of the interview here.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this interview…

Why 80% of all actively managed mutual funds and investment advisors underperform the overall market
The #1 biggest mistake individual investors make over and over again… and why most will keep making it
The keys to being a smart investor
How to determine if you should be investing in equities at all
The real key to happiness (it isn’t what you might think!)
How to practice “radical self-awareness” so you control your money rather than letting it controlling you
Why happiness is directly related to how much you focus on the things you can control
How to increase your wealth and happiness by focusing your energy on three things you do have control over!

You can listen to the interview by pressing the play button below, or you can download the entire interview as an MP3 and listen on your own player or iPod…

You can also download a transcript of the interview here.

Improve Your Financial Picture…

To find out how much your financial picture could improve if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan, request a free Analysis. If you’re wondering where you’ll find the funds to start your plan, the Bank On Yourself Professionals are masters at helping people restructure their finances and free up seed money to fund a plan that will help you reach as many of your goals as possible in the shortest time possible.

Full Potential Video Interview with Pamela Yellen

April 22nd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 4 Comments

Pamela Yellen was recently interviewed by James Rick, host of Full Potential. In this fast-paced video, Pamela reveals…

Why she’s so passionate about the Bank On Yourself Method
Why she created the $100,000 Challenge – a cash reward for the first person who can show they use a different strategy that can match or beat the advantages and guarantees of Bank On Yourself
Three tips you can use today to take back control of your money and finances

Improve Your Financial Picture…

James Rick, also known as “Mr. Full Potential,” is the founder of FullPotential.com and author of “Unleash Your Full Potential.” James is a lifestyle strategist for living your best life, cutting costs and building wealth through what you love! So check out his other terrific interviews!

Is the U.S. headed towards financial doomsday?

April 12th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 34 Comments

Financial Doomsday? People concerned about the declining value of the dollar have been asking us how that might affect the value of Bank On Yourself policies. Some have even asked if they can buy policies in other currencies.

The frequency with which we’ve been receiving these questions seems to be picking up recently. And I believe the reason for that is the endless parade of financial advice-givers who are all too happy to take your U.S. dollars to tell you why those dollars will be worthless… and why our economy is on an unavoidable collision course with destruction.

These merchants of gloom and doom appear to have one goal in common: To so paralyze you with fear that you let them do your thinking for you as you rush to take their advice.

Good Advice?

These merchants of gloom and doom appear to have one goal in common: To so paralyze you with fear that you let them do your thinking for you as you rush to take their advice.

I won’t insult your intelligence by doing the same.

What I will do is pose some questions designed to help jump start your powers of critical thinking.

You see, I’ve been studying the newsletters, videos, and articles churned out by these doomsayers. Some of the information in them is well researched, although the conclusions they draw from it can be a stretch.

But the problem is not so much with any facts or statistics they may quote. It’s what they leave out that concerns me.

So I’ll hope you’ll take a few moments to ponder these questions, before rushing to take the advice of these prophets of doom…

Click here to read the Confiscation Order...

Announcing the winners of the “what inspires you to save” contest!

March 31st, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 1 Comment

Last week we held a contest about what inspires or motivates you to save money. The response was overwhelming and with many so inspiring and heartfelt entries, it was very difficult for our team to pick the six winners…

After much deliberation, five members of the Bank On Yourself team each picked their favorite entry – each of these winners will receive their choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself, for themselves or to give as a gift to someone they care about.

And together, the team picked their favorite entry and that person won a $100 American Express Gift Certificate. (All winners will soon be receiving an email letting them know how to claim their prizes.)

Read on to be inspired by the winning entries…

Enter our "what inspires you to save" contest!

March 23rd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 76 Comments

People are inspired to save money for different reasons. Share what inspires or motivates you to save in the comment box below and you could win one of six prizes we’ll be awarding, including five prizes of your choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself, for you or to give as a gift to someone you care about.

Post your entry in the comment box below...

Five members of the Bank On Yourself team will each pick their favorite entry for the dining certificate/autographed book prizes. And together we’ll pick the most inspiring entry and award that person a $100 American Express Gift Certificate. (Sorry – U.S. residents only.)

Just post your entry in the comment box below by Monday, March 28. The prize winners will be notified by email on Friday, April 1, and the winning entries will be featured in that day’s blog post.

Save for something that excites you!

Research shows that people are more likely to save if they are saving for something that excites them, rather than because they “should” save.

For example, my husband Larry and I have two grandchildren living a couple states away. We call or Skype them (almost like being there!) every Sunday. Last Sunday, Halle, who’s in second grade, told us her favorite subjects now are science and math. She’s learning the multiplication tables, and we spent nearly an hour quizzing her – she would happily have kept doing it for another hour, but our brains were fried!

Halle’s brother Jake loves playing basketball. He’s a head taller than his classmates, so who knows where that will lead…

Anyway, a few years ago, we started savings plans for Halle and Jake’s college educations.

Doing that just feels so motivating. And because we’re saving the money in a Bank On Yourself policy, rather than an investment account or a 529 Savings Plan, we know the money will be there when needed. And if they decide to become entrepreneurs instead of going to college, the funds can be accessed without the restrictions or penalties common to 529 and other plans.

(Compare saving for college in a Bank On Yourself policy versus a 529 Plan)

So what inspires or motivates you to save?

Just post your entry in the comment box below by Monday, March 28, and you could win one of the six prizes described above!

Should you be worried about the Dow’s plunge?

March 17th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 12 Comments

If, like most Americans, you have a substantial portion of your nest-egg in stocks and mutual funds, I urge you to take a few minutes to read this right now…

The U.S. stock market has lost considerable ground and volatility has returned with a vengeance. The situation is precarious in both Japan and the Middle East.

But the recent stock market plunge was virtually assured before the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

Here’s why…

We’re doing it again: Buying stocks after big gains in the markets.

In 2008, 2009 and most of 2010, mutual fund investors in almost every month took more money out of stock mutual funds than they added. Then, in January, someone hit a switch.

Investors decided that it was time to get back into the stock market. Keep in mind this decision came after an almost 100 percent gain from the market bottom in 2008. So in December we pulled $10.6 billion out of equity mutual funds, and in January we poured an estimated $30 billion into the market.

Do you see the problem here?”¹

The problem, as this article from The New York Times blog titled, “Are We Buying High All Over Again?” points out, is that investors are repeating past bad behavior. Just as they have done throughout history, and just as they will continue to do for the rest of time.