Category: best way to invest money

Dalbar 2014 QAIB Report Reveals the Truth About Investor Returns

I’m holding in my hands a hot-off-the-press Report from the well-respected research firm, DALBAR, Inc., about the actual returns investors have been getting in the stock market over the last 30 years. And it ain’t pretty…hot off the presses

The average investor in asset allocation mutual funds (which spread your money in a blend of equities and fixed-income funds) earned only 1.85% per year over the last 30 years!

These investors didn’t even come close to beating inflation, which averaged 2.8% per year.

The average investor in equity mutual funds averaged only 3.69% per year – beating inflation by less than 1% per year. (Was that worth the roller-coaster ride and sleepless nights?)

[Read more…] “Dalbar 2014 QAIB Report Reveals the Truth About Investor Returns”

Mutual Fund Fees are Silent but Deadly Wealth Killers

How would you feel if you discovered that every time you put $10,000 into your retirement account, $4,000 or more of it ended up going to pay fees over the next 20 years? And another ten years later, nearly $8,000 of your initial investment had vanished into other people’s pockets?High Fees

I’m guessing you wouldn’t be a very happy camper. In fact, you’d probably be mad as heck.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is exactly what’s happening to most investors right now. Which means there’s a VERY good chance it’s happening to you.

You see, I’ve been burning the midnight oil researching the fees in popular mutual funds – including the ones in many 401(k) plans – for a new course in financial literacy we’ll be rolling out soon.

The course will give you a step-by-step plan for ending all your financial worries in as little as 90 days… and it contains breakthrough strategies you won’t find anywhere else. I’ll be giving you more details about it over the next month or two, so stay tuned.

But in the meantime, what I discovered about what experts have called “the silent enemy in our retirement accounts” – fees that compound against you that are charged by mutual funds and 401(k) and IRA plan administration costs – will stun you.

Let’s start with the cost of popular Target Date Funds or TDF’s,” the “default investment” in many 401(k) plans.

[Read more…] “Mutual Fund Fees are Silent but Deadly Wealth Killers”

Is Wall Street rigged?

How would you feel if you went online to buy something – for example, a TV that’s listed at $495.00 – but when you get your order confirmation and credit card statement, you realize you got charged $535.00 for it instead?

sticker shockWhen you inquire about the price hike, you’re given the run-around, but eventually you’re told that there was only one TV available at that price, and someone else bought it a split second before your order got processed. So they filled your order with the same TV at the then-available best price, which was higher.

And, they remind you, they have an “all sales are final” policy, so you’re stuck with the deal.

You’d probably raise holy heck, wouldn’t you? Or you’d vow never to patronize that company again, right?

So, you make your next online purchase from a different company… and the exact same thing happens! In fact, it happens every time you make an online purchase, adding up to significant lost dollars to you over time.

Well, as it was revealed last week, this is exactly what’s happening to stock market investors every day – and it’s been going on for years. And it’s costing every-day investors billions of dollars.

60 Minutes just did an exposé on it, titled “Rigged,” just as a much-anticipated new book by Michael Lewis called Flash Boys blew the lid off this latest scandal.

Lewis summed it up this way:

[Read more…] “Is Wall Street rigged?”

The good, bad and the ugly of the new myRA

You’ve probably been hearing about the new “myRA,” a new government-run retirement account that President Obama unveiled at his State of the Union address and plans to create with a stroke of his pen.

Obama State of the Union Address

Its primary purpose is to offer a savings option to the 50% or so of U.S. workers who have no access to employer-sponsored retirement plans and have little saved for retirement.

Obama State of the Union Address

The appeal is that it “guarantees a decent return with no risk of losing what you put in,” according to Obama.

Sounds okay so far, right?

I did some digging into the details to understand more about how this program will actually work… and to help you sort through the pros and cons of programs like this.

Below I’ve listed the good, the bad, and the ugly about this new program. But really, most of the bad and the ugly points apply to all government-run retirement accounts, including 401(k)’s, 403(b)’s, IRA’s, etc. So if you have one of these plans, I urge you to read this today.

The good…

[Read more…] “The good, bad and the ugly of the new myRA”

How to become your own “banker”

Over the holidays, I received a number of emails with good wishes for the New Year from subscribers who use the Bank On Yourself method to grow their wealth safely. Many also told me how they’re using their plans.

Derek Logan with his newborn granddaughter
Derek Logan with his newborn granddaughter
Derek Logan with his newborn granddaughter
Derek Logan with his newborn granddaughter

One of those emails came from Derek Logan, a corporate accountant who is the textbook “poster boy” for someone who did all the right things we were taught to do financially, who decided to stop feeding the insatiable Wall Street Casino with his hard-earned dollars after seeing his retirement account value slashed in half several times.

Derek started his first Bank On Yourself plan about four years ago and wanted to update me on how he’s been able to actually use his plans to become his own “banker” during that time. Derek said he’d be happy to share his experience with subscribers to this newsletter, because…

It’s not about what I have done, but about what Banking On Yourself can do for anyone.”

This could be you… [Read more…] “How to become your own “banker””

Miss seeing these stories affecting your finances?

Judging by the questions we’ve been getting from subscribers, there’s a good chance you may have missed one or more of these recent important stories…

1. Why You Need Dow 32,000 TODAY

stock-market-rollercoaster

With the stock market hitting record highs on an almost daily basis, you may be thinking it’s time to throw caution to the wind and go “all in.”

stock-market-rollercoaster

Before you do, check out this article showing why the Dow would have to be over 32,000 right now – TODAY! – to give you just a 5% annual return since May, 1999… after adjusting for inflation.

Even with the Fed’s massive continuing stimulus propping up the stock market, that’s still more than DOUBLE where the Dow is today.

Get the facts and see the proof here.

2. Consumer Alert! Video Reveals the Scary Truth…

[Read more…] “Miss seeing these stories affecting your finances?”

How bloodthirsty bank vampires drained me of 1,693% interest

Yep – I got charged an annual interest rate of 1,693% on a card I don’t even run a balance on! This will spook the living daylights out of you, so keep reading and find out how to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!

The Bank On Yourself Method Lets You Bypass Banks Altogether

The Bank On Yourself method lets you have access to the money you need, when and for whatever you need it. There are no applications to fill out and no qualifying.

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Watch the video to the right to learn how it works.

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Watch the video to the right to learn how it works.

You can pay your loans back on your own terms and you don’t have to worry about late fees, collections calls if you’re late or you miss some payments.

Check out our helpful Consumers’ Guide to Policy Loans here.

Did you know the typical family can potentially increase their lifetime wealth by hundreds of thousands of dollars by financing their major purchases through a Bank On Yourself plan? Find out how much bigger your nest egg could grow (without the risk or volatility of traditional investments) when you add the Bank On Yourself method to your financial plan. Just request your free Analysis here now (if you haven’t already).

Yellow-Button-FREEanalysis
Financing things through a Bank On Yourself plan even beats directly paying cash for things for several reasons.

You may not realize it, but you finance everything you buy, because you either pay interest when you finance or lease things… or you lose interest and investment income you could have had if you’d kept your money invested. Saving money in a Bank On Yourself policy first – and then using it to make major purchases – allows your money to continue growing as though you had never touched a dime of it.

growth of your money

I know of no other financial vehicle that gives you that same advantage, do you?

And not only do you get that advantage when you Bank On Yourself, it also lets you beat the banks at their own game, while providing you with a guaranteed, safe, predictable way to grow your nest egg.

Tale of a Savvy Consumer

Scissors cutting a credit cardFormer teacher Ed Ingle and his wife decided to take a policy loan to do some home improvements soon after starting a Bank On Yourself policy, “Just to see how this whole loan thing worked. It was so easy that now we laugh at the idea of trying to understand the process. There is no process. It’s our money!”

In the first two years, Ed and his wife put the policy to work in several ways. They are putting their son through a private college through the plan. “No money goes to the bank,” Ed notes.

He purchased a car using the policy… and “no money goes to the bank!”

He also financed his wife’s graduate school through the plan. (“And no money goes to the bank!”)

Ed says he no longer worries when the stock market rises and falls. He no longer worries about the interest rates banks are charging. He’s in charge of his own finances from here on out. (And no money goes to the bank!)

An Interest Rate of Almost 1,700% Per Year?

My husband Larry and I haven’t run a balance on a card in years. We have a handful of cards we use for convenience and to get points and airline miles. We get our statements emailed to us, then pay them off in full online each month.

vampire

Last month, Larry realized we didn’t get the statement for the card we use for personal expenses. When he checked the account, he realized it was one day past the due date, so he immediately paid it. We discovered there would be a late fee and some interest due. The balance was around $3,500, so we figured the interest would be maybe a few bucks, right? Wrong!

A week later we got an email that floored us. It notified us of a $15 late fee, PLUS a $162.30 interest charge for being one day late with our payment! That’s 4.64% interest per day – 1,693% interest per year! 

A whole page of fine print on the statement tried to explain all the “gotchas.” But it’s a fact that banks and finance companies are gonna get you one way or another. Why? Because they can. 

Isn’t it time we used banks for our convenience, and not for theirs?

Of course, we now have this credit card set up for automatic payment in full each month. And if you have cards you pay in full each month, I suggest you do the same (if you haven’t already), to make sure this never happens to you.

You can fire your banker when you join the Bank On Yourself Revolution

It’s fast and easy to get started. Just request a free Analysis here, if you haven’t already, and find out how much more lifetime wealth you could have when you tell banks to go take a hike and become your own source of financing. But please do it today while it’s fresh on your mind!
Request Your Analysis Button

Are you putting your retirement savings in prison?

Ted Benna, "Father of the 401(k)"

Ted Benna is known as the “Father of the 401(k).” In the late ‘70’s, he worked as a consultant to business owners whose main agenda was “How can I get the biggest tax break, and give the least to my employees, legally?”

Ted Benna, "Father of the 401(k)"

Tax nerd that he was, Benna discovered an obscure part of the tax code – section 401(k). Voila! By 2012, nearly 75% of all company pension plans had disappeared!

What does Mr. Benna say about his beautiful 401(k) baby today?

If I were starting over from scratch today with what we know, I’d blow up the existing structure and start over!”1

Uh oh.

Per the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions: “After a lifetime of hard work, many seniors will find themselves forced to choose between putting food on the table and buying their medication.” The U.S. Census Bureau says the average value of 401(k) accounts of pre-retirees between 55 and 64 is only $170,645; the average value of their IRAs is only $147,345. And half of all those close to retirement age have less than $50,000 in these plans.

Something went horribly wrong. Actually, several things went horribly wrong, not only with 401(k)’s but also their kissing cousins: IRA’s, Roth Plans, 403(b)’s, SEP-IRA’s and so on.

And the problems with these government-controlled plans are in these five key areas:
[Read more…] “Are you putting your retirement savings in prison?”

Wall Street Wall of Shame: A Month of Scams, Scandals and Shenanigans

Seems like every time I turn around there’s yet another scam artist on Wall Street ripping us off! Everywhere I look, some financial whiz kid is making a buck for himself out of the hard-earned dollars of everybody else!

But I dunno – is it really that bad? Maybe I’m exaggerating?”

investment scams

So I decided to check it out and track the scandals of banks and Wall Street for just one month. I picked August (August, 2013), because, heck, it’s summertime and things should be pretty slow on the scams, scandals and shenanigans front, right?  I mean, aren’t all those guys off in their multi-zillion dollar summer homes in the Hamptons or the Caribbean during August? Kinda like Congress where nothing at all happens when they go on recess?

investment scams

Turns out the answer is yes and no. Yes, they were off vacationing, but no, that didn’t slow them down. In this should-be-sleepy month of August, I found dozens of reports and articles that made me cringe, cry, gnash my teeth and spit!

Here are some of the month’s lowlights:

#1: When It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Is!

SAC Capital Advisors is accused of running a corrupt hedge fund. Evidence of insider trading is substantive, though SAC claims that it was “hard work and know-how” that created the firm’s 30% annual returns over the past couple of decades. The indictments against the firm say otherwise.

But oddly, Steven Cohen, hands-on manager and founder of the firm, isn’t named in the indictments. Gosh and golly, it turns out he “doesn’t read his emails” so isn’t responsible.  In fact, this month Cohen threw a lavish party at his ten-bedroom, 9,000-square-foot home in the East Hamptons while those of us without insider information fired up burgers on the grill.
[Read more…] “Wall Street Wall of Shame: A Month of Scams, Scandals and Shenanigans”

Top Five Recent Stories from Bank On Yourself

Judging by the questions we’ve been getting from subscribers, there’s a good chance you may have missed some of these 5 important recent stories…

1. New Wealth-Killing Revelations About Your 401(k) and IRA

I'm going to retire and live off my savings...

While doing research for my new book (The Bank On Yourself Revolution, due out on February 11), I came across four stunning new revelations about 401(k)s and IRAs. If you have money in one of these plans, I urge you to read this exposé to find out how to protect yourself from making costly mistakes.

I'm going to retire and live off my savings...

 2. Is Bank On Yourself “Snake Oil”?

[Read more…] “Top Five Recent Stories from Bank On Yourself”