It seems like every week now, someone writes us to let us know they forwarded one of my blog posts to Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, or urged them to take me up on my standing offer to debate them about Bank On Yourself.
As I’ve said numerous times, I know Suze and Dave have helped many people get out of debt and get their financial act together. However, there are two critical areas we strongly disagree on.
Neither of them has taken me up on the offer to debate me – yet. But I can’t help but wonder if they’ve ever actually checked into Bank On Yourself.
What would it be like to be a fly on the wall as Suze and Dave discuss Bank On Yourself? No need to wonder any longer, as our hidden video camera captured it all. Just click on the play button…
In case you’re wondering, the statements made by Suze and Dave in the video about why you should invest in mutual funds and why you should avoid whole life insurance are direct quotes from their books.
I’ve lost a bet. I’ve lost my keys. But I’ve never lost a decade – until now.” – Sam Stovall, S&P’s chief strategist
The S&P 500 ended the past decade down almost 25 percent below where it was ten years earlier. And that doesn’t even factor in the 29% inflation we experienced during the decade.
since the end of 1999, the S&P 500 stock indexhas lost an average of 3.3% a year, on an inflation-adjusted basis, even after including dividends, according to the data compiled by Charles Jones, finance professor at North Carolina State University.1
Hmmm… so what does that mean to the typical family in dollars and cents?
You may want to grab a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, because it isn’t very pretty…
Here’s what inflation and negative returns have done to a nest egg invested in an S&P 500 index fund (the way most Americans’ retirement savings are), over the past decade…
You now need a 39.9% increase just to get back to where you were ten years ago!
Given that the stock market has just experienced its fastest climb since 1933, how likely do you think it is that we’ll have another 39.9% rise this year? Especially given soaring government spending, stubbornly high unemployment, and looming tax hikes. [Read more…] “Lessons from a lost decade”
If there’s a different financial product or strategy that you think can match or beat the Bank On Yourself method, I encourage you to take the $100,000 Challenge. If you’re right, you could pick up an easy $100K!
FAQ #2: How does Bank On Yourself let you recapture every penny you pay for major purchases like cars, vacations, business equipment or a college education?
However, for a more detailed explanation, you’ll want to review Chapters 2, 6, and pages 52-54 of my best-selling book, Bank On Yourself. If you don’t have the book, we offer a 35% discount on it.
FAQ #3: I’ve heard people like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman say whole life insurance is a lousy place to put your money. Is a Bank On Yourself-type policy different from the kind they’re talking about?
According to a recent comment on this blog, I’m full of it. Apparently, the author thinks I pulled the following statement out of my butt…
The reality is that the typical mutual fund investor has actually been losing 1 percent per year over the last 20 years, after adjusting for inflation.”
The statistic comes from the respected research firm, Dalbar, Inc., in its 15th annual study of mutual fund investor behavior. The study measures the returns investors actually get, not the returns they wished they got.
According to Lou Harvey, the president of Dalbar, the study once again revealed that
“investor returns lag what performance reports and prospectuses would lead one to believe is achievable. While those returns are theoretically achievable, the reality is that investors are not rational, and make buy and sell decisions at the worst possible moments.”
Let me paint a picture of how this happens: Lets say you do what the author (who calls himself “David K.”) of the rather nasty blog comment suggests and buy “simple index funds” and hold them for twenty years.
One of my most influential mentors (Dan Kennedy) says,
If you don’t offend somebody by noon each day, you’re not doing much.”
So I want to thank Danny Snyder, whose post to this blog you’ll find below (exactly as he submitted it), for confirming that I am indeed doing something:
First of all using the words “money on steroids” immediatly [sic] puts you in the liar and non-trustworthy category. If you put in $5314.44 and your cash value is $2937.18 you need some ritilin, you are A.D.D. Dave Ramsey (who is in a category way above the likes of you and Suze Boreman) knows of what he speaks. Millions of people have changed their lives due to Dave’s advice. You need to tread very lightly, if you want to succeed and prove yourself. Think… before you tear down people you do not know. I do actually Bank on Myself.
Your [sic] a scam!
Danny Snyder
On this website, I have stated that I agree with many of the basic principles taught by the financial “gurus” like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman. And I know they have helped turn around the financial lives of many.
UPDATED April 2020: It’s been nearly a decade since I challenged Suze and Dave to a debate, but they haven’t taken me up on it yet. This post sparked some very lively debate and insightful comments, so be sure to read those, too.
Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and many other financial advice-givers tell you to avoid whole life insurance. However, the policies used for the Bank On Yourself method are dramatically different in three key ways from the kind of whole life insurance that Suze, Dave and others talk about. Here, I reveal these key differences and prove their validity by showing you examples of my own policy statements.
What’s more, my readers have alerted Suze and Dave. But sadly, both have chosen to ignore the facts I reveal below. I’m sure neither Suze nor Dave relish the idea of having to rewrite all their books and materials. But once YOU learn the critical key differences between Bank On Yourself policies and the ones Suze and Dave mention, I’m confident you’ll be asking the same question we hear Bank On Yourself policyholders mention repeatedly: “How come no one’s ever told me about this before!?”
Here are the three key differences:
Suze Orman & Dave Ramsey
Key Difference #1: These experts say the money you can have access to in the plan (your “cash value”) grows too slowly in a whole life policy, and say you typically won’t have any cash value at all in the first few years.
Suze Orman & Dave Ramsey
A Bank On Yourself-type policy, however, incorporates a special – and little-known – rider or option that turbo-charges the growth of your money in the policy so you have up to 40 times more cash value, especially in the early years of the policy. This allows you to use it as a powerful financial management tool from Day One.
But each plan is different, so to find out how much cash value you’ll have each year – guaranteed – request your FREE Analysis here.
Key Difference #2: Most financial experts, including Suze and Dave, talk about policies where your death benefit stays level for the life of the policy.
Please note that this statement is from a policy I started before I learned about Bank On Yourself, and it has grown much more slowly than a policy designed to maximize the power of the Bank On Yourself concept.
Key Difference #3: The financial experts often rant about how, when the policy owner dies, the insurance company “only” pays you the death benefit and keeps your cash value.
But with a Bank On Yourself policy it’s very different, as you can see on this policy statement. It shows you how, had I died on the date this statement was issued, my family would have received a check for more than the original death benefit AND the cash value in the policy combined!
So I am throwing out the gauntlet to Suze, Dave or any expert who wants to challenge me. Just name the time and place!”
And remember, Bank On Yourself will beat anyone’s best financial strategy or we’ll pay you $100,000!
No two policies are alike, because each one is tailored to the client’s unique situation. So your results will be different. To find out what your bottom-line numbers could be, and how much your financial picture could improve if you added Bank On Yourself to your financial plan, request a free Bank On Yourself Analysis. There’s no obligation.
Update! Our hidden video camera captured Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey discussing Bank On Yourself…
If Bank On Yourself is so good, why isn’t everyone already doing it?
If you browse the personal finance section of any bookstore, turn on the TV or open a magazine on finance, you’ll discover that 99 out of 100 financial “gurus” will insist that whole life insurance is a lousy place to put your money. Most will recommend you buy term life insurance instead and invest the difference in mutual funds.
That’s in spite of the fact that, had you invested in an S&P 500 index fund for the past 13 years, you most likely have little to show for it other than a pile of pocket lint and a lot of sleepless nights. And that doesn’t even factor in 35% inflation during this period!
FAQ #1: How does Bank On Yourself compare with traditional investing and savings strategies?
The statistic comes from the respected research firm, Dalbar, Inc., in its 15th annual study of mutual fund investor behavior. The study measures the returns investors actually get, not the returns they wished they got.
