Category: Media Coverage

SuperMoney Interviews Personal Finance Expert Pamela Yellen on Savings and Investing Strategies

October 13th, 2016 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

Pamela Yellen, Founder of Bank On Yourself

I was recently interviewed by SuperMoney, a website that rates various financial products and the companies that provide them.

In this wide-ranging interview, I answered questions like these:

Why did you decide to start Bank On Yourself?

I reveal the frustrations my husband and I experienced following the conventional wisdom about investing and retirement planning. Maybe you can relate…

If someone were to say to you, “I don’t have the expertise to handle my finances. I’ll just hire some investment firm to deal with them,” how would you respond?

Here I discuss how and why 80% of all mutual funds, financial advisors and investment advisory services underperform the overall market. If the experts can’t even do it well, how can we regular folks be expected to? [Read more…] “SuperMoney Interviews Personal Finance Expert Pamela Yellen on Savings and Investing Strategies”

The Article Forbes Asked Pamela Yellen to Write – But Got Too Scared to Publish

July 28th, 2015 by Pamela Yellen | 114 Comments

Recently I was asked to write a full-length article for the Forbes website by one of their regular columnists, who I’ll call “Pat” to protect the guilty.

Pat had taken my Financial IQ Quiz and found it very insightful. So Pat asked me to answer ten questions in writing for publication in Pat’s column.

The questions indicated Pat knew full well that I have a contrarian take on Wall Street and that I’m an advocate for consumers and investors.

They included questions like…

“What are some of the scams in the mutual fund industry?”
“What’s the shocking truth about 401(k)s and IRAs?”
“How can investors protect themselves?”

So I painstakingly answered Pat’s questions, supporting each statement with highly credible, unimpeachable sources including Morningstar, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Government Accounting Office and the Department of Labor.

As requested, I made no mention of Bank On Yourself or the asset it is based on (super-charged dividend-paying whole life insurance).

About two days later, Pat thanked me for sending the article, but declined to run it “because there’s just too much controversy” surrounding my work.

Pat even suggested I repurpose the content for my blog (a good case for “be careful what you wish for”…).

So below are Pat’s questions with my answers in full, which I think you’ll find very interesting. Some of these questions I’ve never addressed publicly before. (Check out question #5 about “what mutual funds do you recommend?”) [Read more…] “The Article Forbes Asked Pamela Yellen to Write – But Got Too Scared to Publish”

Pamela Yellen Named Top Personal Finance Influencer

July 21st, 2014 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

I’ve just been named one of the 30 most influential people in personal finance and wealth, and I wanted to share the exciting news with you!

Starting with a field of more than 1,000 finance experts, the study (commissioned by MoneyTips) used a rigorous process to score and rank each expert to whittle it down to a ranked list of the top 30 influencers in wealth and personal finance.

I’m ranked #19 on this list of the Top 30 social influencers impacting Americans’ financial lives.

The list was published last week on the Huffington Post, titled, What the Top 30 Personal Finance/Wealth Influencers Know That You Don’t. I was also one of a handful of the top experts quoted in the article.

I am very gratified by this acknowledgement. For the past decade I’ve devoted my life to educating people about alternatives to traditional investing and retirement planning that have enabled hundreds of thousands of people to stop using the crystal-ball-hope-and-pray method of financial planning and start knowing how good their financial future can be.

And I’ve learned several important lessons along the way – I’ll share the most important one with you in a moment.

Bank On Yourself featured in AARP

August 17th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 4 Comments

Pamela Yellen was recently interviewed by AARP about the Bank On Yourself wealth-building method for an article on “Saving Your Nest Egg in Tough Times.”

Scroll down to the second paragraph below the “50/50, if you’re 50” subhead to read the advice Pamela gave for investors age 50-65 who are fed up with watching their hard-earned nest-eggs shrink yet again.

What about investors over age 65?

Pamela also gave advice for investors between the ages of 66 and 85 who want to add more guarantees and predictability to their financial plan and bump up their returns without the risk of stocks and other investments.

Although there wasn’t space to include that advice in the AARP article, this is an increasingly popular option for Americans up through the age of 85.

This little-known option provides many advantages that annuities and CD’s do not have, including…

Provides guaranteed growth and a higher return
Exceptional flexibility and liquidity
Protection from estate taxes
Automatic long-term care coverage at no additional costs (in states where it’s available)

The Bank On Yourself Professionals are well-versed in this option and can conduct a free Analysis that will help you determine which plan is best for your unique situation.

If you’re not sure where you’ll find the funds to start a plan, don’t worry. The Bank On Yourself Professionals are masters at helping their clients of any age restructure their finances to free up seed money to fund a plan that will help you reach as many of your long-term and short-term goals as possible – in the shortest time possible.

Remember – Wall Street already lost more than 45% of the typical investor’s savings TWICE in the last decade. How would it affect you if this latest stock market rout is just the beginning of another look-out-below crash?

To find out how you can add predictability and guarantees to your financial plan and have the financial security and peace of mind that you want and deserve, request your FREE Analysis now. You’ll be connected with one of only 200 financial advisors in the country who have met the rigorous training and requirements to be a Bank On Yourself Professional.

Check out these other articles that may be of interest to you…

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of May 25, 2011

May 25th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 2 Comments

Here are summaries of four of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week… roundup

Is a “look out below” stock market crash looming?

By some key measures it is – corporate profits have only commanded as large a share of national income twice before – in 1929 and 2006, and those years preceded the past century’s two worst financial collapses.

Knowledge is power, so I encourage you to read this article on The Invisible Stock Bubble¹from SmartMoney.com.

Want to eliminate market risk from your financial plan?

It’s easier to do than you might think. Find out more about an asset class that has increased in value every single year for over 160 years.

Pamela Yellen interviewed on NPR: Teach teens how to manage money

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…

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.

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!

Retiring Boomers’ Savings Fall Far Short

February 23rd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 2 Comments

“The 401k generation is beginning to retire, and it isn’t a pretty sight.”

That’s the conclusion of a recent Wall Street Journal study.¹ But the most shocking revelation is just how big the gap is between how much retirement income people will need to maintain their standard of living… and how much they’ve actually saved:

Many have less than one-quarter of what they’ll need

And how are they dealing with this challenge?

Facing shortfalls, many are postponing retirement, moving to cheaper housing, buying less-expensive food, cutting back on travel, taking bigger risks with their investments and making other sacrifices they never imagined.”¹

Like Carol Dailey, who is continuing to work at age 71 because her 401(k) took a hit in the 2008 market crash. She also cut back spending for entertainment and food, and is substituting boxed wine for the ones she used to enjoy from her favorite vineyards.

Her financial advisor is planning to help her be able to retire by shifting her assets into riskier investments that can “return 10% a year.”

Hmmm… I wonder if that’s the same financial advisor who advised her on where to invest her money prior to the 2008 market plunge?

If people could take more risk, and do it successfully, why haven’t they been doing that all along?

Isn’t that the classic definition of insanity?

How much more evidence do we need to know that 401(k)’s and “doing all the right things we were told to do financially” aren’t working?

AAII vs. Bank On Yourself: Total Knockout in Round One

January 26th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 13 Comments

Last week, I posted the rebuttal I wrote to the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) review of my best-selling book, which declared the concept “too good to be true.” BOY Boxing Gloves

Since AAII said they would not publish my response or correction of the misinformation contained in their review, I told them I would publish it here and let YOU be the judge of whether AAII was twisting and omitting things… or being fair and unbiased.

The response was swift, surprising and universal. There were so many insightful comments made that I couldn’t pick only three to award prizes to, as was my original plan.

So I picked ten (the winners are listed at the end of this post – check to see if your comment was one that was chosen). And I’ve excerpted from a number of the comments here, so I can share some of the highlights with you.

Jeffrey summarized the thinking of many commenters about AAII this way:

AAII naturally committed the typical strategic blunders essential to the charade proposed by the investment industry (Wall Street) and financial professionals (a.k.a. traders, gamblers, speculators, etc.). Any attempt to allow people an opportunity to truly grow wealth, reduce risk, and prepare for a more stable environment challenges the status quo of buy and lose (commonly referred to as buy and hold) and then industry pundits (AAII) start the negative attacks in order to establish fear of finances and preserve their base of profits. AAII omitted important aspects of your plan, distorted facts of your plan to promote obfuscation, and blatantly twisted all aspects of your plan in order to destroy your credibility.

Thank you for presenting people with an opportunity to actually prepare, plan, and realize a better financial picture.”

Is Bank On Yourself too good to be true?

January 19th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 85 Comments

A review of my book, Bank On Yourself, in the December 2010 issue of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Newsletter declared that the concept is “too good to be true.”

The reason given was, “A life insurance policy loan is not truly a loan. Rather, it is an advance that the insurer must eventually pay out. Worse yet… policy loans can erode a life insurance policy over time.” It also pointed to “potential tax liabilities.”

This review brought to mind one of my favorite quotes…

If you’re looking for an excuse, any one will do.”

– Dan Kennedy

So I wrote the editor and explained there was some misinformation in the review, and that I would like an opportunity to correct the record, pointing out that their motto is “Unbiased Investment Education.”

The editor told me to let him know what I think is incorrect, and he “will take a look at it.” I suspected he was just “humoring me,” but gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, when I submitted my rebuttal, he replied that they would not publish it because “there are no factual corrections to be made.”

I informed AAII I would be publishing my rebuttal on this website, and let YOU decide who is taking things out of context, committing sins of omission, and twisting the “facts”… and who is being fair and unbiased. We’ll pick three of the most interesting, insightful and/or humorous comments made on this blog and award the posters their choice of a $25 gift certificate for a restaurant in your area or a personally autographed copy of my “too good to be true” book.

Besides that, there are several points made in my rebuttal that I have not made elsewhere, so you will find value in reading this (I made it a bit more colorful for your reading pleasure)…

Success Tips from Sir Richard Branson

November 18th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 7 Comments

Last week I was fortunate to spend some time with mega-successful entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and 100 other top entrepreneurs.

Branson conceived the Virgin Group in 1970 and it has gone on to grow very successful businesses (Virgin Mobile & Virgin Airlines to name a few) in numerous sectors.¹

We had a chance to ask Sir Richard questions and here are five Success Tips he shared:

Success Tip #1…

Your business life starts at home – pick a good partner and respect them for who they are.

Success Tip #2…

The biggest challenge business owners run up against is being risk averse. At some point, you have to just say, “Screw it, let’s do it!”

Success Tip #3…

It’s important to keep fit – you’ve only got one body. Try to find fun ways to do it.

Success Tip #4…

Praise your team/employees – never criticize them. Treat them right and they’ll do anything for you.

Success Tip #5…

Don’t take yourself too seriously!

I found it fascinating that when one of us asked a question of Sir Richard, he would often respond by asking a question back; he seemed genuinely interested in us as individuals and it tied right into Success Tip #4. Sir Richard simply makes you feel that you matter. And he always looks for the best in people.

Sounds like a blueprint for a life well-lived!

Food for thought…

Number of times the DOW has crossed 11,000 – up or down – since first breaking it on May 3, 1999: 65!2 For the record, Bank On Yourself plans have NEVER gone backwards – they only have one direction: UP!
If you haven’t already started to Bank On Yourself, please take the first step today by requesting your FREE Analysis and discover how you can take back control of your financial future!

1. http://www.virgin.com/about-us/
2. “How to Play a Market Rally”, The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2010 (The DOW has since crossed 11,000 at least two more times)