Category: Retirement Plan Alternative

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 June 9, 2011

June 9th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 3 Comments

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

Brave new world of financial planning?

Can a new blood test tell you how long you’ll live? And if you knew how long you would live, would you change your financial life?

A blood test showing how fast people are aging will go on sale over the counter in Britain later this year. It measures the length of your “telomeres,” structures at the tips of your chromosomes. Scientists now believe these are the most accurate measure of how quickly you’re aging.

Financial planners say the test could add more science to their practice.¹

As one financial planner noted…

From a financial point of view, it would be great information to have. But from a psychological standpoint – that’s a hard question. I don’t think I would want to know. I think it would make me depressed.”

How would you feel about knowing when you’re likely to die? And how would your financial decisions change as a result?

Tell us in the comments box below…

New Research: Most Americans in deep financial hole

The financial status of American households may be even darker than we thought, according to a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.²

Some of the highlights (or should we say “lowlights”) include:

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 3, 2011

June 2nd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 5 Comments

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

Forbes Magazine Shocker: Why your 401(k) isn’t what it’s cracked up to be!

A stunning article appeared in this week’s Forbes.¹ Here are a few of the revelations you absolutely must know about, if you participate in a 401(k):

Compare…

How does a 401(k) compare to the Bank On Yourself Method?

Compare…

How does a 401(k) compare to the Bank On Yourself Method?

71% of 401(k) investors believe – wrongly – they pay nothing to participate in their plan, according to a recent survey
On average, participants in small plans (which includes 90% of all employees) pay 1.9% in fees annually!
Even paying fees of just 1.5% could wipe out one-third of your nest-egg
In spite of all the noise about “fixing” the 401(k) through new disclosure rules that will be going into effect, they “could cause some 401(k) services to get even more costly.”

Why you need an 8-10% annual return just to break even in your 401(k)…

It’s all documented in this 401(k) exposé I co-wrote with Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Dean Rotbart. You owe it to yourself to have the facts!

[Read more…] “Bank On Yourself Round-Up for Week of June 3, 2011”

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!

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!

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.

Physician heals his financial ills with Bank On Yourself

March 2nd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 6 Comments

After losing half of his retirement savings not once, but TWICE, during the past decade, Dr. Bryan Kuns decided, “there has to be a better way.”

A family and occupational medicine practitioner for 25 years, the doctor realized that, at age 50, he and his wife might only have one more chance to get it right. “I need some more guarantees than taking a chance and gambling again with my retirement,” Bryan realized.

A little over one year ago, he heard about Bank On Yourself. Intrigued, he began reading everything he could get his hands on about the concept. Then he requested a referral to a Bank On Yourself Professional and a Free Analysis.

It’s an answered prayer. I’m sleeping a lot better at night, now. The guarantees that this program has are what I was looking for.” –Dr. Bryan Kuns

Bryan offered to share his story with you. Whether you already use Bank On Yourself, or you’ve been considering adding it to your financial plan, you’ll learn something of value from this interview. 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.

In this interview, you’ll discover…

[Read more…] “Physician heals his financial ills with Bank On Yourself”

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?

Market Rally? Why you shouldn’t get carried away…

February 3rd, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 25 Comments

There is something occurring right now that concerns me… and ought to concern you, too. So I urge you to pay close attention to this blog post…

Individual investors are moving into stocks and riskier investments

Since the financial crisis, and until very recently, individual investors (that’s you and me) largely avoided stocks. But now, as the stock market continues on a sharp rise that is already one of the steepest in history, people begin to fear they will miss out. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal¹….

Stock-market fever is one of your biggest enemies as an investor… It’s pure instinct. We’re hard-wired to run with a stampeding herd and to seek safety in numbers.”

The article advises that you shouldn’t trust the crowd, because, “they’re usually wrong. Time and time again, studies show the public invests at the wrong time – they get bullish and buy after shares have risen, and then panic and sell after they have fallen.”

Just as they did before the housing bubble burst and just like they did before the dot.com crash. And just like they have done throughout history.

The article notes that, “too many TV market pundits talk like they’re on ESPN. It gives the stock market a phony air of urgency and excitement.” And it reminds us that, “if you’re buying, higher stock prices are bad, not good.”

Wall Street lost more than 40% of our money -TWICE – in the past decade

How can you be sure they’re not about to do it again?

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.”