Category: Stock market unpredictability

Bank On Yourself – a Financial Bunker for Scary Times

These are unprecedented times we find ourselves in, and there is no historical playbook for navigating them.

The Coronavirus has turned the financial markets upside down, and the experts are bemoaning the fact that there’s “been no place to hide,” including the traditional “safe havens.”

However, none of the hundreds of thousands of people who use the Bank On Yourself strategy lost a penny as the markets careened out of control. Their plans haven’t skipped a beat and continue growing by a guaranteed, predictable amount, just as has happened every year for the last two centuries.

Their annual increases are guaranteed to get larger every year, and all of their principal and ALL of the gains they have ever received are locked in. These plans do not go backward.

They also have access to the equity in their plans to help them weather the extraordinary challenges they face today – with no restrictions, no penalties, no taxes due… and no questions asked!

Let’s take a look at three ways Bank On Yourself is your best financial bunker in scary times:

Bank On Yourself Has a 200-Year Track Record of Positive, Guaranteed, Competitive Growth

This strategy relies on specially designed high-cash-value, low-commission, dividend-paying whole life insurance. It’s nothing like the kind most financial advisors know about.

Out of nearly 1,000 life insurance companies, only a handful offer policies that meet all the requirements to maximize the benefits you receive. The companies preferred by the Bank On Yourself Professionals:

  • Are among the financially strongest in the country, are highly regulated, and have a multi-layer safety net
  • Are owned by policy owners, NOT stockholders, which means they focus on the long-term best interests of the policy owners rather than the short-term demands of Wall Street
  • Have been in business and have paid dividends every single year for at least 100 years
  • Allow you to borrow against your cash value while continuing to pay you the same dividend as though you never touched a dime of it

To get a referral to a Bank On Yourself Professional who knows which companies are the best to use and has passed the rigorous training to know how to structure your policy to maximize the growth and minimize your taxes, request a free, no-obligation Analysis here:

Perhaps this analogy will help explain the difference between whole life as a wealth-building vehicle and most other products and strategies favored by the financial talking heads…

On the freeway, can you spot the difference between a teenage boy putting daddy’s hot sports car through its paces, and a young suburban mother in her minivan taking two kids to play soccer, with a toddler buckled in a car seat? One driver is trying to get somewhere fast, while the other is getting to her destination while doing everything possible to protect those who are near and dear to her. If you can understand that difference, then maybe you can sense the difference between the Wall Street Casino and the life insurance industry.

With a Bank On Yourself-Type Policy, You Don’t Have to Die to “Win”

Unlike term insurance, Bank On Yourself policy owners enjoy numerous living benefits, including one that some consider to be the “8th Wonder of the World” – policy loans.

You can borrow against your cash value in the policy at any time and for any reason, regardless of your credit rating. The only questions you’ll be asked are how much do you want and where do you want it sent.

You can set your own repayment schedule and skip payments if needed, without fear of collection calls, repossession, or dings on your credit report. You can pay back the loan when you get back on your feet.

This feature was the life raft that saved many people from financial ruin during the Great Recession and the Great Depression.

Check out our Consumer Guide to Policy Loans, which answers the most frequently asked questions about this feature.

Although the Living Benefits are Phenomenal, it Also Comes With a Death Benefit that Provides a Safety Net for Your Loved Ones

The Coronavirus has served to remind all of us of our mortality – regardless of age.

The death benefit of your policy is likely to be many times greater than the premiums you paid and many times greater than your cash value. It pays the death benefit if the insured person passes away for any reason (other than suicide in the first two years).

It’s been reported that there has been panic shopping for life insurance since the Coronavirus became widely known.

Please note that neither age nor poor health need to be obstacles to qualifying for one of these policies because you can have someone else you have an “insurable interest” in (a spouse, child, grandchild, parent or business partner) be the insured. As long as you are the policy owner, you control the policy and the money in the policy.

However, it does take a little time to go through the application process, and most of the time, a medical exam will be required. And there is talk that insurance companies may soon institute stricter guidelines, coverage exclusions and premium increases, so it’s important that you get your application in now because the terms of a policy already submitted or issued cannot be changed. Premiums can’t be increased, either.

Which means the very best time to apply for a policy is TODAY – because who knows what the future may bring?

Having a significant portion of your savings safe and liquid in a Bank On Yourself-type policy only gives you more options, not fewer – especially when the you-know-what hits the fan.

Take Action TODAY to Safeguard Your Wealth and Avoid Having Your Retirement Dreams Turn into a Retirement Nightmare

You might be tempted to put this aside and “think about it all tomorrow,” when things “get back to normal.”

But “tomorrow” all too often turns into months and years. I would hate to have you wake up 2, 5 or 10 years from now – when the next “Black Swan Event” scuttles your best-laid plans again – thinking, “Heck, I really should have looked into that Bank On Yourself thing.”

So take action RIGHT NOW. Request a FREE Analysis and referral to a Bank On Yourself Professional here.

The Bank On Yourself Professional we refer you to can answer all your questions and show you how you could gain lifetime financial peace of mind with a program custom tailored to your unique situation.

Don’t wait another moment. Click this button to get started:

How to Rescue Your Retirement from “Black Swan” Events that Can Scramble Your Retirement Plans

Did you see the coronavirus pandemic coming?

Did you anticipate the disruptions to travel, schools closing, major events being canceled, quarantines, cities and states declaring states of emergency, employees told not to come into work, and chaos at stores as people panic to buy necessities?

Did you expect the Saudis and Russia would start an oil price warprecisely as panic over COVID-19 was reaching a fever pitch – causing crude oil prices to collapse in the biggest one-day move in 30 years?

Did you see it coming that investors would wake up on March 9 drowning in so much fear that panic selling in the market caused a “circuit breaker” to trip and halt trading for 15 minutes, to hopefully allow panic to subside? [Read more…] “How to Rescue Your Retirement from “Black Swan” Events that Can Scramble Your Retirement Plans”

Three Ways to Protect Your Heath and Wealth from COVID-19 Coronavirus

On February 21, a director for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) told reporters that health officials are preparing for the COVID-19 coronavirus to become a pandemic, saying, “It’s very possible, even likely, that it may eventually happen.”

The Director noted that the “day may come” where we have to close down schools and businesses like China and other countries have done.

The coronavirus is now spreading rapidly in countries outside of China, including “first world” countries like Italy.

Stock markets around the world have been plunging. And if this situation continues to deteriorate, we could easily be entering a prolonged recession and could see the long-overdue major stock market crash I’ve been warning you about.

The Coronavirus is a “Black Swan Event”

A “black swan event” is an event in human history that was unprecedented and unexpected when it occurred. The 2008 financial crisis is considered to be a black swan event, as is the dot-com bubble of 2000.

And we all know how badly those events ended. [Read more…] “Three Ways to Protect Your Heath and Wealth from COVID-19 Coronavirus”

Many Stock Market Investors Haven’t Kept Up With Inflation Over the Last 20 Years – DALBAR 2019 Report

What kind of return would you have to get in the stock market to make it worth the risk and gut-wrenching ups and downs?

Would you put your life’s savings at risk for a 5% annual return?

Or would you require at least a 7% return?

Or maybe even a 10% annual return?

If you’re like most people we’ve surveyed, you wouldn’t do it unless you thought you could get at least a 7% annual return over time, right?

Here’s the Harsh Reality of the Actual Returns Investors Are Getting…

I hope you’re sitting down because this is going to floor you: According to a new study, the typical investor in equity mutual funds has gotten only a 3.88% annual return… over the last 20 years!

But it’s actually much worse than that. Here’s why… [Read more…] “Many Stock Market Investors Haven’t Kept Up With Inflation Over the Last 20 Years – DALBAR 2019 Report”

Stock Market Declines Linked to Early Death, Illness and Fatal Accidents, Studies Show

If you have even 10% of your wealth in the stock market and experience only a 10% loss, your risk of dying early, or having a physical health problem like high blood pressure or a mental health problem such as depression, increases significantly.

That’s according to a recent study published in the American Economic Journal. These losses are known as “wealth shocks,” which the study found “strongly affect physical health, mental health, and survival rates.”

Among every 100 retirees with money in the market suffering a 10% wealth shock, one additional person will die within the next two years, and 2.5 more will develop health problems.

The study didn’t examine the impact of a bigger drop than 10%, but it’s easy to imagine it would be worse.

It’s not rocket science to realize there is a close connection between your health and your wealth.

It’s not just the risk of early death and sickness you need to worry about…

The anxiety, anger, and frustration you feel caused by negative stock market returns also “makes investors more prone to driving errors and lapses.” [Read more…] “Stock Market Declines Linked to Early Death, Illness and Fatal Accidents, Studies Show”

Take Our Survey and Tell Us Where You Think the Stock Market is Headed

2018 was a wild ride on Wall Street, with volatility so violent it made daily swings of 500 or more points on the Dow seem almost “normal.”

We experienced several record-setting point swings on the Dow and came within a hair of entering a bear market, where securities fall 20% or more from recent highs.

But there’s a big difference between a bear market decline of 20% and a major market crash, like the one we had during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, which knocked the S&P 500 down by 57%.

And when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the S&P 500 plummeted by nearly 50%.

And since this time around we haven’t yet entered a bear market (by the most common definitions), that means we are (still) in the longest-running bull market in history.

In two months, this bull market will hit its tenth birthday – something that’s never happened before. [Read more…] “Take Our Survey and Tell Us Where You Think the Stock Market is Headed”

Shhh! Your Bank Has a “BIG” Dirty Little Secret – it Could Crush Your Retirement

Who can forget those dark days of the housing market crash of 2008? The vacant homes and neglected lawns.  The abandoned swing sets and forgotten barbecues. The bright signs and bold arrows that needed little explanation: “Foreclosure.” “Auction.” “Bank Owned.”

We’re told that the housing bubble and collapse was about predatory lending and high-risk borrowers who were duped into loans that they couldn’t afford. The massive regulatory response to the subprime crisis meant that banks were no longer allowed to behave BADLY… so they chose to behave DIFFERENTLY.

Shhh. Your Bank Has a “Big” Dirty Little Secret. Read this Very Carefully…

The largest source of mortgage lending in the United States is now being done by non-banks – financial entities that offer unsecured personal lending, business loans, leveraged lending, and mortgage services… but do not hold a banking license. As a result, they’re not subject to standard banking oversight and can engage in risky lending.

But where do they get the money to make these loans? You guessed it: Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America and everyone else who got their hands dirty ten years ago. [Read more…] “Shhh! Your Bank Has a “BIG” Dirty Little Secret – it Could Crush Your Retirement”

October 2018 Was Among the Most Volatile Month for Stocks in 118 Years

October was one of the most volatile months for the Dow since 1900. Back then, we were hopping on the first electric buses in New York City and enjoying a new kind of sandwich called a “hamburger” in New Haven. And, we were piling onto an early “Loop the Loop” roller coaster on Wall Street.

Fast forward to October 2018… and enter the Zero-G Inversion Coaster. The Dow fell by over 1,000 points in two days. The S&P 500 dipped in and out of correction multiple times. The Nasdaq plummeted 700 points mid-month, soared over 300 points the next week, and then tumbled back down over 500 points toward month-end. It comes as no surprise that the Fear Index also hit a 3-month high.

It wasn’t Halloween that spooked the markets last month…

Investors had plenty to fear with trade wars, tariffs, rate hikes, Fed policy, underwhelming earnings, slumping housing data, and political partisanship run wild. And as the sugar high of tax cuts, low interest rates and low inflation wears off, there’s a pervading sense that we’ve reached some sort of flashpoint.

What keeps economists up at night? One very sobering question:

What if This Economy is “as Good as It Gets”?

[Read more…] “October 2018 Was Among the Most Volatile Month for Stocks in 118 Years”

Why You’ll Lose Money in the Market Even When You Invest Rationally

In his 1865 poem “If,” Rudyard Kipling famously wrote, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs … yours is the earth and everything that’s in it.”

That’s a big “if” at the moment. Let’s face it; few people are “keeping their heads” right now.

We’re drowning in a reactionary stew where everything from an exchange of ideas to a “taper tantrum” seems to cause a convulsive panic in the stock market.

And even if you don’t lose your head, you can STILL lose your money! Here’s why…

Admittedly, October has always been a devilish month for Wall Street. Black Tuesday was October 29, 1929. Black Monday was October 19, 1987. And the crash of 2008 happened on October’s doorstep on September 29, 2008,  when the Dow dropped over 777 points. On October 10 of this year, the Dow dropped 832 points – the third-worst point drop in history.

These are the days of falling acorns and Chicken Littles! It’s in this climate – despite historically low unemployment, robust GDP, and soaring consumer confidence – that 800-plus point sell-offs are even possible.

The problem is not just the prevailing concerns about high debt, trade wars, and rising interest rates; it’s the collective uncertainty and reactionary group-think over which we have no control.

Contagion Has Become the Wild Card Enemy of Wealth Accumulation

[Read more…] “Why You’ll Lose Money in the Market Even When You Invest Rationally”

Flat Earthers and Blind Faith Stock Market Bulls – What Do They Have in Common?

They are the ultimate conspiracy theories – the beliefs that the earth is flat and that economies are not cyclical.

The Flat Earth Society (a movement that is active and growing today) finds the notion of a horizontal earth far more plausible than a round planet perched on an axis. To their members, gravity is an illusion and objects are not pulled down, but rather continually accelerate upward.

Adopting this notion requires one to reject all prevailing scientific wisdom and research. And despite centuries of empirical evidence, some Flat Earthers believe that one could literally walk off the end of the world.

Those who think the current bull market will continue to rise without a crash or major correction are equally illogical. Despite generations of economic theory, Blind Faith Bulls have sunk most of their net worth into equities on the unquestioning belief that stocks will climb unabated.

Flat Earthers and Blind Faith Bulls Share a Common Suspension of Disbelief…

[Read more…] “Flat Earthers and Blind Faith Stock Market Bulls – What Do They Have in Common?”