Category: Stock Market Investing

The Recession is Over… If You’re On Wall Street

July 28th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 9 Comments

There have been a spate of articles in the financial media recently encouraging retirees to catch up on savings shortfalls by investing as much as 40-60% of their nest egg in the stock market.

These “experts” promote the concept as if it makes perfect sense to make up for your gambling losses by doubling your bets.

To me, it’s appalling that anyone would advise those who are already retired to gamble their life’s savings on the volatile, risk-filled world of Wall Street.

But my message – that Wall Street is unstable and potentially as explosive as nitroglycerin – is really not age specific. The stock market can (and will) blow up in your face at any age.

For most Americans – and Wall Street goes to great lengths to hide this truth – the stock market is a promise unmet.

The success myth hyped by the financial services industry is like a casino showcasing its big winners, without mentioning that the prize pool derives from the much larger pool of losers who generate huge profits for the operators, but who themselves walk away worse off than if they had stayed at home.

Money isn’t the only price that the Wall Street casino extracts from most investors

Getting to Know Pamela Yellen, President of Bank On Yourself

July 21st, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 13 Comments

In this candid conversation, Pamela Yellen really lets her hair down and reveals things about herself she’s never talked about before.

In this interview, you’ll learn…

Pamela’s early investing mistakes
How she first learned about the Bank On Yourself method of wealth building
How Walt Disney, J.C. Penney and other influential people have used this method
Why Banks use this to meet their Tier One (safe and liquid) Capital reserves requirement
Why Bank On Yourself Professionals earn much lower commissions than other forms of life insurance sales
Why this concept is not included on insurance licensing exams
Pamela & her husband Larry
Bank On Yourself “Inc.” doesn’t sell insurance or charge consumers anything…so how does it make money?
Introducing the Bank On Yourself Nation…soon to be the center of the universe when it comes to financial literacy education and learning to be self-reliant

So checkout this fast-paced interview now by pressing the play button below, or you can download the interview as an Mp3 and listen on your own player or iPod…

And if you still have any unanswered questions about Bank On Yourself or Pamela Yellen, please tell us in the comments box below…

Grow your money safely and predictability even when the markets crash…

Wondering how the Bank On Yourself method can help you reach your financial goals and dreams in the shortest time possible… without the stomach-churning ups and downs of traditional investments?

Request a free, no-obligation Analysis now to find out. When you request your Analysis you’ll also get a referral to one of only 200 financial advisors in the country who have met all the rigorous requirements and training needed to be a Bank On Yourself Professional.

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?

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)…

The dangers of fuzzy thinking about money

January 12th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 7 Comments

It often shocks me to see what passes for “journalism” these days in publications many people put their trust in, like the Wall Street Journal.

A recent article in that publication titled, “Slow and Steady Saving Still Pays,” is a classic example of what happens when you use fuzzy thinking and math… and expect to convince readers of your position.

Sadly, I suspect many readers did lap this article up because, after all, it was published in the Wall Street Journal. They wouldn’t lie to us or lead us astray, would they?!?

I don’t think this article was intentionally written to mislead you. I believe the author has just been as brainwashed by Wall Street as most Americans have been.

check out this article

“The Unrealized Loss Riddle”
for an eye-opening comparison of saving money in a Bank On Yourself policy versus investing in the stock market.

So what ARE the problems with this article?