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What is cash flow? - Something you need to learn and how to get on the positive side. Understand what is cash flow can determine your financial future. It doesn't matter how much you earn. What matters is how much you keep. February 22, 2012 4:01 AM Virtual Letter to Steve Jobs - Thank You Dear Steve, You don't know me and I don't know you...personally. However, I want to express my gratitude to you because you have made an impact on my life. We are in an age where we have options, more options that we can even comprehend. And I know the "argument of options" that you are familiar with is: PC vs MAC. I have both a PC and a MAC. But rather than tell you which I thought was better or worse, I'd like to zoom out and let you know how your innovation has impacted me. I was never a runner. I only ran if I had to. If it were basketball, I could play for hours...but I hated running. I couldn't run for more than 5 minutes. Earlier this year, my wife convinced me to run a marathon. It was a huge goal that I never thought I would ever accomplish, or even set. The one thing that helped me train and ultimately finish, other than my shoes, was my iPod. It was the one thing I knew that could motivate me during my entire run. Sometimes I would search for hours looking for music to run to. I would download audio courses to grow my mind. I would rip comedy routines and actually laugh aloud while running. Bottom line is, you helped me finish my marathon. You helped me become a healthier person. You helped me become a better person. You will be missed. On this day, I won't mourn your death, I'll celebrate your life. Here's to you...and my run tomorrow morning. Thanks Steve, Bernard October 06, 2011 6:51 PM What to take away from 9-11 On the anniversary of 9-11, I remember and pray for the lives lost and impacted from the horrific tragedy. Sometimes I sit back and wonder, "Why did this happen?" I believe no matter how bad the situation is, we can learn from it. After 9-11, we saw our country come together like I have never seen before. We saw everyone do their part in helping each other heal and rebuild. Today, we seem more divided. But I'm always hopeful that the best shines through all of us. We've seen that after 9-11. One thing I think we can take away from this is thanking God (or whatever higher power you believe in) for everything we take for granted. There are so many things we can be thankful for...we just need to take the time to do it. September 12, 2011 3:11 PM Begin with the end in mind. In my high school education, I also saw the end in my mind that I was already in college. And truly it came through. It is really true that success is September 08, 2011 12:55 AM Child Savings - 4 Tips to Making it Fun for the Both of You Teaching child savings habits is important to your children's financial well-being. This golden lesson is a great way to spark their financial intelligence. September 03, 2011 2:20 AM How to be happy...when no one is How to be happy in today's world is simple. All you need to do is one thing. August 29, 2011 2:14 PM Stopping Identity Theft I found a credit card at the park today when I was running with a friend. Of course, I called the credit card company when I got home so they would know to shut down the card. I did my good deed for the day. =) But if I had talked to the guy, there are several things that I would have told him to do to protect himself from identity theft. There is one IMPORTANT thing he didn't do on the back of that card. Check out several ways to prevent identity theft. August 27, 2011 2:54 PM Save Money on Groceries with a Few Simple Changes Can you save money on groceries, your health, and the world at the same time? August 25, 2011 2:41 AM Why I must be financially free and independent I must be financially free and independent, so that I may help others discover and develop their own God given potential for success and achievement in August 22, 2011 6:48 PM Your First Credit Card - 7 Things You Must Do Your first credit card can be scary, especially if no one teaches you how to use it. Learn the 7 things you must do. August 20, 2011 2:38 AM

Infinite Banking - Whole Life Investment

Modified Endownment Contracts in Life Insurance MEC. The dreaded acronym. When you're the owner of a tax advantaged whole life insurance policy you've probably heard of this acronym. It stands for Modified Endowment Contract. When a life insurance policy becomes a MEC it can have severe tax implications. Properly funding a cash accumulating life insurance policy is pertinent. And knowing the MEC basics is important whether your policy is designed to be used for isnurance protection, retirement, investing, business, estate purposes or a mixture of the above. May 01, 2010 9:04 PM Tax-Free Dividends with Participating Whole Life Insurance What is a dividend? The simple answer is that it’s a return of premium. The Internal Revenue Code defines a dividend as the return of that portion of the premium that was not used to guarantee the cash values and death benefit of the policy. Therefore, generally speaking, the higher the policy’s premium the greater [...] April 18, 2010 3:32 PM Why Buy Paid-Up Additions? People often ask me what paid up additions are. When structuring our policies we usually place a large amount of each premium towards the purchase of level paid up additions. These premiums are in addition to the base premium. Why do we do this? What’s the benefit to the policyholder? Paid up additions are small [...] April 13, 2010 5:41 PM 0% Financing with Whole Life Insurance These days 0% financing seems to be offered very regularly on vehicles, furniture and electronics. But wouldn’t it be great if you always had access to a pool of funds with no interest expense? When you borrow from specific whole life insurance plans you can. The key is to find a non-direct recognition life insurance [...] March 29, 2010 2:54 PM Is Your Ship Sinking? With 25-35% paid in taxes and another 25-30% paid in interest expense, your ship might be sinking. At best, the burden of these expenses is keeping it from moving very quickly. Taxes and interest expenses are the 2 biggest holes in anyone’s ship. The average American loses 60% of their income to taxes and interest. [...] March 18, 2010 2:00 PM Treasure Found: The Living Benefits of a Death Benefit How can you use a life insurance death benefit while you’re still alive? If you’re guaranteed to receive it, you can. It’s like finding buried treasure. The chest that you’ve been filling yet storing away can be opened and used. The death benefit that is provided by whole life insurance is guaranteed to pay out as long [...] March 14, 2010 4:12 AM The Great Insurance Debate: Term or Permanent? A debate has been raging in the insurance industry since 1977 when Arthur L. Williams Jr., founder of Primerica, mass marketed the concept of “Buy Term and Invest the Difference.” This concept took off like a wildfire and put the proponents of permanent life insurance on their heels. Both sides have been slinging the mud [...] March 08, 2010 2:44 AM Investing in Life Insurance – A Good Return? I came across this NBC News video this week and thought it would be good to share. A word of caution: If you believe that Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are financial gods and hang on their every word then I advise you to close your web browser. If you feel that the generic advice they [...] February 27, 2010 8:40 PM Real Estate Investing with the Infinite Banking Concept I thought I would give an actual scenario this week of how the Infinite Banking Concept is being put to use every day. Like the game, it can become a monopoly! Assumptions: We have established a whole life policy that’s properly designed for the Infinite Banking Concept. Available cash value for policy loans is $60,000.00. [...] February 21, 2010 7:44 PM Life Insurance – The Love Product In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to talk about life insurance from a different perspective. Most of my blog is spent discussing the financial and living benefits of life insurance. But life insurance is, and will always be, a means of providing for loved ones in the event of death.   If you love someone, you protect [...] February 12, 2010 7:09 PM