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Missed Fortune 101
A Starter Kit to Becoming a Millionaire
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Always prepay your mortgage.
The right 401(k) or IRA will completely cover your retirement.
Defer your taxes and postpone the pain.
True wealth doesn’t last forever. They’re All False! Missed Fortune 101 …is like no other money guide you’ve ever read. Its author, successful financial strategist Douglas R. Andrew, dares to question the conventional wisdom on personal finance that most people accept. He reveals the ways banks, credit unions, and insurance companies amass tremendous wealth-what they do, and what they don’t do. He shows you how to seize financial opportunities you never knew existed. With Missed Fortune 101 as your guide, you’ll never view your house, your mortgage, your retirement plans, your investments, and your other assets the same way again.
Put the lazy, idle dollars trapped in your home to work safely-and reap as much as an extra million.
Discover hidden and perfectly legal tax breaks-and treat yourself to some surprising windfalls.
Play the bankers’ favorite game-borrow at one rate and invest at a higher one.
Explore lesser-known retirement vehicles-and avoid falling into a higher tax bracket when you stop working.
Turn your life insurance policy into an investment-and keep your taxes down and your capital up.
Find out which low-return instruments should be in your portfolio today-and why they’ll become high-return stars tomorrow.
Reach your “freedom point”-your financial independence-long before “retirement age”! Learn the real rules of smart investing. Maximize your wealth with Missed Fortune 101.
Excerpt
ALSO BY DOUGLAS R. ANDREW
MISSED FORTUNE: Dispel the Money Myth-Conceptions—Isn't It Time You Became Wealthy?
To my family and posterity
Who will be the Successor Trustees of
Our Family Empowered Bank
Where all of our
Human, Intellectual and Financial Assets
Are deposited for the
Enrichment of each Family Member's
Health, Happiness and Well-being
Into Perpetuity
May the principles and insights
Contained in this book
Bring you
Clarity, Balance, Focus and Confidence
To help you accomplish
Your Greatest Dreams
Acknowledgments
An author's work can only be unique in the expression of ideas, which rarely, if ever, claim just one originator. Ideas are the result of countless interactions with people who influence the path one takes.
I wish to express sincere gratitude for the wonderful people who have helped and inspired me to create Missed Fortune 101.
To my incredible literary agent, Jillian Manus, I express sincere gratitude for your encouragement and confidence in my communication abilities. You are one of the most well-connected persons I know. You have a wonderful heart. Thank you for your good will.
I offer special thanks to my chief editor at Warner Books, Mr. Rick Wolff, for a great working relationship. And thanks to all of your team, especially Bob Castillo and Bill Betts, for their great contribution to the refinement of the final work.
I also offer thanks and deep appreciation to Lee Brower, founder and president of Empowered Wealth, LC, who has inspired me and co-authored those sections of this work that deal with the Empowered Wealth concepts. Also, I appreciate Marshall Thurber for his insights and encouragement in the development of this book.
I am extremely grateful for Heather Beers, a wonderful friend and talented editor. You are a delight to work with. I sincerely appreciate your special skills and your encouragement.
I wish to extend special thanks to Toni Lock at tmdesigns for the great relationship that has contributed to the layout and design of the illustrations in this work. Thanks also to Kristin Varner for your unique and professional artwork. You both have extraordinary talent and always come through beautifully.
I am especially grateful for the many teachers and mentors in my life: Thank you Dan Sullivan, Lee Brower, Adrienne Duffy, and Leo Weidner, my coaches. Thanks to John Unice, Craig Collins, Jerry Davis, Don Blanton, Todd Ballenger, Jack Tilton, Paul Barton, Marv Neumann, and Scott Bodine for the brainstorming during our careers that has contributed to this work. I express appreciation to my fellow entrepreneurs in The Strategic Coach program for their encouragement. Thanks to all of my TEAM members for the sharing of countless ideas to perfect the way the message of this book is communicated.
I express special appreciation to Mark Victor Hansen and Pat Burns for your encouragement, inspiration, and advice. Thank you for connecting me with some wonderful people.
I express gratitude to my talented and dedicated unique ability team comprised of Patrese Burke, Geoff Meyers, and my six children and their spouses for the countless hours of help and assistance you render in our mutual endeavors: Mailee, Adrea and Scott, Emron and Harmony, Aaron, Mindy and Brian, and Ashley. Thanks to all of my extended family for your understanding and encouragement while I focused on the completion of this work. May we build a million more memories together to deposit in our family bank.
Finally, to my wife and sweetheart, Sharee, thank you for thirty wonderful years of life together. Your support and encouragement have been incredible. Thanks for the countless hours of help in pursuit of all our endeavors. I love you!
Foreword
Have you ever attempted to walk for an extended period of time into a strong wind? To move forward in this environment one has to constantly stay focused and exert continuous effort. Frequently, traditional approaches to wealth creation create this type of experience.
This book asks you to turn around and allow the wind of success to support you. With the wind at your back, wealth creation becomes easier. Doug Andrew provides provocative observations, methods, predictions, and strategies that, when followed, will make you financially wealthy.
I have known and worked with Doug for many years. Most recently he has served as an advisory board member of Empowered Wealth, LLC, an intellectual capital firm that specializes in intergenerational wealth transfer. Doug's mastery of wealth creation and retention tools is extraordinary. Like the sun burning off the early-morning mist, Missed Fortune 101 dispels many money-making myths.
Empowered Wealth focuses on the Empowered Wealth's Quadrant System®. It teaches that sustainable wealth requires "Quadrant Living," which is the integration of your human, intellectual, civic, and financial assets.
Doug conveys his convictions that peace of mind comes through the optimization of all of your assets—not just your financial assets. Financial wealth by itself is not sustainable without integrating the other quadrants. It is like a balloon with many holes in it.
I congratulate Doug for his book, which takes direct aim at the financial asset quadrant. His thorough evaluation explores the secrets utilized by many of the "financially" rich. You must, of course, use the tools and concepts provided in this book. The greatest pencil in the world, regardless of its elegance, has never written a single line of poetry by itself.
Many self-made wealth creators have systematically followed Doug's predictable path. I encourage you to do the same.
Lee Brower, President
Empowered Wealth, LLC
Preface
In front of you is an empowering starter kit to becoming a millionaire, stocked with insights and opportunities you may not have known existed. Missed Fortune 101 contains a collection of common money myths, or what I call money "myth-conceptions," systematically dispelled by wealth-enhancement strategies.
Missed Fortune 101 is a simplified offering of wealth-enhancement principles that are explained in greater detail in my more comprehensive original work, Missed Fortune. However, do not be mistaken—"simplified" does not mean "condensed." Missed Fortune 101 will amply supply you with the knowledge you need to attain financial independence.
You have the ability to use some of the identical strategies self-made millionaires use. You will learn how to be your own banker—I will teach you what banks, credit unions, and insurance companies do to amass wealth. You will discover how to develop a Perpetual Life of Asset Nurturance (P.L.A.N.) in order to create a meaningful transformation in every aspect of your life. Isn't it time you became wealthy? Don't miss your fortune!
I'm sure you are familiar with the cliché "You can't see the forest for the trees." I believe there are certain financial opportunities that have always been in front of us, but whose true potential we couldn't see. This book will lift you, like a helicopter, above the trees for a better perspective. Your vision will open up, and you will begin to take in the bigger picture—a point of view that can change your life.
CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF
This book contains strategies that are contrary to traditional approaches for the accumulation of wealth, estate planning, debt management, and retirement planning. But I assure you, as you study the concepts contained herein, you will never view your house, mortgage, retirement plans, savings, investments, and insurance the same way. Either the new insights you gain will spur you to action, or they will leave you wondering how much more your financial net worth could have been had you taken action.
The statement I make in my original work, Missed Fortune, bears repeating: The worst form of ignorance is when we judge or reject something we know little or nothing about. So let me suggest a few ground rules before embarking on this experience:
• Be open-minded to new ideas that may even be counterintuitive.
• Be willing to suspend your disbelief.
• Withhold justifying why you may not be doing certain things right now. Remember, different isn't always better, but better is always different.
The strategies contained herein are sound and proven, yet not common knowledge. The ideas are not novel, but the approach is. When financial planners or CPAs study and understand these concepts, they cannot refute the numbers. The variable that will assure success or failure is the discipline of the individual implementing the strategies. For those who are financially mature and responsible, a tremendous amount of wealth can be safely created and preserved. But I'll issue the same warning I did in my original work: This book is not for financial jellyfish.
LIKE ORANGES AND CHOCOLATE
To fully understand the concepts, the reader will need to be patient on occasion while I explain certain tax laws or financial concepts. To get to the sweet, juicy center of an orange, it is necessary to go through the bitter peel that surrounds the heart of the fruit. Likewise, cocoa powder is almost intolerable to the taste buds until sweetener is added. But without the bitter ingredient, we could not savor the chocolate delicacies. So it is with the financial strategies I will disclose in this work. Sometimes we must get through the bitter, or tedious, portion to enjoy the satisfying portion.
You will learn through interesting examples, case studies, and illustrations. There are some technical details—explained in simple terms—that will educate every reader, from the novice to the expert. If you would rather learn general concepts, skim the numbers and charts. If you want to study the evidence, it's provided for you. If you want further in-depth information, please refer to my original work, Missed Fortune.
DEVELOP YOUR LEARNING SYSTEM
Most educational books are information-based. My desire is for you to have an insight-based experience while reading this book. My goals will be accomplished if you experience several "ah-ha" moments, because when something becomes your insight, you change! Information is not scarce. In fact, the amount of information available to humanity today doubles every eighteen months. Rather, we have a scarcity of time and attention in this world. In order for you to give adequate time and attention to becoming enlightened, it would be in your interest to have a system.
I am grateful to a wonderful friend and associate, Marshall Thurber, who taught me, "You are only going to get what your system will deliver." Mark Victor Hansen, a personal friend and mentor, taught me to think of "system" as an acronym representing:
Save
Your-
Self
Time
Energy
Money
May I suggest you begin by using the following system:
• Clearly define why you are reading this book.
• Determine what you really expect to get out of studying it.
• Clearly establish what would be required for you to have a quality educational experience.
• Identify the barriers, roadblocks, or hindrances that need to be eliminated to have a successful transformation.
May I suggest that after reading each chapter, you write down the three greatest insights gained from reading that chapter. Then write down the first action you are going to take to implement any new concepts that are in harmony with your goals and objectives. Writing these things down will crystallize your thinking. You see, if you are only interested in something, you will do it only when it's convenient. When you are committed to something, you will complete it at almost any cost—and a meaningful transformation will take place.
WELCOME TO YOUR FUTURE!
The strategies you will learn are not "get rich quick" schemes but safe, methodical systems to dramatically enhance your net worth, substantially increase your retirement income, and empower your wealth.
As you record the actions you are going to take as a result of the insights gained, the most important word that should repeatedly come up is "tomorrow." In other words, my sincere hope is that each day you will rethink what you are going to do tomorrow as a result of your new insights, because tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.
Welcome to your exciting, abundant future!
CHAPTER 1
All the Dogs Barking Up the Wrong Tree Doesn't Make It the Right One!
Why socking money away into IRAs and 401(k)s and paying extra principal on your mortgage is counterproductive
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED if you're on the right path? In my professional travels, I participate in conferences and conventions all over the world. During the past several years, I have traveled to Chicago every three months to meet with a group of fellow entrepreneurs in a program called The Strategic Coach, founded by Dan Sullivan. As anyone who has traveled to the Chicago area knows, O'Hare Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and can be confusing. On the first few trips, I would retrieve my luggage and walk outside to be picked up at the bus shuttle center. I would follow the crowd from the baggage claim area outside to the ground transportation area, then across eight lanes of traffic to the shuttle center, often in freezing, windy conditions, without a coat.
One blustery cold, wet day, I followed the crowd and arrived at the shuttle center with my hair windblown and my suit sopping wet. To my surprise, I met the gentleman who had sat next to me on my flight. His hair was in place and his suit was dry. I said, "How did you get here before me and in such great shape?"
He replied, "Oh, didn't you know there's an easier way to get here? And you stay warm and dry!" He told me about a corridor that leads people safely underground to the shuttle center, sheltered from traffic and unpleasant weather.
The next time I flew into O'Hare, I learned that the path leading to the shuttle center had always been there; I just hadn't noticed it. Now it's up to me each trip to choose the path I'm going to take: the way the crowd goes or the safer, more sheltered route.
One day I asked the hotel shuttle service why they didn't instruct people on how to reach the shuttle center by the safer, protected route. They said, "Oh, it's too hard to get people to understand, so we just tell them to follow the crowd."
The ideas presented in this book are not novel; the approaches are. With the insights you are about to gain, I hope you will choose not to always follow the crowd, but to find the best path on your journey toward financial independence.
For the first step on that journey, let's take a look at the two places most Americans accumulate the most money: our home and our retirement plan.
THE FIRST STEP
Following accepted wisdom, we set aside money in qualified retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, enjoying tax-deductible funding and/or tax-deferred accumulation. At the same time, we assume it's best to achieve the goal of outright home ownership and save money on mortgage interest expense by sending extra principal payments against our mortgages.
Unaware, like naïve, inexperienced drivers, we proceed down the highway of life, pursuing financial security with one foot on the brake pedal and the other foot on the gas pedal. We may eventually make it to our destination, but only after a pretty jerky ride. We wonder why a few others arrived at the station of financial independence sooner, achieving more, with a much smoother ride.
"BUT I'M DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT!"
We suddenly realize that during all of those years of earning money, we socked a portion away in investment vehicles that gave us a tax deduction on the front end, just to be hammered with taxes on the back end. At the same time, we were killing our partner, Uncle Sam, by eliminating one of the best tax deductions we have as Americans—our home mortgage interest.
During our "golden years" of retirement, we painfully come to the realization that we increased our tax liability by postponing it to a time when we no longer had significant deductions. In frustration, we complain, "But I did everything right! Everyone concerned about their retirement puts money into IRAs and 401(k)s, and I've always been taught that you should pay off your mortgage by sending extra principal payments to the mortgage company!" There is a valuable lesson a friend and mentor, Marshall Thurber, taught me: All the dogs barking up the wrong tree doesn't make it the right one!
If what you thought to be the best way to save for retirement or to pay off your mortgage turned out not to be the best way, when would you want to know? Now is the time to discover the best way to safely accumulate more money. The sooner you empower yourself with the knowledge to attain financial independence, the greater your net worth will become.
THE LURE OF IRAS AND 401(K)S
Most Americans are lured into saving for retirement with traditional qualified retirement plans, such as IRAs and 401(k)s. They are convinced by financial advisors to contribute pre-tax dollars to 401(k) plans or place tax-deductible contributions into IRAs because of the tax advantages during the contribution and accumulation phases of their retirement planning. They seem to ignore the two most important phases—when you withdraw your money for retirement income, and when you pass away and transfer any remaining funds to your heirs. This book will help you understand how to receive tax-favored benefits during all four phases of retirement planning: the contribution, accumulation, distribution, and transfer phases.
Most of us don't want to outlive our money, and no one is getting out of here alive. When people die, they usually leave behind some money in their IRAs and 401(k)s that is transferred to their beneficiaries. Unfortunately, non-spousal heirs far too often end up with only about 28 percent of the money that was left in their parents' IRAs and 401(k)s.
Most people and their advisors feel that tax-deductible or pre-tax contributions to qualified plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s will provide the greatest retirement benefits because of tax-deferred growth. But do they?
If you were a farmer, would you rather save tax on the purchase of your seed in the springtime and pay tax on the sale of your harvest in the fall, or would you rather pay tax on the seed and sell your harvest without any tax on the gain? I would rather purchase the seed with after-tax dollars and later sell my harvest tax-free. In this book, I will teach you how to do the latter.
A Roth IRA is one way to accomplish this, but I believe it still has too many strings attached. The maximum yearly contribution that can be made by an individual was $3,000 for tax years 2002 to 2004; from 2005 to 2008 the limit is $4,000. Distributions may not be taken until at least five years after the first contribution is made. In addition, distributions must be taken when or after the owner reaches the age of 591/2, except in the event of the owner's death or disability, or for "qualified first-time homebuyer expenses."
THE NOT-SO-ADVANTAGED TAX ADVANTAGES
One of the original IRA tenets held that deferring tax until retirement was advantageous because funds would likely be taxed at a lower rate. That is no longer axiomatic. You may well live out your retirement in the same or a higher tax bracket if you accumulate a respectable retirement nest egg. In fact, effective tax rates will likely be higher in the future. So why postpone the inevitable and increase your tax liability?
As a financial strategist and retirement specialist, when I discover how much money my first-time clients have accumulated in yet-to-be-taxed IRAs and 401(k)s, I often ask them if they are planning their retirement or Uncle Sam's.
Is postponing tax and thereby increasing the tax you will owe really the best idea? You should be aware that your IRA, pension, and 401(k) benefits will probably be taxable at a higher rate at retirement (figure 1.1).
A BETTER RETIREMENT ALTERNATIVE
In my opinion, there is a better alternative to achieve tax-free retirement income, as well as create indirect tax-favored benefits on the contribution amounts without all of the restrictions and rules.
When I contribute money to my retirement fund, there is no restriction on how much I can put in. During good years, I can contribute generously; during not-so-good years, I don't have to contribute anything. Moreover, I can withdraw money if needed without IRS penalties, and I am not obligated to put it back. As a homeowner, I also structure my retirement plan to get indirect tax deductions on my contribution amounts. Most important, my retirement funds accumulate tax-free, and I can access the funds whenever I want on a tax-free basis (including the interest or gain) without having to wait until I'm 591/2. If I don't use up my retirement funds before I pass away, they will blossom in value and transfer free of income tax to my heirs.
There is a means by which you can draw out your retirement free of income tax. Not only that, but there is also a means to avoid paying tax on up to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits at retirement. Are you interested in how you can accomplish this?
Through proper planning, a homeowner can utilize home equity retirement planning that may provide tax advantages during the contribution and accumulation years, and more important, you may enjoy tax-free income during your retirement years and transfer any remaining funds to your heirs tax-free. This strategy can increase your net spendable retirement income by as much as 50 percent! How is this possible? Read on.
THE TRUE COST OF EXTRA PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS
Another common misconception about the path to financial independence is that the best way to pay off a house is to make extra principal payments on your mortgage. There are various methods that people use to do this. Some homeowners use the biweekly payment plan to accelerate their mortgage payoff. Others use fifteen-year mortgages rather than thirty-year mortgages to accomplish their goal of outright home ownership. I will prove in this book that no method of paying extra principal on your mortgage is the wisest or quickest method of accomplishing financial independence.
A homeowner can accumulate the amount of cash needed to pay off a home just as soon or sooner by using a conservative, tax-deferred mortgage acceleration plan. The most important elements of home equity management are maintaining liquidity and safety of principal and creating the opportunity for home equity to grow in a separate side fund, where it is accessible in the event of an emergency.
It is essential to maintain control of your home equity to allow it to earn a rate of return. Home equity has no rate of return when it is trapped in the house, as I will explain in chapter 6. I'll also explain why your home may likely sell much more quickly and for a higher price with a high mortgage balance rather than a low mortgage balance.
Learning to manage the equity in your home wisely will allow you to utilize one of the few tax deductions that we Americans have left: our mortgage interest. You can actually pay off a home using a thirty-year mortgage in thirteen and a half years with the same cash outlay required to pay off a fifteen-year mortgage. And you can accomplish this by using some of Uncle Sam's money instead of your own! This book will teach you how to dramatically enhance your net worth and generate an extra million dollars or more by safely using lazy, idle dollars that are trapped in the equity of your home.
Let me reiterate and clarify why many Americans are remiss in arriving at the degree of financial independence they could otherwise obtain. While we do everything in our power to get tax deductions on our retirement contributions and investments, we simultaneously eliminate one of the few and best deductions we have: our home mortgage interest.
Hence, most Americans prepare for the future by postponing tax while getting rid of their tax deductions.
P.L.A.N. FOR TRUE WEALTH
To get where you want to go, you have to know how to get there. I've discovered that the secret to wealth accumulation is to use the best P.L.A.N.—an acronym for "Perpetual Life of Asset Nurturance."(TM) When we learn to nurture all of our assets properly, we create a new life for them that will live on into perpetuity. To understand how, we must first define "true wealth." So let's shift gears in order to view your future from a loftier perspective.*
Wealth is usually associated with the accumulation of assets. When asked what their assets are, most people usually think of their house, cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, and insurance. These things constitute our financial assets and represent our material possessions.
But, if I were to ask what their most important assets are, most people would list their family, health, relationships, virtues, values, morals, character, unique abilities, heritage, and the future. This category represents human assets—that is, people rather than things.
Another category of assets represents the wisdom we gain in life: our intellectual assets. Wisdom is a product of knowledge multiplied by experiences—both good and bad. Intellectual assets also include our formal education, reputation, systems, methods, skills, ideas, alliances, and traditions.
ASSETS THAT MATTER
Imagine these three categories—financial, human, and intellectual assets—on a "family balance sheet." Say you had to leave one category behind, but you could keep and transfer the others to future generations. Which would you choose to lose (figure 1.2)?
I have asked this question of a wide variety of individuals who have had financial net worths ranging from $10,000 to $2,500,000,000, and the answer is the same. They would choose to give up their financial assets.
Why? Because we can rebuild the financial assets with our human and intellectual assets. Most religions of the world believe that we come into the world possessing the human and intellectual assets to one degree or another. While we live our life, we enhance these assets. Then when we leave this mortal existence, we take the enhanced human and intellectual assets with us to the next life.
Genre:
- On Sale
- Jun 3, 2008
- Page Count
- 304 pages
- Publisher
- Business Plus
- ISBN-13
- 9780446539623
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