The Last Chance Millionaire

ALSO BY DOUGLAS R. ANDREW

MISSED FORTUNE

MISSED FORTUNE 101

To my Family and Posterity

May the principles and insights

Contained in this book

Bring you

Clarity, Balance, Focus, and Confidence

To help you accomplish

Your Greatest Dreams

And create a

Meaningful Transformation

In your lives.

Acknowledgments

An author's work can be unique only 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 The Last Chance Millionaire.

To my incredible literary agent, Jillian Manus, thank you for your excitement and encouragement in the creation of this work. You are so generous with your time and talents to help others. You have so much good in your heart, energy in your soul, and passion for life!

I give special thanks to my chief editor at Warner Books, Rick Wolff, for a wonderful working relationship. You have believed in my message and the power of delivering it to the world. And thanks to all of the great people, especially Sean Jones, at Warner Business Books who have helped to make this book a success.

To my wife and loving companion of more than thirty-three years, thank you for your love, compassion, patience, and understanding as I pursue those things that I am passionate about. You have been by my side rendering assistance and encouragement with every project I have undertaken. I love you dearly!

I offer gratitude for my two sons, Emron Andrew and Aaron Andrew. Thanks for carrying the baton while I worked on this book. Special thanks for helping with all of the charts and graphs, as well as the case studies in this work. I feel so fortunate and blessed to be your father.

Special thanks to my entire family, especially to my daughters, Mailee, Adrea, Mindy, and Ashley, for all of your help and support in our mutual endeavors. Thanks to Harmony, my daughter-in-law, and Scott and Brian, my sons-in-law, for your incredible talents and help in our business development. My greatest love and joy are found in my family.

Thanks to Mahesh Grossman, Grace Lichtenstein, and the Authors Team for their help in organizing this work. Grace, it was a delight to work with you closely throughout this project as you helped capture so many of the ideas and expressions that I flooded you with for hours and hours. Thanks for holding me to the task at hand.

I am grateful for Heather Beers, a wonderful friend and editor. I sincerely appreciate your special talents and your encouragement. I also extend special thanks to Toni Lock at tmdesigns for her help with the layout of the charts, graphs, and illustrations in this work. I express sincere gratitude to Kristin Varner for her unique and professional artwork. Amid your busy schedules, you all came through beautifully using your incredible talents.

I express special appreciation to Lee Brower, Marshall Thurber, and Mark Victor Hansen for your encouragement, inspiration, and advice that have contributed to the successful completion of this book.

I appreciate the many teachers and mentors in my life: Thanks to my coaches: Dan Sullivan, Lee Brower, Adrienne Duffy, and Leo Weidner. Thanks to Don Blanton, John Childers, Mike Midlam, Marv Neumann, Philip Bodine, Jerry Davis, and Philip Tirone for the brainstorming and ideas that we have shared, created, and enhanced together.

I express gratitude to my talented and dedicated unique-ability team for the countless hours of help and assistance you all render in our mutual endeavors. Special thanks to Michael Larkins for managing the operations of our company while I was heavily engaged in my writing and speaking endeavors.

Finally, I feel overwhelming thankfulness for our TEAM network of professional financial advisors and many alliances who have invested time, energy, and money to support our cause in helping people optimize their assets, manage their equity, and empower their true wealth. Together we are better—and we can turn this world right side up!

Preface

About eighty million Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are approaching retirement in the next twenty years. The crisis? Most Boomers will not have enough accumulated for retirement to meet their needs, let alone their wants.

The problem? The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits. Many will become "Broke Boomers" if they don't quit consuming so much. I have found that most people simply need direction on how to begin conserving their resources and putting them to work. The solution? Social Security isn't the answer. Taking ownership of your financial future is the answer. This book will empower you with the knowledge to achieve a greater degree of financial independence while there is still time left—it's not too late! You can become a "Blazing Bloomer" by creating tremendous wealth and financial security for yourself!

If you are concerned about preparing for retirement, this book is for you. I will reveal ten financial misconceptions—what I have nicknamed "Baby Boomer Blunders"—that most Boomers have made or will likely make. Boomers who labor under these misconceptions will learn dynamic strategies on how to cure or overcome their mistakes. Those who think they are safely headed toward retirement will gain invaluable insights on how to prevent or avoid making blunders. This book will help retirees understand that the planning they do at retirement is different from the planning they did for retirement. Those who are fearful that it is too late to prepare adequately for a comfortable retirement will experience new hope. Those who are already in a state of financial independence will experience a meaningful transformation as they are enlightened by opportunities they didn't know existed.

As a financial strategist, lecturer, and consultant for more than thirty years, the asset optimization, equity management, and wealth empowerment strategies that I teach have enabled clients nationwide to dramatically increase their financial independence. You will benefit from years of research and practical application of proven tax strategies, as well as extensive experience in financial planning and unorthodox insight that has proven an invaluable asset to thousands of individuals. I will introduce contrarian but proven strategies—as demonstrated in my first two books, Missed Fortune and Missed Fortune 101—that have empowered people throughout America to dramatically enhance their financial net worth. Thousands of financial services professionals are now using these books to help their clients understand these dynamic concepts and strategies that can help them achieve financial freedom. It's not too late for you to become wealthy!

Unlike other books written for Baby Boomers that tend to offer up the same old traditional retirement planning strategies that get people only so far, this book will offer new ideas that are built on sound principles. As for this book's differentiation from my previous works, The Last Chance Millionaire clearly stands apart—taking the underlying principles examined in the Missed Fortune™ series to the next level. My hope is that this book will serve as a wealth enhancement handbook—outlining specific, actionable steps that you can take now.

This book will help you realize you don't need to start from scratch to begin accumulating money for retirement. Instead, you can utilize three marvels: 1) compound interest, 2) tax-favored accumulation, and 3) safe, positive leverage. The greatest asset that most people have to prepare for a comfortable retirement and alleviate unnecessary income tax on their IRAs and 401(k)s is sitting under their own roof—their lazy, idle home equity! This book will teach you how to become your own banker, take ownership of your future, and how to achieve financial independence and retire in dignity. You will be able to turn on the afterburners to prepare for a comfortable retirement for maximum results with minimal risk.

Most of my clients are Boomers and retirees. I'm a Boomer—born in 1952. I understand why Boomers often feel confused, isolated, and powerless. My goal is to help you overcome the greatest barriers you face and to employ the best strategies possible by utilizing your greatest abilities. I have found that the three greatest barriers to progress are: 1) a lack of knowledge, 2) a lack of confidence, and 3) a lack of money. With the new knowledge you will attain, you will gain confidence. And I will help you find and make money.

I've been privileged to be affiliated with Lee Brower, president and founder of Empowered Wealth, LC for several years. I am an executive committee member and one of the founding quadrant living architects of the Brower Quadrant Living Experience™. In his system there are four categories of assets: Human, Intellectual, Financial, and Civic. Human assets are your Core assets. Intellectual assets come from your Experiences. Financial assets are usually measured monetarily. And Civic or Social assets are the Contributions we give back to society. I prefer to call this strategy a holistic approach to optimizing all of the assets on your personal and family balance sheet.

When we meet with clients, we start by talking about four essential mental adjustments everyone should make in order to clear away confusion and achieve their dreams: Clarity, Balance, Focus, and Confidence.

When you get clarity in your vision, it gives you energy. When people get a grip on what they are trying to accomplish and where they are headed, it sweeps away many mental roadblocks to action. I watch people listen to us describe the four different kinds of assets they have (human, intellectual, financial, civic) and I can almost hear them say, "My heavens, I have never thought more clearly about all of my options." Their body language suggests they are infused with energy.

When you get balance, you eliminate the wobble in your life. When you have a car out of alignment or whose tires aren't balanced, it can rumble down the street, weaving this way and that. Get an alignment and balance those tires and you get rid of the wobble. You get it to run precisely and your car gains speed in a hurry. In the same way, your finances may be wobbly. Learn how to balance your finances (and the priorities in other aspects of your life) and you suddenly gain velocity toward financial independence and peace of mind. It won't matter that you started late; you'll zoom ahead of the others who are still wobbling along without much direction.

When you find your focus, it brings accuracy. I'll help you focus on the important opportunities and activities that will help you most at this stage of your life.

Clarity, balance, and focus generate confidence that you can achieve all the good things you want for yourself and your family. In fact, increased confidence attracts new opportunities.

It is my sincere hope that reading this book will empower you with enough clarity, balance, and focus to give you the confidence to creatively deploy my strategies to manage your money successfully. You will discover a new path that will lead you beyond just getting along—leading you toward wealth, comfort, and a life of abundance. Yes, your last chance may indeed be your best chance to becoming a millionaire!

Douglas R. Andrew

Fall 2006

CHAPTER 1

From Broke Boomer to Blazing Bloomer

Remove the Obstacles to Your Future Financial Well-Being

I S THAT SCENARIO A LITTLE TOO close to home to get a laugh out of you? If so, you've got plenty of company. Whether everyone will have enough money to retire is a question that looms large today for 78 million Americans—the Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964. If you're among the oldest Boomers, those born right after World War II, you will have to face this issue sooner rather than later. After all, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 330 of us are turning 60 every hour.

I say "us," because I am one of you. I was born in 1952, and like you I am part of the largest population explosion in history. So we're in this arena together. As a financial strategist and retirement specialist, I know it's one thing to talk about the game, but another thing to play it.

It's likely we've all carried a common dream throughout our lives—achieving financial independence. Creating wealth. Maybe even obtaining that elusive status: "millionaire."

Well, here we are, with retirement just up ahead. Have you arrived?

Magazine articles and television news sometimes suggest that Boomers all have bundles of money, as well as a nice big home, and retirement IRA and 401(k) accounts that are growing steadily in value.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

To begin with, even the oldest Boomers may not expect to quit working on their 65th birthday. Whether it's out of financial necessity or lifestyle preference, many do not anticipate retiring in the traditional sense.

It has been well documented that unlike our parents' generation, we are less interested in "playing golf every day." We are more active, more likely to work beyond the traditional retirement age of 65, and, unfortunately, less financially prepared than our parents were for the "golden years."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average age of retirees is 68. The life expectancy for a normal, healthy male age 65 is another twenty years, to age 85. If a person stops earning income at age 68, there is now a seventeen-year gap to cover with retirement resources, rather than the five-, ten-, or twelve-year gap that existed just one to two generations ago. Based on the better health and mortality (life expectancy) of the upcoming Baby Boomer retirement force, "retirement" in the traditional sense should now be at age 73! For many Boomers, retirement planning needs to provide adequate resources to last thirty years or longer. This book will help prepare you so you don't outlive your money.

Beyond whatever size nest eggs we may have nurtured, Social Security is often something Boomers expect to incorporate into their retirement. But there are conflicting statistics and studies about how much money we will be able to collect in Social Security, as more and more of us begin dipping regularly into that wellspring of dollars established by the federal government some seventy years ago.

In fact, the national Social Security Trust Funds could be headed for serious trouble. The 2006 Trustee's Report projects that the Social Security Trust Funds will totally run out of steam by the year 2040 unless there is serious reform.

I maintain that Social Security benefits should be viewed as a supplement to your retirement, not as your primary source of income. It should become a bonus for, not the basis of, your planning.

WHAT MAKES YOU ANXIOUS ABOUT RETIREMENT?

Are you concerned about the possibility that, like the pair in the cartoon, it's too late to plan for a comfortable retirement? Do you believe you have not saved enough—or anything substantial at all—and must start from scratch? Do you fear that not only will you never become a millionaire, but that you may end up a Broke Boomer?

Many of your fellow Boomers have the same concerns.

•  DO you think it's too late in life to catch up with wealthier friends, customers, or business associates in your circle who seem to have it all—a great house, a second getaway home, a plan for making their money last?

•  ARE you worried that even if you do have enough, you might outlive your money and wind up dependent on charity or your children when you are old?

•  DO you believe you are powerless to reverse the course of your personal financial history?

At age fifty-four, when I sit down and project myself into the future ten or fifteen years, I ask myself, "What has to have happened in my life leading up to age sixty-five or seventy, both personally and financially, for me to be happy with my progress toward my golden years?"

When I visualize how I want to live during retirement, I know that realistically I need to focus now on eliminating the barriers that would prevent me from realizing my vision. I also need to determine which strategies, resources, and opportunities I can use right now in order to achieve my goals. Lastly, I need to harness and direct my best abilities and strengths to optimize all of my assets.

A wonderful friend and entrepreneurial coach, Dan Sullivan, taught me to have a conversation with my clients framed around their greatest dangers, opportunities, and strengths. I use this framework with my clients to understand where they are and where they want to go. Inasmuch as most of my clients are Boomers and retirees, allow me to outline what they have shared. When I have these enlightening conversations, it's apparent that people are confused. They feel isolated. They feel powerless.

How about you? Do you share any of the following concerns? Do you want to learn how to employ some of the strategies listed? Do you have any of the abilities outlined below?

GREATEST BARRIERS TO OVERCOME:

•  Not having enough money accumulated for retirement

•  Outliving your income after retirement

•  Losing your ability to earn and save

•  Consuming instead of conserving retirement resources

•  Losing your health and mobility

•  Dying too soon and leaving others without adequateresources

•  Having resources dwindle due to taxes and inflation

•  Using up resources to pay for long-term health care

•  Having to work to make ends meet

•  Not having enough resources to care for your parents physically and financially as they age

GREATEST STRATEGIES TO EMPLOY:

•  Tapping into one of your greatest assets—your home equity

•  Realizing that it's not too late to become wealthy—there's still time

•  Turbocharging your retirement savings

•  Employing the three marvels of wealth accumulation

•  Taking full ownership of your retirement

•  Overcoming or avoiding Baby Boomer Blunders

•  Initiating a strategic rollout of your IRAs and 401(k)s

•  Repositioning assets for greater liquidity, safety, and rate of return

•  Becoming your own banker

•  Redefining yourself at retirement

GREATEST ABILITIES TO UTILIZE:

•  Possessing a good work ethic

•  Having one to two incomes with more discretionary dollars to set aside

•  Having home equity available to use for safe leverage

•  Still having enough time left to accomplish retirement goals

•  Dispelling myths from parents who grew up in the Great Depression era

•  Having the capacity to live longer and more healthfully

•  Having the ability to work longer and contribute value far beyond age sixty-five

If you feel you have some of the same barriers that are blocking the path to your financial security, this book is meant for you:

•  It can help you overcome and alleviate the greatest barriers you are facing.

•  It can provide you with refreshing and proven strategies.

•  It can reveal and harness your best abilities that need to be utilized to succeed in reaching your goals.

HOW THE LAST CHANCE MILLIONAIRE WILL HELP

I know many of you are feeling the "darkness of night" as you look toward your retirement years. You have probably already realized that if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. Rather than letting you stay in that rut, I want to bump you out of it to reveal the "brightness of day"—your brilliant future—full of peace, abundance, and prosperity.

This book will give you new direction. It will instill greater confidence for your future. Through the creative strategies, you will be endowed with new capabilities. You will feel empowered to prepare adequately for a comfortable retirement. You can achieve financial independence, and you can do it now!

The most important thing I want to give you is an insight-based experience. When you have insights that are yours, you are able to make a change for the better. You will experience epiphanies—those moments when you go, "Ah hah! I get it!"

There's still time to become a "last chance millionaire," or what I also call a Blazing Bloomer! You can still get your act together, even though it's late in the game. But it is going to take work on your part. I don't have a get-rich-quick scheme. I have a system, but it requires that you optimize your assets and discipline your spending—that you conserve rather than consume.

I ask that you abide by three ground rules as you read this book:

•  First, I would like you to keep an open mind about my system, even if some of the strategies I suggest sound counterintuitive.

•  Second, be willing to suspend your disbelief until I present my full arguments in favor of certain ideas that might be different from the conventional retirement financial planning wisdom you have heard up until now.

•  Third, I want you to avoid justifying why you have not taken certain financial steps. By the time I connect all the dots, you will understand how you can make major improvements in your financial future.

DISCARD OUTDATED INFORMATION AND CLEAR THE PATH TO NEW IDEAS

First, I will introduce you to common misconceptions about money and the blunders many Baby Boomers have made with their money. You've always been told that the way to get ahead is to buy a home, get a cheap mortgage, and pay it off as quickly as you can. You have also been told to sink as much money as possible into an IRA or 401(k) plan, and to make sure they produce a high rate of return. For years you've been bombarded with this constant stream of conventional wisdom.

But I am about to prove to you that old, conventional wisdom in this case is wrong. Just because for thousands of years most of humanity thought the world was flat, it didn't make it that way. In my previous book, Missed Fortune 101, I wrote that, "All the dogs barking up the wrong tree doesn't make it the right one." I will establish my case that socking away money into IRAs and 401(k)s and making extra payments on your mortgage are both counterproductive.

I will show you a different and totally revolutionary approach. I believe it is possible to cure your mistakes, to avoid making new blunders. There is a better way to gain financial independence.

Yes, my strategies go against the current of traditional financial planning. In fact, most of the tactics I will offer you are contrary to popular belief. Yet all my advice is based on fact, tax law, and the practical application of thousands of very wealthy people.

But I'm giving you fair warning. These strategies are not for financial jellyfish. These strategies are for forward-thinking, disciplined people who are ready to examine their own roadblocks to wealth. They are for people willing to buck the trend of misguided, typical financial wisdom and instead make the most of proven, yet less familiar, methods to create a personal plan for true wealth.

My suggestions are for the majority of hardworking families with husbands and wives who have reached a degree of financial stability by working most of their adult lives. However, if you are among the few who are already financially independent, I will show you how to experience a meaningful transformation as you are enlightened by opportunities you didn't know existed. I will show you how to develop a proper PLAN—an acronym for Perpetual Life of Asset Nurturance™. When we learn to nurture all of our assets properly, we create a new life for them that will live on into perpetuity.

In short, I will give you direction, confidence, and capability to achieve your dreams.

MY "ELEVATOR SPEECH"

Once again, I must warn you: Do not expect me to show you how to get rich quickly. Be prepared to study, listen, learn, and do basic homework. This book is not entitled Super-Quick Wealth Enhancement and Asset Optimization for Dummies. Also, please don't get the idea that this book is just for those people who are already wealthy. I want to empower families at every income level and in every tax bracket.

To give you the ultra-brief version of my system, let's pretend we are in an elevator in an office building. You've heard about this book and you ask: "What exactly do you do, Doug?"

Here's my "elevator speech" reply:

You know how most people save for retirement by socking away money in IRAs and 401(k)s, and also try to pay off their house by sending extra principal payments to their mortgage company? Why get a tax break when you put money in a qualified retirement plan, expecting that you'll be in a lower tax bracket when you retire, only to get clobbered by taxes on the back end? To me, that's like driving on the highway with one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake. You may get to your destination eventually, but it's a pretty jerky ride.

How about your home? We all know market values fluctuate. What I do is assure people that if their houses go down in value, they will not lose their equity—not one penny.

What's more, if you are sending extra principal payments to the mortgage company, you're killing your partner, Uncle Sam, by depriving yourself of one of the best tax deductions we have as Americans: home mortgage interest.

As you approach retirement, you painfully come to the realization that you've increased your tax liability by postponing it to a time when you no longer have significant deductions. I can show you how to dramatically enhance your net worth and your net spendable retirement income, and never outlive your money, by not doing what most people do.

We've reached your floor. The elevator door is about to open. Do I have your attention yet?

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES I ADDRESS?

I will show you how to grow wealthy steadily, utilizing three marvels: compound interest, tax-favored accumulation, and safe, positive leverage. Now, you may be sitting there thinking, "Oh, I already understand those three concepts!" Don't put this book down!