Without buying a single product and by applying a new thought process to your everyday life, you will experience a financial change that will impact your life immediately. Applying a new thought process in your life will not take years to develop. You will start to see financial changes very quickly. The results of applying this new thought process to your life will help you achieve these four basic goals:
- You will increase your money supply.
- You will create more or better benefits for you and your family.
- You will reduce the element of risk when trying to increase your wealth and also reduce the amount of future taxation you face.
- You will achieve these three goals without spending one more dime than you are already spending.
Developing a philosophy and a thought process around how money works in your life will point you to goals you can achieve. These goals are the result of controlling your money and understanding how money works.
MONEY
Having money is essential in almost every aspect of life. For those who have it, or are rich, they feel a certain sense of security. When you have money, you have the luxury of worrying about other things in life. For those who have very little or no money, you live in a very different world. A business without money has very little chance of surviving; even charities have trouble surviving. In fact, most businesses fail in their early years due to a lack of capital. In many American households, it’s no different. In a family setting, a lack of money, or large amounts of debt, can bring a family to its knees. Many times, the financial troubles in a family can result in depression, desperation, or divorce. This impacts the social fabric of our society and creates secondary problems like crime, drugs, and a lack of education. The lack of money creates dependency on the government, and the government is not supposed to be in the family business. Any way you look at it, a lack of money has the ability to strip individuals and families of their pride and sense of self-worth. Many Americans also have the fear of knowing that they may be only two or three paychecks away from being broke. For many, not having sufficient cash flow to live a comfortable life is due to a series of financial decisions that they made in the past. These decisions cause problems financially and have a compounding impact in their life today and into the future. This is why it is important to focus on the “money supply” of an individual or family first. Having a money supply and having the ability to increase that money supply is far more important than investing in stocks and mutual funds, and the results will be more favorable.
INCREASING YOUR MONEY SUPPLY
To increase the money supply in your life, you will not have to change the way you live your life, only the way you approach life financially. Everyone should develop a new thought process and pay attention in their daily lives when it comes to their money. The answers for improving your financial life are right in front of you. You need to be more proactive when you see an opportunity to improve your money supply.
Earlier, we discussed THE THREE TYPES OF MONEY and THE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH MONEY. Both lessons include a discussion about the transfers of your wealth. Transfers of wealth are money that you unknowingly and unnecessarily may be giving away. Transfers of your wealth rob you of your ability to save money, invest or improve your lifestyle. Recapturing the money, you’re transferring away now will increase your money supply. If you are able to recapture these transfers now, it will compound the amount of wealth you will have in the future. Recapturing your transfers of wealth can be accomplished without facing any additional financial market risks or taxes.
The only thing that will have to change are some financial thought processes you had in the past, nothing else – not the car you drive, the house you live in or your vacations. If you could increase your money supply by just changing your thought process, would you do it? You may need to rethink the way you’re buying your house, paying for your car or the way you manage debt. You may need to rethink the way you’re saving for retirement, your 401(k) and investments. You also may need to rethink the way you buy things and pay for them. If your home is paid off, you may want to examine options you have. You see, to have the ability to increase your money supply right now, all you must do is think. It will be important to discuss these issues with a professional who has been educated regarding the transfers of your wealth. Once you have discovered that you can increase your money supply now, all you must do is make the necessary changes and simply keep more of your money. Increasing your money supply will change the way you think, feel and live.
Making decisions today can increase your money supply, but in order to maintain that money supply, you will need to be aware of the impact that the demographic and economic trends in our country will have on your financial decision-making process. If you’re successful in your life or live a comfortable life…it is possible in the future your tax exposure may increase dramatically. Due to inflation, your buying power may erode; costs will continue to rise, and benefits you think you will have in the future may disappear. This is not a doomsday scenario, but a fact (knowing something may be scary, but not knowing something could be disastrous). You must understand that the cost of government will continue to increase. About 40% of incomes in America rely on government to supply government jobs. These government workers will continue to get pay increases and have been guaranteed future benefits. Future taxation in this country will have a tremendous impact on your financial future, as the government continues to spend more than they take in.
Once you discover how to increase your money supply by recapturing transfers, you will need to pay attention and possibly rethink what to do with this money. There is no sense using the same traditional thinking with this newfound money that created transfers in the first place. YOU CAN’T DO THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS. Learn what is true and what may not be true, when it comes to developing a new thought process in your financial life. You will be amazed how much of your money is being given away simply to benefit others.
When looking to invest the recaptured money you now control, look to the things around you, the things closest to you. Look at the wealth potential and even the life value of your whole family, grandparents and parents included. Look at investing in your business or using the money to improve your lifestyle. All these issues – your family, your business and your lifestyle – are things that you can control. The value of your family and family inheritances are something that should not happen by accident. They should be discussed, planned, controlled, and leveraged to create the greatest amount of family wealth. With proper planning, much of the family wealth avoids future taxation to the next generation. Remember, taxes are and will be the largest transfer in everyone’s life. Working with a strong loving family is a financial tool no one should overlook. Get professional help when discussing family opportunities and preserving family wealth. Simply establishing a will or a trust doesn’t create family wealth; it is simply an attempt to protect the wealth that is already there. Don’t be confused by this point. Wills and trusts are important, but it is not a plan to strategically increase family wealth. So, it is important to also look beyond an accountant or a lawyer for a professional who can have these discussions with you. Look for the right answers, not the simply generic ones. Whatever you do, recapturing transfers will create more freedom to do the things you want to do in life and more control to do them. There will be less financial pressure and a greater ability to enjoy the best life you can, right now.
This book was designed to be an educational tool to make you think, so you may want to review lost opportunity costs (LOC) and liquidity, use and control (LUC) of your money that was discussed earlier. These lessons teach you the value of “today’s” money. Your mind is somewhat like a computer. If you put bad software in your computer, or allow a virus to infect all your programs, then the computer will be of little use. Your mind is the same way. If you fill it with basic traditional information, you are going to get basic traditional results. Too many people are sold on the “get rich, it’s easy” schemes and the “everyone can get rich in the marketplace” thought process. Unfortunately, very few take the time to learn and understand how money works in their everyday lives.
The inability to save money by the average American is a major concern. Over a period of time, the lack of savings will stop economic growth in our country. Much of today’s economic growth can be attributed to a tremendous increase in personal consumer debt. There has never been a point in our country’s history where debt has been so large. Over the last few years, more Americans have dipped into their savings just to pay their everyday lifestyle bills. Hopefully, you will experience the value of reducing transfers in your life and increasing your money supply, today.
CREATING MORE BENEFITS
Creating and understanding ways of increasing your money supply will give you options and opportunities in your life. There are many things in your life that you probably want to do and many things that you should do to improve your quality of life. Unfortunately, many of the things you should and want to do are simply not affordable. Benefits are often thought of as something you receive at work, such as medical coverage, disability coverage and a retirement plan. In today’s world, more and more of these benefits are disappearing or are provided with some expense to the worker. These benefits are good things, but their costs continue to increase. More and more families are “going without” or “reducing” their benefits because of affordability. The government’s own accountability office warns that social benefits provided by the Federal Government may have to be reduced by as much as 60% because they are no longer affordable. The GAO considers the overall direction of the government’s financial position as a “crisis” with no real exit strategy. Relying on government programs, as we now know them, to be there in the future is the wrong platform to plan your future. Creating and controlling your money supply will help you provide the security and protection you and your family will need in the future.
There is an odd thought process that has filtered throughout our society. A benefit is a great thing, UNLESS you are the one who must pay for it. As an example, let’s say tomorrow when you get to work, your company notifies you that they will provide and pay for one million dollars of life insurance coverage for you and your family as a benefit. All you have to do is say yes to receive the benefit. That’s great. That benefit assures your family a future, a means of not only surviving, but also maintaining the lifestyle they now enjoy, in the event of your death. What is the price of financial security? So, you are willing to sign up for the benefit. Nine months later, the company changes its mind about providing this benefit, but they say you can keep the coverage if YOU pay for it. The cost is $1,000 per year. You’re upset and tell the company that you’re not paying anything. Why, during one company memo, did this benefit for your family go from being a great idea to an idea that wasn’t worth doing?
Providing the traditional benefits (health care, disability, etc.) for you and your family is important. By increasing your money supply and reducing your wealth transfers, other benefits begin to surface. Doing the things you want to do in life, increasing your quality of life, taking vacations, traveling, securing education for your children, creating a family legacy, having a financial control and financial security – all are benefits of increasing your money supply. With these secondary benefits come a healthy, less stress-prone future and the time, freedom, money, freedom and control you need to live the best life you can, now.
REDUCING RISK
There are certain types of risk that should be taken only when necessary. The definition of risk is simply this: uncertain results. We take risks every day. We drive, cross streets, and tell our wives we’re going out with the boys on a Saturday night. With these types of risks, we have some amount of control. We can be extra careful driving and crossing the street and come home early with flowers for the wife. When it comes to your personal finances, risks can be more difficult to control.
When investing, risk is usually associated with the rate of return, or potential outcome, you hope to receive. Like driving a car or crossing the street, if you are unaware of the potential dangers, investing is subject to accidents or unintended consequences. In one brief moment, your life could change.
As you get older, you move from the accumulation stage of your life to the preservation stage during retirement. Someone who is retired and continues to leave all his money exposed to risks in the stock market could be playing a reckless game with lady luck. The risks are not just subject to the ups and downs of the market but also the value of the dollar, tax increases or a terrorist attack that would create financial instability. None of these risks are controlled by you. Once again, as mentioned earlier in this book, you need to understand the difference between your “savings” and your “investments.”
Unfortunately, you will be surrounded and flooded with marketing information from financial companies that continue to follow the traditional thought processes. It is important to remember their solution to your financial problems will always be the products they sell. Many times, their solutions (product choices) will not change with the economic trends and shifts that occur from year to year. Sometimes planners’ solutions are so complicated that within a week you can’t remember or explain what or how that plan works. One thing you should remember: When someone is recommending investments, who is the only one at risk, you, or them? Not knowing or understanding your investments’ strategies is a risk in itself.
The uncertainty of future tax increases is another risk that will eat away a large portion of your future dollars. It is almost a certainty that, due to government spending, future taxes on your money must go up. Even the Government Accountability (GAO) states on their website that in order to survive as a nation, future taxes will have to double from the current rates we are paying. Our country’s declining workforce, aging population, and increasing government benefits point to one thing, higher taxes. Everyone in Washington knows this. It is not a secret. The politicians’ response to the financial problems the government faces is simple (simple minds): blame someone else and raise taxes.
Learning how money works includes the idea of creating as many tax-free dollars as you can for your future and your family’s future. This is not like the risk you face in the stock market; this is about planned results. If you were to list three columns on a piece of paper – 100% Taxable, capital-Gains Taxable and a third column, Tax-Free – in which of the three columns would you want your money? In the 100% Taxable column are 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, SEPS, and a list of all other qualified retirement plans. In the second column, Income Tax and Capital-Gains Taxable, are CDs, mutual funds, stocks, annuities, bank savings, most bonds, etc. The third column, Tax-Free, includes the family inheritances and life insurance. The average person would desire tax-free money, so why does traditional thinking continue to focus on creating more risk and future taxes? Ninety-five percent of all “planning solutions” and traditional thinking can be found in the first two columns. Meanwhile, the Tax-Free column is, in most cases, not even mentioned as a planning solution. So, in almost all of the discussions about planning today, how can you say yes or no to ideas that a planner doesn’t present to you? How can you be aware of an opportunity that isn’t explained to you? When it comes to your future, remember these thoughts:
“Did you ever pay a tax you didn’t want to? Did you ever pay a tax you didn’t have to?” Most of your planning energy should be centered on the tax-free element and opportunities that may be in your life. Learning how money works explores all your financial possibilities. By increasing the tax-free money in your future, you will decrease the amount of taxes you have to pay for the rest of your life. Remember, rich people think like rich people, poor people continue to think like poor people.
SOLUTIONS AT NO ADDITIONAL COST
The amazing opportunity in recapturing transfers and learning how money works is that you can increase your money supply, increase benefits for you and your family, and reduce the amount of risk you face in your life, without spending one more dime than you are already spending. Money that you were spending unknowingly and unnecessarily on transfers of your wealth is now yours to keep. Imagine all the possibilities and opportunities that will come your way if you can learn to increase your money supply without having to buy a product or take more risk in the marketplace. Companies have spent billions of dollars to try to influence the way you think. You are under constant bombardment by marketing companies who are involved in these transfers of your wealth. Meanwhile, the average-American household struggles financially from week to week relying totally on what they have been told to think by companies who profit by peddling their services and products. At the end of the day, and the end of your life, ask yourself one question: What have these companies taught me and did they profit more from their ideas than I did? What in the last 10 years, in traditional thinking and planning, has changed to improve the average-American’s future? Nothing.
Ask a typical planner in the financial-services business, what is financial planning? You will be amazed by the variety of answers you will get. Some of these answers will be very technical and focused on the products they sell. The reality is that a real estate person will tell you what the answer to your financial future is real estate. An investment person who sells stocks will tell you the answer to your financial problems in the stock market. A banker may tell you all you need are the bank’s CDs. All of their stories will be compelling and filled with almost everything they know and have been trained to know and say (and in some cases what not to say) by their companies. The bigger questions are these: What don’t they know? What haven’t they been trained to know? How can they give you the opportunity to say yes or no to ideas that they don’t even know exist?
So, what really is financial planning? It is wisdom. Wisdom is the art form of applying knowledge, logic, and common sense to your everyday life. Knowledge will be the foundation for making better life decisions. Better decisions will help you be more prosperous and create more wealth. All of these results will come from understanding how money works in your life.
The gift of creating more wealth for yourself is inside you. Average people just can’t see it: They are too busy trying to survive, or get by, financially. Their lives are out of balance. They spend more time servicing their debts to others than they do on planning their own futures. They have no visions or plans to their lives beyond next week. Worst of all, they have no knowledge of how to help themselves and improve their situations. If you understand how money works, you are no longer one of these people. You now have the ability tosolve the problems you face and move forward to improve your life, for the rest of your life.
This educational material is provided by the Wealth & Wisdom Institute.
