Category Archives: Financial Success

Nov 11 2014
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Financial Success

Swim With The Sharks – Life Insurance

In discussing life insurance we must first confirm what it is and what it isn’t!

In summary, the purpose of life insurance is to protect our loved ones from having to fulfill our financial obligations after we pass on. These obligations could include:

  • College and/or other loans
  • Our family’s living expenses (especially if we are the “primary” bread-winner) so they can maintain the same lifestyle as when we were around
  • And, finally (and morbidly) the costs to torch and/or bury our carcass

On the flip side, life insurance is not an investment! This is the first shark attack we’ll cover…

To be clear, I am NOT an expert on life insurance. And, my intention is not to share a detailed description of the various forms. My goal is to merely point out a few kinds, identify the one that makes sense, and put up the flag where there are shark sightings.

At a high-level, there are a few forms of life insurance:

  • Term Life Insurance
  • Whole Life
  • Variable Universal Life

The ONLY kind of life insurance we really need is Term. It is very simple and low cost. And, we can “pay as we go”, based on need.

As our obligations increase (we have kids, acquire a mortgage) we can choose to ratchet up our coverage. As our obligations decrease (the kids move out, debts paid off) we can ratchet down our coverage. All, very simply and cost-effectively.

The other forms of life insurance are pitched as a form of investment. Complicated and costly investments. Do NOT be confused or persuaded otherwise. Life insurance is NOT an investment. Tangling life insurance up into an investment product is a way for sharks to take their bite out of our cash. I hate that!

A great quote to live by, in this regard:

Never invest in any idea you can’t illustrate with a crayon.

Peter Lynch – American businessman and stock investor

Rest assured, there is no insurance agent or financial advisor on the planet who can illustrate with a crayon how whole life and/or variable universal life insurance works. Avoid them both.

Bottom-line: Keep things simple. Acquire the appropriately sized term life insurance policy to ensure our loved ones aren’t burdened with our obligations, upon our leap to the other side. And, separately define and manage our investments.

More to come!

Nov 09 2014
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Financial Success, Successful Kids

Swim With The Sharks – Introduction

College students and young adults…As you transition into your professional lives you will begin to earn a noticeably higher level of income (as intended). Congratulations! That is what you invested all that time, energy and money in, to-date. And, remember, don’t stop!!!

Realize though, you will now become noticed — by the sharks. Consider yourself fresh new blood that has entered the tank and the sharks want some (of your money)!

To be clear, there are MANY products and services available to make life safe, comfortable and rewarding. And, more importantly, there are MANY which are absolutely unnecessary (a complete waste of our time and money). If we aren’t careful (and I certainly wasn’t) the sharks will take their portion.

The purpose of this series is to share a number of shark attacks I’ve been involved in, in my own life, which left me some scars of experience to share.

Realize, even sharks need to make a living.

The challenge is spotting them, as they “usually” don’t look like sharks. They often look and smell nice (all suited up). They can be very courteous, professional and polite. Hardly the look of a blood thirsty fish that we would fear for our life.

Tougher still, is that shark attacks are 100% legal. Legal, but totally unnecessary! They are simply a way for sharks to take our money so they can earn their living.

Now that I’ve whet your appetite, you might be asking: “What in the world could he be about to cover on the topic of legal shark attacks“. Well, this would include:

  • Certain forms of life insurance (Yes, we need life insurance. But, which kind?)
  • Certain (for fee) programs
  • Memberships (that we seldom use)
  • Credit Cards (the hidden teeth)
  • Paying for anything we can get for free
  • And, other things that I may think about along the way

In addition to the above being forms of “money suckers” they also create long term entanglements in our life that are just not worth our time. So, to keep life simple and low cost as possible, these are things that can be avoided (I certainly wish I had). But, then again, I wouldn’t have anything to write about on this topic 🙂

Makes me think of a quote, which goes something like:

The Best Kind Of Experience Is – Someone Else’s Experience

As such, you are encouraged to “consider” the experiences being shared here so that you can avoid these shark attacks in your own life.

All the best!

Nov 04 2014
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Financial Success

Who Are We Listening To?

The media has the tendency of sharing bad news.

Misery loves company, so it is an easy sell. Share bad news, people listen. Media’s goal: attract as many “eyeballs” as possible (on TV, radio, newspaper and the web) to up their ratings and up their revenue from advertising. Quite simple, actually…

But, do you and I really need to allow a garbage truck to pull up to our brains on a daily basis and let them DUMP all this negative energy in? My opinion: it only serves to slow us down.

We have a choice:

  • Listen to the stuff (misery is made of) and wallow around in it
  • Turn it off – completely, and do something productive
  • Tune-in to what can make a difference in our lives and the lives of our children

During my visit to Yahoo! Finance today, there were several articles I had to skip covering the elections and the undercurrents of low wages, income inequality, etc.

The reality: This doesn’t REALLY have to matter – unless we allow it! If you disagree (many will, I know), please read on…

As I skim the day’s “eye-candy” on the web I look for uplifting stories that share the potential each and every one of us have, if we simply make the decision and take appropriate action.

I was encouraged today, when I found an article covering how A 27-Year-Old Millionaire Reveals How He Built His Wealth. Click here to view it.

Contrary to what many would think, he did not:

  • Receive an inheritance from a rich relative
  • Found a .com company making it big in an IPO
  • Win the lottery

What did he do? In a nutshell, he:

  • Worked hard
  • Began saving as much as possible, early, when he was still earning minimum wage
  • Entered the military
  • Maintained a low cost of living
  • Invested early and wisely
  • Set goals and tracked progress

He is ONLY 27…I can just imagine where he’ll be in another 5 years 🙂

This doesn’t sound that hard, does it?

If you watch the video, you don’t here this person talking about low wages, income inequality, the economy or any other EXCUSES. You hear him talking about making the best of what he had access to.

The biggest thing most of us need to overcome is the need for instant gratification. By simply focusing on the above for a relatively short period of time anyone (short of those we must absolutely help, because they cannot work due physical or mental handicaps) can become a millionaire.

So, the choice becomes: listen to the negative input (from the news, relatives and/or friends) about what can’t be done and stay right where we are. Or, tune it out, make productive use of our time and DO SOMETHING ABOUT OUR FUTURE.

We are all endowed with the same resources at birth (a brain for thinking and a body for moving around) which we own free and clear! Other than the exceptions noted above, it is simply a matter of what we do with these resources.

All the best!

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