The Money Advantage® Podcast | Infinite Banking Concept & Family Banking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZpFzXjvYc4

There's one thing most people miss when setting up their goals for the coming year. And because of this little oversight, so many new years resolutions that started out as cheerful balloons dancing towards the sky become like coins slipping our grasp and clattering to the ground. That means that New Years resolutions can become frustrating and apathy-inducing, and cause you to live so far beneath your potential.Well, lucky for you, there's a solution that will help you start off the new year strong and accomplish way more than you had imagined. It's this new year planning secret every great entrepreneur knows.

As we transition into the new year - heck, a whole brand spankin' new decade - we wanted to bring you a personal message about how we close out one year and transition into the next with as much strength and intention as possible.  We think this will be really helpful to you as you’re building a life and business you love and taking control of your destiny.

In this episode, we share our most important lessons from last year and how we’re using that as a foundation for success in the new decade.

The Clean Slate of a New Year

Ever since I was a kid, I loved waking up to freshly fallen snow.  The world was covered in white with no tracks, disruptions, or flaws. It was a fresh, clean slate.

That’s how I feel about the new year. It's this clean slate that creates an expectancy, like anything is possible.  It’s a new beginning, a new start, and new goals.

Purpose Instead of Resolutions for the New Year

But instead of getting caught up in the buzz of new year's resolutions that usually are broken and fail within the first 24 hours of the new year, how do you stay in abundance and the right mindset?

How do you set your intentions and purpose for the new year so you’ll succeed? 

Start with this New Year Planning Secret Every Great Entrepreneur Knows

Don't start by listing goals.

First, honor last year's successes.

Why?

It's way easier to win again at a bigger thing when you're already winning.

As Dan Sullivan coaches, this process helps you to stay positive by looking backward at how far you’ve come. It's like pulling back the slingshot to give maximum thrust and force to the rock you're shooting.

How do you do that?

Whether last year was a triumph that exceeded all of your goals, or whether you are still reaching for goals that you haven’t yet mastered, honor and value last year. The big and small triumphs along your journey have given you strength, lessons, and chiseled your character. They've laid the foundation for everything you can and will create in the future.

This gives you a sense of closure, meaning and purpose about last year.

And then, last year becomes a foundation that propels you into the new year as a better, stronger, kinder, wiser, and more successful person.

Since this life is one long story, this is how you finish well in the middle of the journey.

Our Year End Reflection Tradition

In the Marshall house, part of our ritual and tradition at the end of every year is to reflect on the last year, gain insight, and then get clear on the next year.

Start With Gratitude

It’s critical to start with gratitude.  Gratitude paves the way to focus on the good stuff and invites more of it into your life, because you’re in the right mindset to receive more.

Take Inventory of Last Year

Then, we take inventory and write down all of our major life moments over the last year.

Accomplishments, wins, defining moments, big decisions, new things we started, things we ended. High-quality conversations, enriching relationships, leaps of faith, answered prayers.

We open our calendars, emails, text feed, facebook, and notes to help us really remember everything.

It's a journey down memory lane that's so invigorating because of the focus on what was good. And before we know it,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATfbEBmtzjE

What is the perfect funding ratio between base premium and the paid-up additions rider (PUAs)?  You may be surprised to discover that this question comes up often in our one-on-one conversations with people who want to implement the Infinite Banking Concept personally.  And since whole life policy design is important enough to discuss one-on-one, it’s relevant enough to dedicate some airtime to answering this question upfront.

In this article, we dig into the more technical design of a whole life insurance policy.  We’ll have a candid conversation about why we design whole life policies the way we do, specifically regarding base and paid-up additions premium.

Instead of looking at it so closely that your eyes start crossing, you’ll zoom out. Then you'll get the best big-picture and long-term perspective.

If you’re in the consideration stage, this will matter a lot to you.  If you’re still doing research, it will direct your attention to what to think about.

You won’t have to merely trust someone else to lead you to your goal.  You’ll be more in control of the process of becoming a Infinite Banking user because you’ll be empowered with understanding. 

Table of contentsDoes It Work vs. How It WorksBase Premium vs. Paid-Up AdditionsWhere Does Whole Life Insurance Fit into the Cash Flow System?Privatized Banking Introductory ResourcesThe Art and Science of Policy DesignWhat Are Paid-Up Additions (PUA)?Base vs. Paid-Up Addition PremiumTo Understand Long-Term Cash Value Growth, Follow the DividendsDividend Rates Over TimeDifferences Between Mutual Insurance CompaniesDividend Application to Base vs. Paid-Up AdditionsPUA Rider and Policy Design ConsiderationsPremium Payment FlexibilityPolicy UtilizationThe Big Shift: Policy Performance More Important Than Policy DesignStart Your Whole Life Policy Today

Does It Work vs. How It Works

You may be more of a conceptual person, like me.  For instance, I want to know the car is safe, reliable, and drives well. I don’t need to know anything about what happens under the hood as long as it serves me well.  Same with a computer.  I don’t want to know anything about circuit boards and coding.  I just need to be able to use it to write, record, store photos and videos, and use the internet. 

If you’re the person who wants to look under the hood and understand how everything works, this episode is for you. This is more about how high cash value whole life policy design works, rather than what it does.    

Whole life insurance policy design is like the levers on a soundboard.  It’s nuanced and technical, a dance between art and science. 

However, whatever your style, it helps to keep the main point in focus. More than understanding the mechanics and adjustments of how it works, you should pay close attention to the resulting performance.  This is like turning your attention from the controls on the soundboard to the quality of the sound produced. The outcome is what matters. Your ultimate goal is to deliver a moving and transformative ambiance and experience for the person listening to the music.

However, if you don’t understand the concept, the details don’t matter.  And usually, if you do understand the concept, the details don’t matter. 

Base Premium vs. Paid-Up Additions

You could think of base and paid-up additions premium as the two opposite ends of a sliding scale. On one side, you could have a life insurance policy with all or mostly base premium. At the other end, you could have a whole life insurance policy with mostly paid-up additions rider premium payments (10/90 Premium Split & Blended Term PUA Rider Risks, with Rodney Mogen). 

Whole life insurance policies can be designed with all base and no paid-up Additions rider (PUA), and on the other end of the spectrum, they may have 10% base and 90% paid-up additions. And you'll also see just about everything in between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxjK_XqwRdo

Nnene Mbonu, a real estate investor and one of our clients, is hacking her way to wealth with Privatized Banking. Find out how in this episode. 

Nnene Mbonu has worked in the oil and gas industry for 18 years and seen the cyclical nature of the industry.  After facing two layoffs in the span of two short years early in her career, she knew that she wanted to be in control.  That’s when she began investing in real estate.

Nnene has always been a researcher who isn’t afraid to take calculated risks and do things differently than everyone else.  When she came across the Infinite Banking concept, specifically as a tool to build business and investment capital, she knew she wanted to find out more. 

Nnene would encourage anyone to do their research and then move forward.  We’re all given a unique set of circumstances, personality, and family.  The best thing you can do is to educate yourself and then take the best action you know to do right now.  Then, continue to grow, innovate, and evolve as a person.

You’ll hear about how Nnene is using Privatized Banking for herself and her family.  But more than that, you’ll see she’s developing her #1 asset – herself – and building a legacy of wisdom for her children and the people she loves most.

Nnene Mbonu Conversation Highlights

Nnene shares her one regret that they paid off the mortgage first, instead of putting the cash into a policy. It’s far more difficult to get dollars out of the four walls of your home than to access policy cash value.How Privatized Banking helps you get more than one use out of your dollars. It provides a death benefit, and cash value you can recycle over and over again.Having the cash value provides you options on accessing capital, including borrowing from the life insurance company, or borrowing from another lending institution who recognizes the liquidity of life insurance cash value.When you borrow against your policy, you’re not only paying yourself back, you continue to earn interest, even while you pay interest for the cost of capital. This allows you to be your own banker, control capital, and earn uninterrupted compound interest.Why Nnene is not stopping with just one whole life policy. She is continuing to build an ecosystem of life insurance policies in her family to create business and generational wealth.Why she’s not only modeling financial control for her kids, but also requiring them to expand their financial literacy for themselves with books and podcasts.Nnene Mbonu thinks of using whole life insurance as hacking your wealth – taking those powerful steps that up level your game and give you an unfair advantage.

Start Hacking Your Way To Wealth Today

To personally implement Privatized Banking or discover cash flow strategies to keep and control more of the money you're making, book a Strategy Call. 

You'll find out the one thing that you need to be doing right now to accelerate your path to financial freedom.

Success leaves clues. Model the successful few, not the crowd, and build a life and business you love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAe9iUpEv0g

Real life: today, things didn’t go according to plan.  Bruce and I had allocated the hour to recording a great podcast with a guest.  But there was a misalignment of time zones, and they didn’t show up.  Rather than wasting time and energy getting frustrated, we used the moment as an opportunity for our growth and yours. 

When Things Don’t Go According to Plan

So instead of the interview that we’d prepared for, we hit record anyway.  We talked about what to do when things don’t go according to plan.  And we jumped into the conversation at Bruce’s suggestion, at a moment’s notice, and without an ounce of preparation. 

For me, that’s a tad out of my comfort zone.  I like to be prepared.  To think through and organize my thoughts ahead of time.  I find it a little unnerving to go into a situation without the least idea of what to expect. 

But, here’s us, pressing into the edge of our comfort zone to lead you to do the same.

See, in life, business, and wealth creation, you will encounter probably tens of thousands of times when things don’t go according to plan. 

A client commits and then backs out.  A deal you thought was sealed falls through.  The negotiation doesn’t go in your favor.  Your webinar has zero registrants. A simple project takes more time, effort, and resources than expected.

Sometimes, it’s a high-stakes situation.  But more frequently, it’s the smaller, seemingly inconsequential, but life-shaping moments.

In today’s show, we demonstrate how to lean into the discomfort of the unknown, when factors outside your control deal you the unexpected.

You’ll learn how to see these moments as opportunities to get out of our comfort zone, roll with the punches, rise to the occasion, and grow.

Here's the real us.  Unfiltered.  It reminds me of how valuable it is to "be ready in season and out of season." (2 Timothy 4:2)

Where Does Your Mindset Fit into the Cash Flow System?

We’ve developed the 3-step Business Owner's Cash Flow System as your roadmap to go from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.  The first stage is the foundation.  You first keep more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable. Then, you protect your money with insurance and legal protection and Privatized Banking.  Finally, you put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

Your mindset is a part of stage 1, your foundation.  It takes the right mindset to succeed in business, craft a fulfilling life, and create sustainable wealth.

Conversation Highlights & Resources

* You can rewire your brain by choosing to think positive thoughts and envision good outcomes.* The perspective you continually, repetitively choose becomes easier.* Your mindset often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.* Choose, routinely, to step out of your comfort zone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbMjI2kSfxM

In today’s show, we highlight Dr. Lee and Candice Matthis and their inspiring story. 

Dr. Lee Matthis is a chiropractor working with Tuck Clinic, a large practice in southwestern Virginia, and plays a significant role in improving the profession and healthcare in general through consulting and clinic management and his work with the UVCA.  His wife, Candice, recently transitioned from full-time homeschooling mom to an account representative role with Home2Close, a real estate software company that automates the closing process for real estate professionals.  She’s also an up-and-coming podcaster with twoalphagals, helping others understand and navigate alpha-gal, a life-altering, tick-bite-induced allergy.

Lee and Candice love personal development, minimalism, slow food, Hokies games, and creating high-quality experiences with their family.

After achieving a level of financial success and status, including a 4,000 square foot home, two luxury cars, and a lot of “stuff,” Lee and Candice realized that they were still unfulfilled, out of control, and living paycheck to paycheck. 

They began redesigning their lives by asking a poignant question in every area of their life: “Is this serving us?”

They wanted more control in their lives, and that required hard decisions and giving up the external display of success, so they could begin crafting the life that they wanted.  A life filled with rich experiences to treasure, and that would give them the ability to stop trading time for money in the future.

Listen to their why, their decisions, their hard choices, and the beautiful outcomes from intentionally focusing their life on what really matters. 

You’ll hear about how they’re using Privatized Banking.  But more than that, you’ll see how they’re maximizing the usage of their money by taking control of their financial life, so they can produce real wealth that lasts.

Where Does Privatized Banking Fit into the Cash Flow System?

Privatized Banking is one of the most important parts of your entire Cash Flow System.  However, it’s just one step in the bigger journey to time and money freedom.  You need all the pieces in place to produce wealth systematically.

That's why we have created the 3-step Business Owner's Cash Flow System. It's your roadmap to take you from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.

The first stage is the foundation.  You keep more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable. Then, you protect your money with insurance and legal protection and Privatized Banking. Finally, you put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

Dr. Lee and Candice Matthis Conversation Highlights

The critical mindset shift from being consumers to truly enjoying their lives.To start designing a life you love, intentionally decide your life philosophy and principles, then determine the accompanying strategies, and finally, find products that carry out those strategies.How having hard conversations with your spouse allows you to get to the next level.The impact of Parkinson’s Law, causing you to spend everything you make, unless you intervene and redirect the course of your life to another purpose.How they got into cash-flowing commercial real estate ownership as a first step to working smarter, not harder.How their house was more of a liability than an asset.The opportunity cost of a $1,500 car payment over time.The lack of control in a traditional IRA.The journey and decisions underneath building true, sustainable wealth.How they are challenging themselves to improve their stewardship, and teaching their three children to do the same.How they have been able to leverage their assets by using whole life policies on their children to purchase a car for their son.Creating freedom to invest in assets has come from the choice to maximize the us...

https://youtu.be/IPx67iyWcWY

Les McGuire reveals a timeless truth about the economic value of certainty that goes back as far as scripture.  It’s that to have the highest chance of flourishing, you need certainty, guarantees, and stability. 

In Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders, the wise man’s house on the solid rock withstood storms.  He was able to go on with life the very next day and continue his livelihood of exchanging in the marketplace. 

However, the foolish man’s house on the shifting sand “collapsed with a mighty crash.”  He would have had to spend time, money, and energy sorting out the mess, rebuilding, and finding a way to live in the interim.

But the storm didn’t cause the advantage for the wise man – it just revealed his leverage point.  The wise man’s confidence came from certainty in his life.

What if there had never been a storm, floodwaters, and winds to test the quality of their workmanship?  Can you imagine the character and mental state of each builder? 

The foolish man may have put a brave face on, but he probably would have walked around every day with a subconscious concern that what he had wouldn’t last.  There would have been an undercurrent of cowardice and insecurity in all his dealings.  That maybe his shortcuts would be found out. 

Meanwhile, the wise man would have had internal confidence that graced his affairs, knowing that he was secure.  He was upright, fair, produced quality work, and probably was highly respected and trusted in his circles.    

The Economic Value of Certainty

In The Economic Value of Certainty, a thought-provoking masterpiece, Les Guire outlines these truths and calls us to our greatest potential.  While the article is about whole life insurance, it's more about why the certainty it creates is so empowering. 

When you have certainty serving as the bedrock of your financial life, you conserve and maximize, rather than waste the precious limited resources in your life.

Les is a financial thought leader who died in 2006.  However, his ideas and bold, deep thinking continue to influence the industry. 

In today’s discussion of this article, we’ll give you an internal guidance system to help you think about your financial life in a way that gets the best results across the widest range of circumstances.  You’ll expand your vision about your financial objectives and what you want out of life.

Where Does the Economic Value of Certainty Fit into the Cash Flow System?

Choosing certainty starts in your mindset.  It then helps you select financial products that maximize your resources and help you fulfill your greatest potential.

However, certainty is an undercurrent of the bigger journey to time and money freedom. 

That's why we have created the 3-step Business Owner's Cash Flow System. It's your roadmap to take you from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.

The first stage is the foundation.  You keep more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable. Then, you protect your money with insurance and legal protection and Privatized Banking. Finally, you put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

With whole life insurance, especially when used for the Infinite Banking Concept, you can weave certainty into your cash flow system and improve every other area of your financial life.

The Economic Value of Certainty Article Highlights

Economics is about scarce resources.  Our limited resources extend beyond money, to include many intangibles. 

These include assets such as time, effort, focus and attention, hope, faith, love, integrity, desire to contribute and excel, and willingness to take risk. 

Les, McGuire

Economic “costs”, therefore, are not limited to money, but rather any resource which is under-utilized …

Les, McGuire

It is entirely possible (and actually quite common) for the discl...

https://youtu.be/g8CJGk3IVNk

In today’s show, we’re interviewing Anna Kelley.  She's a real estate investor who has created time and money freedom.  And, she's the founder of REI Mom, helping women create a legacy through real estate investing. 

Where Real Estate Fits into the Cash Flow System

Here at The Money Advantage, we are a community of wealth creators taking control of our lives and financial destiny. 

It’s not enough to just make a great income.  You have to figure out how to keep more, protect that money, and finally, increase and make more through the right investing decisions.

That’s why we have created the 3-step Business Owner’s Cash Flow System.  It’s your roadmap to take you from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.

The first step is keeping more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable.  Then, you’ll protect your money with insurance and legal protection, and Privatized Banking.  Finally, you’ll put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

Today’s conversation will help you look at your investing in a way that is aligned with your unique abilities, produces value for people, and puts your money to work earning a cash flow return. 

Who Is Anna Kelley?

Anna personally owns and manages a multi-million-dollar rental property portfolio and has ownership in over 2000 units as both an active and passive investor.  She is a General Partner, Sponsor & Asset Manager for large multi-million-dollar multifamily real estate acquisitions, and through Zenith Capital Group, actively seeks out the best opportunities for her partners and investors.

Anna currently has $52M in assets under management. 

She is also a frequent guest on Real Estate Investing podcasts, speaks at REI groups around the country, is an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author, and runs a local meetup group for Women in Real Estate.

Conversation Highlights

How Anna Kelley started out in private banking, selling stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  But realizing that her very wealthy clients made their money in real estate put her on a path to build true wealth.

Anna’s story of starting out in real estate with a failed flip, and then becoming a landlord before a homeowner.

The personal hurdles she navigated as she realized she couldn’t rely on a W2 job or entrepreneurship.  Instead, her family needed passive income from assets.

How she navigated the market cycles and lending requirements over the past 16 years.

Anna’s personal why to be able to be home with her kids allowed her to transcend obstacles.

The creative financing strategies Anna used to continue buying real estate, even when banks wouldn't lend to her.

How she and her husband learned to be resourceful landlords when they were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and had no money.

How Anna Kelley has honed her niche through testing, trying, and experimenting with various neighborhood classes, and why it’s so important to understand not only projected income from a property, but also balancing growth and preservation.

Transitioning from active to passive income.

Why you should use leverage for production.

How she’s working to find, finance, and syndicate large multifamily apartments.

Why the stock market is overvalued, and a correction has to happen. 

Real estate has a real value. There’s true, intrinsic value in property, but the stock market is primarily valued based on consumer sentiment.

Why it's so important to master your money, so money doesn’t master you.

Find out More About Anna Kelley and REI Mom

Connect with Anna Kelley on FaceBook, at Anna REI Mom Kelley, and find her group Creating Real Estate Wealth That Lasts with REI Mom.  You can also email her at [email protected].

Get Financial Clarity Today

If you would like to implement Privatized Banking, cash flow strategies,

After seeing an upward trend in the markets over the past decade, you may be concerned that we’re at the top of the market cycle.  Many people are feeling the volatility and uncertainty.  How do economic factors direct your decision-making?  Should you stay in for the long haul and ride it out?

In today’s show, we address these concerns and show you how to not lose sleep and not lose money.

You’ll stop feeling the impending sense of crisis and be able to focus on building your wealth goals, regardless of the market, instead.

Table of contentsWhere Does Investing Fit into the Cash Flow System?Market CyclesCurrent Market EnvironmentAll-Time HighsVolatilityWhat's Ahead?How to Not Lose MoneyMaximize Safety and GuaranteesStart Creating Time and Money Freedom Today

Where Does Investing Fit into the Cash Flow System?

We’ve developed the 3-step Business Owner's Cash Flow System as your roadmap to go from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.  The first stage is the foundation.  You first keep more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable. Then, you protect your money with insurance and legal protection and Privatized Banking. Finally, you put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

Investing is part of stage 3. It's here that you select an investing strategy that puts you in control.

Market Cycles

Just as there are healthy cycles in biology and farming, the market follows a cyclical pattern.

Wyckoff theory describes the four phases of the market cycle as accumulation, mark-up, distribution, and decline.

To profit, you would want to buy during the mark-up and sell at distribution. But that requires an intimate understanding to be able to predict exactly where where we are in the cycle.

You would also do well to understand the Austrian business cycle and how it impacts access to capital.

Current Market Environment

We’re now seeing all-time highs from a decade-long bull market, along with volatility.

All-Time Highs

Today, the S&P 500 trades at a cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) of 31.2. There are only two times in history that the CAPE has been materially higher: the 1920s market bubble and the 1990s market bubble – both of which preceded not just stock market corrections, but full-blown bear markets.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T052-C008-S001-is-a-stock-market-correction-in-the-cards.html

“Stocks are expensive by virtually any metric you want to use,” says John del Vecchio, noted short seller and co-manager of the AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear ETF (HDGE). “The price-to-sales ratio for the S&P 500 is higher today than during the 1990s dot-com mania. Price-to-book ratio, dividend yield, Tobin’s Q … Pick any of these broad market metrics, and they’ll tell you the same story. Stocks are priced to deliver lousy returns over the next decade.”

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/investing/T052-C008-S001-is-a-stock-market-correction-in-the-cards.html

Volatility

This CNBC article gives a good synopsis of the market and economic factors underlying the current volatility.

What's Ahead?

Who knows for sure?

While there’s no way to predict what the market will do in an exact future timeframe, the highs are usually followed by lows.

... the stock market will continue to be essentially what it always was in the past, a place where a big bull market is inevitably followed by a big bear market. For every "bull market" there MUST be a "bear market."

Ben Graham, father of the investment management profession, in 1959

A possible sign of the times, one of the strongest performing stocks of all time, General Electric, froze their pension in early October 2019.

“Returning GE to a position of strength has required us to make several difficult decisions, and today’s decision to freeze the pension is no exception,

https://youtu.be/wymV-ro4P_w

In today’s show, we’re interviewing Bob Fraser, Co-Founder and CFO of Aspen Funds.  Aspen Funds operates several private investment funds in real estate notes for accredited investors, offering a real estate backed opportunity with low volatility, high returns, and comparatively high liquidity.

Where Alternative Investments Fit into the Cash Flow System

Here at The Money Advantage, we are a community of wealth creators who are entrepreneurially-minded business owners taking control of our lives and financial destiny. 

It’s not enough to just make a great income.  You have to figure out how to keep more, protect that money, and finally, increase and make more through the right investing decisions.

That’s why we have created the 3-step Business Owner’s Cash Flow System.  It’s your roadmap to take you from just surviving, to a life of significance, purpose, and financial freedom.

The first step is keeping more of the money you make by fixing money leaks, becoming more efficient and profitable.  Then, you’ll protect your money with insurance and legal protection, and Privatized Banking.  Finally, you’ll put your money to work, increasing your income with cash-flowing assets.

Today’s conversation will give you a closer look at real estate notes as an alternative investment option for accredited investors.

Who Is Bob Fraser?

Bob Fraser is on a mission to help investors take advantage of one of the most effective and overlooked avenues of real estate investing: residential mortgage notes. 

As Founder and Principal of Aspen Funds, Bob has purchased more than 1,000 mortgage notes, earning double-digit annual returns without the risk and volatility of traditional investing options.

Conversation Highlights

Bob’s background starting a tech firm, raising venture capital, then getting caught in the tech wreck and losing everything that caused him to want more control and to be in the driver’s seat of his investing.Aspen Fund’s four funds (three income funds and a growth fund) for investors.The income fund buys mortgage notes at significant discounts, becomes the bank, collects payments, and pays 8.5% annualized return to investors. When the borrower refinances or sells the house, Aspen Funds is paid the full amount, earning capital gains returns as well.The pool currently has 307 notes, and with average of 3 – 6 paying off every quarter, the cash provides an internal liquidity program for investors.Investors can invest with qualified and non-qualified money, with no UBIT generation.How being a lien-lord instead of a landlord can pay higher returns without the management challenges.The funds are very tax-efficient. Even outside of a tax-deferred vehicle, the growth fund generates about 80% of its returns as long-term capital gains.  The income fund is about 30% long-term capital gains.Why Bob Fraser prefers second-position liens.How they underwrite risk to determine the value of each note.This investment is for accredited investors with a minimum investment of $50K.A real example of how Aspen Funds sources notes and generates yields.A candid discussion of the housing price risk and recession risk.Residential mortgage notes are an alternative investment uncorrelated with the stock market.Why Bob doesn’t think we'll have a recession in the next 1 – 2 years, and why he’s bullish on the housing market.Aspen’s Net Asset Value isn’t volatile, because it’s set by accounting, not speculation price based on the market.The sources Bob reads for hours daily to make decisions.

Find out More About Bob Fraser and Aspen Funds

Get Aspen Funds’ webinar for more information on their funds, as well as Bob’s economic forecast newsletter.

Get Financial Clarity Today

If you would like to implement Privatized Banking, cash flow strategies, or alternative investments, so you can accelerate time and money freedom, we can help.  We’ll review your situation to help you decide ...

https://youtu.be/9xx_twfkmWY

Retirement seems top of mind in almost every financial endeavor in our culture.  It’s this buzzword at the culmination of all your financial pursuits, as if it’s the thing we all must strive for, and the trophy of financial success.  The endpoint.  The goal.  The place where we get when we have finally “arrived.”  Financial success seems to mean being able to retire well. There are retirement plans, retirement savings, retirement communities, and retirement parties.Admittedly, it’s pretty alluring to imagine spending your time relaxing with your feet up, snowbirding, vacationing to tropical destinations, and playing golf.

But what if you are a business owner who’s spent your entire life building a business?  You’ve called upon your inner strength at defining moments, evolved as a human, elevated others through your service, and crafted your legacy. Your business is an extension of you and your best work.

How do you think about retirement if you’re a business owner?  Is retirement good for you?

In today’s conversation, we unpack:

The history of retirement

Why retirement is a limiting end goal

What to do instead of retiring

We’ll show you why you’re better off without retirement and why your whole life will be richer, more fulfilling, and far more enjoyable without retirement. 

You’ll stop measuring, evaluating, comparing, and pacing your financial life against an outdated construct.

With a renewed perspective, you’ll stop feeling frustrated and behind, and able to live more fully.

Even if you’re not a business owner, this conversation will provide the perspective adjustment that can improve the quality of your life.

Table of contentsThe Definition of RetirementWhy Retirement Is Not the Same Thing as Time and Money FreedomWhere Does Retirement Fit into the Cash Flow System?Retirement Is an Outdated ConceptWork Is Inherently ValuableYou are a Producer, Not a ConsumerYour Income Potential Increases with Age and ExperienceRetirement Is Bad for YouRetirement Is a Limiting End GoalHow to Think About Retirement If You’re A Business OwnerStart Building Your Cash Flow System Today

The Definition of Retirement

To have an honest conversation about retirement, we first have to define our terms.  Then we can make sure we’re on the same page with what we mean by the word retirement.

The retirement that we’re discussing today is the idea that, before the age of 65, you’ll work during your prime working years.  Then, at the age of 65, you should be able to end employment and spend the rest of your life living off of what you produced during your previous years.

Why Retirement Is Not the Same Thing as Time and Money Freedom

While retirement may sound equivalent to financial freedom, it’s not.  Retirement is like an imposter of time and money freedom that gets you to veer off course and never end up where you wanted to go. 

Time and money freedom is the point where you’ve created financial freedom by having cash flow from your assets that surpasses your living expenses.  That means that to buoy your lifestyle, you no longer need to work actively. Here, your investments, rather than your personal time, are what provide your income check.

Now, when you reach that point, you get to choose what to do with your time.  Could you “retire” and quit working at that point?  Sure!  But should you retire?  No way!

The real question we’re answering today, is this: should you stop working just because you can?  More literally, should you spend part of your life working to earn the right to not work during the latter part of your life?

Where Does Retirement Fit into the Cash Flow System?

The short answer is, it doesn’t.

In truth, retirement doesn’t fit in the cash flow system.  It’s not a part of creating cash flow.  It’s not the destination.  In fact, if retirement is your why and what you’re lining up everything else to reach,