JLM Wealth Strategies: 2012

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

R.I.P. Zig Ziglar - 10 Favorite Quotes

Zig Ziglar, died today at 86. Here is a top 10 of his best quotes on motivation and success.

Zig Ziglar: 10 Quotes That Can Change Your Life

Zig Ziglar died today at age 86. A World War II veteran, Zig Ziglar became the top sales person in several organizations before striking out on his own as a motivational speaker and trainer. With a Southern charm and lessons grounded in Christianity, Ziglar wrote over two dozen books and amassed a following of millions who were encouraged by his lessons for success.

Below are 10 quotes from Zig Ziglar that have the power to completely change the direction of one’s life.

10) “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”

9) “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

8 ) “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

7) “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”

6) “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

5) “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

4) “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”

3) “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”

2) “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

1) “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Contribute to your 401k If You Want To Be Poor & Make Wall Street Rich

“Contribute to your 401k” is not just the wrong advice, but exactly the opposite of the RIGHT advice.

Most people will believe just about anything if they hear it enough times.

401(k)’s are a prime example. Most people have been effectively educated (brainwashed) through endless marketing pieces, commercials, and retread financial advice from Wall Street paid financial advisors into believe that investing in 401(k)’s will help them prepare for a long and rewarding retirement.

This notion of 401(k)’s being a good investment is without merit because a 401(k) plan provides participants without any option to turn their nest egg into a lifetime income stream. Isn't the whole point of a 401(k) retirement plan to eventually provide you with lifetime income? How can a 401(k) plan accomplish this goal when it can't even guarantee your asset from loss, especially when you're no longer working? The answer is that 401(k) plans are designed specifically for accumulation, not distribution (withdrawals for income purposes).

And as you will learn in a few moments, Wall Street stands more to gain with your money without exposing themselves to any of the risk you unnecessarily take by investing in mutual funds!!! Are you getting the feeling yet that this "system" was created for their benefit instead of yours?

For those with only a more recent working history of the stock market, now consider the horror stories about investors losing 40-50% in the market crashes of 2000 and 2008. Perhaps this happened to you? If losing 40-50% of retirement asset isn’t frightening enough, now imagine it happening when you ARE retired?!?

The point of this article isn't to scare you aware from a 401(k). It's to get you running completely in the opposite direction!! Just kidding, sort of...

Joking aside, I would like to educate you with real numbers why you need to re-think your 401(k) contributions. For the sake of brevity and short attention spans (myself included), I'm going to skip the first 2 points of contention I have with 401(k) plans which are 1) future taxes at unspecified rates and 2) limited or no liquidity.

Instead, I want to take a few minutes of your time to point out what is the biggest drag on your 401(k) while you are in the accumulation phase of saving for retirement because most people THINK they know, but after years of sitting down with people, I've determined they really have no idea!!!

This is mainly because since the inception of 401(k)'s, Wall Street has been able to deceptively hide the true cost of mutual funds and 401k plans.

Here is the dirty truth coming from no other than the founder of the largest mutual fund company in the world. Turn away now or be prepared to be enlightened...

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance. It is not the daily increase but the daily decrease; hack away at the unessential. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.” -Bruce Lee

Fees

PBS did an eye opening interview with John Bogle, founder of Vanguard, in February 2006, in which Bogle admitted that most mutual funds were terrible investments and that expenses and fees ate up to as much as 80% (yes, you read that correctly… 80%!) of investors' returns.

How does that work, you ask? Your expense ratio on your carefully selected equity fund is "only" 1.01%?

Let's take a look:

Frontline: So what percentage of my net growth is going to fees in a 401(k) plan?

Bogle: Well, it's awesome. Let me give you a little longer-term example. The example I use in my book is an individual who is 20 years old today starting to accumulate for retirement. That person has about 45 years to go before retirement—20-65—and then, if you believe the actuarial tables, another 20 years to go before death mercifully brings his or her life to a close. So that's 65 years of investing. If you invest $1,000 at the beginning of that time and earn 8 percent, that $1,000 will grow in that 65-year period to around $140,000.

So far, so good… $1,000 into $140,000 sounds terrific! But let's look more closely…

Bogle: Now, the financial system—the mutual fund system in this case—will take about two-and-a-half percentage points out of that return, so you will have a gross return of 8%, a net return of 5.5%, and your $1,000 will grow to approximately $30,000. One hundred ten thousand dollars goes to the financial system and $30,000 to you, the investor.

Think about that. That means the financial system put up 0% of the capital and took 0% of the risk and got almost 80% of the return, and you, the investor in this long time period, an investment lifetime, put up 100% of the capital, took 100% of the risk, and got only a little bit over 20% of the return.

WOW!!!! Perhaps you’ve been wondering why you can't retire at 65! If you don't understand the math, don't worry, my brain works best when I can see exactly how the figures add up (or in this case, bottoms out!) So how can 2.5% in expenses and fees turn into 80% of my entire return that Mr. Bogle speaks of?

Here it is, all laid out for you in black and white. The table on the left shows the growth of $1,000 invested by an individual at age 20 until his/her death at age 85, assuming 8% annual growth.

On the right, it shows what happens to that same $1,000 over the same period assuming a 2.5% annual cost, such as a mutual fund 401(k) management fee. Over the 65 years, these annual fees eat up a staggering 79% of what the investor would have earned with no management costs:

Growth of $1000 in 401k: No Fees vs With Fees

Left: $1000 Before Fees; Right: $1000 After Annual Fees

At age 85, $1000 before fees grows to $160,682. However, after 2.5% in annual fees that same $1000 is worth only $34,250!!

Are you waking up yet? Have I caught your attention?

And it gets even trickier, if you can believe it because mutual fund investors and the investing public have been "educated" to measure fund management fees and operating expenses as an annualized percentage of fund assets, which makes the resulting expense ratios (the tiny numbers you see like 0.92%) seem almost trivial.

This is because expense ratios represent only about HALF of the cost of owning mutual funds. You also need to factor in hidden portfolio transaction costs and sales loads which raises your expense ratio up to a full 2.5-3%.

(Full Interview can be found here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement/interviews/bogle.html)

Are you still excited about your 401(k)? Hopefully you are coming to the same realization I made years ago which is: A 401(k) is a horrible place to safeguard and grow your wealth.

How many millionaires do you think retire by living off their 401(k)? Do you really want to have Wall Street take 80% of your nest egg ( with the IRS taking 33% or more of the rest) over your lifetime because you failed to learn about better tax-favored alternatives?

If not, I encourage you to spend some time on my site to learn more about the safest place to build a foundation for your wealth. Go to www.CashValueBanking.com.

One last thought while I still have your attention. If you’re not blown away by how the effects of taxes, lack of liquidity, and fees will have on your 401(k), there’s one more thing you ought to know.

Aside from the fees Wall Street is charging you, there's a 100% certainty that the money in your bank and investment account is losing value each and every day even if your account balance is going up!! If you're wondering how that's possible, we should definitely talk.

Best Regards,

John Montoya

Founder, JLM Wealth Strategies, Inc.

John@JLMws.com

(925) 386-6639

Friday, September 28, 2012

Is Gold Going Higher?

3 Kinds of Telltale Signs

When gold is getting ready to shoot higher, there are 3 telltale signs to look out for: increased demand, money-printing, and a global loss of faith in the US dollar.

And browsing the news this summer, these 3 signs seem to show up everywhere you look.

Here are just 11 spotted in the last 35 days.

Former US Treasury Secretary Buying Billions Worth - John Paulson left the US Treasury to manage the world’s biggest bond-fund manager: Pacific Investment Management. And he just increased the companies gold holdings to $2.4 BILLION. (Reported Aug. 22)

Central Banks on a Gold Buying Spree - In 2011, central banks around the world bought more gold than in any year since Richard Nixon was President. And this year, they’ll beat last year’s gold-buying record by nearly 10%. (Reported Aug. 17)

US Dollar Running on Fumes - The dollar is falling in value fast. It’s at a 4-month low vs. the EURO - despite Europe’s current financial crisis. If it keeps up we’ll see $2,000+ gold in no time. (Reported Sept. 12)

Hong Kong’s Shipments of Gold to China have DOUBLED! China hasn’t told the world how much gold it has since 2009, but sometimes Hong Kong can give you a clue. Their July reports showed gold exports to China DOUBLED from July of last year. (Reported Sept. 9)

China’s Sneaky Gold Moves - Rather than buying existing gold off the market, China’s making bids for gold mining companies around the globe: in Brazil, Africa, Australia and more. So instead of buying gold, they can just mine and keep it. (Reported Aug. 17)

European demand rising! The German Constitutional Court just ruled that the European Central Bank can keep printing money, pushing Europeans to buy more gold to protect against inflation. (Reported Sept. 12)

India Begging Citizens to Stop Buying Gold - Gold is a big part of the Indian culture, and their demand for the metal keeps prices high. So now their central bank is practically begging citizens to stop buying gold. They warn it’s an awful investment because it’ll likely just be given away at a wedding anyway! (Reported Sept. 7)

George Soros Doubling His Stake in Gold - He’s the infamous investor who first saw the English pound was weak... and then almost single-handedly brought the currency to its knees with a $10 billion short, making himself a cool billion in profit. Now he sees the future of gold, and he just doubled his fund’s stake in SPDR Gold Shares. (Reported Aug. 22)

US Republicans Want to Return to a Gold Standard - The US Republican party platform was updated in August - and a commission to study a return to the gold standard was added. If enacted, a gold standard will make the price of gold SOAR. (Reported Aug. 24)

World’s Largest Mutual Fund Agrees. The Total Return Fund, managed by Bill Gross, is buying gold now, and has been all of 2012. It’s the world’s largest mutual fund, and they expect gold to rise quickly. (Reported Sept. 4)

World Gold Council Predicts A Move to Gold... and away from the US Dollar. Since the 2008 crisis, the US dollar has been the safe harbor to store wealth. But the World Gold Council now predicts the game is over - and gold will be the world’s currency hedge. (Reported Aug. 16)

And the NUMBER ONE Reason Is...

The Fed just announced a new round of “money-printing,” known as “QE3.”

It is, of course, the third time the Fed has tried “quantitative easing” - or money-printing - to fix the economy. And each time gold has jumped significantly higher.

But this time it’s even MORE BULLISH for gold.

When QE1 and QE2 were announced, the Fed let it be known upfront how much money they were willing to “print” beforehand.

This time, QE3 has no such limit. The Fed announced it’ll continue to add $85 billion per month - or $1 TRILLION per year - to the economy.

That’s when the M2 Money Supply shows there’s currently only $10 trillion in the economy. So the fed just promised us a 10% increase in the M2 Money Supply per year...

...otherwise read, a PROMISED 10% INFLATION per year.

That means if you keep your money in a bank account, you’re essentially LOSING 10% per year.

The best alternative is to buy gold & silver - two historical investments people flock to in times of a currency crisis.

In fact, in the hour following Ben Bernanke’s announcement of QE3, gold jumped by over $30! Overall, gold is up 10% since rumors of the Fed’s actions started swirling.

What If Everything We've Learned About Saving Money is Completely Wrong? is completely wrong?

Most households work on accumulating assets by focusing on how much of their annual budget they can save. Although the goal may be 10% of income, the average savings rate for an American family is probably closer to 5%.

Now consider that the average American family is paying 34.5 cents of every take home dollar on lifestyle expenses. Examples of such monthly expenditures include mortgage/rent, car payments, food, utilities, entertainment, etc.

Which of the two categories is bigger on an annual basis: accumulating savings or lifestyle expenses?

It's an obvious answer. Well, how come we focus on the smaller number then? Perhaps because we've been conditioned by banks and Wall Street financial advisors to do so. I know we are not taught anything in school about how money and finance works.

If we can accept that everything we buy is financed (we either pay interest to a 3rd party like a bank or finance company, or we give up the ability to earn interest by paying cash for things), doesn't it then make sense to realize that our need for financing our lifestyle is far greater than our need for saving?

From this new perspective we should then consider how to save enough money in order to solve our need for financing in our lifetime. The perfect place to store your wealth in order to solve all your financing needs happens to be a dividend paying Whole Life insurance contract because when it is structured correctly, you reap the following benefits:

• Will provide you with a guaranteed return, without risk of principle, which means the amount will never drop.
• Will grow your savings by a competitive annual rate of return.
• Will enable you to take out your money whenever you want, without penalty.
• Provides complete protection against creditors, so you’ll never have to worry about losing your money due to a lawsuit or bankruptcy (in most states).
• Unlike 401K’s or IRA’s, there’s no limit to how much you can invest.
• The money can be used as collateral for the purchase of a home, etc.
• This strategy offers extreme liquidity so you can have your money in your hands within a few days.
• Provides you access to your money in the event of a disability.
• Allows you to “be your own bank”, so you’ll be able to buy your home, cars, and other large purchases from yourself, so you earn the interest instead of a bank.
• Allows you to pull out 100% of your money TAX FREE when you decide to retire.

To learn more, visit www.CashValueBanking.com or contact me at (925) 386-6639.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Why should you learn about Becoming Your Own Banker?

Why should you learn about Becoming Your Own Banker?

You’re Going To
Learn About A Financial Strategy That…

• Will provide you with a guaranteed return, without risk of principle, which means the amount will never drop.
• Will grow your savings by a competitive annual rate of return.
• Will enable you to take out your money whenever you want, without penalty.
• Provides complete protection against creditors, so you’ll never have to worry about losing your money due to a lawsuit or bankruptcy (in most states).
• Unlike 401K’s or IRA’s, there’s no limit to how much you can contribute.
• The money can be used as collateral for the purchase of a home, etc.
• This strategy offers extreme liquidity so you can have your money in your hands within a few days.
• Provides you access to your money in the event of a disability.
• Allows you to “be your own bank”, so you’ll be able to buy your home, cars, and other large purchases from yourself, so you earn the interest instead of a bank.
• Allows you to pull out 100% of your money TAX FREE when you decide to retire.

To learn more, visit www.CashValueBanking.com or contact me at (925) 386-6639.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Latest G. Edward Griffen Interview on the Success of the Fed

G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekkyl Island (a must read), works tirelessly to dispel the notion that the Fed has been a failure. His latest effort was at the just-concluded Casey Research/Sprott Inc. investor summit on Navigating the Politicized Economy, where he told a packed hall that the Fed has been wildly successful at its true mission – to protect the banking system at all costs. According to Griffin, the problem is the American people are footing the bill for these costs through stealth taxation, thanks to the coordinated actions of the Fed and US government. Watch what Griffin has to say in his interview by clicking the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-X5ISQJEpV0

"Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he can rob the world." - Jim Trotter

"Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." - Thomas Jefferson

If you haven't attended a meetup to learn what those green things in your wallet are really worth, I invite you to attend the next meetup in October. Remember, you don't know what you don't know.

Best,

John Montoya

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A Different Perspective on Life and 401(k)'s

The thoughts below are that of Daniel Ameduri, Chief Strategist at Future Money Trends. I thought he hit the nail on the head so I'm sharing his alternative view on life & 401(k)'s because it fits perfectly with how I think, not to mention the thousands of others who are awakening each day. I like to think of this internet era we live in as a new Enlightenment. We have access to so much information but the best ideas are still hidden from the masses. With that said, please enjoy.

"When it comes to investing and life success, there are a few key things that stand out when it comes to my mindset and understanding of how things are:

Human beings are like live stock
Ignore the propaganda
Do the opposite of the masses

What I am about to say on the surface may be offensive to some, it may make me sound like I have an elitist attitude, but please hear me out. Somewhere in my life, I don’t know the exact day, but at some point I realized that world governments have created a world of human live stock.

A dairy cow for example: eat, sleep, and get milked. A human goes to work, sleeps, and pays taxes. We are even taught a routine, go to school, get good grades, go to college, get a job, work, and then one day retire. In between working, acquire debt, mortgage your home, car, and most importantly send money to Wall St. by maxing out your 401k. Think about the pure insanity of the 401k, actually the pure brilliance. The government taxes you, however, if you put your money in a 401k, you can choose to pay your taxes later. By creating the obstacle of not getting to keep the fruits of your labor, the government has now created a solution, give your money to Wall St. The broker and fund managers get a commission, traders have someone to sell shares to, and you feel good that your money isn’t in your control but being guided by a licensed (Government approved) expert. The best part is one day (if you are lucky), you can withdraw this money out at a lower tax bracket, or what I like to call the “poorest tax bracket.” This is extremely risky business by the way, no one knows what the tax rates will be in 30 years. All that the 401k has done is provided volume for Wall St (and billions in guaranteed fees with no guarantees in return).

Understanding the state of human beings is the surest way to exit the system for yourself, before you can ignore and exit the system, you have to first realize it is there. Accepting the fact that 401ks are nothing more than the rancher milking his cows, since it’s not by a direct tax, maybe we can call this type of milking ‘free range cattle.’ Knowing this you can either get upset, try and become a cattle rancher, or leave the farm.

If you can’t acknowledge that we have all been placed in a system of control, that you were born a debt slave, then you probably won’t be able to break free from the system."

Well said, Daniel.

This is truly how I think, too. Most of the words in this blog post are Daniel's but the mindset I share with others on a daily basis is exactly the same.

If you decide you are ready and want to exit this system of control, this is where I can begin to help by helping you to learn the Infinite Banking Concept.

Visit my web site at www.CashValueBanking.com. You can also contact me by clicking here.