Wealth Wellness and Wisdom and the Mythology of this Holy Trinity

I usually end my post by wishing you Wealth, Wellness And Wisdom and today I thought I’d address how this things are connected in 2013. Truthfully for the vast majority of people in America they are not on their way to wealth, they are not in very good health, and in spite of being educated they have not yet graduated to wisdom, they are simply smart.

Let’s take a real world example because I really don’t want to be vague on this subject.

Let start with wealth.

It is 2013 and the stock market is back at 14000, btw this is where it was back in 2008 before the crash when it dropped to 6600. In the real world nothing has really changed financially in terms of the factors that caused the crash. In fact, banks are still holding trillions in shadow inventory. Many borrowers have not paid in months or years and the country has still not found and economic engine to replace the run away train that was the real estate market. Inflation is actually incredibly high if you open you eyes. Look at the price of gas, bread, eggs in 2000 versus 2013. People want you to believe inflation is at 3% annually but it is much higher than that and growing everyday. Goods are at least 3 times more expensive than they were a decade ago.

Yet in spite of the economic realities would you believe that over 90% of Americans have never made ANY change in their retirement portfolios. They continue to contribute to their 401k and IRAs after taking major losses at least once every 8 years since the 1970s. How do you explain that as you claim to be headed toward wealth? Where is the common sense and how much time and effort are people putting into understanding whats is really going on?

Then look at health.

There is a developing surge in people seeking natural health practices and wellness. Two major things are driving the run to health, one is the incredible rising cost of Medical care in America and the other is the alarming rate of Cancer and other major diseases in young people. It seems the first law of self-preservation is kicking in and people are beginning to find out that instead of pills and surgery they can be healed of disease by fruits, veggies, and nutrients. This is major unfortunately it will take at least a generation for natural medicine to become the norm and ten of millions will die prematurely because the competing messages from the pharma industry have much better advertising. People will move to Wellness organically because their lives or the lives of someone close to them will have been saved by natural medicine and they will seek more information and make changes.

So where does Wisdom come in?

Wisdom is the ability to use all of your education and experience to discern the proper course of action and pathway in life. I submit that as a country we are slowly developing wisdom in the area of health because we need to do so to survive. However, we are moving backward in the area of wealth building because even as we make more money we are investing in the worst possible places.

You see the difference between Wealth and Wellness is profound. A sick person who is on many prescribed drugs will find natural medicine and in short order become completely healed from the disease from which the suffer. They will never actively seek to return to the drugs because they are in fact HEALED from fruits , vegetables, and nutrients.

In wealth building a person can lose half their life savings in the stock market and fully understand that it is a dangerous, unpredictable place to build wealth and still run back to the stock market if the market begins to rebound. I have heard more people talking about how the economy is back because the market is back at 14000 but if it was there 5 years ago then that is not a gain. The market can come back without the stocks in your portfolio coming back. We just don’t seem to be developing any wisdom when it comes to money. We are getting better at making money in business but when it comes to building true wealth we show no wisdom.

It is worth noting that in the 1970s before the rise of qualified plans(IRA, 401k, Thrift savings) and the rise of Pharma companies we were a much healthier and financially secure country. Imagine if all of the money that was generated in the 80s, 90s and 2000s was never invested in the stock market so when the market crashed the average American would not be losing their life savings. Can you imagine that because that is the way it needs to be for us to get on the true path to wealth building?

Imagine that our grocery stores actually had mostly food in there instead of foodstuff products. Most people don’t even realize that most of the products in a grocery store are made up chemical compounds and not food at all. The only real food in the store are the fruits, veggies and meats, the rest is Cheetos and Oreo cookies.

Take a look at your life and ask yourself are you developing true Wealth, Wellness and Wisdom and if not start seeking to make changes today.

This week I’m going to give you some major resources to help you along the path. I’m going to give you some truths to consider and some resources to explore to help you have a better life. Please subscribe to this blog. I promise to give you something life changing this week and every week and share this info with your friends.

Wishing you Wealth Wellness and Wisdom

Mark Fuller
Manager of Wealth

Young Couples Planning to be Broke..If they stay together at all

Most young couples ages 25 to 45 have conversations and agreements around money related to what they plan to consume not save. 

That’s really it, there is no plan to save and if there is, that plan is not primary or even secondary. The plan to consume is a top priority and thus most relationships are problemactic as it relates to money.

In fact the savings of most young people is really a preconsumption fund, meaning money saved  for retirement is subject to be tapped if a new house, car or private school for the kids comes along and thus it was never a future fund from the start.

At a minimum a family needs three things financially:

1. Life Insurance to totally replace each bread winners income and get the family through all the years they would be dependant on that income.

2. A plan to save at least 1 million dollars by retirement. You will need at least this by the time you retire.

3. An agreement not to blow the future on temporary cars, houses, and other things that come along and derail you from your plan.

It is my belief that 50% of marriages don’t need to end in divorce. Most of it is bad planning and financial stress caused by bad decisions. Keeping your family intact is the best reason of all to do the right thing.

Wishing you Wealth Wellness and Wisdom

Manager of Wealth

The Uninsured Risk of Being a Parent and how to protect your Family Properly

If you are reading this chances are you have a family. I am also going to assume that you love your family,and are making big plans for the future of your children. Some of these plans may include a great primary and secondary education. Also making opportunities and experiences available to them in arts and culture, and making sure they get a solid start once they reach adulthood.

I applaud your plans for your children. Your kids will have opportunities that you never even dreamed about when you were their age. The great thing is that your hard work and sacrifice is paying for all of these opportunities as well as the basics, food, clothing, shelter, video games, etc. Even greater news is you have a plan and the work ethic to get it done for your family. The not so good news is that you most likely have no real plan in place to fully provide the INCOME it will take to carry out those plans if you were to pass away prematurely.

The uninsured risk of being a parent is hitting more and more families everyday. Many 30 and 40-year-old parents are being stricken with Breast cancer, diabetes, stokes, heart attacks and sleep apnea. Not to mention simple work and non work related accidents and car crashes. The ranks of the six figure earners are exploding with women and minorities like never before in the history of the U.S..

The ranks of the properly insured grow smaller everyday.Why? Because the idea of what being properly insured is has not advanced in the last two generations and the wealthy are the only ones truly taking advantage of the great opportunity to advance the family legacy through the proper use of insurance.

Being properly insured means being able to totally replace your yearly income for the full time your family will need it. How long do you suppose your children and/or your spouse will NEED your income? Depending on the commitments you have made and the plans your family has that could mean 25 to 50 years. 30 plans for houses, 5 year plans for cars and 20 plans for credit cards. Do you have a plan that will pay for that long? Do you have total income replacement insurance that you personally own? If not, you are leaving your entire family in peril everyday because you refuse to totally cover the risk.

A recent survey was done amongst six figure earning parents and they were asked how much life insurance protection they had. The number than had over $500,000.00 was less than 5%. The number the that had none was over 20%.The number that would have none if they loss or changed their job was over 40%. This is an epidemic problem. Can your family lose over $100,000.00 of income and still operate at a level?

How to replace Income

$500,000.00 can only replace about $20,000.00 in income long term because you can’t really get more than a 4% guaranteed return in any stable financial instrument. That means to replace $100,000.00 you need about $2.5 million in life insurance. Put in the proper instrument it will pay $100,000.00 per year forever. It will pay your spouse, your children, and your childrens’ children, etc.. Learning how to do this properly and for as little cost as possible is an art.

BTW, If you have coverage on your job you need to purchase proper coverage like you have no coverage at all because if you lose or leave your job that is exactly what you will have only you will be older than you are now and the coverage will cost much more. Don’t fall into the trap that gets so many Americans. There are so many Americans looking for proper coverage that they are simply to old or too sick to qualify for. Insurance favors the young and the healthy and time is not on your side.

The structure of a proper income replacement plan is key. If you don’t have a plan that will replace your income for the next 50 years minimum then call me so I can help you put together great options. Having no plan is a plan to fail and today’s parents are failing their children everyday by only considering the possibilities if everything remains perfect. Nothing ever goes perfectly. Plan for the worst and hope for the best and you will never have any regrets. By law you can not drive a car or own a  home without proper coverage. Why can you be a parents without proper coverage. So much is riding on YOU!

Call me at 410-908-5987 to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.

Wishing you Wealth Wellness and Wisdom

Mark

Manager of Wealth

Life Insurance is not the Plan, it is the Funding Source of the Plan!

If you read my last blog post then you know that I believe you should have a plan to replace your income in the event something unfortunate happens to you. Everyday I see examples of families that failed to plan and the hardships the surely come with the lost of that income.

Let’s be clear I know you don’t want life insurance. You want your family to be able to carry on and accomplish the dreams and plans you had for them. Maybe by the end of this series you will want life insurance when you realize how much you can use it to make your dreams come true while you are alive. The important thing is that having Life Insurance does not solve all of your planning issues because a large sum a money going to your family will not solve the main challenge facing your family. The main challenge is a clear and effective plan.

Many people just leave money to their families and before long the money is gone and then the financial struggles begin. Why not set a plan in place using your will to say exactly how the money is to be dispersed?  Why not have the money go into a fund the preserves the capital but pays a life time income to your  surviving family members and passes the principal on to the next generation?

The insurance is only the funding source for the plan. If you have 2 million dollars in life insurance why not have your trustee set up an annuity that pays $100,000.00 per year to your heirs and then passes the payments on to future generations when the pass. Most people don’t do this because they did not know it was an option. Never leave provsions without instructions.

Your gift to your family could be multi generational if you plan well. Can you imagine your two million paying out 5 million over fifty years while preserving the principal? That’s the power of a couple hundred bucks a month in the right hands.

Remember of the plan,Life Insurance is not the Plan, it is the funding source!

Wishing you Wealth Wellness and Wisdom,

Mark

Manager of Wealth