I like money books. I have a section of a shelf with money books. This may seem strange, since I don't (yet) actually have any money, but I believe in visualizing my way to success, and someday I will have money and will need to know what to do with it. At least I hope so. And up until recently, I thought I knew the best things to do with money, should I ever come into some. But I just read a book that counters the advice in most of those other books, and most of the advice I've ever heard from financial gurus, like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman, and I must say, I'm intrigued. Safe Money Millionaire is a quick, easy to understand, engaging book. You don't have to be a math or finance or accounting whiz to get it. Basically, the premise is this: all the advice and "wisdom" we are programmed with about investing our money on Wall Street or in 401(k) plans is designed to turn a profit, but not necessarily for the one who is actually doing the investing. It happens time and time again, where well-intentioned, hard-working, responsible people max out their 401(k) plans, thinking they are doing the smartest thing, only to be actually losing wealth and valuable time in the volatile market. The authors, Brett Kitchen and Ethan Kap explain what a rate of return is and why a higher rate of return doesn't actually mean that you are getting wealthier. They also debunk the myth about tax savings and 401(k) plans with a great analogy about paying tax on seeds or on crops.
The book does read a little like an infomercial, spending the first half explaining why conventional financial advice is really not wise at all, and then the second half explaining what they believe to be the best and safest way to grow your wealth, which is with cash value life insurance policies that are carefully and strategically set up with a Safe Money Millionaire Advisor. You can grow your money with the "ups" in the market, while protecting it against the "downs". You can borrow against your policy, paying yourself back with interest to grow your wealth, instead of paying banks and finance companies, and earning interest on your balance as if you never borrowed against it. And, in the event of death, benefits are paid to your loved ones.
I liked the chapter about real people who have grown wealth through life insurance policies. People like J.C. Penney, Doris Christopher (founder of Pampered Chef), Walt Disney, and Ray Kroc (McDonald's). I also liked the examples of regular, not-famous individuals who have chosen to grow their money through Safe Money Millionaire principles and how it worked for them. Yes, you do have to go to their website, and yes, you do have to work with one of their advisors, but chances are, if you're serious about your money, you're doing that anyway, and that advisor is offering you options that may not be the best after all.
I am intrigued. I really enjoyed the chance to preview this book, and I actually do plan to go to the website and do more research. Because, you know, I plan to have money one day, and I'd like it to be safe! And growing! And in my pocket, instead of someone else's!
Very interesting. That is the opposite of what all the "experts" say. I too love money books and will add this to my list to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I appreciate you taking time to check it out.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you have any questions about what you read!
Brett Kitchen
Interesting! I'll have to talk to Patrick about it.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the book. It is quite a bit of hype and sales pitch without much substance. Many promises and anecdotal stories without substantiation. I viewed and reviewed the web site and it is more of the same. There is no information or back-up on how the "101 Plan" works. Generally, cash value life insurance is very expensive for its PRIMARY PURPOSE, which is risk protection and management. Such policies garner large commissions for the agent. Cash value in a life insurance policy is generally very slow to build. Thus, the utility and usefulness of the plan is limited and a long way off. Finally, many implied guarantees were presented in the book. There are no such “guarantees” and the contract (which is what a life insurance policy is) is only as good as the company issuing the contract. I may investigate by talking to a “trained Safe Money Millionaire advisor” in order to learn more. It may have value as part of a larger and more comprehensive financial plan. However, since the authors chose not to grace the reader with any details or mechanics regarding how a plan works, I am skeptical of its claims and value.
ReplyDeleteBruce, thanks for the comments. I appreciate the fact that you do research these topics for yourself and don't just take the 'guru's' word for it.
ReplyDeleteI apologize if you didn't think the book had enough information to really help you understand, unfortunately because of the red tape in the financial services industry we have alot of restrictions on what we can and can't say about these products.
Thats why we make our representatives available to people for no cost to answer questions directly.
The main misconception I want to correct here about your comments above is that cash value insurance is very slow to build, and there are 'no guarantees.'
Usually you are right, the old school traditional cash value life insurance is very heavily tilted toward commissions for agents and premium for the insurance companies. However there is a way to build these policies so the cash value builds much more quickly, and the majority of your premium payments go to building cash not to insurance costs. This can dramatically reduce the commissions made by agents, and the amount of your money going to buying insurance...rather, it's going into your cash value instead. Most agents have no idea how to do this, or care to do it right for the client, our representatives are all trained to maximize cash value and minimize insurance costs.
Secondly with regard to 'guarantee's' there ARE guarantees in the contract with company that your money will never be lost. You are correct that that guarantee is only as good as the company itself, interestingly, according to Barry Dyke (here's a reference for substantiation for you, author of Pirates of manhattan) for the past 200 or so years, policy holders cash value has never been lost. Try getting that kind of track record from a mutual fund, 401k or other 'traditional' investments.
One of the companies we work with has 680 Billion dollars in assets, and is over 300 years old.
Additionally on the 'guarantee's' issue many of the contracts guarantee annual interest regardless of what the market does, so your money can grow 'GUARANTEED'.
Not sure why you would make a blanked comment about no such guarantees when it's clearly not true.
We'd love to speak with to clarify any of your questions, but this approach is not for everyone (especially those who really truly love the ups and downs of the market) and we certainly understand that as well.
You can request a blueprint at http://www.safemoneymillionaire.com
Brett