If you regularly worry about money, you’re definitely not alone. According to the Center for Financial Services Innovation, 57 percent of Americans are struggling financially causing them a significant amount of stress.
Many have been unable to save any money for emergencies, while more than two-thirds lack an adequate savings cushion. In the event of a layoff, serious illness, or major auto or home repair, they may have to use a credit card or tap into their retirement savings to make ends meet—further compounding their financial woes.
Fortunately, there are savings tools available—like the dividend-paying whole life insurance plans recommended by Bank on Yourself—that make a financially secure future possible even for cash-strapped consumers. RewardExpert recently spoke with the company’s founder and president, Pamela Yellen, about the Bank on Yourself method and how you can use it to kick debt to the curb, avoid the risks of Wall Street, and enjoy financial security for life.
Taking Control of Your Money
An award-winning author and former business consultant to financial advisors and insurance agents, Yellen founded Bank on Yourself in 2002 after she was disappointed by the results of conventional financial planning and investment methods.
“My husband and I had been doing all the things we were taught to do for years, such as start an IRA and pension plan, invest in stocks and mutual funds,” Yellen recalled. “We never got the kind of results we were told we ought to get.”
Then one day an advisor told Yellen about a variation of dividend-paying whole life insurance.
“I investigated it, and it turned out to be everything I heard it was and more,” Yellen continued. “While this type of life insurance has been around for hundreds of years, very few people know about it because it’s not a Wall Street strategy. I made it my mission to educate the public about the concept and ended up calling it Bank on Yourself because it’s all about being self-reliant, becoming your own banker, and taking control of your money and finances.”
“I think most people don’t realize how little control they have over their money,” Yellen said. “Plans like IRAs and 401(k)s have more strings attached to them than a puppet. They control how much you can put in, when you can take it out, how much you can borrow, and if you can borrow. It’s not really your money once you put it in there. It’s controlled by the government and your employer.”
To date, Yellen’s Bank on Yourself organization has connected more than 500,000 families nationwide with a network of 200 advisors who are specially trained to sell dividend-paying whole life insurance policies—an asset that has gained value every year for more than 160 years and offers significant benefits over other retirement accounts.
Fast, Safe, Predictable Growth
“A whole life insurance policy is a cash-value account,” Yellen explained. “As you pay the premiums, your savings in the plan grows. It’s actually guaranteed to grow by a predictable, pre-set amount every year, and that growth is locked in. If there is a market crash, an economic recession, or even a depression, your policy will continue to grow. And you have the potential—though not a guarantee—to earn dividends as well if your policy is with a dividend-paying whole life company.”
When you buy a dividend-paying whole life insurance policy—much like the ones your grandparents and great grandparents had in the 40s and 50s to supplement their pensions—you retain more control over your money. Not only will it grow quickly, safely and predictably, but you can easily access it in the event of an emergency, to pay off debts, to finance your children’s educations, and to serve as income in retirement.
“When my first book became a New York Times Bestseller, I wanted to level-up my company,” Yellen said. “I knew I needed more employees, computer software, equipment, and a big marketing budget. I decided I needed $500,000 to do that, so I made calls to three different companies through which I have whole life policies. The money I needed was in my account within days.”
Yellen noted that unlike interest on a loan from a bank, which goes into that organization’s pockets, the interest you pay when borrowing from your whole life insurance policy is distributed in the form of dividends, allowing you to recapture it.
“Dividend-paying whole life policies also come with a death benefit so that you can make sure that your family is taken care of,” Yellen continued. “The death benefit is many times greater than the cash value you can access when you’re alive. You also have tax advantages. You can take retirement income tax-free under current law.”
In addition to growing up to 40 times more cash value than a traditional whole life policy, the supercharged policies recommended by Bank on Yourself advisors cut fees by as much as 75 percent.
“It’s important you work with an advisor who is willing to take that pay cut and knows the right companies to use,” Yellen concluded. “There are probably only a handful or so [of life insurance companies] that really fit the bill.”
To learn more about Yellen’s Bank on Yourself method, download a free report outlining the benefits, or request a free analysis of your financial situation and connection to a Bank on Yourself authorized financial advisor, visit www.bankonyourself.com.