You can save TAX-FREE money for both college and/or retirement in one place.  Oh-oh.  I think I hear the secret government silencing agents descending on me now!  Imagine such a heresy exists in this world of taxes on taxes?!  Well, it does and has for a very long time.

Not only that, it is a safe bet most of Congress has used this method for decades.  It’s probably why they haven’t sought to close up the opportunity.

I am going to leave you in suspense as to exactly how this is possible.  You will have to listen to the show if you want to know what this magical creature is but, you will also hear about:

• How parents and grandparents can benefit from this program
• The complete absence of government imposed use penalties (unlike 529’s, IRA’s, etc.)
• The absence of funding restrictions
• How most plans are outside of FAFSA income guidelines
• How money is not income, will not impact Social Security and is TAX-FREE

Curious?  I am…I mean...you should be (I hate it when I get excited about my own narrative)!  Learn about this incredible yet extremely well worn program by tuning in this Wednesday, 3/8/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET, or anytime thereafter, unless of course, you think the government should have more of your money. Click, Save Tax-Free Money for College & Retirement…at the Same Time.
​

Business Owners & Ostriches Can’t Avoid the 3D’s
It is staggering how many business owners run their operations like they took their management lessons from the OAA (Ostrich Association of America).  The ominous issues of Death, Disability and Departure (the 3D’s) are omnipresent and yet, ignored.  I can guarantee two of these will be part of every business owner’s life.  Maybe, even all three.

What then, if you have made no plans on how to address each?  Will they simply take care of themselves?  Will the business genie show up at precisely the right time and grant your wishes of happiness and prosperity? 

If the realities of what will happen now and/or in the future get little to no attention, your business is in serious trouble.  Have a partner or partners?  Your problems just grew exponentially.
In this show designed exclusively for business owners/partners of all sizes, we will discuss the 3D’s in detail as well as:

• The blessings and curses of partners
• The serious peril of unfunded Buy/Sell agreements
• The most common mistakes of Buy/Sell agreements
• How to diffuse the ticking time bomb in your desk
• Real case studies of when things went right and when they went wrong

Save your business, your family and your employees an otherwise certain dance with financial doom and tune in to find out how good it can feel to look around above ground and get things right. 

Warning, listening to the show may end up voiding your membership in the OAA!  Click, Business Owners & Ostriches Can’t Avoid the 3D’s. 

You Are Better Than You Think…sometimes

Look in the mirror and what do you see?  Some folks will see lumps, bumps and all manner of ailments/imperfections leading to a depression deeper than the Marianas Trench.  Others will see those same things and think…yeah…Adonis city!

Whichever angle of the mirror you choose to look at, I can say all of us are almost always wrong.  When it comes to life insurance, you are almost definitely wrong.  Think you are uninsurable or your problems will cost you big bucks for premiums…usually not.  Think you are the best ever…sometimes a reality check is in order.

I will discuss some real life cases of real people (names withheld to protect the innocent, Sergeant Friday) and what became of their imagined premiums in real terms.

What’s better, you will hear about some folks that absolutely crushed their premiums into little bite sized morsels even cinnamon flavored cereal cannibals wish they could feast on.

So tune in this Wednesday, 2/22/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET and feel awesome(er) about what the free world (life insurance industry, specifically) thinks about you and your bodacious physique! Click, You Are Better Than You Think…sometimes.

Best,

​Greg

​You’re Gonna Die! (Top 10 Reasons Folks Fear Life Insurance)

There is a day for us all when we stop coming down for breakfast, even if the previous 32,849 breakfasts were healthy enough to make Jack LaLanne want to crank out a few hundred more push-ups from the great beyond. Your departure from your mortal coil is a guarantee.  When, is another issue.  So why do so many people fear the subject of life insurance?

After nearly 34 years in this industry, I can say there are as many reasons as there are people.  However, there are several that tend to be the most common. 

Welcome to the Top 10 Most Common Fears of Life Insurance! 

This show will give you a David Letterman style top 10 list breakdown of the reasons why so many folks avoid this most inevitable of events (sans the orchestral support).

You will have to tune in to hear them all.  The fun part will be to see how many you can personally relate to…and then maybe decide to remedy.

Tune in this Wednesday, 2/15/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET or anytime thereafter and feel free to applaud along with the live imaginary studio audience!  Click, You’re Gonna Die! (Top 10 Reasons Folks Fear Life Insurance)  and enjoy.

​Best,
Greg

This is not a show to celebrate the insightful many that wagered on yet another Patriots Superbowl victory (however sweet it was!).  Although, I am sure there are more than a few folks that make gambling a major part of their retirement plans.  Pity on all those Atlanta fans that used that technique last Sunday!

So what can we learn about retirement from a group of large, tightly panted men that make a living smashing into each other at force that could turn coal into diamonds?  I would say many things.  This particular Superbowl had everything.  Excitement, disappointment, over exuberance, winners and losers.

Kind of sounds like many retirement plans.

In this show, I am going to deconstruct the basic elements of the game and show you how they are positively linked to good and bad retirement plans.

Things like:

• Do Your Job!
• Large, well-prepared opponents
• Unforeseen errors and injuries
• Value of pressing forward
• Overtime

Yes, this will be a celebration of America’s team!  It will also be something we can all be inspired to aspire to. 

Tune in this Wednesday, 2/8/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET for the live show or anytime thereafter and keep the party going long after the duck boats have come to rest!  Click, How the Superbowl Can Help Your Retirement and enjoy!

I know...wicked awesome Boston references abound!

So, can you name one thing that costs less today than it did 10 years ago?  Stock in winners like the Ford Pinto or the 8 track tape recording industry don’t count.  Things just cost more over time. 

The same is true with insurance and retirement planning.  So why is it the vast majority of folks wait until the costs for such become near critical before deciding to buy in?

Of course life insurance is cheaper on a healthy 20 year old than it is an ailing 70 year old.  Yet, many folks tend to wait.  Are you invincible?  Are you the absolutely going to win the lottery?  Of course not.

This show is going to show you real numbers and real statistics on things like:

• Cost of life insurance over time
• When it becomes cost prohibitive
• How to pay nothing for a lifetime of coverage
• How to retire at age 65 a millionaire without the lottery
• When it is too late for anything

You want a crystal ball, hit the joke shop.  Want to make it so you don’t need one?  Listen to the show. 

Tune in this Wednesday, 2/1/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET, or anytime thereafter, and get some insights on when the best time to take care of business is for you.  Spoiler alert…it has nothing to do with timing the market! Click, The High Cost of Waiting and enjoy!

Best,

​Greg

​Last Chance to Win and Make Me PAY!

Most people want to win things.  Heck, with the lottery making up more than 50% of all people’s retirement plans, winning SHOULD be on everyone’s top 12 list!  I am one of the few geniuses that figured out how to end up paying when it is expected 50% of people will win.  Quite the Mensa feat.

Tomorrow’s show will not only recap the entire 12 predictions I made in my 2017 Predictions contest but also, let you know where it stands after a few early prediction results have already come in.  Talk about tipping the tables!  Plus, everyone that listens and makes an entry into the contest, you will receive a booklet from me speaking to the virtues of Fixed Indexed Annuities.  And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, I will throw in a booklet on Indexed Life Insurance just as icing on the cake.

Give me a break folks; it’s how I make a living!

So get your chance to win AND make me pay by tuning in this Wednesday, 1/25/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET or anytime thereafter.  The contest entries close on January 31st so be sure to get your entry in.  Plus, this will be my first show under a Presidency.  Will I wax on politically…hum.  Listening will tell the tale! Click, Last Chance to Win and Make Me PAY!

Best,

​Greg

​The Trouble with Heirs
You don’t need to be squirreled away on some uncharted desert isle like Lovey and Thurston Howell, III to have concerns about what your heirs are going to do after you are gone.  You need only mosey on down to your local Probate Court and have a glance at the docket to see how much time (and money) is devoted to disputes arising from family issues.
As I have often said, “Money makes people funny.”  But all is not about greed.  Often times, simple misunderstandings can lead to the enrichment of the local members of the Bar Association (not the tavern variety).
Many issues arise from:

• A miscommunication of your intentions (i.e. “Mom said I could have the picture of Dad from the mantle.”)
• Failure to update your will or trust
• Failure to have a will or trust
• Forgetting about old insurance policies/annuities
• Not updating beneficiaries
• Ignorance of the complexities of special needs family members

I will attempt to make sense of all this in my next show and provide a safe place where you can learn how to arrange your financial/insurance documents to align with what your family needs.
Avoid being lost at sea and tune in this Wednesday, 1/18/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET.  No, I am not an attorney or some decorated shipping captain.  I’m just an insurance man sharing what he knows to keep you and your family afloat. Click, The Trouble with Heirs and save me from this sea of analogies!
Best,
Greg
p.s.      Don’t forget, time is running out on submissions for my 2017 predictions contest.  Get your vote in before the January 31’st deadline!

As Malcolm Forbes once said, “Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.”  Hard to argue that one.  Although, at the risk of sounding like I am cheating the grim reaper, it seems as though more folks than ever are watching their opportunity to retire slip away.  It’s true.

Folks have succumbed in ever increasing numbers to the notion that having an abundance of things is far more important than saving for the future.  Not to mention what those things cost nowadays.  Hence, retirement is becoming less of a realistic goal for more and more Americans every year.
It’s time to take a stand and tempt fate by setting yourself up for a good, long retirement.

No more:

• Market drops wiping out a lifetime of saving
• Watching 401k’s erode before you very eyes
• Outliving the money you worked so hard to save
• Lack of information leading to bad decisions

Tune in this Wednesday, 1/11/17 from 9:30-10:00am ET or any time after to listen as I will lay out a plan for everyone to beat the odds and actually get set up for long term prosperity. Click, The End of Retirement and learn how to do retirement right!

Happy New Year!

​Greg

Each year, I try to give a little perspective on what we just went through and where we may be going.  This year, I am making it a little more fun by setting it up so you can check on the success of my 12 predictions (find them in bold italics throughout) when I wrap things up next year in 2018.  My goal is to have an accuracy rating of 85% or better.  Vote whether you think I am going to hit that mark by sending me an email no later than 1/31/17 with your guess of “Yes”, I made it or “No”, I failed.  Every person that guesses correctly will win a book from my library of financial tomes.  Here’s hoping I score well…on some things anyway!
 
Annual 2017 Year Ahead Predictions and Retrospect

The new year is upon us and we all have hopes and dreams for what lies ahead.  However, no look ahead can hold water without an acknowledgement of how we arrived to where we are.  As the old saying tells us, ignoring history will doom you to repeat it.  Set your 2017 goals higher, better or more attainable than those of 2016, but remember to remember.

We learned from yet another Olympics, no matter how bad you want something, no matter how much you plan, no matter how much people are relying on you to be successful, a bad plan and execution will leave you with horrendous outcomes.  Don’t pollute the waters of your own best goals with poor planning and execution.  Make your 2017 goals possible with good, timely decisions and reasonable expectations.  Chances are, people are relying on you too.  I predict we will see a continued refocus of folks on their own well-being as evidenced by an improvement in the unemployment rate.

2017 will be a year in which we will have learned how to better insulate our electronic selves from issues such as email hacking, leaks, secret tapes and fake news courtesy of social media outlets that make Wikipedia look like Encyclopedia Britannica.  Or maybe not.  Maybe we have become so dependent on the likes of Alexa that we will come to embrace a constant electronic ear in our homes which can readily monitor our every word for later use (use for what one could wonder here).  Read Orwell’s “1984” for further clarification.  I predict sales of such devices will skyrocket.

We saw another long list of celebrities pass on to their reward.  From international bad guys like Castro to legitimate tough guys like Muhammad Ali to beloved entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Jr., Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, they all first passed through the fabric of our reality before passing on.  The latter two showed just how powerful family connections can be.  All of us that suffered losses of our own will look to 2017 as a time of healing.  No prediction here…just well wishes.

Who could have imagined the passing of one Antonin Scalia would play so heavily in Presidential politics?  Now, with the election over, 2017 will see a raucous remedy to the vacancy issue his massive presence left behind. 

Never before have we seen such a running together of celebrity and politics.  Hopefully, 2017 will see entertainers relegated back to the role for which they exist…entertaining, not preaching.  This is not to say anyone could and should not have an opinion on such matters.  I would simply hope these folks take 2017 as an opportunity to get over the upset that most folks in the real world don’t care that much to be told how to think by entertainers.  Those living happily in the basket with the other deplorables would rather you go make jokes and blow up imaginary movie scenes.
 
The year of 2017 will usher in a new POTUS and hopefully a healing from the campaign that left the country, nay the world, in shock.  Even with Brexit setting the tone, the media failed to recognize the realities of how people feel.  As such, most became part of the story instead of reporting on it.  Many tried to create the narrative and to the dismay of many others, some have yet to relent.  Failure to accept the results (count challenges, EC challenge, violent protests) has left us looking to a 2017 inauguration that could shape up to be as contentious as the campaigns. 

That would be a terrible tone to set for the new year.  Let’s show the world we are better than that.  After all, we are supposed to be the model of Democracy to which others aspire.  I predict the inauguration will go off as intended and the country will begin to rally behind its new President.

The mainstreamers (media) have also continued to push their 2016 narrative, never missing a chance to turn horrible events such as what happened in Orlando into political fodder.  Few have had the courage to report on such inconvenient facts such as, of the 762 murders in Chicago in 2016, over 80% were gang related despite the presence some of the strictest gun laws in the country.  So much for asking criminals to obey the law.  Here’s another pesky fact: with the over 350 million firearms currently owned by Americans (the highest in history), the last 20 years has seen an overall drop in gun related deaths by half.  I can think of no other subject matter with positive results like these that could be so widely unreported or misreported.

Regardless of your perspective on this issue, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could see reporters and celebrities alike, just do their jobs and let us formulate our own opinions.  My prediction for 2017 is this won’t happen.

2017 will see a rise in interest rates despite the negative impact that will have on our rapidly increasing National Debt.  We will also see dramatic changes in our relations with countries such as China, Russia and Israel. 

With the red line in the sand being obliterated on a daily basis by Islamic terrorists that have virtually no regard for any human life, we will begin to call them what they are and see a renewed focus in our efforts to obliterate them and their cause.  The civilized world has no choice.

We all hope to see a vast improvement in the Veterans Administration’s medical system and an improvement in the way we treat our active and retired military overall.  It is something we owe them and it is a matter of national pride.  I predict a massive overhaul of this system will begin with tremendous results.

With over 10,000 people per week turning 65 years of age, we need to see some serious tax reform in 2017.  Not to mention reigning in the costs of the ACA, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security without hurting people.  Whew!  Those are a few little things, huh?!  I predict the repeal and replacement of the ACA will be among the top stories of the year with the balance making headlines at least twice each.
Life is more expensive than ever and 2017 will do little to change that.  2016 showed a continuing trend of folks heading to the safety of products like Fixed Indexed Annuities.  $60 billion dollars worth, to be precise.  Why?  With everything just mentioned, people need to focus on safe, no risk growth and try to take care of themselves.  2017 will continue to put the onus on us for such.  The days of big government coming to the rescue are numbered.  The flight to safe products has only just begun.  I predict 2017 will match or exceed the $60 billion seen in 2016.

2017 will be a year of hope and/or fear depending on your political proclivity.  It will hopefully be a year of coming together as a nation.  We are all patriots and must come together for the good of our country.

Despite looking forward to 2017 as my first full year domiciled in FL, I will also predict another Patriots win…the Super Bowl.

Probably will be the most controversial prediction in this whole piece!

Happy New Year!

Greg