Honey, How Do I Look?

Honey, How Do I Look?

It’s Saturday evening and I’ve got a date with my wife. It’s time to get ready and what happens next remains a mystery to most men. The artful expression of a female brush painting her face is only exceeded by the millions of color and stylish variations she orchestrates with her clothing.

Not to belittle the importance of accessorizing, but when she completes the process of adorning her mortal temple, the inevitable and greatly feared question flows from her lips like silk from a spindle: “How do I look?”

20/20 Vision

20/20 Vision

Fixed Indexed Annuity

What does it mean to index?

• When your money is indexed in an annuity with a life insurance company, the insurance company guarantees your balance will never go down.
• It means your money is not in the stock market so if you get a return on your money it’s because an index like the S&P moved upwards.
• Both the upward and downward movement is capped. On the down side the lowest it can go is zero and on the upside each contract is different, but caps typically range in high single digits.

Invest Less, Make More

Invest Less, Make More

There are only three things you can do with money

1. Spend it (a cash flow system)
2. Save it (protected money)
3. Invest it (potential money)

The majority of effort in our society is placed on investing.  But is this the best strategy? Let’s look at how the financial planning industry represents their returns.

The common mantra is to put your money into the stock market and leave it there. Why? Because it always comes back and the average for one hundred years is over seven percent, or so the saying goes.

It’s all about timing, or is it?

It’s all about timing, or is it?

The longer the recession grinds on, the more people realize the marvel of indexed annuities. Imagine all of your money intact today, never losing sleep over it, and having complete control over the entire amount.

Is there a bad time to purchase a Fixed Indexed Annuity (FIA)?

[A] On August 21, 1987 the S&P hit an all time high of 355. By December 4^th [D] it had fallen 37 percent to 224. Traders were jumping out of windows on Wall Street. (Not really, at least I didn’t see any. This is a metaphor indicating they were having a bad day.)

Gold and precious metals

I’ve had some questions regarding precious metals lately and here are my thoughts.

The argument for or against gold is neutral from my point of view. The most important element of my opinion is a function of sequencing.

Gold is an investment and it appears to be a good investment, but then so did many things 2 years ago. Real Estate seemed like a great investment for decades. The important aspect isn’t whether its good or not, but whether its a risk you can afford.