The Prosperity Blog

Comparing Mortgage Options: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Jun 20, 2019 | 0 Comment

What’s the best type of mortgage to obtain? What should you avoid? What are your mortgage options, exactly?

We find that clients have certain assumptions about mortgages. “The lowest rate mortgage is always the best option.” “Always put down 20%.” “A 15-year mortgage is better than a 30-year.”

However, these assumptions are not always correct.

Let’s examine some mortgage options through the lens of Prosperity Economics—an alternative to typical financial planning. Prosperity Economics uses certain principles of prosperity to deliver better, more reliable results than typical financial advice. (Find out more here.)

When it comes to getting a home mortgage, you don’t want buyer’s regret! After all, it is the funding mechanism tied to your home AND a financial product you may have for years or decades to come. Some common mortgage options include:

7 Rules for a Rich Life

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Jun 14, 2019 | 0 Comment

Each year, we gather with other advisors and industry leaders to “sharpen the saw,” so to speak, at the Summit for Prosperity Economics Advisors. It’s a wonderful week to stop working in businesses and to instead work ON our businesses—and ourselves.

It’s a good week to gain some perspective from another vantage point. (We’ve always held the event on a mountainside of some kind, in Arizona or Utah—so we mean “Summit” quite literally!) I always leave with a renewed sense of what matters and what works—in business and in life. Today, I wanted to share some “big picture” wisdom for a successful, rich life with you.

These are “rules”—or lessons—I’ve learned and tested over some years now. They may be rules you can use, or rules you already know, in which case, I invite you to share them with others.

Better Savings Habits: 7 Steps to Systematic Wealth

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Jun 6, 2019 | 0 Comment

“Saving money is something we can control. It may not be easy…but saving money is possible.”
— Kim D. H. Butler

Many Americans struggle with their saving habits. After all, it is a natural human tendency to spend more as we earn more. Unfortunately, this approach puts us in a perpetual holding pattern, running ever faster to keep from backsliding financially.

Saving, on the other hand, is a progressive action. It is a habit that requires self-discipline to start, but one that pays long-term dividends.

The wealthiest people are often good at earning high incomes and investing money successfully. They understand how to use leverage, manage risk, diversify, and take advantage of tax code incentives. But they also understand the importance of putting first things first. And the foundation of wealth is the habit of saving.

Busting the Real Estate Investing Lies: Book Release!

by Kate4Kim@P4P | May 30, 2019 | 0 Comment

“Don’t put your money into something that doesn’t give you something in return.”
—Kim Butler and Jimmy Vreeland, Busting the Real Estate Investing Lies

A Preview of our New Book!

If you’re not investing in real estate, you’re probably slowing your journey to financial independence. Over the last two centuries, around 90 percent of the world’s millionaires have been created by investing in real estate, according to the TheCollegeInvestor.com. David Greene, a Forbes contributor and host of the Bigger Pockets podcast, contends that real estate builds wealth more consistently than any other asset class. Appreciation, depreciation, leverage and inflation—they all work to the real estate investor’s advantage! Yet unfortunately, real estate investing lies sabotage the success of many — or keep them out of the game altogether!

Early Retirement: The Pros and Cons of the FIRE Movement

by Kate4Kim@P4P | May 24, 2019 | 1 Comment

“Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples.”
— George Burns

The Early Retirement Movement

There is a growing community of people dedicated to quitting their jobs at increasingly younger ages. It goes by the FIRE acronym (financial independence, retire early) and it’s gaining significant traction amongst (typically) high-earning young adults who envision a different, more flexible lifestyle.

Who is the typical FIRE follower? Many come from the tech world, engineering, or other well-paying industries. (It’s hard to save aggressively on a less-than median wage.) Largely male in the early years of the movement, now there are plenty of women and families in the movement. Many retire in their 30’s or 40’s, but some as early as their late 20’s. Some are entrepreneurial, some are not. Some like to travel, others are homebodies. Most are attracted to simple living and time freedom.

The “rules” behind FIRE are simple, as is the basic math used by the community:

Should You Keep or Surrender a Universal Life Policy?

by Kate4Kim@P4P | May 17, 2019 | 1 Comment

“You got to know when to hold up, know when to fold up, know when to walk away, and know when to run.”—Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”

A few weeks ago, we gave you the good, the bad, and the ugly about universal life insurance policies. As it turns out, there isn’t a lot of “good” for aging policy owners who are seeing their premiums skyrocket. Lawsuits continue to mount from policy owners who feel they have been misled, while state regulators in New York have issued a cautionary alert to consumers about universal life insurance with this all caps, bolded warning: “YOUR PREMIUM PAYMENT AMOUNT IS PROBABLY NOT GUARANTEED AND MAY INCREASE.”

Now, warnings are great if you are shopping for life insurance. But what should you do if you already have a universal life policy that lacks guaranteed level premiums and a guaranteed death benefit? In this article, we’ll outline options and actions that can help protect you from an imploding policy.

Secret Millionaires: Everyday People, Extraordinary Wealth

by Kate4Kim@P4P | May 10, 2019 | 0 Comment

Last year, Sylvia Bloom left $6.24 million in her will to the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a non-profit that provides social services, arts programs and health care services. Sylvia’s generous legacy donation was extraordinary in more ways than one. Not only was it the single largest gift from any individual in the 125-year history of the organization, but it was left by a legal secretary from Brooklyn who gave no clues—not even to her closest friends and family—about her wealth.

Over the last decade or so, a new type of philanthropist hero has emerged: the secret millionaire. They are ordinary people who build extraordinary wealth, often funding non-profits with enormous gifts.