The Prosperity Blog

How to Recover from a Financial Setback

by Kate4Kim | Sep 20, 2018 | 4 Comments

Today’s post is from Kate Phillips, founder of Total Wealth Coaching and co-author (with Kim Butler) of Financial Planning Has Failed.

The truth about financial loss and the path to prosperity.

Nearly every American will experience multiple financial setbacks during their lifetimes. Incomes fluctuate. Investments fail. Emergencies strike. Life happens.

Very few people travel a straight road to financial success. Most of us encounter detours, potholes, even road blocks and dead ends along the way.

According to a 2017 study by the National Endowment for Financial Education reported in Forbes.com, 96% of Americans experience four or more major life events (layoff, illness, divorce, etc.) by age 70 that cause their incomes to drop 10% or more. By age 61, three out of four workers have gone without income for a year or more at least once.

Too Old for Life Insurance? Whole Life Insurance for Seniors

by Kate4Kim | Sep 14, 2018 | 2 Comments

“Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative.”
– Maurice Chevalier

“Am I too old for life insurance?”

We get this question a lot, surprisingly, from people who are only in their 50’s or 60’s. But the truth is that you’re probably not too old for life insurance.

Most mutual companies offering whole life insurance will insure people up to age 85. Health has more of an impact than age on whether or not you will qualify. But don’t assume that you won’t qualify just because you’re over age 60 or 70, even if there has been a health crisis in your past.

However, just because you CAN get life insurance doesn’t mean you should. In this article, we’ll examine why many seniors ARE buying life insurance, along with some of the pros and cons of doing so. If you are a grandparent or great grandparent wanting to leave an inheritance, a senior looking for greater protection and financial flexibility, or a middle-aged adult considering whole life insurance for a parent, this article is for you.

Protecting Your Financial Privacy: Facebook, Banks, and Big Data

by Kate4Kim | Sep 7, 2018 | 0 Comment

Is “Financial Privacy” becoming the next famous oxymoron to be added to the likes of “jumbo shrimp,” “liquid gas,” “friendly fire” and “unbiased opinion”? Very possibly, suggests a bombshell claim from the Wall Street Journal last month.

Increasingly, your personal data is being bartered and sold. In this article, we’ll examine the revelations, the response, and steps you can take to minimize the exploitation of your personal information.

9 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make with Money

by Kate4Kim | Aug 30, 2018 | 0 Comment

Self-employed, entrepreneur, or small biz owner… you’ve taken the road less traveled. You are freedom-oriented and independent. You’ve traded the so-called security of a J.O.B. for the opportunity to pave your own path.

I understand. After a job in banking and several years working for a typical financial planning firm, I also got “the call” to start my own firm. I no longer felt that “typical” financial planning advice allowed me to do what was BEST for my clients. I watched people lose FORTUNES in the market, only to be told to just keep doing the same thing with their dollars! And I saw people frustrated that there were no other options.

(That’s how many people become entrepreneurs; they develop a passion to solve a problem!)

I saw that people can build wealth WITHOUT the Big Banks and Wall Street firms. An alternate path had been modeled for many decades, even centuries by SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS who had built sustainable wealth… long before “Financial Planning” even existed.

Eventually, I codified the principles and strategies that have been used by wealth-builders over time. I coined this philosophy “Prosperity Economics,” and it became the foundation for Partners for Prosperity.

Not only am I an entrepreneur myself, but I’ve worked with thousands of entrepreneurs over the last two decades. Entrepreneurs are my favorite people in the world. They’re creative, caring and passionate. And sometimes… they make BIG MISTAKES with money!

Money and Happiness: The Surprising Research

by Kate4Kim | Aug 23, 2018 | 0 Comment

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.”

~ Spike Milligan

Are people who make more money happier? What about people who save more? Can people be happy with very little? And how do your spending habits impact our satisfaction?

In this article, we examine how money relates to happiness, including income, wealth and saving habits. As you’ll see, there are many insights we can glean from various studies on the topic, the relationship between money and happiness isn’t necessarily simple.

The Price of Happiness (about $75k)

Economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of the University of Michigan examined World Bank data from more than 150 countries. Not surprisingly, they concluded that the more money you have, the happier you tend to be. However, money will only make you a little happier. According to 80000hours.org, “each doubling of your income correlated with a life satisfaction 0.5 points higher on a scale of 1 to 10.” In other words, doubling your income may make you only about 5% happier than you are right now.

12 Ways to Prepare a Portfolio for a Bear Market

by Kate4Kim | Aug 16, 2018 | 0 Comment

“Rule No. 1: Don’t lose money. Rule No. 2: Don’t forget role No. 1.”
—Warren Buffet

Last week, we examined seven reasons why it could be time to preserve your gains and get your money OUT of the stock market in our article, “Is Now the Time to Go to Cash?” In summary, we examined:

Rising volatility in the markets
A stalled stock market teetering on the edge
Climbing interest rates
Rising debt—both national and personal
Bonds losing value
A slowing real estate market
And the “smart money” pulling out of stocks and heading for safer havens.

It’s not rocket science to realize that the stock market can’t continue to hit endless new highs. But where can you put your dollars when volatility and corrections rule the day? The economic winds have changed, and it could be time to position your portfolio for a bear market. Here’s are some steps you can take:

Is Now the Time to Go to Cash? 7 Signs Point to “Yes”

by Kate4Kim | Aug 9, 2018 | 3 Comments

“If you got a dollar, soak it away, put it in a savings bank, bury it, do anything but spend it. Spending when we didn’t have it put us where we are today. Saving when we’ve got it will get us back to where we was before we went cuckoo.”

—Will Rogers, Daily Telegram, Nov. 24, 1930

Is it time to go to cash? If we only had a crystal ball, we could give you a definitive answer! However, we can look at patterns of the past and analyze the present. As we do this, it’s hard not to notice the warning signs that suggest 2018 may be an ideal time to move more assets into cash and other fixed and safe havens.

Below are seven signs that may indicate that trouble is on the horizon, and some steps you can take to protect yourself. You’ll also find some seemingly relevant quotes from a past era sprinkled throughout, compliments of Will Rogers. A Depression-era American humorist and social commentator, his observations seem particularly appropriate to today’s economic climate.