The Prosperity Blog

Is Gold a Good Investment Now?

by | May 29, 2020 | 2 Comments

Is Gold a Good Investment in 2020?

We get questions all the time about gold and other precious metals. Our clients want to know if gold is a good investment for these times. Should gold or silver be in their portfolio—and if so, in what form? We hear questions such as:

With a new recession upon us, is gold a good investment now?”

“Should I have precious metals in my portfolio as a general rule?”

“What kind of gold or silver is best? How should it be stored?”

And so on.

These are questions that only you can answer for yourself. Our best recommendation is to do what you desire in order to have peace of mind. However, we can provide some perspective that may help your decision-making!

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The Great American Savings Crisis

by | May 29, 2020 | 0 Comment

This article is adapted from Perpetual Wealth: How to Use “Family Financing” to Build Prosperity and Leave a Legacy for Generations. This forthcoming book from Kim D. H. Butler and Kate Phillips details how to build and keep generational wealth!

Saving Saves Families

The Great American Savings CrisisOne of Kim’s sayings is, “Saving saves families.” Both saving (as a verb) and the resulting savings (noun) makes a world of difference.

With savings, people can handle emergencies and build up additional capital to invest with. With savings, people can get the education, training or mentorship they need to pursue a fulfilling career. They can purchase a home and not be at the mercy of a rental market. They can start a business and employ others. And they can afford the things that are important to them.

Without savings, people struggle and families are sometimes even torn apart. Financial stress and a lack of savings can threaten families and lasting wealth in multiple ways:

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How to Raise Financially Responsible Children

by | May 25, 2020 | 0 Comment

This article is adapted from our forthcoming book, Perpetual Wealth: How to Use “Family Financing” to Build Prosperity and Leave a Legacy for Generations by Kim D. H. Butler and Kate Phillips. The book contains a whole chapter on raising financially responsible children, since financial planning to have a baby includes raising it.

How to Raise Financially Responsible ChildrenThere is a saying attributed by some to Abraham Lincoln, “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” This is especially true when it comes to money!

Even when great sums of money are passed on to future generations, multi-generational wealth rarely lasts more than a generation or two. It fails when the children—even if they are middle aged “children”—haven’t done their own growing. Money given to someone not ready to hold it is like water poured into a leaky bucket. 

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America Saves: The U.S. Savings Rate is Rising!

by | May 22, 2020 | 0 Comment

The U.S. Savings Rate is Rising!

There’s been so much bad economic news lately, we are thrilled to report some GOOD news for a change! Americans are saving again—aggressively. According to economic research data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. savings rate is at a 39-year high! The March 2020 personal savings rate was 13.1 percent—a rate not seen since 1981, during the Reagan years.

U.S. incomes are down overall. The government also reported that incomes dropped 2 percent in March due to the virus response. (Of course, people are not affected equally by this drop. Some people have seen incomes or business revenue vanish while others have been unaffected.) Spending has fallen much further—7.5 percent in March. Credit card usage has declined as well.

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Unlimited Wealth: The Many Types of Capital

by | May 15, 2020 | 2 Comments

Wealth comes in many forms, often described as different types of capital. And the good news is that even when financial wealth is disrupted, other types of capital can be nurtured and grown.

Sometimes income is disrupted, the economy takes a downturn, or investments lose money. Certainly, this is been the case for many Americans in recent months.

In times like these, it is imperative to look at the bigger picture of wealth and the endless possibilities of wealth creation.

The sum of your wealth cannot be determined by simply adding the numbers in your various accounts and investments. The worth of a person goes beyond net worth and cash flow.

Today, we review several different types of capital. While the value they represent may not be primarily economic, all types of capital represent real value. And with the right strategy, all have the potential to be converted into financial capital!

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Bad News, Better News, Good News!

by | May 8, 2020 | 0 Comment

(Wisdom from Peter Diamandis with additional contributions from Kim Butler)

Wisdom from Peter Diamandis and Kim Butler

You might tend to think that when bad things happen in the world, we get a lot of negative news as a result. Then, perhaps, when good things happen, the news cycle will improve. But have you noticed… the news is (almost) ALWAYS negative?

What is the impact of this negative bias? What draws our attention towards this kind of news, and what result does it have on our lives, our health and our prosperity? More importantly, what other options are available?

Today, we are sharing a recent blog post from Peter Diamandis on this very topic. It’s lightly edited as indicated with our own thoughts inserted.

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The Great American Debt Addiction

by | May 1, 2020 | 0 Comment

“An alien invasion comes to the United States threatening to take over the world. (Imagine screams, fear, and drama.)
How does the U.S. government respond?
It cuts interest rates!”

The Great American Debt Addiction

That joke came to us via an email from Todd Tresidder. It’s funny, sadly, because it is TRUE!

The pandemic revealed an ugly truth about our country: we are hopelessly addicted to debt—the cheaper the better! Debt is an epidemic that has weakened our personal and national financial immune system. And while we can point fingers at the government and the Fed, debt is also an increasing problem that impacts nearly everyone—from manufacturers to farmers, from small business owners to those in the working class.

Low interest rates may blunt the impact, but what’s the real cost of “cheap” debt? It can artificially inflate prices and undermine the value of our assets. The over-reliance on debt undermines our economy, our citizens, our companies, and the well-being and stability of our country.

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