The Prosperity Blog

The Whole Life vs. Term Insurance Debate

by P4P | Apr 8, 2015 | 4 Comments

“It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.”
– Joseph, Joubert

Should You “Buy Term and Invest the Difference”?

In a recent comment from a reader on a post about Universal Life Insurance and Indexed Universal Life (IUL), a reader left a comment containing many common life insurance lies and misunderstandings. Since these misleading ideas are out there all over the internet, we thought we’d use this as an opportunity to address them, point by point.

(The comment):

Private Mortgage Investing: How to Find Hard Money Deals

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Apr 2, 2015 | 0 Comment

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
– Milton Berle

This week, we continue our conversation with Marc Sherrin, one of our preferred referrals for our clients who invest in bridge loans. (Sometimes also known as “hard money” loans, usually for the purpose of rehabbing or flipping homes.)

Marc has been in the business of private mortgage investing, for many years, and he was kind enough to answer some questions to help guide those inclined to find their own hard money investments.

See last week’s post for the first part of this series, “Hard Money, Hard Lessons: 3 Private Mortgage Mistakes to Avoid.”

Kim Butler: Where do you find loans? How do you begin the search process? How do you find the “good” loans, or how do you find loans then do your due diligence to know that they’re good?

Hard Money, Hard Lessons: 3 Private Mortgage Investing Mistakes to Avoid

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Mar 23, 2015 | 1 Comment

“The chappies you’d like to lend money to won’t let you, whereas the chappies you don’t want to lend it to will do everything except actually stand you on your head and lift the specie out of your pockets.”
– P.G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves

Are you considering commercial or investment property lending as an investment?

If so, this article/interview transcription is for you!

Hard money loans, when done right, can produce excellent and reliable returns for investors in the high single digits or low double-digits.

Done wrong, they’re an exercise in futility and frustration, a vehicle for losing a lot of cash in a short period of time, or tying up money you can’t get back when agreed.

Awhile back, we sat down with Marc Sherrin, one of our bridge loan providers, to discuss private lending through bridge loans, rehab loans, and hard money loans. (Incidentally, those terms aren’t necessarily synonymous, although there is much overlap and sometimes a loan can be all three.)

Taming Financial Fears and Worries

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Mar 13, 2015 | 2 Comments

“Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.”
– Erma Bombeck

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from concerned clients lately. They’re worried about the stock market, perhaps even bank safety. Some are reading predictions that we’re going to see a BIG economic crash soon, and they’re wondering what they can do about it.

There are two main things that we can all do:

First, we can align our FINANCES for prosperity with Prosperity Economics. We can order our personal economy according to the Principles of Prosperity and we can employ financial strategies that give us a high degree of safety, control, and liquidity. We can utilize alternatives to big banks, stock market, and government-sanctioned retirement accounts.

Second, we can align OURSELVES for prosperity by shifting our focus. We can focus our thinking on the positive and the things we can control. We can adopt empowering personal practices and use our mindset and our habits to move towards what we want rather than focusing on what we don’t want. In this way, we can experience abundance and gratitude – even when circumstances become challenging.

Financial Reform or Regression? The Battle Over Dodd-Frank Provisions and Fiduciary Vs. Suitability Standards

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Mar 6, 2015 | 0 Comment

” Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.”
– B. R. Ambedkar

In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provided meaningful (if imperfect) reforms in an attempt to insure that the financial meltdown of 2008 would be the only of its kind. In addition, the bill authorized the SEC to enact a rule that would require all financial professionals – whether brokers or planners or advisors – to operate from a fiduciary standard, free of conflicts of interest. However, aside from hot debates, little has actually been done towards such an end. Now the Department of Labor is being tasked with the job, amidst renewed debate and much opposition.

The expansion of the fiduciary standard is not the only element of the Dodd-Frank legislation that is under attack. Nearly 5 years after its passage, Wall Street has done everything possible to undermine and unravel meaningful protections for Main Street investors. Restrictions preventing the financial recklessness that led to the 2008 crash are slowly being rolled back or de-clawed.

Should You Invest Inside Your Retirement Plan?

by Kate4Kim@P4P | Feb 27, 2015 | 1 Comment

The following article is reprinted with permission from Tom Wheelwright’s Weekly Report.

Tom Wheelwright, CPA, is one of the nation’s leading tax advisors for investors and entrepreneurs. Also a well-known speaker and educator on wealth, tax reduction and asset protection, Tom Wheelwright has partnered with Rich Dad Education, the Elevation Group and Donald Trump’s Wealth Builders Program to show people how to permanently reduce taxes without reducing income.

Discovering Our Purpose, Treasuring Our Time

by Kim Butler | Feb 19, 2015 | 2 Comments

“Is There More to Life Than This!?”

A guest post by Tammi Brannan of Instinctive Life.

“I’ve wondered my whole life whether or not there is such a thing as a purpose to our lives. Are we here to work and die, or is there more to it?”

This was a question I heard the other day from a woman in her 60s, who has no financial need to continue working, yet feels this unresolved issue of purpose. Why is she here, and has she fulfilled that need?

We all have a purpose, and until it’s discovered, life has a wandering feeling that grows over time.

Many years ago in a Chinese restaurant, I opened this fortune, “The day you were born, a problem was solved.” Is it possible that the reason why this woman feels there is something leftover for her to do, is because she has yet to solve this “problem” that the Chinese proverb referred to?