by Truth Concepts | Jun 29, 2022 | Comments Off on The Truth Concepts Blog
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Welcome to the Truth Concepts Blog. We’re delighted you are here! You’ll find many examples and tips for using Truth Concepts in our posts, along with other helpful information you can use in your business. Have you heard about our Free Thirty-Day Trial? Click here for details. Looking for something in particular? Check out the Categories in the Menu on the right-hand side of the blog page. Click on a Category to view posts relating to that topic or Truth Concepts calculator. For example, the “Funding” category will have all posts relevant
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by Truth Concepts | May 19, 2023 | Comments Off on The Truth About Rates of Return: How Banks Make Money and More
Do you know the whole truth about how interest rates and rates of return work? Did you know borrowing money at 4% and investing at 5% is not a 1% difference but a 25% return? Yet this concept is how banks make money. While the jump from 4% to 5% may be a 1% spread, most people cannot identify the 25% return because we don’t typically use financial calculators (like an HP-12c). If we do use them, it is still hard to tell what is going on because we can’t see
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by Truth Concepts | May 5, 2023 | Comments Off on How to Create a Printable Amortization Schedule
Do you have a client who’s looking to create an amortization schedule for their policy loan? You can actually create one for them in the Loan Analysis calculator that’s fast and simple. You can even print it out for the client to track themselves. Creating an Amortization Schedule The great thing about policy loans are the freedom to pay it back on a schedule of your choosing. However, this doesn’t mean your client should delay payments or skip out on interest. It’s still wise to have a schedule and stick
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by Truth Concepts | Apr 21, 2023 | Comments Off on TC Column Colors: Building a Cohesive Visual Language
In our last post, we discussed how you can now customize the color scheme of your Truth Concepts calculator. It’s important to be able to create an aesthetic you enjoy looking at, and that you feel is aesthetically easy to work with. In addition, it’s helpful to be sure that you can read all of the charts and graphs you create when using the software. We also recognized the value in having the color scheme of the numbered charts stay the same across every calculator so you can build a
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by Truth Concepts | Apr 7, 2023 | Comments Off on The Preferences Tool: How to Change Your Software Color Scheme
Did you know that it’s possible to change and adjust your Truth Concepts Software color scheme? With the Preferences tool, you can change both the background of the charts, as well as the overall software color scheme. This feature can help you customize your calculators so that you can read them better or just to suit your personal taste. Additionally, the Preferences tool lets you customize what kinds of notifications you get when using the software, and your font size. Let’s take a look at how you can customize your
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by Truth Concepts | Mar 24, 2023 | Comments Off on Policy Loans: In Advance vs In Arrears
Sometimes, life insurance companies differentiate how interest is applied to policy loans by using the terms “in Advance” or “in Arrears.” This has led to the common question: is there a difference in the rate and how the company applies it to your loan balance? The answer is a resounding NO. In Advance vs In Arrears “In advance” refers to what the insurance calls a “rate” for making your loan payments upfront. This confuses the issue because people then believe it’s a completely separate interest rate when it’s not. This
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by Truth Concepts | Mar 10, 2023 | Comments Off on The Whole Truth About Indexed Universal Life: 10 Facts About IUL
In part one of this discussion, we discussed 10 myths about IUL. Now that we’ve dissected those myths, we can get to the truth of why you shouldn’t buy (or sell) indexed universal life insurance. Insurance companies have put many pages in the front of Equity Indexed Universal Life (EIUL) illustrations that describe the issues we’re going to discuss, yet most people (by design) will not take the time to read and understand what these pages are saying. Unfortunately, this is where much of the misinformation stems from. People insist that
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by Truth Concepts | Feb 24, 2023 | Comments Off on The Whole Truth About Equity Indexed Universal Life Insurance: 10 Myths About IUL
One of the major problems with the agents and the companies that sell EIUL (Equity Indexed Universal Life, which is what it was originally called) or IUL (Indexed Universal Life, which is what the industry is now calling it to avoid SEC scrutiny) is the gross negligence in conveying the risks to the clients. All one has to do is carefully read the full insurance illustration or proposal to find these out. The insurance companies have avoided liability by spelling out the risks in very specific, albeit confusing and overwhelmingly
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by Truth Concepts | Feb 10, 2023 | Comments Off on How to Input In-force Policies into the Life Insurance Values Tool?
The Life Insurance Values tool, or Life Values for short, is one of the most useful tools for the life insurance agent. It is compatible with many of the Truth Concepts calculators and makes them even more useful. If particular, the Life Values tool helps you compare life insurance to other assets, and/or see how life insurance can work with other assets. While a brand new policy is simple to copy and paste into Life Values, an in-force policy takes a little bit more care and attention. The reason is
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by Truth Concepts | Jan 20, 2023 | Comments Off on The Whole Truth About Qualified Plans
Qualified plans like the 401k are like “sacred cows,” as Garrett Gunderson so aptly calls them in his book. Since the 401k was established, it’s been the darling of the financial media. It’s the “one-size-fits-all” solution to retirement planning… if typical finance is to be believed. However, when you take a Prosperity Economics approach, the 401k and other qualified plans fall apart. And with the TC Qualified Plan calculator, you’re positioned to share the whole truth about qualified plans. While we’re going to focus on the 401k for this demonstration,
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by Truth Concepts | Jan 6, 2023 | Comments Off on Is 0% Car Financing Too Good to Be True?
With interest rates at what they are, you may be tempted to take up an offer of a 0% car loan without hesitation. However, it’s important to take all the information into consideration before you make a decision. Not all 0% car loans are actually 0%, and you may find you could have made a better decision in the end. Remember: the interest rate is only a piece of the puzzle. You must also consider how much you’ll be paying each month, and what a lower payment could do for
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by Truth Concepts | Dec 23, 2022 | Comments Off on Understanding Interest Rates: Is 12% Annually the Same as 1% Monthly?
Many people have trouble understanding interest rates and how to calculate them, which can lead to an incorrect interpretation of financial information. Fortunately, TC Financial Calculators can make rate calculations simple. The Financial Calculators in Truth Concepts include Future Value, Present Value, Interest Rate, Payment, and Time Period. You’ll find them in the toolbar by clicking Calculators, then hovering over Financial in the drop-down menu. For this particular example, let’s answer the question: How do you calculate if 12% annually is the same as 1% monthly? Step 1: Grab the
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by Truth Concepts | Dec 9, 2022 | Comments Off on Can You Get Ahead with a Loan Balance?
If you’re at all familiar with whole life insurance strategies, you may think it’s possible to get ahead while carrying a loan balance. We won’t say it’s impossible (especially with the right strategies), however, we would challenge you to think a little bit deeper about the numbers at play. Let’s say your clients are earning about 6% net in an account, and they take a policy loan at 8%. You may, at first, think that it’s obvious that they won’t be able to get ahead. However, there’s a common misconception
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by Truth Concepts | Nov 25, 2022 | Comments Off on Proving the Power of Savings in the Maximum Potential Calculator
The Currence App is going to be a game changer for clients and advisors alike. Not only does the app teach people how to save first using a financial “reservoir,” it positions advisors as the go-to when a client has reached their target. That means they’ll look to you to help them make money moves and create even greater protection, liquidity, and cash flow. How Does Currence Work as the Client? When a client enrolls in Currence, they are prompted to establish a new, secure, and interest-bearing bank account. Then,
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by Truth Concepts | Nov 4, 2022 | Comments Off on Implement “Who Not How” in Your Financial Practice
The role of a financial advisor is, in large part, to help your clients solve problems. They come to you because they want to solve some pieces of their financial puzzle, and they believe you can help. This is an excellent example of “who, not how.” You cannot be all things to all people, and there are going to be times when you have problems to solve, or you’ll encounter other people’s issues that you cannot solve. And so often, the question is not, “How do I solve this problem?”
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by Truth Concepts | Oct 21, 2022 | Comments Off on Truth Quotes, Part 6
Earlier this month, we had a small AND mighty group of advisors at our Houston Truth Training. It was a great event filled with new insights on some of the latest Truth Concepts updates and material. The following are some of our favorite quotes from the event. Quotes on Life Insurance Todd paraphrasing Vince D’Addona: “Little money becomes big money in the presence of life insurance.” “Insurance is not a sexy asset, but advisors keep trying to add in twists when explaining it. You don’t need to. If you explain
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by Truth Concepts | Oct 7, 2022 | Comments Off on How to Calculate the Cost of Monthly Life Insurance Premiums
How do you calculate the cost of monthly life insurance premiums instead of paying annually? The answer isn’t quite as simple as dividing by 12, because as you know, paying a premium at an annual rate actually saves you some costs. That’s why, to be more precise, we use a Rate Calculator to find the “hidden” costs” of monthly debit charges. Using the Rate Calculator to Find the Costs Once you have your Rate Calculator, put the annual premium in the Present Value as a negative number (which changes it
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by Truth Concepts | Sep 23, 2022 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Adjusting Numbers in Columns
The Truth Tips below can help you in all calculators, yet only in columns or cells that you can edit. You can distinguish editable cells because they are underlined in blue. When you double-click or highlight and right-click these blue cells, you will be able to make changes to the numbers, formulas, and more. Examples of times you might edit cells would be to toggle between positive and negative numbers, change numbers or formulas, and paste in variable rates or values. Note: All images below have been created using software
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by Truth Concepts | Sep 2, 2022 | Comments Off on 5 Funny Financial Literacy Videos
If you’ve attended a Truth Training, you know we like to share some videos along the way. Rather than strictly educational, we aim for some comedic relief with an honest punchline. It helps to break up the long days while still being valuable. We’ve compiled our favorite funny financial literacy videos here. That way you can share with family, friends, clients, or anyone else you can think of. In particular, we think these videos can be useful to share with clients to break the ice on tough-to-discuss topics, like college
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by Truth Concepts | Aug 19, 2022 | Comments Off on How to Use a Financial Calculator as a Trusted Advisor
What is the purpose of the Truth Concepts calculators? On the surface, the answer to this question may seem simple enough. The purpose is to mathematically prove financial concepts and strategies. Yet there is a deeper application and use that we find to be just as crucial. If you want to learn how to use a financial calculator as a trusted advisor, read on. The Purpose of Truth Concepts The primary purpose of Truth Concepts is to show the mathematical proof of certain financial strategies. Todd noticed that many financial
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by Truth Concepts | Aug 5, 2022 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Summary and Interpolate in Life Insurance Values
The Life Insurance Values tool (or simply Life Values) is one of the most valuable tools in the Truth Concepts suite. With it, you can upload your life insurance illustrations and use that data in other calculators such as Asset Flow, Diversification, Funding, and more. You may not know that there are some interesting things you can do in the Life Values tool directly that may help you with your behind-the-scenes work. Using the Summary Button in Life Insurance Values Life Values allows you to input up to 6 permanent
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by Truth Concepts | Jul 22, 2022 | Comments Off on How to Make a Desktop Shortcut for Truth Concepts Academy
Truth Concepts Academy is an invaluable resource included in all TC 360 memberships. With TCA, you can access tutorials, training videos, and all previous monthly training calls with Todd. It’s a perfect way to brush up on your favorite calculators and keep your skills sharp. And we want to help you navigate to it with as much ease as possible by showing you how to make a desktop shortcut! Following this tutorial will help you to either create an icon for TCA on your computer’s Desktop, or add it to
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by Truth Concepts | Jul 1, 2022 | Comments Off on Never Retire: 5 Values to Help Clients Love Their Working Years
87 is the new 65… However, while human longevity is improving, people’s conception of retirement is not. Many people continue to operate as if 65 is the ideal age to retire. Yet this utopian ideal of retirement simply doesn’t align with reality: people are not saving enough to retire for 30+ years. That’s why we think it’s time for people to consider working with this goal: to never retire. Does it sound extreme? Without context, sure, it may seem like a farfetched idea to simply never retire. However, when you
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by Truth Concepts | Jun 17, 2022 | Comments Off on Inflation-Proof Your Money: The Power of Measuring Backwards
Is it possible to completely inflation-proof your money and assets? Inflation is the “silent tax” that affects everyone’s money in some capacity. Because inflation represents the purchasing power of money, it’s an economic phenomenon that doesn’t discriminate. By this, we mean that there’s no way to come out unaffected. It is, however, possible to run (or even outpace) inflation. What does this mean? If you want your dollars to have more impact, you have to have more dollars. The answer to the problem of inflation is simply to earn more
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by Truth Concepts | May 20, 2022 | Comments Off on The Basic Limitations of Financial Planning and Forecasting
The numbers don’t lie, or so the saying goes. While this is the simplest turn of phrase, it’s not exactly the whole truth. It’s not necessarily the numbers that are the issue, but the interpretation and application of the numbers. This just so happens to be one of the primary limitations of financial planning and forecasting, in general. Financial Planning Issues to Consider The thing about the typical financial planning industry is that projections and math are used to show people idealistic scenarios without all the proper contexts. For example,
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