by Elizabeth4TC | Apr 24, 2020 | Comments Off on Are Banks Safe? The Top Alternative to Saving in a Bank
Where are you storing your cash? What are the implications of that choice? Because when it comes to liquidity, growth, and certainty—banks might not be your best bet. We suggest adding cash value insurance to your financial strategy. The Importance of Cash You’ve heard the phrase, “Cash is King.” What it suggests is that cash, and cash flow, are more valuable than any other investment tools. The phrase itself is widely used in the world of finance, but we think that it applies a little differently. When it comes to your money,
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by Elizabeth4TC | Apr 7, 2020 | Comments Off on How-To: Monte Carlo Simulations in Accumulation
The Accumulation calculator has always been particularly useful in depicting how the stock market can affect your assets, but now it’s even better. A few updates ago, Todd introduced a feature that can reverse or randomize the S&P rates, so that you can more effectively show “Monte Carlo” scenarios. If you haven’t tried it yet, I’ll show you how. The benefits? Not only can you back up your knowledge with how the market has performed in the past—you can demonstrate how slippery it can be to rely on chance. Because
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by Elizabeth4TC | Mar 18, 2020 | Comments Off on Tackling Fear (And Taxes): 4 Steps to Controlling Your Mindset
There’s a lot going on this season that can feel overwhelming—not only is there fear and anxiety surrounding COVID-19, but we’re seeing a tumultuous stock market. AND it’s tax season. With fear on the minds of many, it’s important to assuage that fear wherever possible. We’ll use tax season as an example since it hits close to home: The home office deduction. To this day, there are still accountants that will encourage entrepreneurs not to take the home office deduction—usually because they’re worried that it will raise red flags. The
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by Elizabeth4TC | Feb 14, 2020 | Comments Off on The Cash Flow Bridge–Optimizing Retirement Income
As a prosperity-minded financial advisor, it’s important to guide your clients toward a prosperous retirement. Using the Cash Flow Bridge strategy, learn how to help your client optimize their retirement income. This method is good for clients at any stage in the game and bridges different income sources for a desirable retirement. In this exclusive report, we’ll show you the benefits of a diversified retirement income, and how life insurance bridges the gap. Whether your client is 35 or 70, this strategy could work for them. For the full report, visit
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by Elizabeth4TC | Feb 14, 2020 | Comments Off on Charitable Remainder Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts are misunderstood, but can be a powerful retirement planning tool…with the right strategy. Help your clients in real estate learn how to maximize the effectiveness of a CRT, and how to use it for retirement strategies. Using principles rooted in the Prosperity Economics, a CRT can be a great choice without fear of disinheriting heirs. For the full report, click here. To follow along with the report, download a free trial of the full Truth Concepts suite today.
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jan 31, 2020 | Comments Off on Truth Quotes, Part 3
We had the privilege, these last few days, of conducting yet another Truth Training in Salt Lake City, hosted by Paradigm Life. There was a lot of wisdom shared, and for those of you who couldn’t be there (and those of you who didn’t get them noted in time), we’d like to share the wealth of knowledge. Unless otherwise noted, the quotes are from our own Todd Langford (though we can’t guarantee they originated with him). We hope you’ll enjoy the most recent installment of “Truth Quotes.” “Systematize the predictable
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jan 15, 2020 | Comments Off on The Fallacy of Free
Every single thing we do requires an exchange–of time, of energy, of money. Nothing in this world is free. Now more than ever, people seem to be on the lookout for how to get the most while spending the least. There’s a common belief, perpetuated by marketing, that it’s possible to receive a maximum return for a minimal exchange. What gets left out, or forgotten, is that everything has a cost, even if that cost isn’t cash. Is Anything Really Free? The “fallacy of free” persists on the notion that
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by Elizabeth4TC | Dec 13, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Capital Gains Tax in Asset Flow
Hello, new update! Asset Flow is known as our “everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink” calculator, and it just got another feature! Todd has added the ability to tax income at capital gains rates, in addition to the regular income tax rates. This is a great tool for clients who might have income coming from a trust, real estate, or other property that is taxed as capital gains. The update allows for an individual portion of the income to be taxed at this rate so that it won’t impact the tax brackets of other income.
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by Elizabeth4TC | Nov 27, 2019 | Comments Off on Fiduciary Responsibility and Integrity
As a rule-based society, have we ignored the root of the problems—the reasons the rules were created in the first place? Of course, we need rules to function as a society. Without regulations, we’d have chaos. If we didn’t mandate that in the United States we drive on the right side of the road, the roads would be chaos. But what about over-regulation? When rules are created on top of rules, we miss a major part of the conversation. Morality. Integrity. Principles. No matter how many rules are created, you
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by Elizabeth4TC | Nov 6, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, 401(k) Matches in Asset Flow
When you’re analyzing a 401(k) in Asset Flow (the Tax-Advantaged section), you need to pay special attention to how you add the employer match. The results will differ depending on one factor: whether you entered the match as a percentage of the employee contribution, or as a dollar amount. If you entered the match as a dollar amount, you will need to manually stop the match by zeroing out the contributions in the employer match column. This prevents the match from continuing further than intended. If the employer match is
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by Elizabeth4TC | Nov 6, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Canadian Tax Charts
The latest software update includes the availability of Canadian tax charts. This new feature is available in the Tax Chart tool, Asset Flow, and Accumulation. Previously, you could only toggle between the filing status of Married or Single. Now, in the same drop-down menu, you can select a region. This functions the same way within Asset Flow and Accumulation, as it does in the Tax Chart tool.
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by Elizabeth4TC | Oct 29, 2019 | Comments Off on Using the Truth Concepts App
The new Truth Concepts app has launched, providing an opportunity for anyone to make financial calculations at their fingertips. The beauty of the app is that you can use it on the go, which means you’ll have easy access to it when you’re buying a car, looking at loan options, or making other big financial decisions. This is an app that empowers anyone making financial decisions and is available to everyone. The new app carries our five basic financial calculators: Present Value, Future Value, Periods, Payments, and Interest Rates. We’re
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by Elizabeth4TC | Oct 16, 2019 | Comments Off on The Myth of “Buy Term and Invest the Difference”
We’ve all heard the advice to buy term insurance and invest the difference (the difference of premium between term and permanent insurance). This is a classic recommendation made by typical financial planners, but is it the best method for your clients? By now, you likely know that we’re whole-life friendly, but we’ve done the work to dispel the myth ourselves. Our First Thoughts? Your clients should buy term insurance (if it’s right for them). There’s no issue with term insurance itself—it’s a way for your clients to protect their families.
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by Elizabeth4TC | Sep 30, 2019 | Comments Off on Testing a Theory: Will Large-Scale Retirement of 401(k) Owners Affect the Stock Market?
The rumor mill is swirling with the notion that stock market is due for a crash any time now. As difficult as the market can be to predict, is the rumor really far off the mark? If you look at past data, recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle…and even the longest economic expansion only lasted 10 years. The ten year mark for our current expansion is fast approaching, and the warning signs are starting to pop up. We’re not endorsing a crash, but preparation for events like
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by Elizabeth4TC | Sep 11, 2019 | Comments Off on Gross vs. Net Dividends: How Truth Concepts Can Help
Dividends are a tough topic—from defining a dividend, to options for receiving dividends. Dividends also work differently with whole life insurance than they do with stocks. So where do you start when working with a client? It is crucial to know the difference between gross dividends and net dividends. When mutual companies make a profit, they are required by law to distribute those profits amongst all owners. Policy owners of participating whole life insurance are considered partial owners of the life insurance company, and are therefore able to partake in the
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by Elizabeth4TC | Aug 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Saving Asset Flow Files
Asset Flow is one of those awesome and mind-boggling calculators that truly does it all. That’s why we love to talk about what it can accomplish. One fantastic feature is that it plays well with our other calculators. It’s important to note, however, that there is a trick to saving it with another calculator in one file. If you have already saved Asset Flow, keep it open when pulling another calculator up. For example, if the Real Estate Calculator is open, ensure that Asset Flow is also open. Otherwise, when
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by Elizabeth4TC | Aug 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Using Two Screens
Did you know there’s a function in the Truth Concepts software that creates more fluidity if you’re using two screens? The power of two screens is amazing—we hope you’re taking advantage of the productivity boost. And if you’re anything like Todd, you’re even using three or more screens. Two screens are especially useful if you enjoy pulling up multiple calculators and spreading them out. Typically, it can take extra effort when you’re ready to move back to one screen, but we’ve made it simple. At the bottom of the “Tools” drop-down
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jul 31, 2019 | Comments Off on Automobile Purchases and Opportunity Cost
Have you ever tried explaining a concept like opportunity cost to a client that just doesn’t click? Chances are, the answer is yes. As financial professionals, it’s easy to fall into a routine because we understand the principles. For a client, however, this could be their FIRST introduction to a concept. So how do you demonstrate a concept in a way your client can understand? Our last post discussed opportunity costs, and why the concept is crucial to your client’s finances. The difficulty lies in the education of opportunity costs—it
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jul 5, 2019 | Comments Off on Addressing Opportunity Costs with Clients
Rarely do people enjoy thinking about opportunity costs—but factoring those costs into our daily lives is the key to making more meaningful decisions. In our personal lives, we can relate opportunity cost to the cost of doing one activity over another. Our time is valuable, so how do we make the most out of each moment? In finance, opportunity cost is measured in choosing one investment over another, or choosing a typical savings account over a whole life policy…or any number of decisions. This subject can be hard to broach with
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jun 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, IRAs in Asset Flow
In the Tax Advantaged section of Asset Flow, the “IRA Account” button is used to keep IRA accounts for spouses separate. This is largely for tax purposes because the cost basis of all assets, for each spouse in an IRA, are considered in the cost basis determination. If there is no cost basis, check the “Tax Deductible Contributions” box. Otherwise, the account will use all contributions in the first few years as a cost basis to offset the distributions, rather than spreading them out. Turning the button on will divide
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jun 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, “Old Money” in Asset Flow
All Present Value dollars in our calculators are assumed to be old money—dollars that the client already has access to when beginning an illustration. If an asset is then added as a Present Value, without that money being pulled from existing dollars, data will appear skewed. When illustrating a client’s money being pulled into a new asset, make sure that money exists elsewhere in the illustration. First, you’ll want to ensure that the money being shifted into a new asset is accounted for in the initial Ordinary Taxable Account. When
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jun 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, State Taxes in Asset Flow
When state tax is entered into Asset Flow, the calculator assesses a tax on Social Security. This tax is based on the benefit amount that is subjected to tax on the Federal Side. If you don’t want this to occur, leave out the state tax rate. Currently, the calculator adds the state tax to anything that is also taxed federally (after those federal deductions). Then there is an offset for the tax paid. This offset is taken off of the Federal Income Tax Basis, up to the SALT limits ($10,000).
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by Elizabeth4TC | Jun 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Calculating for COLA in Asset Flow
When using the Asset Flow calculator, it is important to calculate for COLA (cost of living adjustment) when determining Social Security income. The Future Value calculator is a handy tool in this case. To set this up properly, fill in the fields as such: Present Value; the annual payment (multiply the monthly payment by 12). Rate; the annual interest rate. Time Frame; the difference between current age and distribution age. If you use the resulting number in Asset Flow as the benefit for Normal Retirement Age, the value will
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by Elizabeth4TC | May 31, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Order of Taxation in Asset Flow
In Asset Flow, we chose to treat each individual asset viewed as the last dollar added or withdrawn in the tax bracket (at the margin). This is because any changes made will impact the overall taxation in that regard. However, when you view all the assets in the summary page, the taxes are equally distributed among all of the assets causing the tax. This can cause some discrepancies when viewing an individual asset against the summary of all assets. In Asset Flow, this means it is possible for an individual
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by Elizabeth4TC | May 31, 2019 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Social Security Taxes
Do you know how much of your Social Security can be taxed? Up to 85% of Social Security Benefits can be subject to income tax, though it can be confusing to understand exactly how to calculate. First, your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) must be calculated, which determines the amount of income affecting tax on Social Security income. The calculations for your MAGI do not get to use personal or Standard Deductions to reduce the amount, nor does the Standard Deduction work against Social Security income. In conclusion, the SS
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