by Truth Concepts | Dec 4, 2020 | Comments Off on A New Way to Calculate Opportunity Cost in Loan Analysis
If you use the Loan Analysis calculator, you’re likely familiar with the “Loan View” provision. This enables you to do a side-by-side comparison of two loans, or view each loan individually. In the latest update of the Truth Concepts software, you’ll now see a third button: “Opportunity Cost.” The function of this button is to more clearly show what Todd has demonstrated in his comparison of a 15-year vs. 30-year mortgage. That is, you cannot separate the analysis from the time value of money. In previous demonstrations, Todd has used
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by Truth Concepts | Nov 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Get the Most from Truth Concepts Tools
Are you getting the most out of your Truth Concepts tools? Let’s take a tour of the tools, and how to use them to optimize the effectiveness of your illustrations. Income Tax Chart The income tax chart can be useful for several reasons. The first and most obvious use of this tool is to know which tax bracket to use for your clients. The second use is to help discuss taxes with your clients. For many, taxes are more abstract than they should be–after all, taxes aren’t in school curriculums.
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by Truth Concepts | Oct 30, 2020 | Comments Off on Education Calculator Vs. Cash Flow—Which Should You Use?
The Truth Concepts suite is designed to be versatile, and some demonstrations can be done on multiple calculators. One of the primary reasons is because sometimes the work you do behind the scenes isn’t the best way for a client to visualize. For starters, you want to avoid overwhelming clients when you’re building a Prosperity Economics foundation. After all, typical financial planning is a much different approach. Secondly, some clients are more analytical than others. While a number-heavy chart may be ideal for one client, another client might find the
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by Truth Concepts | Oct 9, 2020 | Comments Off on Retirement: How 87 is the New 65
How much do you really know about retirement? It’s commonly practiced throughout the world that, at a certain age, it’s time to leave the workforce. Yet do you know why it exists, or how it came to be? And does retirement as we perceive it even work anymore? The Beginning of Retirement as We Know It The roots of modern retirement can be traced back to 1881, and Otto Von Bismarck. The Prussian prime minister posited an idea—government-backed support for the older members of society. This was a radical idea
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by Truth Concepts | Sep 25, 2020 | Comments Off on Can Socialism Save Capitalism?
Bill Ackman, chairman of Pershing Square Capital Management, recently proposed an idea to “save” capitalism. Framed as a panacea for growing disillusionment with capitalism, he recommends that every child have a sum of money invested on their behalf. The idea is that an 8% annual return should make them millionaires by retirement. So is this idea viable? Can socialism save capitalism? And is it really the best way to “encourage greater financial literacy”? Probably not. Financial literacy is an admirable goal, yet there are a multitude of ways to reach that end.
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by Truth Concepts | Sep 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Finding the Best Deal in Real Estate Analysis
Whether you’re an amateur or long-time veteran, a smart real estate deal always starts with research. So how do you properly analyze a real estate deal? Whether you’re looking at a residential property, or an investment, don’t go in without doing your due diligence. That’s where the Real Estate Analysis calculator comes in. Let’s start with a real world example. A couple, after making some wise decisions about their financial strategy, had some available capital to do with what they liked. And when you’re in a position of cash, opportunity
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by Truth Concepts | Aug 21, 2020 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Loan Analysis (Remaining Loan Schedule)
How do you calculate the remaining number of months on a loan? This Loan Analysis “hack” makes it simple to determine, all you need is the remaining loan balance, the rate, and the monthly payment. For example, let’s say your client had a remaining loan balance of $50,000 and they’re paying 5% interest on that loan. Their payment is $1000, and neither of you know the exact time frame remaining on that loan. In Loan Analysis, once you fill in the loan balance and the interest rate, right click on
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by Truth Concepts | Aug 21, 2020 | Comments Off on Truth Tip, Asset Flow (Social Security)
When filling out social security income, there’s a “trick” to doing it correctly. First, you’ll go under the “earned income/ss” tab. If you’re including social security income for someone who has been taking the income, you should do the COL adjustment (if needed) manually. Let’s say you have a 70 year old, and he began taking his social security benefits at age 66. Input the amount he was initially taking, at age 67, so that Asset Flow calculates everything correctly. Then you can choose to include a COLA if you
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by Truth Concepts | Jul 24, 2020 | Comments Off on Importing Life Insurance Values: Lafayette Life
Before you can use the suite of Truth Concepts calculators, you’ll want to make sure you’ve imported your life insurance data in the Life Insurance Values, under the “Tools” drop-down menu. With recent updates to both Truth Concepts and Lafayette Life, the process for importing life insurance data from this particular life insurance company has changed. Read on for a step-by-step walkthrough of the new process. 1.Open your Lafayette Life Online Illustration Application. Proceed as you would normally by inputting all pertinent information into the software. 2. Export. Press the
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by Truth Concepts | Jul 3, 2020 | Comments Off on Debunking the Myth of the Policy Loan
It’s critical that, as advisors, we maintain the integrity of the trade by representing our products acurately. Let’s analyze the myth of the policy loan.
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by Truth Concepts | Jun 19, 2020 | Comments Off on Analyzing Interest Rates: When Is 2.99% More Than 5%?
When analyzing deals, you must pay attention to more than the interest rates alone. In the past few weeks, GM published an offer for a 2020 Escalade. The offer was either for 2.99% APR, or a $9,500 rebate. Is the offer all it’s cracked up to be? Let’s find out. The MSRP, or sticker price, of the Escalade is $76,490. The Dealer was offering it at a $1,500 discount. So $74,934. In order to get a full understanding of the difference between these two deals, we’ll use the Loan Analysis
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by Truth Concepts | May 22, 2020 | Comments Off on What’s the Difference Between IRR and ROR?
Many advisors focus on the internal rate of return when analyzing a policy, but it neglects the whole truth. So what’s the difference between IRR and ROR, and why does it matter?
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by Todd Langford | Apr 24, 2020 | Comments Off on Comparing Taxes: Cats and Mice
Comparison of Accounts – After Tax Contribution with Annually Taxable Growth (Savings Account, Money Market, etc.) vs After Tax Contribution With Tax Deferred Growth (After Tax-Tax Deferred IRA, Permanent Life Insurance, etc.) vs After Tax Contribution with Tax Free Growth (Roth, Municipal Bond, etc.) vs. Tax Deductible (Pre-Tax) Contributions with Tax deferred Growth (401K, Tax Deductible IRA, etc.). This can be a difficult topic to understand and, unfortunately, this confusion has led to incorrect information being spread to the consumer by the media and the financial industry. The ultimate result
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by Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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 Truth Concepts | 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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