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How do you rent your money?  That quick question answers the definition of borrowing.  Taking a loan out, whether it's from a bank or a credit union or any number of financial institutions, simply means that you’re renting money.  The real question is, at what cost?  What is the cost to you to rent someone else’s money to get what you want?  What is the amount you can borrow?  What are the terms – the interest charged or the length of the loan?  What is the collateral you have to put up to obtain the loan; your house, your business?  What happens if you want to delay or skip a payment?  Is there another way? 

When you travel down the road and break at a stop sign with a "T" in the road, you have to make a decision to either go left or right.  A roundabout, on the other hand, may have multiple options which are either left, right, forward or back from where you began your journey.  As with politics, as we just witnessed with our recent national and state elections, many folks believe there is only a left or right decision; but when determining a future decision for yourself it may not necessarily be one or another.  Sometimes, whether the decision may be right or wrong, we simply need to get ourselves out of the roundabout, where we tend to find ourselves stuck going around and around. 

We have a Ginkgo tree outside of our office.  This is a species of tree native to China. Fossils show that they’ve been around since the dinosaurs.  A unique characteristic of the Ginkgo tree, unlike all other trees, is that once the temperature drops below freezing; the very next day, a Ginkgo drops all if its leaves in just one day.  Whereas, most trees may drop their leaves over days or even weeks. Term Life Insurance works very much the same way.  You might enjoy the original purchase you’ve made. Yet, all-at-once, the foliage drops and its’ season of life is over. Unlike an Evergreen, which remains green no matter the season of life.  Do you own “Ginkgo” like Term Life Insurance?  Is that your best ‘forever’ choice?

People simply wish to barrel their way through  without taking the time to come to a complete stop and to protect themselves from the dangers and liabilities of life.  During the YouTube version of this podcast, Mark Bertrang is literally standing at a parking lot exit with a Stop sign to his right and one to his left. As he is speaking, you can literally count one vehicle after another simply sliding through into the street without stopping.  That is how most people behave in building their wealth too.  They’re concerned about building wealth, yet give little or no consideration to the protection of their wealth.  Mark Bertrang suggests coming to a complete stop to protect your assets for the expected and for the unexpected that life may throw your way.

If you're like Mark Bertrang, you might spend more time watching professional golf than playing anything that looks like 'professional' golf.  Mark is lucky if he hits a few buckets of balls annually at a local driving range in his community.  Unfortunately, he feels the pressure when he actually plays golf, which leaves him frustrated with his swing...and his score.  During this video Mark describes the importance of 'the swing' as opposed to 'the clubs' when playing golf.  This example could also be used in describing baseball - The 'bat' verses the 'swing'.  Are you in a constant search for the best, the cheapest, the newest life insurance product?  Mark Bertrang has been swinging the 'life insurance club' for over thirty-five years.  He knows how to drive, chip and putt expertly.  Get ready for an explanation of using the life insurance asset when you tee-up on the greens of life.

Financial Anxiety – How do you plan for it?

"The Boom for Life Insurance Policies Fades" according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.  Now that fear of Covid-19 appears to be waning, the fear of death is waning, as well.  Here's the deal though; there is still a 100% chance of death for everyone - You and I are included in that calculation.  If you knew when you would die, wouldn't you want the maximum amount of life insurance coverage in force on that day....and if you didn't know the actual day, wouldn't you still wish to have the most available life insurance in place to be deposited income-tax-free into the bank accounts of all those people you loved in your life?  It's just a question of how.

There is psychology in everything we want in life.  Are we basing our wants and needs on the past, as Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis would have suggested or can we be what we project into the future as Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and holocaust survivor would presume? Are you a frustrated backwards-thinker or a positive forward-thinker?  Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar referred to backward-thinking as “stinkin’-thinkin’”.  How does this kind of thinking project itself into the Life Insurance Asset? 

Do you judge too quickly? Thirty-five years prior to entering the financial services industry, Mark Bertrang began his career as a broadcaster.  This meant working On Air for five years.  Realizing that job would never 'pay-the-bills' long-term, it was suggested that he climb the ladder of broadcast advertising sales.  No one ever told him that his very first client, on his very first day, of his newly acquired job would yell at him to "leave my store or I'll call the police!"  Here's the story of that very first day and of another client which Mark still reminisces about a generation later, that forever touched his heart and soul.   

Build on a safe, secure, sound foundation