Magicians use something called misdirection to distract us from what they are really doing or about to do. It may be calling our attention to their left hand while their right hand places a card on our shoulder. Or it could be flashing lights or pyrotechnics while they set up the next illusion. Every magic show use misdirection in order to distract us from what is really happening. When it comes to magic, we like it. When it comes to our health or our wealth it should enrage us.
Misdirection happens all the time. For example, in 2016 it was revealed that 3 scientists at Harvard University were paid by the sugar industry in the 60's to write that fat was the reason so many people were getting fat or dying from heart disease. This kicked off 50 years of low fat, no fat eating that has left most people sicker than at any time in human history. And since we trust Harvard, no one questioned it or looked into who paid for the study (by the way, sugar paid for the study to say sugar wasn't bad. Hmmm).
Many decades back the top marketing campaigns for Big Tobacco were family physicians telling us how cigarettes were safe, helpful for thinking more clearly and losing weight. Because of their trusted position on health, many people smoked believing it was healthy. Total misdirection.
Did you know the Soda Pop Board of America used to tell mothers and families how important it was to start their babies on cola early? In fact, one ad went as far as to say it was better than breast milk. Now in 2018, Coca Cola is struggling to keep people drinking soda like they did in the past as people's health becomes important. Misdirection started early.
We've also been misdirected when it comes to saving money. Prior to the invention of the 401k, much of America's wealth was saved inside life insurance company contracts. Most companies had a pension program to take care of loyal employees after retirement. These pensions were mostly grown with insurance companies, too.
Then came the 401k. A Government sponsored program for putting money away and lowering your current tax burden. All you had to do was save, manage the money and risk all by yourself, have your money tied up until age 59 1/2 and start being forced to pay taxes at 70 1/2 or be hit with a 50% penalty. Oh yeah and Uncle Sam gets to determine how much of your money belongs to him.
The 401k and the loss of pensions really hurt Americans. In fact, the creator of the 401k, Ted Benna, has recently gone on record saying the 401k has become a Monster that will hurt more than help. 401k's are a huge profit skimming operation on Wall Street that will cost most people between 21-63% of their wealth over their career and that doesn't count losses. Wall Street and 401k's have become a major misdirection. Their multi-million dollar ad budgets keep up believing they are the only place to really grow our wealth.
Wall Street makes promises they don't have to keep and they advertise average growth even to actual growth is what really matters. I once heard it said that Wall Street can market any program they want into success. Whether it actually grows is of no importance.
Ted Benna had no clue the fees would be as high as they are, he had no idea the amount of money people would stick in 401k's at the time and he had no clue how volatile the stock market would be. The father of the 401k now saves a large percentage of his money with insurance companies.
So why insurance companies? The groups I work with have been in business for over 100 years. They have a track record for protecting and growing American's money. They also look 20-50 years into the future when making plans whereas Wall Street just wants to hit high numbers before the next quarterly stock call.
Should all your money be in insurance? Probably not, but right now I meet people where almost all of their money is on Wall Street.
When it comes to wealth accumulation, you want to find a program that will grow every year, protect your money against losses, provide a tax favored growth environment and provide liquid access to money for emergencies or other opportunities. A properly designed life insurance contract provides these options. Plus, when built correctly, they can be used to recover the money you spend on major purchases which only amplifies your wealth further.
Let me show you how a plan could grow and be used for building your wealth, and not for building Wall Streets.