Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future

246 Pages·2009·0.85 MB·English

by  Pamela Yellen

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Bank On Yourself
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Bank On Yourself
The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and
Protecting Your Financial Future
Pamela G. Yellen
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Legal Disclaimer: While a great deal of care has been taken to provide accurate
and current information regarding the subject matter covered, neither the
author, Pamela G. Yellen, nor the publisher, Vanguard Press, are responsible
for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this
information. The information contained in this book is intended to provide
general information and does not constitute financial or legal advice. See
General Disclaimer on page 235.
Copyright © 2009 by Pamela G. Yellen
Published by Vanguard Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief
passages). Printed in the United States of America. For information and
inquiries, address Vanguard Press, 387 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, NYC,
NY 10016, or call [phone].
Designed by Hespenheide Design
Set in 11½point Adobe Garamond
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yellen, Pamela G.
Bank on yourself : the life-changing secret to growing and protecting your
financial future / Pamela G. Yellen.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-59315-496-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Finance, Personal. 2. Retirement income—Planning. I. Title.
HG179.Y45 2009
332.024—dc22
2008052383
Vanguard Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more
information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or
call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected].
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For Larry Hayward,
my husband, best friend, and the greatest love of my life
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C O N T E N T S
Preface ix
Part One—Financial Secrets “They” Don’t Want You to Know
1 Myths, Lies, and a New Way to Prosperity 3
2 How to Get Back Every Penny You Pay for Major Purchases 17
Part Two—Katie and Paul
3 The Adventure Begins 31
4 A Flight Plan for Life 51
5 The New World of Money 71
6 Looking Ahead 93
Part Three—Real People, Real Experiences
7 Building a Comfortable Retirement
You Can Predict and Count On 113
8 Eliminating Debt and Increasing Savings 131
9 Never Too Rich or Too Cash-Strapped to Bank On Yourself 141
10 The Spend and Grow Wealthy Way to Pay for College 157
11 Financing Business and Professional Purchases 167
12 Can You Be Too Old to Bank On Yourself? 183
Part Four—Setting Out on Your Own Bank On Yourself Journey
13 So You’re Not Sure You Can Afford It 195
14 Getting Started 209
Epilogue 221
Acknowledgments 225
Free, No Obligation Bank On Yourself Analysis Request Form 227
Free Resources and Recommendations 229
The Bank On Yourself Certified Advisor Training Program 231
Free Special Offer for Readers 233
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P R E F A C E
I
t’s been said that if you do what everyone else is doing, you will
achieve only average results.
As I write this in late 2008, it’s become increasingly clear that,
when it comes to financial and retirement planning, following the
crowd simply isn’t working. You needn’t look very far for proof of that.
As a consultant to tens of thousands of financial advisors, I have
been exposed to literally hundreds of financial products, strategies,
and concepts, many of which were touted as sure bets for growing
wealth. After careful investigation, most proved to be worthless, or
even hazardous to my financial health.
However, I continued searching for a way to grow wealth pre-
dictably, without losing sleep, and without having to worry that our in-
vestments might tank just when my husband and I were ready to retire.
Or worse, discovering after we’d alreadyretired that the interest and in-
vestment income we were counting on had been drastically reduced.
I came to the conclusion that an appropriate financial product or
method had to meet three basic criteria: it had to be brain-dead simple
—simple to implement, and pretty much able to operate on autopilot.
After all, I already have a more-than-full-time job I love; I have no inter-
est in spending my leisure time analyzing stock charts or pounding the
pavement searching for the perfect real estate investment.
My second requirement was that it had to be virtually foolproof
and require no luck, skill, or guesswork—something almost anyone
can do.
My third and final criterion was that it must actually work—so
we’d have confidence that our nest egg would grow safely every year
and wouldn’t go backward.
I found this combination of requirements—and so much more—
when I finally learned about Bank On Yourself®. The surprise was that
the financial tool used for it had been right under my nose all along.
This book is about a unique and little-known twist on a financial ve-
hicle that’s existed for more than one hundred years that, when com-
bined with a mind-bending financial principle, lets you get back the
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