http://news.primerica.com/public/news/citi-announces-primerica-ipo.html Just a little FYI: Primerica is not public yet and nothing is finalize. There will be media reports about it and you should know that some of their facts may be inaccurate, so just be careful on where you get your source from. If you want to get the facts, get it from either Primerica press release or from the Securities Exchange Commission website that will have the latest report on the progress.
Here's the link of the preliminary prospectus: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1475922/000119312509225601/ds1.htm
Just reading it shows how great this company really is. You will notice many blanks in the prospectus because this is only a preliminary document and its the first step to file for IPO. There will be several meetings to be followed between Primerica's executives and the SEC. How long will that take? I don't know and I'm not going to focus on it and wait. I'm going to keep building my business and help more families. It is what I do best and any incentives that Primerica's gives me is just an extra boost for me to work harder.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Finally seeing positive gains on my investments
Back in January 2009, there was approximately a $2000 loss on my investments. I invested in various mutual funds through Primerica and I keep track of them on Quicken 2009 software. While $4000 is alot of money, I truly didn't lose anything since I didn't sell my investments or pull out of the market. Instead, I kept investing every single month. I maybe young and naive, but knowing how the market generally performs over time, I expect the market to rebound and see growth. During the entire time that the market was down, I was buying shares at a very low price. I am happy to report that there's now a $150 gain on my investment. Of course, the market can change in an instant, so I maybe back in the negatives again. But it doesn't matter to me what the value of my account is. It only matters when I retire in 30 to 35 years. All it matters to me right now is how many shares I can own.
To be honest, I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to investing. But I listen to advice from others who have millions of dollars in their accounts and how they went from having nothing saved for retirement to having millions. These people I talk to were ordinary middle income people just like you and me, but did what other millionaires did to be financially independent. Here are some tips they gave me:
1) Set a long term goal. Investing is a long term strategy. Don't expect to see a huge return in one day or a month or a year.
2) Diversify your investments. Don't put all your money in one company. Invest in several companies.
3) Be discipline. Remember why you are investing and keep your eye on the prize. Don't listen to headlines. Present or past information does not predict future results.
4) Pay yourself first. Every time you get your paycheck from work, the first payment should be yourself. I personally max out my Roth IRA contributions every year and I also put money into other investments. I put away almost 30% of my monthly income into investments.
5) Use dollar cost average. By investing on a monthly basis, you will eventually lower the cost per share you own.
6) The more income you make, the more money you should put away.
7) Live below your means. Basically this mean don't try to live a life style you can barely afford by trying to show off how much money you make by buying expensive things, but have nothing in your savings. If you are funding your life with debt, you really need to sit down with a Primerica representative to help you get out of debt and do a budget for you.
I only been investing for 3 years and if I never met these people, I would of probably made some bad choices with my money. In fact, I would of kept all my money in the bank getting a lousy 0.50% interest on it and then pay tax on top of that. If investment choices were offered to me, I would of put my money in money markets and maybe bonds and get maybe 3 to 5% interest. But since I understand how Rule of 72 works and how powerful compound interest really is, I put money into more aggressive mutual funds and some conservative funds.
To be honest, I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to investing. But I listen to advice from others who have millions of dollars in their accounts and how they went from having nothing saved for retirement to having millions. These people I talk to were ordinary middle income people just like you and me, but did what other millionaires did to be financially independent. Here are some tips they gave me:
1) Set a long term goal. Investing is a long term strategy. Don't expect to see a huge return in one day or a month or a year.
2) Diversify your investments. Don't put all your money in one company. Invest in several companies.
3) Be discipline. Remember why you are investing and keep your eye on the prize. Don't listen to headlines. Present or past information does not predict future results.
4) Pay yourself first. Every time you get your paycheck from work, the first payment should be yourself. I personally max out my Roth IRA contributions every year and I also put money into other investments. I put away almost 30% of my monthly income into investments.
5) Use dollar cost average. By investing on a monthly basis, you will eventually lower the cost per share you own.
6) The more income you make, the more money you should put away.
7) Live below your means. Basically this mean don't try to live a life style you can barely afford by trying to show off how much money you make by buying expensive things, but have nothing in your savings. If you are funding your life with debt, you really need to sit down with a Primerica representative to help you get out of debt and do a budget for you.
I only been investing for 3 years and if I never met these people, I would of probably made some bad choices with my money. In fact, I would of kept all my money in the bank getting a lousy 0.50% interest on it and then pay tax on top of that. If investment choices were offered to me, I would of put my money in money markets and maybe bonds and get maybe 3 to 5% interest. But since I understand how Rule of 72 works and how powerful compound interest really is, I put money into more aggressive mutual funds and some conservative funds.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Insight of Primerica trips by FOX News
Here's a video from Fox News about how Primerica's trips are funded:
Citi doesn't pay for any of Primerica's expenses. Primerica pays everything and Citi just takes in a share of Primerica's profits.
Citi doesn't pay for any of Primerica's expenses. Primerica pays everything and Citi just takes in a share of Primerica's profits.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
What is Primerica all about?
I personally believe Primerica is a company that is about building and developing people to become business leaders so that they can eventually own their own business someday. In Primerica, they are not a company that is about financial services. They are a company of distributing financial products. Everybody needs what we do. We help families get the right amount of income protection, help them eliminate debt, and become financially independent. We provide a customized, confidential, and complimentary Financial Needs Analysis, which is a financial tool to help people reach their financial goals.
I listen to many successful people in this company earning million to four million dollars a year and one message I commonly hear from them is that you don't need to be an expert in finances to be successful in Primerica. You just need the commitment or dedication to fight for your future. You need to be careful who you associate yourself with. Are you associating yourself with people who are broke and unsuccessful and still talking about how high school was great? Or are you associating yourself with people who are highly successful and teaching you how to become successful? You also need to have a positive attitude. People want to work with people who are positive and excited. If you are not positive and always complaining or just in a bad mood, your attitude will affect the people around you. Another thing they say is get started now and let your trainers do the rest of the work for you until you feel confident enough to do everything by yourself. As you do more and more work, guess what? You also learn more and gain more experience and also earn more money.
There's only 2 reasons why people in Primerica don't get to work: 1) They don't understand the fundamentals or 2) They are lazy. No one in this world can change you if you are lazy. Only you can make yourself get to work. If you don't understand the fundamentals, your uplines will help you understand it.
Anyway, Primerica is a company that is about developing people to become business leaders. Guess what? They done a pretty good job with that with over 2400 reps earning 6 figures and over 60 reps earning 7 figures. I believe there's more successful people in Primerica than any other financial company. While you can make tons of money in other financial companies, do you have the same freedom as these successful Primerica reps are? All these successful Primerica reps don't have to work and still get paid. Can you do that at other companies? In Primerica, we can recruit our clients to give them the opportunity to earn extra income and build a business. What can other financial companies do if their clients have a shortfall of income to meet their financial goals? They would say you have to somehow earn more money or lower your goals. There's no one can do what Primerica can do.
I listen to many successful people in this company earning million to four million dollars a year and one message I commonly hear from them is that you don't need to be an expert in finances to be successful in Primerica. You just need the commitment or dedication to fight for your future. You need to be careful who you associate yourself with. Are you associating yourself with people who are broke and unsuccessful and still talking about how high school was great? Or are you associating yourself with people who are highly successful and teaching you how to become successful? You also need to have a positive attitude. People want to work with people who are positive and excited. If you are not positive and always complaining or just in a bad mood, your attitude will affect the people around you. Another thing they say is get started now and let your trainers do the rest of the work for you until you feel confident enough to do everything by yourself. As you do more and more work, guess what? You also learn more and gain more experience and also earn more money.
There's only 2 reasons why people in Primerica don't get to work: 1) They don't understand the fundamentals or 2) They are lazy. No one in this world can change you if you are lazy. Only you can make yourself get to work. If you don't understand the fundamentals, your uplines will help you understand it.
Anyway, Primerica is a company that is about developing people to become business leaders. Guess what? They done a pretty good job with that with over 2400 reps earning 6 figures and over 60 reps earning 7 figures. I believe there's more successful people in Primerica than any other financial company. While you can make tons of money in other financial companies, do you have the same freedom as these successful Primerica reps are? All these successful Primerica reps don't have to work and still get paid. Can you do that at other companies? In Primerica, we can recruit our clients to give them the opportunity to earn extra income and build a business. What can other financial companies do if their clients have a shortfall of income to meet their financial goals? They would say you have to somehow earn more money or lower your goals. There's no one can do what Primerica can do.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Primerica increases Metlife's Variable Annuities sales
This portion of the news report was taken from Reuters titled, "Metlife Posts $1.4 bln quarterly net loss":
While the report don't say why or how Metlife's Variable Annuities business is growing, a regional sales manager from Metlife said Primerica sells more variable annuities than Metlife's sales force. Its no shock to me. Primerica has the largest securities licensed representatives in North America. I believe Metlife's Prime Elite variable annuities is the best kind of variable annuity out there with its low fees and guaranteed features associated with it such as guaranteed growth for several years and access to hundreds of mutual funds.
I have sold a few variable annuities by either doing a 1035 exchange with a cash value life insurance policy or a 1035 exchange with a variable annuity. My parents once owned a variable universal life insurance policy. One policy with $30,000 coverage had about $8,000 in net surrender cash value and the other policy with $100,000 coverage had $15,000 in net surrender value. Their total annual premium for a total of $130,000 coverage was $2400. Both of them bought this life insurance policy when they were 40 years old.
At the time I sat down with my parents (both at age 56), I found out they were under-insured, meaning they didn't have enough coverage to cover their financial needs. I gave each of them a 20 year term with $100,000 coverage each for a total of $200,000 coverage. They had health issues and rated "non-tobacco" instead of "preferred", so their annual premium is $1621/year. If they bought the 20 year term when they were 40 years old (they were healthy back then), it would of cost them $299/year, saving them $2101/year. If they invested the difference for a period of 16 years (from age 40 to 56), they would of have about $87,000 in their account at a 10% rate of return. In their variable universal life policies, they only had about $23,000. That's almost a $64,000 difference!
After the term policy was issued, I did a 1035 exchange with their variable universal life policies and moved the cash value into a variable annuity. My parent's original retirement plan was relying on social security and government programs, if they even qualify for government assistance. I did not want my parents to retire poor and downgrade their life style. Besides opening variable annuities for them, I also open a Roth IRA for both of them. They both plan to retire at age 64, so they only had another 12 years to invest. Both of them invest $300/month into their own Roth IRA (a total of $600/month) and with a 8% return (because they are conservative investors), each of them would have about $72,600 in their retirement account for a total of $145,200. $145k is not alot of money to retire on, but at least its something. Plus, they don't pay any taxes on this and all withdrawals are tax-free because that's how a Roth IRA works.
Anyway, so their new retirement plan now includes social security, income for life from their Metlife's variable annuities, and their Roth IRA and from me who is currently earning over $90,000/year and soon to earn over $100k/year with no stop in sight. This is why I love Primerica. Helping families, building a business, having freedom, and being able to support your loved ones with no worries about money. Everyone who is in Primerica has the same opportunity, but it requires hard work, small sacrifices, and focus to achieve these goals.
MetLife said its annuities business saw a 43 percent increase in deposits in the quarter, stemming from a record $4.5 billion in variable annuity deposits.
Life insurers are seeing increased demand for annuities as Americans begin to deploy cash more actively into retirement investments.
Variable annuities are much like mutual fund investments, except they include features such as a guaranteed stream of retirement income.
But MetLife's strong balance sheet is helping it stand out against rivals.
"MetLife, unlike some of the other companies, is benefiting from a 'flight to quality,'" said Morningstar's Rambaldini.
Unlike half a dozen of its peers, MetLife never asked to be included in TARP, a federal funding program originally intended for banks, instead tapping capital markets when it needed to bolster capital.
The company's net worth, or the book value of its equity, rose about 18 percent in the quarter to roughly $25 billion.
While the report don't say why or how Metlife's Variable Annuities business is growing, a regional sales manager from Metlife said Primerica sells more variable annuities than Metlife's sales force. Its no shock to me. Primerica has the largest securities licensed representatives in North America. I believe Metlife's Prime Elite variable annuities is the best kind of variable annuity out there with its low fees and guaranteed features associated with it such as guaranteed growth for several years and access to hundreds of mutual funds.
I have sold a few variable annuities by either doing a 1035 exchange with a cash value life insurance policy or a 1035 exchange with a variable annuity. My parents once owned a variable universal life insurance policy. One policy with $30,000 coverage had about $8,000 in net surrender cash value and the other policy with $100,000 coverage had $15,000 in net surrender value. Their total annual premium for a total of $130,000 coverage was $2400. Both of them bought this life insurance policy when they were 40 years old.
At the time I sat down with my parents (both at age 56), I found out they were under-insured, meaning they didn't have enough coverage to cover their financial needs. I gave each of them a 20 year term with $100,000 coverage each for a total of $200,000 coverage. They had health issues and rated "non-tobacco" instead of "preferred", so their annual premium is $1621/year. If they bought the 20 year term when they were 40 years old (they were healthy back then), it would of cost them $299/year, saving them $2101/year. If they invested the difference for a period of 16 years (from age 40 to 56), they would of have about $87,000 in their account at a 10% rate of return. In their variable universal life policies, they only had about $23,000. That's almost a $64,000 difference!
After the term policy was issued, I did a 1035 exchange with their variable universal life policies and moved the cash value into a variable annuity. My parent's original retirement plan was relying on social security and government programs, if they even qualify for government assistance. I did not want my parents to retire poor and downgrade their life style. Besides opening variable annuities for them, I also open a Roth IRA for both of them. They both plan to retire at age 64, so they only had another 12 years to invest. Both of them invest $300/month into their own Roth IRA (a total of $600/month) and with a 8% return (because they are conservative investors), each of them would have about $72,600 in their retirement account for a total of $145,200. $145k is not alot of money to retire on, but at least its something. Plus, they don't pay any taxes on this and all withdrawals are tax-free because that's how a Roth IRA works.
Anyway, so their new retirement plan now includes social security, income for life from their Metlife's variable annuities, and their Roth IRA and from me who is currently earning over $90,000/year and soon to earn over $100k/year with no stop in sight. This is why I love Primerica. Helping families, building a business, having freedom, and being able to support your loved ones with no worries about money. Everyone who is in Primerica has the same opportunity, but it requires hard work, small sacrifices, and focus to achieve these goals.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The good will overcome evil
I was thinking to myself and was wondering why is Primerica not affected by certain circumstances such as the recession while many other companies are taking a hard hit? The answer is simple, Primerica does the right thing for their clients. "When you do the right things, events don't overtake you. You overtake events."
For example, lets take a look at the mortgage industry. Many mortgage companies got involved in selling exotic mortgages such as Adjustable Rate Mortgages in the past few years. While it generate lots of profits for those companies for a short period of time, many of those companies are now gone or have been bail out by the government. Guess what? They are partly to blame for the economic mess that the world is in right now. At Primerica, they stood by one type of loan and that's a fixed rate loan. Of all the clients in Primerica who own Primerica's SMART loan (which stands for Save Money And Reduce Taxes) during the past 10 years, less than 0.7% of them ever foreclosed their home. Primerica's SMART loan business continues to grow while many other companies doing mortgages continue to struggle to survive.
Some of you are asking what about Citigroup? Yes they received government bailout money, but there's no connection between Primerica and Citigroup. The only connection between these two companies is that Citigroup takes some of Primerica's profits. Citigroup doesn't pay for any Primerica's expenses or any other companies that are part of Citigroup. Think of Citigroup as one big financial supermarket. A supermarket sells all kinds of stuff. But does the supermarket pay for the expenses of making those products or pay those employees or expenses of those companies? No. They earn money by selling those products. To me, its kind of a sucky deal to be part of Citigroup. There's been lots of chatter about Citi trying to sell Primerica and I hope someday that day will come true. But in a shaky economy we are in right now, I don't think any company is willing to pay about $7.5 billion to buy Primerica right now. Believe me, there's lots of companies out there that is interested in Primerica, just that its not the right time.
Now, lets take a look at the life insurance industry. Primerica is member of the "Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, a self-policing compliance group established by life insureres. In January 2000, there were 241 members. In May 2009, there were only 88 companies. It proves one thing that Primerica continues to do what is right for their consumers. Primerica lowered their rates in the year 2007 and many companies did the same. But when the going get tough and companies need to generate more money, they need to raise their rates or reduce the number of agents. At Primerica, they kept their rates the same and the sales force continues to grow. There's no company out there that can compete against Primerica.
The bottom line of my message. Good companies that do the right thing will strive and get stronger and companies that takes advantage of people will fall or be affected by economic conditions. Primerica been in business for over 30 years and the company continues to get bigger and stronger, even during rough economic times.
For example, lets take a look at the mortgage industry. Many mortgage companies got involved in selling exotic mortgages such as Adjustable Rate Mortgages in the past few years. While it generate lots of profits for those companies for a short period of time, many of those companies are now gone or have been bail out by the government. Guess what? They are partly to blame for the economic mess that the world is in right now. At Primerica, they stood by one type of loan and that's a fixed rate loan. Of all the clients in Primerica who own Primerica's SMART loan (which stands for Save Money And Reduce Taxes) during the past 10 years, less than 0.7% of them ever foreclosed their home. Primerica's SMART loan business continues to grow while many other companies doing mortgages continue to struggle to survive.
Some of you are asking what about Citigroup? Yes they received government bailout money, but there's no connection between Primerica and Citigroup. The only connection between these two companies is that Citigroup takes some of Primerica's profits. Citigroup doesn't pay for any Primerica's expenses or any other companies that are part of Citigroup. Think of Citigroup as one big financial supermarket. A supermarket sells all kinds of stuff. But does the supermarket pay for the expenses of making those products or pay those employees or expenses of those companies? No. They earn money by selling those products. To me, its kind of a sucky deal to be part of Citigroup. There's been lots of chatter about Citi trying to sell Primerica and I hope someday that day will come true. But in a shaky economy we are in right now, I don't think any company is willing to pay about $7.5 billion to buy Primerica right now. Believe me, there's lots of companies out there that is interested in Primerica, just that its not the right time.
Now, lets take a look at the life insurance industry. Primerica is member of the "Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, a self-policing compliance group established by life insureres. In January 2000, there were 241 members. In May 2009, there were only 88 companies. It proves one thing that Primerica continues to do what is right for their consumers. Primerica lowered their rates in the year 2007 and many companies did the same. But when the going get tough and companies need to generate more money, they need to raise their rates or reduce the number of agents. At Primerica, they kept their rates the same and the sales force continues to grow. There's no company out there that can compete against Primerica.
The bottom line of my message. Good companies that do the right thing will strive and get stronger and companies that takes advantage of people will fall or be affected by economic conditions. Primerica been in business for over 30 years and the company continues to get bigger and stronger, even during rough economic times.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
I love Primerica
I just want to say that I love Primerica for:
...giving me the opportunity to grow and build my business on my own terms.
...the opportunity to earn any amount of income I want to earn.
...the tools I need to grow my business
...the ability to educate and help families that desperately need our help.
...the unbelievable support system. Without it, I will be lost.
...putting together big events such as conventions and the most recent Builder's Summit they held in the past month.
...having awesome Co-CEO's John Addison and Rick Williams for putting so much love, support, and excitement into the company.
...being able to listen and learn from all the great leaders in Primerica.
...doing what is right for families 100% of the time.
...being a motivation in my life. Its not the company that motivates me, its the people in it from the employees who process all my paper work and answering all my questions to the great business leaders like Keith Otto, Frank Dillion, Jimmy Meyer, Bob Safford and many more, to the top executives of Primerica. One big company where everybody is heading in the same direction of growing big and doing what is right all the time and get more people to financial independence.
...for being able to bring new technology that I could use.
...for the amazing financial education. Without the education, I would still be putting all my money in a savings account and not invest a single cent in the stock market. I would probably be sold on whole life or universal life or whatever expensive crap these money-craving life insurance vultures are selling. With the education and guidance, I'm expected to be financially independent by the time I'm 50 years old just by investing. Factor in the income I earn from my business, I can be financially independent by the time I'm 40 years old or earlier.
Thank you Primerica for this amazing opportunity!
...giving me the opportunity to grow and build my business on my own terms.
...the opportunity to earn any amount of income I want to earn.
...the tools I need to grow my business
...the ability to educate and help families that desperately need our help.
...the unbelievable support system. Without it, I will be lost.
...putting together big events such as conventions and the most recent Builder's Summit they held in the past month.
...having awesome Co-CEO's John Addison and Rick Williams for putting so much love, support, and excitement into the company.
...being able to listen and learn from all the great leaders in Primerica.
...doing what is right for families 100% of the time.
...being a motivation in my life. Its not the company that motivates me, its the people in it from the employees who process all my paper work and answering all my questions to the great business leaders like Keith Otto, Frank Dillion, Jimmy Meyer, Bob Safford and many more, to the top executives of Primerica. One big company where everybody is heading in the same direction of growing big and doing what is right all the time and get more people to financial independence.
...for being able to bring new technology that I could use.
...for the amazing financial education. Without the education, I would still be putting all my money in a savings account and not invest a single cent in the stock market. I would probably be sold on whole life or universal life or whatever expensive crap these money-craving life insurance vultures are selling. With the education and guidance, I'm expected to be financially independent by the time I'm 50 years old just by investing. Factor in the income I earn from my business, I can be financially independent by the time I'm 40 years old or earlier.
Thank you Primerica for this amazing opportunity!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Why majority of the financial industry hates Primerica
This is just a theory, but I was thinking to myself about the difference in philosophy between Primerica and the rest of the industry. Primerica helps families by educating them, while the rest of the industry sells products that may or may not make any sense to the client. Take a look at this:
Primerica shows people how to get out of debt by educating people that they can control how long they can be in debt. Banks on the other hand, advertise interest rate like crazy, which keeps people in debt for a very long time. There's a simple mathematical formula where Total Interest = Principal x Rate x Time. Banks control the interest rate, but you can control the time. Its not the interest rate that will get you out of debt, its the rate at which you pay. If you were able to pay off your debt faster, that reduces your total interest, which then gives you the net effective interest rate.
Primerica educates people to keep life insurance and savings separate by "Buying term and invest the difference." The entire life insurance industry sells whole life or universal life insurance, which bundles your life insurance and savings together. Since when should people trust insurance companies with their savings? You only have the need for insurance if:
1) It is required by law to have it (such as auto insurance).
2) You don't have lots of savings right now, so you need insurance in case something happens. In other words, insurance is a financial tool that can provide income to you or your beneficiary (depending on the type of insurance) when a major event happens such as your house being caught on fire and homeowner's insurance will cover the damages OR you die, and life insurance will provide income to your beneficiary.
Primerica helps people invest their money for as little as $25/month or $50/month and get on the road to financial independence. Big investment companies will tend to ignore anyone who has less than $100,000 to invest. In fact, some say go to their website and invest online, but you have to pick on your own and where to invest. Primerica provides guidance on where you should put your money.
Primerica does a customize, confidential, and complimentary Financial Needs Analysis (FNA), which is a financial tool or financial guide to help you reach your financial goals. Many companies will charge you anywhere between $500 to $2000 or more.
At Primerica, they do what is right. I believe this is the main reason why the rest of industry don't like Primerica because they want to take in as much profits as possible by selling very expensive products. But Primerica's profits continues to grow because they do what is right 100% of the time.
Primerica shows people how to get out of debt by educating people that they can control how long they can be in debt. Banks on the other hand, advertise interest rate like crazy, which keeps people in debt for a very long time. There's a simple mathematical formula where Total Interest = Principal x Rate x Time. Banks control the interest rate, but you can control the time. Its not the interest rate that will get you out of debt, its the rate at which you pay. If you were able to pay off your debt faster, that reduces your total interest, which then gives you the net effective interest rate.
Primerica educates people to keep life insurance and savings separate by "Buying term and invest the difference." The entire life insurance industry sells whole life or universal life insurance, which bundles your life insurance and savings together. Since when should people trust insurance companies with their savings? You only have the need for insurance if:
1) It is required by law to have it (such as auto insurance).
2) You don't have lots of savings right now, so you need insurance in case something happens. In other words, insurance is a financial tool that can provide income to you or your beneficiary (depending on the type of insurance) when a major event happens such as your house being caught on fire and homeowner's insurance will cover the damages OR you die, and life insurance will provide income to your beneficiary.
Primerica helps people invest their money for as little as $25/month or $50/month and get on the road to financial independence. Big investment companies will tend to ignore anyone who has less than $100,000 to invest. In fact, some say go to their website and invest online, but you have to pick on your own and where to invest. Primerica provides guidance on where you should put your money.
Primerica does a customize, confidential, and complimentary Financial Needs Analysis (FNA), which is a financial tool or financial guide to help you reach your financial goals. Many companies will charge you anywhere between $500 to $2000 or more.
At Primerica, they do what is right. I believe this is the main reason why the rest of industry don't like Primerica because they want to take in as much profits as possible by selling very expensive products. But Primerica's profits continues to grow because they do what is right 100% of the time.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Oh the truth hurts!
The last post I made really made several agents of the PRO-cash value life insurance really mad and pissed off. Some say its all lies and untrue. Some say its illegal to write that. Some say I should have my license taken away. First of all it is all true since it says so in the life insurance policy. I don't make this stuff up. I read over 500 different life insurance policies and they basically say the same thing (in less or more words). Are they saying that a life insurance policy has no truth behind it and what they (the agent) is saying is true? If that's so, then who should really lose their license? The agents who are ripping people off or honest person like myself who cares about the client's financial situation?
I know what my clients are going through and how tough it is to live in America. Middle income families such as myself have to work very hard just to get by in life. We have bills to pay and debt always seem to follow us wherever we are. We're not too sure about our future. Most of us don't even know if we will ever be able to retire. But I have solutions to all these financial challenges. There's always different ways to earn more income legally. One way is to look at the Primerica's business opportunity. Another way is to get a 2nd job. As for debts, I have several different programs that can get people out of debt in less time and save them tens of thousands of dollars toward interest payments. As for retirement, its good idea to start now and there's several investment plans where your money can grow tax-deferred. Do you honestly think that life insurance agents really care about your financial needs? They only care about how much you can afford and how much commissions they can make. After that, you probably will never hear from them again.
As for being illegal to write it, it is legal since I have the right to write it and there's nothing you can do about it.
I know what my clients are going through and how tough it is to live in America. Middle income families such as myself have to work very hard just to get by in life. We have bills to pay and debt always seem to follow us wherever we are. We're not too sure about our future. Most of us don't even know if we will ever be able to retire. But I have solutions to all these financial challenges. There's always different ways to earn more income legally. One way is to look at the Primerica's business opportunity. Another way is to get a 2nd job. As for debts, I have several different programs that can get people out of debt in less time and save them tens of thousands of dollars toward interest payments. As for retirement, its good idea to start now and there's several investment plans where your money can grow tax-deferred. Do you honestly think that life insurance agents really care about your financial needs? They only care about how much you can afford and how much commissions they can make. After that, you probably will never hear from them again.
As for being illegal to write it, it is legal since I have the right to write it and there's nothing you can do about it.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Another look at life insurance
Its a fact that any life insurance that builds cash value is a ripoff and should be a scam. Generally how cash value life insurance works is that your premiums are paid for two parts in the policy, which is the insurance and the cash value. The fact that these types of life insurance have more than one parts to it should be a red flag to you. After all, look at the other types of insurance out there such as auto insurance or homeowner's insurance. Why is that only life insurance builds cash value and the other types of insurance don't?
Cash value life insurance policies are very expensive. If you own it, you will realize that you have pay lots of money for a very low coverage. An average 30 year old with $100,000 coverage will pay about $1000/year.
Many life insurance agents or financial advisors may tell you that life insurance is a great way to save for your kid's education or a great way to save for retirement. If you keep the policy long enough, you can take out the cash value. But did you know that when you take money out, that you are borrowing your own money? Did you also know that the company has the right to deferred you loan up to 6-9 months? That means, they put a hold on your loan request. When you get the money from the cash value, the insurance company will charge you a loan interest of anywhere between 5-8%! And when you pay the loan back, the interest portion of the payment does not go back into the cash value. It is kept by the insurance company as profits. If there is insufficient cash value in the policy, your policy is in high risk of being lapsed. If this happens, all that loan you have taken out will now have to be reported to the IRS and you will pay income tax on that loan. If you die while there's a loan balance due, the loan balance plus interest plus and missed premiums will be deducted from the death benefit. For example, if you had $100,000 coverage and there's a $20,000 loan and you die, your beneficiary will receive less than $80,000.
People selling this garbage may also say its a great way to build tax-deferred savings! FACT: There is no life insurance policy out there that has done better than a 5% rate of return. FACT: It only grows tax-deferred because the total amount of premiums you paid is always greater than the value of the cash value. How do you pay income tax on a loss of return? You don't! But if somehow the cash value is greater than the total amount you paid, your life insurance policy will be considered a "Modified Endowment." This means that any growth on the cash value will be subjected to income tax and that the death benefit will also be subjected to income tax to the beneficiary.
Let's say you paid all your premiums on time and never taken a loan out and then someday, you die. All the cash value in the life insurance policy will be kept by the insurance company while your beneficiary will only receive the death benefit.
You are probably wondering why anyone would want to own a cash value life insurance? The main reason is that they don't understand how it works and the person selling it makes this type of life insurance very attractive to the buyer. When the client receives the policy, majority of them never read it.
The solution: Buy pure life insurance that doesn't build cash value, which is Term Insurance. Term insurance can provide you lots of coverage for a low amount of premium. An average 30 year old with $100,000 coverage will pay about $600/year (compare to the $1000/year for a cash value life insurance).
Since it doesn't build cash value, you have the opportunity to save your money wherever you want. Whether its in a safe , inside your home, at the bank, or at any financial institution, you have easy access to your money. There's no such thing as "borrowing" (unless you have a 401(k) and you want to borrow from that. But at least the interest portion you pay goes into your investments, not to the investment company).
If you do the smart thing with your money by investing it in the right mutual funds, you will achieve a higher rate of return than any cash value life insurance policy. There's many mutual funds out there that has done a 10% or greater return in the past 10 years, even during all the tough times in the economy in some of those years.
If you die during the term, your beneficiary will get the death benefit. All the savings you built up will be paid to your spouse or family members. (Its always a good idea to have a Will setup for yourself so that your assets is properly distributed to the right person(s)).
If you live to the end of the term, you have options on what to do next. If you believe you still need life insurance, then you can renew the term for another one to 5 years, regardless of your current health conditions. You may be able to do a policy exchange into another term policy, but proof of insurability maybe required (depending on how much coverage you are asking for). Or you can cancel the term policy and save the money for retirement.
If you die after the term is up, at least your family will receive your savings. If you buy term and invested your money since the start, that could be lots of money for your family. If you invested $400/month for the next 30 years and the average rate of return was 10%, you will have $911,730.
Keeping life insurance and investments separate just makes sense, doesn't it?
Cash value life insurance policies are very expensive. If you own it, you will realize that you have pay lots of money for a very low coverage. An average 30 year old with $100,000 coverage will pay about $1000/year.
Many life insurance agents or financial advisors may tell you that life insurance is a great way to save for your kid's education or a great way to save for retirement. If you keep the policy long enough, you can take out the cash value. But did you know that when you take money out, that you are borrowing your own money? Did you also know that the company has the right to deferred you loan up to 6-9 months? That means, they put a hold on your loan request. When you get the money from the cash value, the insurance company will charge you a loan interest of anywhere between 5-8%! And when you pay the loan back, the interest portion of the payment does not go back into the cash value. It is kept by the insurance company as profits. If there is insufficient cash value in the policy, your policy is in high risk of being lapsed. If this happens, all that loan you have taken out will now have to be reported to the IRS and you will pay income tax on that loan. If you die while there's a loan balance due, the loan balance plus interest plus and missed premiums will be deducted from the death benefit. For example, if you had $100,000 coverage and there's a $20,000 loan and you die, your beneficiary will receive less than $80,000.
People selling this garbage may also say its a great way to build tax-deferred savings! FACT: There is no life insurance policy out there that has done better than a 5% rate of return. FACT: It only grows tax-deferred because the total amount of premiums you paid is always greater than the value of the cash value. How do you pay income tax on a loss of return? You don't! But if somehow the cash value is greater than the total amount you paid, your life insurance policy will be considered a "Modified Endowment." This means that any growth on the cash value will be subjected to income tax and that the death benefit will also be subjected to income tax to the beneficiary.
Let's say you paid all your premiums on time and never taken a loan out and then someday, you die. All the cash value in the life insurance policy will be kept by the insurance company while your beneficiary will only receive the death benefit.
You are probably wondering why anyone would want to own a cash value life insurance? The main reason is that they don't understand how it works and the person selling it makes this type of life insurance very attractive to the buyer. When the client receives the policy, majority of them never read it.
The solution: Buy pure life insurance that doesn't build cash value, which is Term Insurance. Term insurance can provide you lots of coverage for a low amount of premium. An average 30 year old with $100,000 coverage will pay about $600/year (compare to the $1000/year for a cash value life insurance).
Since it doesn't build cash value, you have the opportunity to save your money wherever you want. Whether its in a safe , inside your home, at the bank, or at any financial institution, you have easy access to your money. There's no such thing as "borrowing" (unless you have a 401(k) and you want to borrow from that. But at least the interest portion you pay goes into your investments, not to the investment company).
If you do the smart thing with your money by investing it in the right mutual funds, you will achieve a higher rate of return than any cash value life insurance policy. There's many mutual funds out there that has done a 10% or greater return in the past 10 years, even during all the tough times in the economy in some of those years.
If you die during the term, your beneficiary will get the death benefit. All the savings you built up will be paid to your spouse or family members. (Its always a good idea to have a Will setup for yourself so that your assets is properly distributed to the right person(s)).
If you live to the end of the term, you have options on what to do next. If you believe you still need life insurance, then you can renew the term for another one to 5 years, regardless of your current health conditions. You may be able to do a policy exchange into another term policy, but proof of insurability maybe required (depending on how much coverage you are asking for). Or you can cancel the term policy and save the money for retirement.
If you die after the term is up, at least your family will receive your savings. If you buy term and invested your money since the start, that could be lots of money for your family. If you invested $400/month for the next 30 years and the average rate of return was 10%, you will have $911,730.
Keeping life insurance and investments separate just makes sense, doesn't it?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Primerica Presents Six Reasons a Roth IRA May be a Good Investment
THIS WAS TAKEN FROM AN ARTICLE ON PR.COM. LINK: http://www.pr.com/press-release/159201
Primerica, a financial services industry leader, presents six reasons why opening a Roth IRA may be a great way to prepare for the future. In fact, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine labels today’s Roth IRA as “Best all around retirement account.”
Duluth, GA, June 18, 2009 --(PR.com)-- For the first time in a long time, Americans are saving more and spending less – and many economists expect that savings trend to continue rising.1
Primerica, a financial services industry leader, presents six reasons why opening a Roth IRA may be a great way to prepare for the future. In fact, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine labels today’s Roth IRA as “Best all‑around retirement account.”2
Clients pay less tax on savings. For older savers, this means an IRA can help rebuild any losses to their nest egg. Younger savers stand to gain even more, because they have more time to invest their savings and let them grow tax‑free.
Contributions and earnings can be withdrawn tax‑free after age 59 ½. This applies to accounts that are at least five years old – making it a great choice for long‑term savers.
Families can tap earnings early to pay for college or buy a first home.
Savers can withdraw contributions (but not any earnings) to a Roth IRA tax‑free and penalty‑free at any time. This benefit could come in handy if an unexpected major expense or emergency arises. Of course, by withdrawing funds early, the client also gives up future earnings on that cash.
For 2009, you can contribute up to $5,000 into a Roth plus an additional $1,000 for clients age 50+, subject to income limits.3
As growth in a Roth IRA may be tax‑free, clients are encouraged to consider converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. During 2009, the opportunity to convert a regular IRA to a Roth IRA is only available to those who have a modified adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. However, this income restriction is scheduled to be completely eliminated in 2010. A conversion has tax consequences. If you are considering this option, you should consult your tax advisor.
For young people just starting out, the Roth IRA is an excellent choice because it allows them to enjoy tax‑free growth with the flexibility to withdraw contributions (excluding earnings) any time, tax‑ and penalty‑free. Older savers can enjoy a special “catch up” provision that allows them to save an extra $1,000 in a Roth.
Primerica helps clients make an informed decision about how to best utilize their money. Clients are encouraged to visit www.PrimericaFNA.com to learn more about Primerica’s free, personalized financial snapshot.
1Foxnews.com, February 1, 2009
2Kiplinger’s, December 2008
3For the year 2009, married individuals who file jointly can contribute $5,000 ($6,000 if 50 or older) to a Roth IRA if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is below $166,000. If their MAGI is between $166,000 and $176,000, then they can contribute some amount less than their full limit. If their income exceeds $176,000, they are not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA for 2009.
Securities offered by PFS Investments Inc. 3120 Breckenridge Blvd. Duluth, GA 30099
###
Primerica Financial Services, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, is the largest financial services marketing organization in North America, with more than 100,000 licensed independent representatives. The company provides its 6 million clients with quality financial products and services, including term life insurance, mutual funds, variable annuities, loans, auto and homeowners insurance and long-term care insurance. Primerica conducts business in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico; the company also operates in Spain as PriEuropa.
Additional information about Primerica is available on its web site: www.primerica.com.
Primerica, a financial services industry leader, presents six reasons why opening a Roth IRA may be a great way to prepare for the future. In fact, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine labels today’s Roth IRA as “Best all around retirement account.”
Duluth, GA, June 18, 2009 --(PR.com)-- For the first time in a long time, Americans are saving more and spending less – and many economists expect that savings trend to continue rising.1
Primerica, a financial services industry leader, presents six reasons why opening a Roth IRA may be a great way to prepare for the future. In fact, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine labels today’s Roth IRA as “Best all‑around retirement account.”2
Clients pay less tax on savings. For older savers, this means an IRA can help rebuild any losses to their nest egg. Younger savers stand to gain even more, because they have more time to invest their savings and let them grow tax‑free.
Contributions and earnings can be withdrawn tax‑free after age 59 ½. This applies to accounts that are at least five years old – making it a great choice for long‑term savers.
Families can tap earnings early to pay for college or buy a first home.
Savers can withdraw contributions (but not any earnings) to a Roth IRA tax‑free and penalty‑free at any time. This benefit could come in handy if an unexpected major expense or emergency arises. Of course, by withdrawing funds early, the client also gives up future earnings on that cash.
For 2009, you can contribute up to $5,000 into a Roth plus an additional $1,000 for clients age 50+, subject to income limits.3
As growth in a Roth IRA may be tax‑free, clients are encouraged to consider converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. During 2009, the opportunity to convert a regular IRA to a Roth IRA is only available to those who have a modified adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. However, this income restriction is scheduled to be completely eliminated in 2010. A conversion has tax consequences. If you are considering this option, you should consult your tax advisor.
For young people just starting out, the Roth IRA is an excellent choice because it allows them to enjoy tax‑free growth with the flexibility to withdraw contributions (excluding earnings) any time, tax‑ and penalty‑free. Older savers can enjoy a special “catch up” provision that allows them to save an extra $1,000 in a Roth.
Primerica helps clients make an informed decision about how to best utilize their money. Clients are encouraged to visit www.PrimericaFNA.com to learn more about Primerica’s free, personalized financial snapshot.
1Foxnews.com, February 1, 2009
2Kiplinger’s, December 2008
3For the year 2009, married individuals who file jointly can contribute $5,000 ($6,000 if 50 or older) to a Roth IRA if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is below $166,000. If their MAGI is between $166,000 and $176,000, then they can contribute some amount less than their full limit. If their income exceeds $176,000, they are not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA for 2009.
Securities offered by PFS Investments Inc. 3120 Breckenridge Blvd. Duluth, GA 30099
###
Primerica Financial Services, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, is the largest financial services marketing organization in North America, with more than 100,000 licensed independent representatives. The company provides its 6 million clients with quality financial products and services, including term life insurance, mutual funds, variable annuities, loans, auto and homeowners insurance and long-term care insurance. Primerica conducts business in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico; the company also operates in Spain as PriEuropa.
Additional information about Primerica is available on its web site: www.primerica.com.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
A new program to eliminate debt
Primerica has teamed up with Equifax to give clients a tool to pay off debt in the most efficient way. It takes information from your credit report from Equifax and provides step by step game plan to pay each and every single debt you have. This is a web-base program, so internet access is required and you can watch your progress anytime you want. You can also setup to receive alerts if there are changes to your credit report.
Also, it will give you your credit score and explains why you have that score. You also can run a simulation about what will happen if you apply for a new loan or apply for more credit or close an account.
Remember, this is a tool to help you eliminate debt. It is not a bill payment center, so you have to pay your bills directly. Primerica representatives does not do any credit counseling services or negotiate with creditors.
I have couple loans I want to pay off, so I'm going to sign up for it and see what's the game plan is. I'm very interested in learning more about my credit score and how it compares to the national average and what improvements I can make to make the score better.
Also, it will give you your credit score and explains why you have that score. You also can run a simulation about what will happen if you apply for a new loan or apply for more credit or close an account.
Remember, this is a tool to help you eliminate debt. It is not a bill payment center, so you have to pay your bills directly. Primerica representatives does not do any credit counseling services or negotiate with creditors.
I have couple loans I want to pay off, so I'm going to sign up for it and see what's the game plan is. I'm very interested in learning more about my credit score and how it compares to the national average and what improvements I can make to make the score better.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
If its not pppular in US, go to India
Does anyone notice that the great whole life insurance or universal life insurance that once dominated the markets in US have grown more popular in India? In US, people are starting to realize that term insurance is the best type of life insurance. But in India, the same ripoffs that happen (and continues to happen) in US is now prevalent in India. Life insurance agents in India are selling cash value life insurance policies as a savings or investment vehicle, which every licensed person in the industry knows it's just life insurance that protects your income. The so-called "savings" in the life insurance policy is really an added protection for the insurance company. That's why if you want to use the savings, you have to borrow it and pay interest on it as well.
I can see why insurance companies are targeting India. After all, India has the 2nd largest population in the world with 1.1 billion, which is not too far behind from China, which is 1.3 billion. In United States, its around 304 million.
I can see why insurance companies are targeting India. After all, India has the 2nd largest population in the world with 1.1 billion, which is not too far behind from China, which is 1.3 billion. In United States, its around 304 million.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Happy belated New Year
I've been busy in the past month and I'm 17 days late to say this, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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