How the Wealthy Make Their Money Work Twice as Hard (Ep. 238)
Release Date: 10/09/2025
Your Retirement at 65 Was Built On a Flawed Assumption (Ep. 253)
Without the Bank Podcast
Most people are taught to buy term insurance and invest the rest—but what if that advice is based on a massive misunderstanding of how life insurance actually works? In this episode, we break down why dividend-paying whole life insurance is fundamentally misclassified, how insurance companies really make money, and why Nelson Nash believed banking, not investing, was the missing piece. In WTB Episode 253, we continue our deep dive into Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash, focusing on mortality tables, underwriting, modified endowment contracts (MECs), and why whole life insurance behaves...
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You Already Know Enough (So Why Aren't You Wealthy?) (Ep. 252)
Without the Bank Podcast
Are you collecting financial knowledge... or actually using it? In this episode of Without The Bank, we break down two of the most dangerous (and overlooked) chapters from Becoming Your Own Banker: Arrival Syndrome and Use It or Lose It. These ideas explain why so many people stall out financially—even after reading the right books, watching the right videos, and “knowing” the Infinite Banking Concept. The problem isn’t lack of information. The problem is believing you’ve already arrived. When people stop applying what they learn, their policies stagnate, their cash flow tightens,...
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Your Kids’ $1,000 Account Has a Catch | Here’s Why (Ep. 251)
Without the Bank Podcast
Is the government really giving kids $1,000… or is there a bigger catch? In this solo episode of Without the Bank (WTB), Mary Jo breaks down the Invest America Act (sometimes called the “Trump Account”) and explains why she believes it raises serious red flags, from misleading claims by politicians to hidden tax consequences and stock market manipulation. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: After reviewing the actual bill, running the numbers, and even putting it through AI, Mary Jo explains why this account is not what it’s being sold as—and why families should be...
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Your Biggest Business Problem Isn’t What You Think (Ep. 250)
Without the Bank Podcast
Most people think money problems are about income. They’re wrong. It’s about mindset, discipline, and who controls the capital. In this episode, we break down The Golden Rule: Those who have the gold make the rules — and why that changes everything. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: In Episode 250 of Without The Bank (WTB), we dive deep into the mindset behind wealth, capitalism, and control of money. Drawing from Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash, we explore why living for today destroys future opportunity, how capital attracts opportunity, and why disciplined...
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The Financial Independence Trap Nobody Warns You About (Ep. 249)
Without the Bank Podcast
What if your 401(k) isn’t really your money? In this episode, we break down Willie Sutton’s Law and expose how government-controlled retirement plans quietly limit your freedom, liquidity, and control over your wealth. Follow Mary Jo Here: Get the book: In WTB Episode 249, we continue our Becoming Your Own Banker chapter review, diving deep into Willie Sutton’s Law: “Wherever wealth is accumulated, someone will try to steal it.” This episode challenges conventional thinking around 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth limits, and tax-deferred retirement plans. We unpack how taxation works, why...
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Success Doesn't Look Like You Think (Ep. 248)
Without the Bank Podcast
Most people don’t have a money problem… they have a Parkinson’s Law problem. Your expenses quietly rise, your “extra” money disappears, and the timeline for big goals keeps stretching—until one day you realize you’re working harder but staying in the same place. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: In this episode, we break down the 3 parts of Parkinson’s Law and how to beat it daily—so you can redirect cash flow, build financial momentum, and stop losing every raise, payoff, or “found money” to lifestyle creep. Key takeaways: Work expands to fill...
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Whole Life vs. UL/IUL: Why Guarantees Win (Ep. 247)
Without the Bank Podcast
You’re financing everything you buy… even when you pay cash. 🤯 In this episode, we break down how to create your own banking system using dividend-paying whole life insurance, and why ignoring this might be costing you a fortune in lost interest. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: MJ and Tarisa walk through a key chapter from Nelson Nash’s Becoming Your Own Banker and unpack what it really means to “finance everything you buy.” They explain how paying cash still has a cost, why EVA (Economic Value Added) changed how businesses think about capital,...
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Why You Don’t Need $20 Million to Start Your Own Bank (Ep. 246)
Without the Bank Podcast
Most people assume you need $20 million, a bank charter, a building, employees, and 10 years before a bank ever makes a profit. But Nelson Nash reveals a far simpler way to create your own banking system, one that’s been quietly working for over 200 years. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: In this episode, we break down how traditional banking REALLY works, why starting a bank is nearly impossible today, and why participating whole life insurance already has all the infrastructure you need to start your own personal banking system. If you’ve ever wondered...
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Stop Chasing APR—What Really Drains Your Wealth (Ep. 245)
Without the Bank Podcast
Think you control your money because you have a 401(k), IRA, or a checking account? In this episode, we unpack the real problem in Becoming Your Own Banker: chasing rates on tiny savings while 34.5% of every disposable dollar quietly goes to interest. 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: We break down Nelson Nash’s “Problem” chapter: why focusing on the rate of return on a small savings slice misses the bigger issue, volume of interest flowing out through housing, autos, and living costs. You’ll see how policy loans, mutual life insurance ownership...
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Why Your Policy Fails: The Grocery Store Money Lesson (Ep. 244)
Without the Bank Podcast
Most infinite banking policies don’t fail because of the insurance company… they fail because of human behavior. Are you quietly stealing the peas from your own grocery store? 👉 Follow Mary Jo Here: 👉 Get the book: In this episode, we continue through Nelson Nash’s Becoming Your Own Banker and dive into the Imagination chapter and the famous grocery store analogy. We break down why imagination matters more than information, how to treat your policy like a real business, and why charging your own kids interest can actually build more wealth for them. If you’ve...
info_outlineMost people obsess over “rate of return”, but they miss the banking process that controls every dollar in their life and how to leverage that same dollar to make more.
Book: Life Without The Bank by Mary Jo Irmen
📌 https://www.withoutthebank.com/book/
In this episode, we unpack the Introduction & Points to Consider from Nelson Nash’s Becoming Your Own Banker and show how dividend-paying whole life can be an AND asset: fund your policy and still deploy capital into investments.
Mary Jo and Tarisa break down why Infinite Banking (IBC) is education, not a sales tool, why your need for financing is greater than your need for protection, and how the end-of-life benefit, privacy, control, and long-range planning all fit together.
We clarify common myths (like “recapturing interest”), compare AND vs OR assets, discuss HELOC call risk, and explain why IBC is about where wealth resides, not chasing returns.
Key Takeaways:
◦ IBC is a financing process, not an investment. Use whole life to control capital flows, then invest.
◦ Your need for financing outweighs your need for protection. Solve financing correctly, and you end up with a bigger financial legacy for your loved ones.
◦ It’s an AND asset. Fund the policy, borrow, and still invest (real estate, brokerage, IRA contributions, etc.).
◦ Clarifying “recapture interest.” You’re redirecting the spread by paying yourself more than the policy loan rate, which requires discipline.
◦ Major items only. Think of cars, equipment, appliances, education, business capital expenditures, not coffee and fries.
◦ Control & privacy matter. Policy loans aren’t reported to bureaus; contracts are private.
◦ HELOCs can be called. Don’t build your “bank” on someone else’s terms.
◦ Long-range planning wins. Power compounds in later years; this is a get-rich-slow, multi-generational approach.
🔗 Links Mentioned
Book: Becoming Your Own Banker (5th Edition) by R. Nelson Nash
📌 https://www.withoutthebank.com/product/becoming-your-own-banker/
Book: Life Without The Bank by Mary Jo Irmen
📌 https://www.withoutthebank.com/book/