Your Personal Bank

Your Personal Bank TM is a financial concept that strategically integrates financial tools from the banking and insurance industries to continue growth on funds even when you access them for other purposes.

The Short and Long Term Risks of the Current Stock Market and Economy 09/10/2025

Is the AI Bubble Starting to Burst? 09/03/2025

Is the AI Bubble Starting to Burst? Ferenc discusses the parallels between the current tech stock market bubble and the dot-com era, emphasizing the risks of overvaluation and potential corrections. He recounts a listener's 100% return on tech stocks and warns of the dangers of not locking in gains. Ferenc highlights the MIT study showing 95% of companies saw no return on AI investments, and the potential for a severe market correction. He also addresses the Federal Reserve's new inflation target and the implications for interest rates. Ferenc advises on risk management strategies, including annuities and cash value insurance, to protect against market downturns. Issues & Risks • AI stocks may be in a bubble, similar to the dot-com era. • According to a MIT study 95% of companies investing in AI have seen no financial benefit. • Tech stocks account for 46% of S&P 500, higher than dot-com peak. • Margin debt has surged to an all-time record of over a trillion dollars. • Heavy truck index, a recession indicator, is going down strongly. • Nvidia's valuation is now triple the entire energy sector. • A third of the US economy is in recession or at high risk. How do you take advantage of future potential upside while protecting your downside? Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss. - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products! - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/38060620

Is the AI Bubble Starting to Burst? 08/27/2025

Is the AI Bubble Starting to Burst? A recent MIT study found that 95% of companies have received no benefit from generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently warned of an AI bubble. Altman compared the current AI frenzy and the 1990's dotcom bubble when company valuations spike dramatically before crashing. The poster child of the dotcom craze was Pets.com. It was backed by Amazon. Pets.com reached a valuation of $410 million before going bankrupt about a year later. CoreWeave is an AI company backed by Nvidia. After the MIT study, its stock dropped 33%. CoreWeave's peak valuation was 60x times larger than Pets.com at it's peak. This is the reason Sam Altman stated that "Someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money" and "When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth". Sam Altman and most tech experts still believe AI will transform the economy in the future. The problem is AI is currently limited by the shortage of GPU's. Sam Altman stated "We have better models, but we can't offer them because we don't have the supply." Sam Altman also stated that "trillions of dollars" will have to be invested in infrastructure to scale AI to advance further. An AI search uses about 10x the computing power of a typical Google search. This information has caused concern for investors. I believe that AI will make a significant positive on the economy, but it may take much longer than many investors expect. With historically high valuations, stock prices may suffer a significant correction before AI can really make a difference. Is this the beginning of the AI bubble starting to burst? We will know soon. How do you take advantage of future potential upside while protecting your downside? Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss. - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products! - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 17+% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37925685

The S&P500 has Hit the Highest Valuations in History! 08/20/2025

The S&P500 has Hit the Highest Valuations in History! Regardless of how you measure the S&P500, it is at the highest levels in history. The current valuations are higher than 1929 and 1999. The S&P500 Price to Sales Ratio has hit 3.2, the highest level ever recorded. The top 10% largest companies account for 76% of the US total equity market. This is a new all-time record. The top 10 companies in the S&P500 are nearly 40% of the total S&P500 valuation. They also account for nearly all of the gains over the past couple of years. The remaining 490 companies in the S&P500 have declined in valuation adjusted for inflation at the same time. The top 2 companies, Microsoft and Nvidia, are over 15% of the total S&P500 market cap. Extreme valuations include extreme risk. Any catalyst could cause a significant correction. How do you take advantage of future potential upside while protecting your downside? Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss. - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products! - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 17+% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37838735

The Buffet Indicator Has Hit 2x Standard Deviation for the 3rd Time Since 1950 08/13/2025

The Buffet Indicator Has Hit 2x Standard Deviation for the 3rd Time Since 1950 The Buffett Indicator is a measure of the total market capitalization of publicly traded companies to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Warren Buffett called it "probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment". The Buffett Indicator has hit 2 times standard deviation for the 3rd time since 1950. Two times standard deviation is double the average value. This means the overall stock market is double the average value. Previously, the Buffett Indicator hit this level in 1969 and 2000. Both times the stock market had significant downside corrections (about 50%). This indicator is worth paying attention to. It demonstrates that the stock market is significantly over-valued. Downside market risk is elevated. How do you take advantage of future potential upside while protecting your downside? Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss. - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products! - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 17+% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37737765

The Trade Deals Give Reasons for Optimism Yet the Transition will Likely Create Volatility 08/06/2025

The Trade Deals Give Reasons for Optimism Yet the Transition will Likely Create Volatility Trump has Announced Several Astounding Trade Deals The terms on the recent trade deals are very favorable for the United States. - Japan: 15% tariff, no tariff for US products, $550 billion joint-venture investment, 90% profit to US. - South Korea: 15% tariff, no tariff for US products, open market to US, $350 billion investment in US. - European Union: 15% tariff, no tariff for US products, $750 billion US energy purchase, $650 billion investment in the US. The investments in the United States were negotiated to "buy down" the tariff rate. Total investments pledged are about $15 trillion so far. This is almost double the valuation of every Silicon Valley company combined. The estimated tariff revenue for 2025 is about $700 billion. These are massive numbers. This will have a huge impact on the US economy in the next few years. The upside potential is huge. This is one of the largest infrastructure projects in history. Similar to many building projects, there could be challenges and delays. This could cause significant volatility. How do you take advantage of the strong potential upside while protecting your downside? Annuities offer unlimited upside potential while guaranteeing the principle against loss. - This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years, insured with guarantees. - If you own an annuity 2+ years old, I strongly recommend comparing to the newer more profitable products. - Many of my clients are earning 2-10x increased returns annually than their previous annuity products! - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 17+% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37637785

There are Significant Tax Opportunities Due to the Big, Beautiful Bill 07/30/2025

Economists Created a Model of the US Economy using NASA Computers. The Model Crashed Due to the Federal Debt. 07/23/2025

Economists Created a Model of the US Economy using NASA Computers. The Model Crashed Due to the Federal Debt. Some leading economists and mathematicians built a computer model of the US economy to run various scenarios. Because this was such a big math problem, they used thousands of NASA and Amazon computers. The computers were unable to create a working model because of the rising debt. Us Government Debt is currently over $36 Trillion. The increasing interest on the debt is unsustainable. The computers projected interest on the debt would consume one-third of all tax revenues within a decade. In 20 years, interest on the debt was estimated to be about 80% of tax revenue. With the vast majority of revenues consumed by interest payments, there is not enough money remaining to pay for maintaining infrastructure, military, or other government services. Economic chaos is the likely result. Many argue what would happen; Austerity Measures, Depression, Hyperinflation, ect. The reality is there are no good options. The best option is to avoid economic chaos. The good news is the computers estimated we have about 20 years before economic collapse. This gives us some time to fix the problem. But the longer we wait, the more drastic the solution. The solution is obvious: 1. Increase income. 2. Reduce spending. The Trump administration is aggressively taking steps to increase income (GDP) thru increasing tariff income, using tariff policy to reshore manufacturing, and encouraging investment in America. DOGE found billions in waste and fraud. The Big, Beautiful Bill reduces spending about 2%. Deporting illegal aliens will reduce government welfare spending by billions of dollars. Further government reductions of spending are promised in the future. There has been push-back on spending reductions, mostly from the court system. Many of the district court rulings have been overturned by Appellate Courts or the US Supreme Court. It is not predetermined that the US economy crashes due to excessive debt. But major changes in income and spending have to be made. This will be a generational change to the US economy. Regardless of what happens, there will be a significant transition period. The US government's lack of financial responsibility creates an opportunity. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37457930

The Big, Beautiful Bill has Passed. What is in it? How Will it Affect Your Money? 07/16/2025

The Big, Beautiful Bill has Passed. What is in it? How Will it Affect Your Money? There is a lot of confusing info regarding the Big Beautiful Bill. Forget the noise or the politics. What are the facts on some of the key aspects? No Tax on Tips: up to $25,000 of tip income is tax-free plus your standard deduction of $15,750 for singles, $31,500 for married filing jointly. Social Security Tax: Social Security Administration estimates 88% of seniors will no longer pay taxes on Social Security benefits. - $24,000: average Social Security benefit - $15,750: standard deduction for singles - $2,000: senior deduction - $6,000: new senior bonus (Big Beautiful Bill) - $23,750: Total deductions Taxable Social Security = Zero for average senior Requires citizenship for Medicaid. Health and Human Services estimate 1.5+ million illegal aliens will lose Medicaid benefits despite not being eligible. Currently, 14 states offer government healthcare "regardless of immigration status". Taxpayers pay for this. If you have private health coverage, you pay premiums every month. Many have large deductibles. Most never use it unless absolutely. If a health situation occurs, insurance rarely pays for everything. You could get stuck with huge medical debt. Illegals have received free healthcare. Government is supposed to benefit citizens. Our government is supposed to promote and protect the principles of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men." The US is the only country in the world that pays for the medical expenses of people who don't belong here, yet expects our citizens to not only pay our own medical bills but also the medical expenses of illegals. I don't think we should have to work hard to pay for benefits for illegals. Us Government Debt is over $37 Trillion. The US government's lack of financial responsibility creates an opportunity. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37375410

Brigham Blackham Interview, host of the Levelin' Up Podcast 07/09/2025

If Houses are not Selling, Why are not Prices Dropping? 07/02/2025

If Houses are not Selling, Why are not Prices Dropping? Many people are confused. If houses are not selling, why are not prices not falling? There are several reasons. Cause: Housing prices increased an average of 50% from 2019 -2024 in the US. Some areas increased up to 100%. Strong purchasing demand plus limited inventory was the primary reason for prices increasing. Housing affordability is at historical lows due to significantly higher mortgage interest rates and higher purchase prices. This has destroyed buying demand. The average American household can no longer afford to purchase the average home in America. Effect: Some homeowners are still hoping to cash in on the pandemic housing boom. Low mortgages have a "lock-in effect". Many are reluctant to sell their current home and replace with a much higher interest rate. Others are not delusional, they cannot afford to move. Projection: There is hope on the horizon. Housing inventory has increased to pre-COVID levels in many markets, particularly in the South and West. Homebuilders are offering record levels of incentives for new homebuyers. Rental rates have declined for 21 consecutive months. Investors are selling at record levels due to the declining rental income. Job changes or life events are forcing some to move. As time passes, the low interest rate mortgage "lock-in effect" is receding. These are factors that will contribute to declining housing prices. Us Government Debt is over $37 Trillion. The US government's lack of financial responsibility creates an opportunity. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37199775

How High can US Debt go before it Triggers a Financial Crisis? 06/25/2025

How High can US Debt go before it Triggers a Financial Crisis? Excessive government debt has contributed to inflation and is pushing interest rates higher. The government continues to add to the debt by spending more than it receives. The US government receives about $5T in revenues annually. They spend about $7T per year. Higher interest rates and increasing debt is increasing interest payments on the debt at unsustainable levels. Many are concerned the debt will lead to a financial crisis. The big question is how high can US debt go before it triggers a financial crisis? Government debt is currently about $37T. This is 121% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Interest payments are about $1.1T annually. This is about 22% of annual government revenues. Is the US at crisis levels? No. Not yet, but we are on an unsustainable path. If interest on the debt continues to increase at current levels, interest payments will increase to about 30% of revenues in 5-7 years per Moody's. If you have ever applied for a mortgage, you likely would have been declined if your debt to income ratio was above 30%. This is because lenders understand that if interest payments are too high, you are unable to maintain the payments. The solutions are to increase income, reduce spending, or both. You already know this. You do this with your household budget. The Trump administration is attempting to increase income via tariff income and reshore manufacturing to boost the economy (increase income). The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is attempting to reduce fraud and wasteful spending. Only in Washington is common sense considered radical. The US government's lack of financial responsibility creates an opportunity. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/37091910

Stocks have not been this Expensive Relative to Bonds in nearly 25 Years 06/18/2025

Why are President Trump and Elon Musk Bickering Over the "Big Beautiful Bill" 06/11/2025

Why are President Trump and Elon Musk Bickering Over the "Big Beautiful Bill" Although I do not like Trump and Elon attacking each other, the conversation is very valuable and could lead to good results. Elon is bringing attention to the fact our government is taxing us too much and spending much of it on waste and fraud. The spending cuts are pathetic. The $1.5T in spending cuts is over 10 years. $150 billion per year in spending cuts is only about 2% of the approximately $7T annual spending. Our government increased spending 50% from pre-COVID levels. Our population increased 2% in the past 4 years. We need to push our representatives to do better. I don't believe it is too late to fix this. But this level of spending is unsustainable. The interest on the debt is currently about 25% of total government revenues and is rising rapidly. If you apply for a mortgage, you won't qualify if your debt to income ratio is above 30%. The interest on the debt is projected to increase to about 30% of government revenues in 5-7 years. The Trump administration is relying on future growth to fix the problem. Future growth is likely but not guaranteed. Spending cuts would definitely fix the problem. They would also help improve future growth. You already know this. If you have too much debt, you reduce expenses. If you can increase income, even better. Washington is the only place where common sense is considered radical. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years due to higher bond yields. - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. Although I do not like Trump and Elon attacking each other, the conversation is very valuable and could lead to good results. Elon is bringing attention to the fact our government is taxing us too much and spending much of it on waste and fraud. The spending cuts are pathetic. The $1.5T in spending cuts is over 10 years. $150 billion per year in spending cuts is only about 2% of the approximately $7T annual spending. Our government increased spending 50% from pre-COVID levels. Our population increased 2% in the past 4 years. We need to push our representatives to do better. I don't believe it is too late to fix this. But this level of spending is unsustainable. The interest on the debt is currently about 25% of total government revenues and is rising rapidly. If you apply for a mortgage, you won't qualify if your debt to income ratio is above 30%. The interest on the debt is projected to increase to about 30% of government revenues in 5-7 years. The Trump administration is relying on future growth to fix the problem. Future growth is likely but not guaranteed. Spending cuts would definitely fix the problem. They would also help improve future growth. You already know this. If you have too much debt, you reduce expenses. If you can increase income, even better. Washington is the only place where common sense is considered radical. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36891990

The Inventor of the 4% Withdrawal Rule has Updated His Recommendation. It is Significantly Less than Guaranteed Lifetime Income Benefits 06/04/2025

Moody's Downgrades US Credit Rating, 30-Year Treasury Hits 5% (How to Increase Your Retirement Income Guaranteed) 05/28/2025

Moody's Downgrades US Credit Rating, 30-Year Treasury Hits 5% (How to Increase Your Retirement Income Guaranteed) Moody's downgraded the US credit rating for the first time in history. This is the last of the 3 major credit agencies to downgrade the US credit rating. The primary concern is the increasing level of government debt. As a result, the 30-year treasury bond yields rose to 5%. This is the highest level since 2007. Bond buyers will demand higher interest (yield) to purchase government bands due to the increased risk. Bond yields and higher borrowing costs will be higher until the government addresses fiscal responsibility. Higher bond yields are one of the greatest threats to stock market asset values. Many large institutional investors shift their investments from the stock market to the bond market to lock in long term cash flow. 30-year treasury yields at 5% are a common benchmark for institutional investors to shift. The 4% withdrawal rule is widely recommended to ensure you don't run out of money in retirement with a high likelihood of success. If you increase your withdrawal rate to 5%, your likelihood of success decreases significantly. Current Guaranteed Lifetime Income withdrawal rates: - Age 65: 7.5% guaranteed for life - Age 75: 8.5% guaranteed for life - Rates increase as you are older You can increase your income significantly with 100% likelihood of success. You cannot outlive your income. Higher bond yields increase fixed asset returns. Insurance dividends, annuity, and guaranteed lifetime income returns are expected to increase for the next 5-10 years. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36690155

The Tariff War with China has been Paused 05/21/2025

The Tariff War with China has been Paused China and the US have agreed to pause the 145% US tariffs and 125% Chinese tariffs for 90 days while they negotiate an agreement. If the high tariff rates had gone into effect, it would have been similar to a trade embargo. Both countries have realized a trade embargo would be devastating to both economies. The US imports about 5 times more from China than China imports from the US. The US is the largest purchasing economy in the world. The buyer has the power. This gives the US a powerful position in this situation. We finally have a president that understands the strength of the US economy and is acting accordingly. I am encouraged that the Trump administration will be able to negotiate a strong trade policy with China. Certainly better than the trade agreements for the past several decades. In the meantime, there will likely be volatility until a trade deal with China is completed. The Trump administration wants to complete a deal quickly. China historically takes a very slow, deliberate, and methodical approach. The volatility could be over fairly quickly or could extend for a long period. Currently, there is no way to predict. In the meantime, it would be wise to protect your investments and reduce your risk to the downside. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36596800

Retirement is not about a Number, It is about Cash Flow 05/14/2025

More Americans Worry about Running Out of Money in Retirement than Dying 05/07/2025

More Americans Worry about Running Out of Money in Retirement than Dying The 2025 Allianz Retirement Survey key findings: 64% of Americans worry more about running out of money in retirement than about death. The primary causes of their concerns are: - 54% cite the increased prices of goods due to inflation - 43% fear Social Security will not provide enough financial support as needed - 43% state high taxes negatively impact their economic situation Your withdrawal rate largely impacts the likelihood of success of not running out of money in retirement. The 4% withdrawal rate is often recommended by retirement experts for a high likelihood of success. According to multiple studies, if you initially withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually your likelihood of not running out of money after 35 years in retirement is 85-95% depending on your asset allocation. If you increase your withdrawal rate to 5%, your likelihood of success reduces to 45-70%. If you withdraw 6%, your likelihood of success drops to 10-55%. Many people respond to periods of market volatility by not looking at their account statements. Ignoring what is not going on is not an effective way to deal with challenges. If you have concerns about your financial situation, there are strong options available to increase returns safely, reduce market risk, increase withdrawal rates with guarantees, reduce taxes, and increase access to your money. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36410735

Will the US-China Economic Cold War Lead to a Recession? 04/30/2025

It is more than Tariffs. This is a China-US Economic Divorce. 04/23/2025

It is more than Tariffs. This is a China-US Economic Divorce. The tariff policy is not just about tariffs. This is about economic power and control. China and the US want to dominant future technology. China and the US are decoupling economically. This is similar to the Cold War with the Soviet Union. That was a military conflict. The US eventually won the Cold War by outspending the Soviet Union, but it took years. They tried to keep up military spending but were unable to keep up with the US military spending. The US economy was much larger than the Soviet Union's. We are in the beginning of an Economic Cold War with China. The US imports far more products from China than any other country. The US and China have significant financial entanglements. Divorces can be amicable or messy. So far, China is fighting back. This may take some time. The Trump administration is changing decades of tariff policy. The transition will be volatile. If the current administration is successful, the long-term benefit for the US will be tremendous. I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36220570

Extreme Stock Market Volatility is Here Due to the Tariff Situation 04/16/2025

Extreme Stock Market Volatility is Here Due to the Tariff Situation The stock market is moving up to 8-9% up and down daily. The volatility is stomach churning. The primary concern is tariffs. It is uncertain if China will agree to a fair trade deal. China exports five times more to the US than the US exports to China. Tariffs affect China far more than the US. They are at a significant disadvantage. Globalist free trade proponents promised they following: 1. Free trade would lead to fair trade policies. Nations would follow the rules to remain trading partners. 2. Oppressive regimes would become more democratic. 3. Low income, unskilled workers would create a robust middle class worldwide due to free trade. 4. The US would lose manufacturing jobs but there would be plenty of opportunities in the new economy. The globalist free trade advocates were horribly wrong. 1. China is famous for not following the rules, cheating, and stealing technology. 2. China is still communist and is more oppressive than a few decades ago. 3. Slave labor wages are still common around the world. A middle class does not exist in many countries. 4. Most Americans who lost manufacturing jobs never learned how to code. An entire region is known as the "Rust Belt". The American people never voted for this. Globalist free trade was foisted on us by a class of self-proclaimed elites. Independence is a founding principle of our country. A country that cannot produce what it needs is not independent. America cannot produce many of the things it invented. We are no longer self-reliant. The globalist free trade advocates were so wrong it is surprising anyone still listens to them. The top 10% own 88% of stocks in the US. The next 40% own 12% of stocks. The bottom 50% have debt. Lower energy prices benefit everyone. Cheaper gas impacts most Americans far more than a higher stock market. The Trump administration is changing decades of tariff policy. The transition will be volatile. If the current administration is successful, the long-term benefit for the US will be tremendous. I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36097915

How Will the Reciprocal Tariffs Affect the Economy and Our Money? 04/09/2025

How Will the Reciprocal Tariffs Affect the Economy and Our Money? The reciprocal tariff policy is about Fair Trade vs. Free Trade. Reciprocal tariffs will be calculated both the monetary and non-monetary totals. The US will tariff the other country about half of the tariff charged to the US. Non-tariff barriers are often worse. - Currency manipulation - VAT tax - Export subsidies - Counterfeit products - Technology theft - Subsidized dumping of products into our country designed to kill our industry. Free trade policies have been used against the US to destroy our manufacturing capability. - We lose jobs - National security issue Look at nearly any small town or rural area in America. Most are a hollow shell of what they once were. - There are few jobs or opportunities available - Most are depressed and run-down - It has steadily gotten worse over the past few decades - Destroyed American industry. - An entire region is known as the rust belt. The Trump administration is changing decades of tariff policy. The transition will be volatile. If the current administration is successful, the long-term benefit for the US will be tremendous. I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/36040825

The Dot-Com Bubble Peaked 25 Years Ago. Are Investors Repeating the Same Mistakes? 04/02/2025

The Dot-Com Bubble Peaked 25 Years Ago. Are Investors Repeating the Same Mistakes? It was a period of unfettered optimism. Nearly everyone thought the sky was the limit, it was a new era, valuations didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was how much you put into it, because it was going to continue to climb. Recently, greed was at extreme levels. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan had warned about “irrational exuberance” in the stock market as early as 1996. Investors ignored this warning. Instead, they increasingly fixated on the promise of the new technology. The current technology promise is AI. The dot-com era was known for high valuations. Recently, the markets were at record valuations. The markets peaked in early 2000. The ensuing bear market lasted more than 2 1/2 years. The S&P 500 dropped 45%. The S&P 500 finally returned to the same levels in May 2007. The Nasdaq-100 crashed 80%. The Nasdaq-100 took more than 15 years to return to its dot-com-era peak. The 2000's became known as the "lost decade". The Trump administration is changing decades of tariff policy. The transition will be volatile. If the current administration is successful, the long-term benefit for the US will be tremendous for decades. I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/35910280

The Market in Correction Territory. Is this Just a Correction or the Beginning of a Bear Market? 03/26/2025

Tariffs: What is the Trump Administration Economic Plan? 03/19/2025

Tariffs: What is the Trump Administration Economic Plan? The Trump administration wants: 1. Fair trade rather than free trade. - Many countries have taken advantage of the US for decades. - Reciprocal tariffs are fair, stop taking advantage of the US. - Making things in the US eliminates tariffs. 2. Bring manufacturing back to the US, build things again. - The US barely builds anything anymore. - Important for national security. - Increase good-paying jobs. 3. Reduce government spending - Causes inflation - Spending has exploded. Debt and deficit are unsustainable. - If allowed to continue, the US would go bankrupt. Economic chaos. - Eliminating waste, fraud, and theft help reduce spending. - The US is financially in trouble. Think of the current administration as a turn-around CEO. - Turn-arounds are challenging. Cuts have to happen. It can be ugly but is necessary. The transition will be volatile. If the current administration is successful, the long-term benefit for the US will be tremendous for decades. I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. This is the "Golden Era" of fixed assets. The best rates in 40+ years! Insured with guarantees. - Your Personal Bank policies are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! - Fixed Index Annuities have the best upside potential in 40+ years with no downside market risk. The principle is guaranteed. Some offer signing bonuses up to 16% with strong upside potential. - Guaranteed Lifetime Income is the highest in 40+ years. Some products offer up to 30% signing bonus. Other products offer up to 10% increased guaranteed lifetime income each year you defer. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/35699660

Ishan Patel Interview 03/12/2025

What is Your Personal Bank and Why is Now is an Excellent Time to Consider Adding to Your Portfolio 03/05/2025

What is Your Personal Bank and Why is Now is an Excellent Time to Consider Adding to Your Portfolio Your Personal Bank TM is a financial concept that strategically integrates financial tools from the banking and insurance industries to continue growth on funds even after you access the funds for other purposes. Your Personal Bank TM is a two step process. 1. A high cash value policy is established to maximize cash growth, insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, and highly liquid. 2. A bank line of credit is typically established using the cash in the policy as collateral to access funds. Typically, the interest or dividends earned are higher than the cost of borrowing funds. This creates positive cash flow on money that is spent! This is known as positive arbitrage. You are able to earn interest on money spent each and nearly every year for the rest of your life. Positive arbitrage has typically been 2-3% annually for the past 40+ years. What if you earned 1-3% on money you spent each year? You would have significantly more money to live on for the rest of your life! Why is this one of the best times to add Your Personal Bank to your portfolio? Insurance companies invest heavily in bonds. Bonds are highly interest rate sensitive. Interest rates have increased at the fastest rate in the history of the Federal Reserve. Bond interest rates are 2-3 times higher than they were a couple of years ago. Insurance company profits are increasing as well. Dividends are profits of the company, therefore, dividends are expected to increase. When the federal government spends more than it receives in tax revenue, it has to sell bonds to issue the currency. This is known as deficit spending. Also, the government does not pay down the existing debt. It sells new bonds at the current interest rate when the previous bond term expires to "roll over" the debt. Deficit spending is at all-time record levels. The overall debt continues to increase $1 Trillion about every 100 days. This is causing the federal government to sell record levels of bonds. And the amount of bond selling continues to increase. To entice institutional bond buyers to continue buying bonds, the government is having to offer higher and higher interest rates. Until the federal government starts spending less than it receives to start paying down the debt, the upward pressure on bond interest rates will continue. Vanguard and others have recently predicted bond interest rates will increase over the next 5-10 years. The federal government fiscal irresponsibility creates an opportunity. You can invest in high cash value Your Personal bank TM policies that are insured, with guarantees, income tax-free, highly liquid, and likely to increase returns for the next 5-10 years! I believe we are in for a chaotic year and a bumpy economic ride this year. It would be wise to protect your assets. Diversify. Reduce your risk. Reduce your tax liability. Increase returns safely. Increase liquidity to take advantage of future opportunities. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/35482665

Steve Trang, Disrupter Podcast Host 02/26/2025

Steve Trang, Disrupter Podcast Host Steve Trang started the Real Estate Disruptors podcast in 2018 to inspire wholesalers and real estate agents to double their incomes by adding a second leg to their business – working together on investment properties. The podcast has grown to over 100,000 downloads per month and over 3 million YouTube views, with new guests sharing their success stories and imparting advice every week. As a sales coach, Steve has helped thousands of clients generate millions in sales over the past few years in a variety of industries. His Disruptors Selling System teaches salespeople to ethically work with customers to discover their true needs, then craft a solution that works for the customer. Steve is also a successful businessman. On top of owning single family rentals, he also owns apartments, co-founded a bank, and is a part-owner in several other businesses. Many financial experts are calling this the "golden age" of fixed investments. Even if the Trump administration does everything right, some problems will take a while to fix. Debt is a major challenge. Record levels of debt requires record selling of bonds. This pushes bond interest rates higher. Until the government starts paying down debt, bond interest rates will remain elevated. When bond yields (interest) increase, institutional investors tend to move out of the stock market and into the bond market. Many institutional investors like banks, insurance companies, and pension funds are focused on obtaining steady consistent cash flow to pay their liabilities rather than accumulation. These large institutional investors have the ability to move markets. Blackrock, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Vanguard analysts all predict S&P 500 index returns will average 3-5% annually for the next decade. If the analysts are correct, Your Personal Bank dividends, annuities, and guaranteed lifetime income will all outperform the S&P 500 over the next decade without market risk and tax-favored. Steve Trang’s mission is to create 100 Millionaires. Why 100 Millionaires? Steve saw that assisting someone become a millionaire by building their business is a key measurable to helping them fulfill their dreams. People change and update their visions over time, but having the means to achieve them remains a necessity. Thus, creating millionaires means helping people live their dreams. To further this mission, Steve started the Real Estate Disruptors podcast in 2018 to inspire wholesalers and real estate agents to double their incomes by adding a second leg to their business – working together on investment properties. The podcast has grown to over 100,000 downloads per month and over 3 million YouTube views, with new guests sharing their success stories and imparting advice every week. As a sales coach, Steve has helped thousands of clients generate millions in sales over the past few years in a variety of industries. His Disruptors Selling System teaches salespeople to ethically work with customers to discover their true needs, then craft a solution that works for the customer. One of Steve’s favorite quotes is from the great Zig Ziglar: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” He heard this quote when he first got into real estate, and it has stuck with him throughout his entire career. In fact, it’s one of the core values Steve lives by. Steve is also a successful businessman. On top of owning single family rentals, he also owns apartments, co-founded a bank, and is a part-owner in several other businesses. /episode/index/show/213d6923-899f-4df4-94e2-847b110a7179/id/35335740

The Government Waste is not Incompetence, it is Corruption 02/19/2025

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