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“The Bank On Yourself strategy gives you an exceptional combination of collateral, security, liquidity and control. Your money grows by a guaranteed and predictable amount every year, and that growth gets better every year you have it.” Pamela Yellen-“The bank revolution in yourself“
Several years have passed since the publication of “Bank On Yourself,” Pamela Yellen’s first attempt to articulate to a wide audience the benefits of using purpose-built whole life insurance in financial planning. Since then, the always fluid and always chimerical world of personal finance has become even more unfathomable and unpredictable.
As an authorized Bank On Yourself advisor, I believe a sequel to the original Bank On Yourself book was long overdue. That’s why I was so pleased to hear of the publication of this second most comprehensive discussion of a truly unique cash management system.
In the sequel, The bank revolution in yourselfYellen has put considerable effort into deconstructing the Bank On Yourself method in a way that makes it even more accessible and understandable to the average person. She makes a concise, strong, yet passionate case for using specially designed dividend-paying whole life insurance policies as vehicles for preserving and growing wealth. When put together correctly, she says, these policies build cash value as quickly as possible and provide unparalleled security and protection.
Yellen explains that a person can make tax-free withdrawals and loans of the cash value accumulated in the policy to finance large purchases, such as college tuition, cars and cash-producing real estate. You use your policy and can pay for yourself, with the loan secured by the death benefit. Some refer to this idea, which has been around in various guises for more than 150 years, as “becoming your own finance company.” Yellen does a good job of explaining the ideas behind Bank On Yourself without losing the reader in a fog of insurance jargon or hype.
Implicit in his explanations is the understanding that anyone wishing to use the system established at BOYR must do their own due diligence. It is definitely not for everyone.
In The bank revolution in yourself it is evident that Yellen has put much more thought and effort into the content and design of the book, making it easy to navigate from topic to topic and keeping her commentary focused and free of anything that could be perceived as excessive verbiage. She does an admirable job of making the ideas presented clear and easy to understand, even for those with little financial education.
The bank revolution in yourself introduces us to some old-school financial concepts that Yellen admits aren’t “sexy” but work, like the “10-10-10” method of money management and the common-sense idea of not having too much debt. She makes a strong case for designer whole life policies in both term insurance and indexed universal life (IUL) policies that are always in style.
Nice additions to this volume are the “takeaways” at the end of the chapters that give the reader tidbits of information designed to be easy to understand, retain, and implement. Yellen also includes stories from real users of the system, from stay-at-home moms to entrepreneurs to former professional athletes. Obviously, these anecdotes have value, especially for financial professionals who are introducing the concept to their clients for the first time.
People feel better knowing that “real people” like themselves are having success with Bank On Yourself.
The bank revolution in yourself It’s an entertaining read and is a valuable contribution to a growing body of evidence supporting the wisdom of using permanent life insurance in financial planning. If you are someone who is looking for alternatives to banks, Wall Street, and finance companies, this book will help you understand one of those alternatives: Bank On Yourself.