What Is the Most Lethal Force Against Your Retirement?

What Is the Most Lethal Force Against Your Retirement?


As a managing principal of a financial firm who constantly interacts with retirement investors from across the nation, I can confirm without a shadow of a doubt that the majority of Americans approach their personal finances with broad generalizations. You can confirm this by taking a sampling of any number of folks, asking them which investment product(s) they believe is/are best for achieving their retirement income needs. Nine out of ten – if not all of them – will give you the exact same responses. And when you ask the follow-up question regarding how they arrived at their conclusions, you’ll almost certainly hear another similar response: “Isn’t that what everybody else owns (or is doing)?”

The rather sad mistake with this troubling phenomenon is that it lumps all retirement investors together. Common sense, on the other hand, tells us that in matters such as this, no two individuals are ever the same, even identical twins.

I must say, however, that I don’t fault the average investor at all, because it’s not their fault. I squarely blame the financial press and certain so-called experts who have – either knowingly or unknowingly – created the completely bogus illusion that it is appropriate to lump all investors together as one single unit. This would be akin to a doctor assuming that every patient needs the same medicine, which you’d have to admit would be totally ridiculous, unprofessional, and quite frankly, dumb. As basic as it may sound, the fact is that something that would work beautifully for John could leave Mary’s life in ruins – and that applies to the field of personal finance, too!

What makes this generalization nonsense even worse is that the average investor usually doesn’t digest the advice thoroughly because it sounds perfectly fluent and logical – yet beneath the surface, these theories are almost always half-baked and never present the complete picture.

A recent case in point occurred when a man was willing to bet the ranch on the advice that “all annuities are taxed on their gains.” You might even agree with that statement. Here’s the problem: that statement is based on the broad generalizations you are likely to see in the financial media, read in certain financial books, hear on radio shows, or watch your favorite TV financial guru spout off. The fact is, that’s not the complete picture and hence not entirely accurate! Unbelievable, isn’t it?

“All annuities are taxed on their gains” is true only for “qualified” and “non-qualified tax-deferred” annuities. Do any of these experts know that there’s a third category of annuities known as “non-qualified, income-tax-free?” Yes, those are annuities, too! And they are completely income-tax free! My point is that generalizations always omit certain critical details that could make you or break you – or any other investor, for that matter.

On an almost daily basis, I hear and/or read supposedly powerful financial information that makes me agree, more and more, with the legendary Will Rogers’ statement: “The problem in America isn’t so much what people don’t know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain’t so.”

I often wonder how many folks out there are making critical retirement choices based on what they think they know that isn’t actually the complete picture. Wouldn’t you agree that everyone needs all the pieces of the puzzle in front of them from day one? Please, do your future financial comfort a huge favor and stop seeking generalizations. After all, you are unique, aren’t you?
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Contact a strategist at Laser Financial Group for a complimentary consultation so that you can learn about personalized financial options that are tailor-made for your situation. 301.949.4449

The Only Sure Way to End Your Retirement Financial Woes

The Only Sure Way to End Your Retirement Financial Woes


One study after another reveals that a large majority of Americans face serious predicaments in their abilities to sustain themselves financially during retirement: from those who are beyond the usual retirement age and cannot retire although they want to, to those who have to come out of retirement to start working again, just so they can get by, to those who are a few to several years away, but know that with things the way they are, they are headed in the wrong direction, to those who are OK in retirement today but know that they might run out of money sooner or later.

If you belong in any of these categories or have just about any financial worries regarding your retirement, today is your lucky day, because I’ve got the one and only solution you need – no kidding! Before I proceed, though, let me caution you that as always, I am going to be candid, so you need to buckle up!

You see the thing is, you – or anyone who’s not satisfied or sees some form of a threat in their retirement plan – face the same common problem: your existing setup is flawed! That’s genius, right? If the plan were good, you wouldn’t have been concerned to begin with. Therefore, the solution to every retirement financial woe can be found in this quote attributed to Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Stated in my own words, your only solution is CHANGE!!! Genius again!

Your only shot at fixing your situation is to look for a better alternative that is legal, realistic, makes sense, and is proven to have worked. Note here that I’m not saying that the better alternative should be something you already know about. In real life, chances are good that you wouldn’t know about it, because if you did and you are still in this current situation, that would be saying a whole other thing about you, wouldn’t it? I know you are smarter than this, but there are folks who are dissatisfied (and keep wailing every day) about their present retirement picture, but who at the same time are unwilling (or at least act that way) to do anything different. And they wouldn’t even take a closer look at something they don’t already know about. I wish every retirement investor would memorize Marshall Thurber’s statement that while different isn’t always better, better on the other hand is always different!

Being dissatisfied, scared, perplexed, unhappy, and complaining about something is a complete waste of precious time and energy if you don’t take action to change your desired outcome. Stop complaining and start changing! And oh, about the genius thing, Josh Billings said “Genius ain’t anything more than elegant commonsense.”
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Call us today at 301.949.4449 or visit us on the Web to schedule your appointment to talk about making financial changes that can affect your entire future - POSITIVELY!

Why Bother with Tax Loopholes When the Same Code Has Legitimate Tax-Free Options?

Why Bother with Tax Loopholes When the Same Code Has Legitimate Tax-Free Options?


A couple Mondays ago, the IRS announced what it calls the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI).  According to Commissioner Doug Shulman, this program, which runs from February 8 through August 31 of 2011, is the “last and best chance” for people who are hiding money in undisclosed offshore accounts to “get back into the U.S. tax system.”

The IRS is basically offering these individuals a deal whereby they come forward now, pay all the back taxes owing, an additional 25 percent penalty of the amount hidden, and interest for up to eight years, as well as, paying accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. In exchange, they will avoid criminal prosecutions for the illegal activity of hiding money in offshore accounts. Back in 2009, the IRS launched something almost identical, and according to what they tell us, about 15,000 individuals came clean at that time. However, according to the IRS, there are still a lot more folks hiding money, and this is the very last chance for them to even out, or else…

The only reason I can think of as to why people would hide money in offshore accounts is so that they can have the income on those investments, tax free. We all know that tax free is awesome, but it always amazes me to see the extent to which people are willing to go just so they will not pay the taxes they must pay. We’re not necessarily talking ultra-wealthy people here, because some of the folks who came forward back in 2009 had as little as $10,000 invested. Don’t we all hear about these offshore deals from time to time?

Here’s what really makes me wonder, and wonder again. Why in the world would people resort to loopholes, knowing very well (or should I say, they should have known?) that they are illegal, and could be closed any day? And on top of that, why would they risk jail time when, in fact, they don’t have to do so to achieve the SAME results???

Here’s the thing. Under those same tax laws, individuals can put away basically unlimited sums of nonqualified money, let it grow, and later access everything (including all the gains) without creating what the IRS calls a “taxable event,” thereby making it absolutely and completely free of any income taxes. We have clients who have been doing this for years! Seeing reports like these only strengthens my conviction that indeed a lot of people simply don’t know what they don’t know.

Not even one of Laser Financial Group’s valuable clients had ever had an IRS issue as a result of a strategy or advice they obtained from us, and I’m 100 percent certain that nothing like that will ever happen in the future! How can I be so sure? I know this for a fact because everything we do is based on existing tax laws, our clients are never at risk. We run as far away as we can from loopholes, and you should, too!
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Call us today at 301.949.4449 or visit us on the Web to schedule your risk-free complimentary session to discuss the ways you can legally shield yourself from paying unnecessary taxes!

Bernie Madoff Is Completely Right About This!

Bernie Madoff Is Completely Right About This!

Boy oh boy, I didn’t see this day coming – when I’d actually be in total agreement with Bernie Madoff. But on February 27, when New York magazine published an interview with the 72-year-old crook of the century, I found myself agreeing 100 percent with this statement: “The whole new regulatory reform is a joke.”

For those of you not familiar with it, “regulatory reform” is the new law that was passed by Congress with the intention of fixing the financial industry (which politicians usually refer to as Wall Street) and hence prevent scams like the one pulled off by Bernie, as well as the “greed” that would eventually slide our economy into a recession. Politically, that may seem a smart strategy, but I think Madoff is correct on two counts.

First of all, you can’t legislate honesty, ethics, or good behavior, no matter how hard you try. I mean, you can’t even do it with kids, let alone with grown folks. So to think that a piece of legislation, irrespective of how “strongly” it is worded, will cause - or could have prevented - greedy, dishonest, good-for-nothing individuals from swindling, stealing, or lying to people is just pure wishful thinking. I learned years ago that it’s virtually impossible to train someone to be honest (especially adults). So the one thing we don’t do here at Laser Financial Group – and will never do (insofar as I remain in charge) – is train our staff about how to be ethical. I take a very simple shortcut – we hire only honest people!

My second reason for agreeing with Bernie is this: who else is more qualified to tell us what works (or doesn’t work) than the mastermind of the biggest financial scam in history, which – on paper – is estimated to be $ 65 billion and known to have affected people spanning across five continents? And I’d surmise that he did this for his entire life, given he’s now 72 years old. What is even more revealing (but I don’t think most people recognize) is that while scamming people, Bernie Madoff was at one time the chairman of the board of the financial industry’s own watchdog organization (it used to be called the National Association of Securities Dealers – NASD, and is known today as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority – FINRA). Think about that! Madoff was heading up the very body that was supposed to be cleaning out the bad apples while he was scamming folks. Unbelievable, right? My point is this guy just doesn’t know a thing or two about ripping-off people – but EVERYTHING – and he is telling us that laws won’t stop financial scammers!

So just how does one ensure that they do not become a victim of some unscrupulous financial guy or gal? Although I don’t claim to have a 100 percent solution, the seven tips I outlined last June in this article would go a long way toward helping you to protect your investments from fraud.

Call us at 301.949.4449 or visit us on the Web to schedule your complimentary session so you can start getting your financial house in order without getting scammed.