We've all heard the old adage, "You can't have your cake and eat it, too!" It seems to go hand in hand with, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." While there is some wisdom in both of those statements, these beliefs can sometimes keep us from making decisions that could drastically improve our lives.
It all stems from the call to be responsible. With life. With choices. With health. With money. And I am firmly in that camp. However, what I've witnessed over my now middle-aged lifetime is that sometimes it can seem like you get punished for being responsible. I could elaborate, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. We make sacrifices today to ensure a brighter tomorrow, when to look around, it seems like the folks NOT doing that are getting along just fine. So...what's the answer? Certainly it's not to throw responsibility out the window, but how do we find the balance between enjoying today to the fullest, while still being responsible regarding the future? IS there a way to have my cake and eat it, too?
Our family has found what seems to be an answer to that conundrum, in the area of finances, at least. We've found a tool that allows us to save for the future, but with money that we can access along the way for anything we need, with no fees, penalties, or taxes. Instead of our "responsible" savings being locked up until age 59 1/2, we're free to leverage it throughout our lifetime. No credit checks, no loan applications, just a simple process that has been proven for over 200 years.
What is this tool, you ask? Dividend-paying whole life insurance from a mutual company. Now before you write me off...hear me out. We're building an asset, we're protecting our family against unforeseen loss, and since we're a part of a mutual company, we're part owners in the system that we've created. We're being RESPONSIBLE. But at the same time, these policies are designed to foster cash growth. This is NOT your grandparents' whole life insurance. That cash value is available to use whenever we want, however we want, for whatever we want. The insurance company doesn't ask, or care. Why not? Because even if we never pay the loan back, they can just take the balance off of the death benefit when we "graduate" to the hereafter. When we do pay that loan back, the cash value is available to use again, and this cycle continues over and over. Here's the kicker...whether we use it or not, the compounding growth of our money is never interrupted. We can enjoy today, and still be responsible with tomorrow.
I can hear what you're thinking...."How in the world could such a set-up be for real? How could my money keep growing while I use it?" It comes back to you being a part owner in a mutual company. When you want to use the cash value, the money does not come out of your policy values. It comes from the insurance company's general fund. You're an owner, and you're good for it, so from their perspective, there is no risk in lending your their money. You will pay some interest for borrowing their money, just like you would anyone else's, but the difference is that this is a "non-recourse loan." In other words, there is no one coming to repo anything if you don't pay it back on schedule. In fact, you are the one who sets the schedule to begin with! If you need to make changes, that's totally up to you. YOU are in control. There is no pressure. It's an amazingly free way to live. You get to use the insurance company's money over and over again--without penalties or taxes, all while your policy values are guaranteed to go up each year in a tax-advantaged environment.
IT'S AMAZING! It's also very counter-culture to a society that lives under mountains of debt to third party lenders, in stark dismissal of the fact that the borrower is in fact slave to the lender. But what if you could be both? What if you were the borrower AND the lender? I'm barely scratching the surface, but hopefully you get the picture. There is a way to live in freedom from financial bondage. You CAN have your cake and eat it, too.
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