It used to be that a farmer would plant in the Spring the crops he wished to have in the Fall. Whether it was corn or squash or soy bean. He would then watch over his crops to make sure they weren't drying up, being over-watered or letting the birds devour his hard work. He wouldn't plant his seed and then not check up on it for several months. If he could make it through the Summer he would then have the chance to harvest his crop and eat what he planted or sell it for a profit. However he wouldn't eat it all and he certainly wouldn't sell it all. He would guard it with his life against the coming Winter until he could find another Spring to plant them.
So many of us depend upon the grocery store and food manufactures to make our food that saving seed has become foreign to us. The seed of our day is "Money". Yet we don't seem to be following the principle of saving our seed for future opportunities. Today NBC News released an article that 25% of Americans will be raiding their 401k's and IRA's this year just to cover their basic monthly bills. Most people are saving something in their work fund or personal accounts, but usually not enough. As I speak with people from all over the country about saving and investing their money, so many are so focused on the interest rate that they forget to do their part and save money. Don't get me wrong, you want to get the highest interest rate you can, but I don't hear many talking about the amount of money THEY are saving. I see a pattern of relying too heavily on the interest rate and not enough on the volume of money we personally put away.
So how much should we be saving? Some say 10% minimum. While others are now saying 15%. I think you should save as much as you can with a goal to save a little more each year. Perhaps the most you can do right now is 1%. With some effort and focus you would probably get that up to 5% and then 10% pretty quickly. It's amazing what humans can do when they have a purpose behind something. Figure out what you are saving for and get serious about it.
There is a great story in the Old Testament of the Bible that talks about saving seed for the future. Remember Joseph and the coat of many colors, who was sold into Egypt? Well, once he had gained favor in the land, he was asked to interpret Pharaoh's dream of 7 fat cows being eaten by 7 skinny cows and 7 healthy ears of corn being devoured and eaten by 7 sickly ears of corn. He told the Pharaoh that they needed to save 1/5th or 20% of the grain for the years of famine. After 7 years of plenty and saving the grain, the 7 years of famine hit the land hard. They were able to survive because they had saved during the years of plenty.
We all have months and years of plenty. Do we save during those months or do we go on shopping sprees and eat out more? Are we prepared for the months and years of famine and hardship in our own lives?
One important reason you want to have money (seed) saved, is inevitably an opportunity (a Spring) will come upon you and you will have the resources to take advantage of that. I know a guy, let's call him Ben, that had just such an opportunity come his way. He had been saving money in his life insurance plan for many years when one day he was approached by his neighbor. The man told him that his family was on the verge of losing their home if they couldn't pay their mortgage. Ben asked him what savings he had or other resources, that could be used to make sure this didn't happen. The man mentioned that he had several hundred acres of land that he couldn't sell because the economy was so poor. Ben asked the man what was the lowest he would let the land go for? The neighbor told him $50,000. Because Ben had the money saved in his life insurance plan, he told him he would buy it.
The money saved the neighbors home and gave them some cushion while their money situation improved. The neighbor was grateful because it saved the home he and his wife had raised their children in. Because Ben didn't have to make payments back to his life insurance plan, he was able to sit on the land until the economy improved. 3 years later he was approached by a land developer and sold the land for over $250,000. Luckily he had saved some seed for that particular Spring because it resulted in an incredible harvest.
The truth is that the cost of living has gone up tremendously in America and we need to get wise with our finances and more disciplined with our saving. Unfortunately many people have confused the term saving with investing. Savings is money that you don't intend to lose. While investing is money you are willing to lose in an attempt to get a higher rate of return. Risk verses reward. The problem is that 401k's and IRA's have become the No. 1 place for Americans to save their money. 401k's are not a savings vehicle when your money is in the Stock Market and at risk to be lost. How many trillion's of dollars have been lost to hard working Americans each time the stock markets drops? CBS News has a great article on how trillions of dollars evaporated in 2008.
With a properly structured Cash Value Life Insurance plan you can safely save money for major purchases or even to supplement your retirement. You can borrow against the policy without any fees or penalties for touching your money before age 59 1/2. You can use these plans to make major purchases like cars, start businesses, pay medical bills or create a stream of tax-free income for life.
Remember a good farmer woundn't:
- Lose his seed
- Eat all his seed
- Gamble with his seed
- Sell all his seed
To see how much your saved money could grow to and all the ways a life insurance plan could benefit your life, contact me and I will go over a personalized plan just for you. I can show you how to get plenty of life out of your life insurance plan.
Cheers,
Stephen Gardner
888-638-0080
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