Television and the internet are great teachers when you pay close attention to the advertising and not the shows that the advertising pays for.
Advertising costs lots of money. Businesses that can afford a great deal of TV and internet advertising are probably making a lot of money.
Advertising also tells you what's at the front of the minds of Americans.
Here's some business categories that are currently spending millions - probably billions collectively - on TV and internet ads:
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Credit repair
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Credit watch
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Negotiating for Tax reductions
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Law suits
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Automobile insurance
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Life insurance
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Investments, 401(k) rollovers,mutual funds
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Sham WOW [just threw that in for the fun of it]
During those almost 40 years, I have studied the topics that insurance and investment advisors must study to earn and keep their licenses, registrations, and appointments: economics, insurance, investments, taxes, personal estate planning, legacy planning, and more. I have also studied the selling strategies that insurance companies and investment houses use to entice you to buy their products.
It's important to remember that these advertising companies are selling products. Their products are packaged as "peace of mind," "wealth creation," "personal asset protection," "long term financial planning," "future security," or "concern for your family." They are still products.
Remember, the company sponsoring the ad wants to sell you their products: life insurance, mutual funds, investment advice [yes, advice is a product if you pay either fees or commissions]. When you follow a link, respond to an ad that points you to a web site, or call a toll free number for advice and guidance, you are following the advertiser's advice and guidance.
Often the web sites contain "calculators" that are supposed to help you arrive at a decision, while the advisor on the other end of the toll free number claims to aim at the same thing. Putting aside the good intentions of the over-the-phone advisors - paving material for a very unsavory place - the result of these calculations and advice will always be the same: "Buy my product."
The product that the site or the advisor recommends may or may not be your best choice.
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My bet, based on experience, is that it is not even close to your best choice.
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My advice is that you find an experienced advisor that is not affiliated with just one company and that does not ascribe to conventional wisdom of doing what most others in the industry are doing because that's what the rest of the industry is doing.
Normally, your best choice is not going to be a product at all. It is going to be a paradigm shift; a change in your approach to creating and managing a personal economy and personal wealth; changing your mind about money.
Second, the Money for Life Model engages you in a process that continues over a lifetime. Initially, you build your foundation with money you control in par whole life policies. Eventually, you develop enough cash value to support the Four Pillars that are essential to every successful personal economy.
Additional discussions and information:
www.theMoneyforLifeblog.com
www.MoneyforLifeGuides.com
the Money for Life book, which deals with all of these issues in detail.
Third, the intent of the blog entry is to point out that finding a competent advisor that is not bound to one company - a broker appointed with Illinois Mutual as well as other companies for example - is what's truly important. A calculator supplied by an insurer or any entity that wants to sell you their products can be a useful tool. It cannot substitute for the guidance of a competent advisor.