We look forward to the Van Mueller newsletter every month. It's chock-full of sound bites, sales tips, and eye-opening statistics. Here are our favorite parts of the October 2022 edition. We're sharing the full introduction, and 2 of the 7 monthly sales ideas. If you like what you read, we encourage you to click here and become a subscriber.
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October 2022 – 7 Ideas and Views Newsletter by Van Mueller
Last month we shared with you how to use the U.S. Debt Clock website effectively www.usdebtclock.org. You can use the information at that website to create questions that will get you more appointments and then you can use the information to create questions for your presentation that will inspire your prospect or client to take action.
I would invest the $4.99 to expand the app to show predictions for eight years from now rather than just four years from now.
Because the information is less than a decade it doesn’t seem that far away from happening. This is especially true for people age 50 and above. Why? Because time seems to go faster for people over age 50. So, sharing the tremendous impact of taxes, inflation, health care costs, etc. and the impact it will have on them, their children and their grandchildren is really beneficial in the process of discovery. We must take our customers through a process of discovery. We must take our customers through this process to help them recognize that they must take action. I would install the app on my phone and my computer. For a small investment of $9.98 you will inspire people to give you not hundreds of thousands but millions of dollars. The app will also keep you current. Here’s one quick example. The national debt of the United States is about to exceed $31 trillion dollars. That really limits the choices that the Federal Reserve and the government have for solving our current inflation crisis. In order to normalize inflation, you must try to increase the interest rates to a level that matches the inflation rate. If they did that the interest on $31 trillion would be around 2.5 trillion. That would be more than 40 percent of the current budget going for interest only. So, would other programs the government provided be eliminated? Of course not. They would exacerbate our current inflation problem by printing more money. Inflation is a big deal. Finally, if you understand the above information, you will soon realize that the government would surely attempt to increase income taxes and all other taxes.
If you understand the above information, you will soon realize that the government would surely attempt to increase income taxes and all other taxes.
When you are talking to your clients and prospects who have money the app easily shares that your customer has a huge target on their backs. They will face increased taxes and a dramatic loss of the purchasing power of the money they have left after taxes and losses in the markets. Ask them if they are okay with that happening or would they like to develop a strategy that allows them to prevent all that damage to their financial and retirement future? The app provides third-party information and shares where the information is coming from. I find it to be one of the most useful tools to inspire my customers to take action. I KNOW you will discover that as well for your practice.
Next month we will thoroughly examine how to use Wage Statistics that is provided by the chief actuary for Social Security every October. We will show you how to use this amazing information that Social Security has provided every year since 1990 to show our customers why it is likely they will pay more taxes in the future. We also use the information to show grandma and grandpa why it is so vital to preserve and even leverage their estates. The information Wage Statistics provides shows that it will be highly unlikely that grandma’s and grandpa’s children and grandchildren will have enough money to retire unless grandma and grandpa preserve their estates.
Please remember, these are all tools that you use to develop great questions for your customers. You don’t TELL them about the information, you ASK then about the information. You only use these tools to verify to your customer that the information comes from a valid source. We ask our customers how the information will impact them and their family. Will it impact them in a negative way or could a strategy be developed that would allow the information to impact them, their family and their business in a positive way. It helps our customer to use their own common sense to reason out the best course of action for them and their families and businesses. The process doesn’t take as long because you are not trying to bend them to your will or convince them. You are using questions to help them organize their thinking so they can discover, on their own, what might be the most beneficial strategy for them. It is a much easier process. This month we are going to review the tool, www.truthinaccounting.org. We will show you what an amazing resource this website is and why the information is easily, some of the most accurate information you and your customer will ever have access to.
TruthInAccounting.org contains information that is easily some of the most accurate information you and your customer will ever have access to.
The website has a free daily newsletter that is sent directly to your email and provides information about accounting at all levels of government. You really gain insight very quickly about all the manipulations of government information. The newsletter keeps you current and allows you to ask questions about certain events that will impact your customers.
Under the NEWS section of Truth in Accounting, there are countless articles that discuss all the ways governments manipulate taxes and pensions and healthcare.
The section you will probably use the most is RESOURCES. The four sections that you will use most frequently are the Financial State of the Union, Financial State of the States, the Financial State of the Cities and the Pension Database.
The Financial State of the Union is simply explained and is terrifying. It clearly shows the federal government will require much more revenue in the future and that taxes alone will not even come close to covering the shortfall. We will have to print enormous amounts of money to provide the promised benefits, or we will see our government renege on the promised benefits by reducing those benefits dramatically. Either way, these occurrences can be planned for. Here is important information that is literally heartbreaking. The U.S. government has only $4.89 trillion of assets available to pay bills totaling $138.28 trillion. It breaks down the total and shows the unfunded liabilities as follows:
Medicare Benefits: $58.1 Trillion
Social Security Benefits: $45.4 Trillion
Publicly held Debt: $22.34 Trillion
Military and Civilian Retirement Benefits: $10.18 Trillion
Other Liabilities: $2.25 Trillion
Total: $138.28 Trillion
Ask your customer if the government desperately needs this money. Will they go after people with money or people who don’t have money? And will government allow people who don’t have money to go without food, shelter and healthcare? So, won’t they take the money they need from the people who did what they were supposed to do? They saved. They lived within their means. They didn’t load up on debt. Now, won’t the government take from them to support the people who didn’t do what they were supposed to do? Ask them if they believe that’s fair. Many will get angry. Ask them if they know of a strategy that would allow them to keep most or all of what they’ve accumulated, would they, at the very least, want to know that a strategy like that was available to them?
The next section can be used just as powerfully, however now it is becoming more specific. It shows the State of the States. The total debt for the 50 states is $1.5 trillion. The first thing the site does is rank the states in order from the best financially to the worst. The bottom ten states include California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut. 39 states do not have enough money to pay their bills. The states have $926.3 billion in pension debt and $638.7 billion in retiree healthcare debt. Whatever state you live in, you can find out if the state has enough money to provide the promised retirement and healthcare benefits. 39 states do not. The only things they can do are raise income taxes, property or sales tax, borrow more money or reduce benefits. It is highly likely that most states will have to do all three.
The only things they can do are raise income taxes, property or sales tax, borrow more money or reduce benefits. It is highly likely that most states will have to do all three.
However, there is one more thing they can do. The representatives and senators in congress can make deals with each other to bail out each other. There is precedence for this. Didn’t we bail out New York City and Detroit. Didn’t we bail out General Motors, Chrysler and Long Term Capital? What makes you think we wouldn’t do that again? Then who pays? Don’t homeowners pay higher property taxes? Don’t purchasers pay higher sales taxes? Will that be enough? Won’t they continue to print more money to provide promised benefits or get voted out of office? There are nine states that get F grades. These include California and New York.
Ask your customer how badly damaged their financial and retirement futures will be impacted by these events? What if you could develop a strategy to minimize the negative effects and maximize the positive effect? When would you want to get started? WE PROVIDE SOLUTIONS. We are not the adversary.
We provide solutions. We are not the adversary.
The next section becomes even more specific. It ranks the finances of the 75 largest cities in the United States from best to worst. 61 cities do not have enough money to pay their bills. Did you know that 22 of the 75 largest cities in the United States are in California and Texas? There are 14 in California and 8 in Texas. These 75 cities have a debt of $357.5 billion, $180.1 billion is retiree health care debt. Here’s another question. How will the cities raise all of this money to meet their debt requirements? Isn’t their only way to raise these revenues by imposing a city tax like New York City or increase sales tax and property tax. Can they borrow more money or maybe even reduce the benefits? Wouldn’t the most likely solution be a combination of all of these things?
Ask your customer if these situations will add to the challenges, they face to achieve financial and retirement success. Then ask them if they believe things will get better or worse at the federal, state or city level?
If things don’t get better, who will pay? In the future, will the federal government be bailing out the states and the cities? What is the impact of policies used by the government to provide more benefits than they have revenue for and what will be the short term and long-term cost to the American people for the ridiculous decisions made by government at every level of our country?
The things that make America great are that Americans as individuals can build strategies that prevent these negative government policies from hurting them. In fact, what if you could take advantage of every stupid program or policy governments instituted for the rest of your life? If you knew you could do that when would you want to get started?
The things that make America great are that Americans as individuals can build strategies that prevent these negative government policies from hurting them.
Finally, www.truthinaccounting.org provides a database for pensions in all 50 states that state and local governments provide. They show you if the states and municipalities pensions are funded or not funded and to what extent. This site is very valuable in discussions with customers about the viability of their pensions. Even if their pension is a private pension, you can raise the questions of the viability of that pension using information like this.
www.truthinaccounting.org is free. I would not be able to understand why our industry would not be using the valuable information provided by this website to inspire our prospects and clients to take action. This is an amazing tool.
Finally, I want to have a little deeper conversation about inflation before we get to the sales ideas.
Did you know that from 1973 to 1991 inflation was never less than five percent and rose to as high as sixteen percent? Because we haven’t had to deal with serious inflation for so long, we don’t realize how serious an issue inflation will be. This time, it is different. Inflation is global. In fact, because of inflation we only have four countries on Earth that have a real positive interest rate. We effectively sold the Kool-Aid to the rest of the world.
Because of inflation we only have four countries on Earth that have a real positive interest rate.
There is now real proof that inflation is embedded in our country. Gas prices went down 25 to 30 percent from their high and yet inflation essentially remained the same. While that was happening rail workers went on strike to get a 24 percent raise over 5 years. Teachers all over our country were striking for higher wages. Unions are becoming stronger again and are negotiating for higher wages. That is all called wage inflation and it will be rampant in our country. Gas prices will go back up as we attempt to refill the Petroleum Reserve that we used to bring prices down. As an aside, I have a friend who sent me a picture from California showing that gas prices are still close to $7 per gallon, and he believes they could easily rise to $8 or $9 per gallon. Does this sound like inflation is getting under control?
Then the government and the markets try to fool the American people about inflation. How? The government manipulated how it is measured. Core consumer price index DOES NOT include food costs or energy costs. When the government determines other inflation numbers, they use a method called chained C.P.I. If you compare the costs of a dryer from 10 years ago to a dryer today, there is no inflation because the dryer has more features. The dryer is still more expensive, yet there is no increase in inflation.
Then the government and the markets try to fool the American people about inflation. How? The government manipulated how it is measured.
The markets trick you using a method called shrinkflation. You get less product or service for the same cost or higher than you paid before. Here are 10 examples:
Folgers container - 51 ounces to 43.5
Kleenex - 65 tissues to 60
Walmart paper towels - 168 sheets per roll to 120
Dorito’s - 9.75 ounces to 9.25
Burger King chicken nuggets - 10 to 8
Bounty Triples - 165 sheets to 147
Hefty’s mega pack - 90 bags to 80
Tillamook ice cream - 56 ounces to 48
Pantene Pro V Curl Prefect Conditioner - 12 ounces to 10.4
Angel Soft - 425 sheets per roll to 320
It will not take months or even years to overcome this terrifying inflation. It could easily take a decade or longer and it won’t be overcome by an organized strategy. It will be overcome by a global economic disaster which will find the world having a lower standard of living. Inflation can easily be a deal breaker for a successful retirement. Our industry has solutions for inflation as well as higher taxes, lower benefits, volatility, recession and outliving your income. Let’s get started with this month’s newsletter.
Idea #1: Do You Want to Be Rich Or...?
Do you want to be rich or do you want an absolute positive guarantee that you will never be poor? More and more people are becoming concerned that they will run out of money before they run out of retirement. These two articles can be used to raise the issue with prospects and clients.
I believe however, that it is important to convince insurance and financial professionals that this is true. We still try to sell against our competitive advantage by trying to convince our customers that life insurance and annuities are good investments, when that is not their major benefit. We make it easier for people to compete against us when we push life insurance and annuities as good investments. They provide far superior benefits than anything else for providing income.
Study after study provides that Americans are much more concerned with loss than they ever are at missing out on gain. Yet, that is not what we provide. Ask them, in this environment if we could show them that even if they completely ran out of money, they would NEVER run out of income, at the very least, do you think they would want access to that kind of information?
Finally, don’t assume Americans know any of this. Ask them if they are aware that benefits like guaranteed income that they can’t outlive, exist. They do not. Ask them, please.
Title: Near-Retirees Say they Are “Terrified” Of Income Shortfalls
https://www.fa-mag.com/ (Financial Advisor, September 15, 2022)
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/new-survey-shows-near-retirees-are--terrified--about-income-shortfalls-in-retirement-69659.html
Title: Many younger baby boomers may outlive their 401(k) savings, new research finds. Here’s why
https://www.cnbc.com/ (CNBC, June 19, 2022)
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/19/401k-plans-may-not-last-long-enough-in-retirement.html
Idea #4: Even Wealthy People Are Beginning to Live Paycheck to Paycheck
Americans are beginning to go deeper and deeper in debt. Inflation is dramatically increasing how much Americans have to pay with increasing food costs, energy costs, insurance costs, etc. Repair costs for homes and automobiles are increasing dramatically. Please read the article I am providing carefully. It will help you to build great questions to inspire your prospects and clients to take action.
When a customer says, “I can’t afford the insurance you are recommending” please reply that you totally understand their point of view. Ask them, however, if that doesn’t raise another question? If you can’t afford the premium, how will your family or business afford the problem if you are not here? Shouldn’t that be considered?
Title: Living paycheck to paycheck is now ‘the most common financial lifestyle’ in the US – even the wealthy aren’t immune
https://www.yahoo.com/ (Yahoo Finance, July 15, 2022)
https://www.yahoo.com/video/living-paycheck-paycheck-now-most-181000288.html
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