E117: The Unexpected Benefits of Infinite Banking Beyond What Spreadsheets Can Show

Nate: In this episode, we discuss the unseen power of infinite banking to transform lives and how you can’t put all the benefits of IBC on a spreadsheet. She’s Holly and she helps people find financial freedom.

Holly: He’s Nate, he makes sense out of money. This is Dollars and Nonsense. If you follow the herd, you will be slaughtered.

Nate: All right. Well, welcome back to this week’s episode of Dollars and Nonsense. For those of you who have followed us for a long time, you know that we are big fans of what’s called the Infinite Banking Concept. We’re not going to be able to go into all the details of what that is, so if you’re new to the podcast show and you want to hear more about that outside the box strategy to building wealth, you might want to go back and see previous episodes.

One thing we wanted to focus on today is that I think it’s very common for people when they get introduced into banking, to want to see the numbers or maybe this is just me, by the way, because I’m analytical and build out a spreadsheet, see if it works, get all the details kind of figured out. What we’ve come to find out, Holly and I, is that there are areas of your life that are impacted and things get impacted when someone adopts infinite banking that they had no idea would change about them.

That’s really what we want to focus on today and delve in a little deeper is these areas of life that we hear from clients and we’ve seen in our own lives be changed because we practice IBC. It really has nothing to do with any spreadsheet we could build around infinite banking, but it has to do with, I guess I would say a change of perspective that comes as people adopt infinite banking.

Holly:

I think that we say a lot of times it is really a mind shift. It’s a perspective change of things that you’ve learned over your life that actually aren’t truths that you actually are reteaching yourself or actually for the first time in your life you’re really learning not just how money works, but you’re changing the perspective of the control of money.

Once you start to understand or take control of your own money or your finances, I think your perspective really does change. For most of us, we depend on somebody else to manage our money, somebody else to tell us what to do with that money and we’ve gone along with the herd and just done what everybody else was doing.

I think once you actually start the policy what you don’t realize is that perspective change also brings a freedom to your life that you didn’t realize was going to happen no matter what numbers are on a spreadsheet. You just couldn’t believe the change that takes place just by now having control of your money, but knowing what your money’s doing and being able to see how you actually can access and use your money because for so many of us, we don’t have access to our money. We talked about this just earlier. We’re trapped from age 25 to 65, you live 40 years kind of waiting for that day to utilize all this money you’ve saved. For 40 years, really, you don’t have the ability to use the money, to access it, to be able to really make it do what you want it to do.

Nate: I think what you brought up was a really good point. Most people who adopt infinite banking were members of the herd. We start our financial life, we’re trying to do the things and most of the low hanging fruit financially is what we call herd mentality, it’s what everyone does. You open a checking account, you open a savings account, you open a 401k when you go to work. You do all these things and we’re kind of members of the herd.

For most people, as soon as they decide to practice infinite banking, that is their first step in leaving the herd for most people. Plenty of people by the way, had already started doing creative things financially before they found infinite banking, but I would say probably the majority have been in the herd mentality and opening a policy to pursue the infinite banking concept, which is much more than just a policy, it’s a concept. That is their first detour out of the herd.

What that does is it starts to change the financial perspective of an individual dramatically because it’s changing from herd mentality to something else and what that opens up for people is huge. That’s really what we wanted to focus on today. What does taking a detour away from the herd, what are the other ramifications of that that can change people’s lives and transform lives?

We do know that the policy offers a lot of analytical benefit. It’s a good asset. It grows for us guaranteed. It grows tax-free. We can use it. All these things are great, but there’s more to it than that. There’s something about taking the step outside the herd that we constantly hear testimonies of clients who said, “I’m so thankful that you came into my life. That infinite banking presented me an idea. Not just because of what the policies are doing for me, but look at all these other things I’ve been able to accomplish that I know I never would have even pursued or tried to do if I hadn’t first taken this step to become my own banker.”

Holly, tell me, what is something you’ve heard from clients that has been in that light where it goes beyond the spreadsheet we could say, and into leaving the herd, what has happened?

Holly: I think of a couple clients actually that had never been on a vacation because they just couldn’t I think justify the spending the money for a vacation. Just the freedom of being able to go on vacation and know that you’re actually going to get all that money back, you actually could make a little bit of money going on vacation. Where instead, it feels like, and I’ll say this even growing up, it feels like vacation is even though it’s supposed to be fun, it can still be this stressful time because either you’re not working or you just see money going out of the pocket to pay for things, so you’re trying to reign in all the spending. You’re trying to keep the vacation cost as small as possible. Every dollar you save is a dollar you can use somewhere else in your life.

I think in some ways vacation is stressful for parents or the individuals working versus the kids see or experience that stress, or even a couple. Imagine being able just to go away for the weekend and say, “Hey, even though we’re not working right now, we actually are going to be making money and our money is actually working for us.” It’s that change in mentality that we have, the change in our philosophy of perspective that now we get to actually make our money continue to work for us even while we’re on vacation, because that’s what happens inside the policy [crosstalk 00:07:10].

Nate: Yeah, but what I think most people need kind of in that regard Holly, is that they just don’t have a plan. So as you said, life feels better when you have a plan in place or when a system is put forth. I remember Ray telling me that story about that couple too, who had never been on a vacation. They didn’t think that they could spend the money. It was a worthless endeavor. They didn’t have enough money. There was no way they could afford to blah, blah, blah. It wasn’t until Ray said, “I mean, you do have the money. It’s sitting in this policy and I can show you how you can take a loan out against the policy to go on vacation and pay it back over the next, let’s say 24 months at a little bit each month and you get all the money back plus the growth of the policy over that 24 month period, you actually technically make a profit on it, so I think you can go.”

The reason you thought you couldn’t spend the money is because you didn’t have a plan to get it back, or you didn’t know how it would work or how it would impact your future. But if you know that it won’t actually impact your future, maybe you can go.

We’ve seen that happen on other things, whether it’s cars or homes, Holly, or all sorts of things where even in my own life, as I’ve said, many times on this podcast before one noticeable area is I’ve become a much more generous giver since I started doing infinite banking. It has nothing really to do with the numbers per se. It has through this perspective of being in charge and in control of every dollar that flows through my hands and knowing that I can give this money without it impacting the future that I’m hoping to build.

Instead of trying to wad and hold my hand tight on money, I can donate it and give it to those in need. It doesn’t even bother me. I’ve become much more cheerful in that way. My wealth is not locked up in a 401k like the herd is. If I had all my money locked in the 401k, I could only give whatever was left and this has completely changed my perspective in that way, and many other ways.

Announcer: Are you still stuck in insecurity and uncertainty? Do you want to feel like a financial genius and confident about your future? Holly and Nate have prepared something exclusively for Dollars and Nonsense listeners. It’s called the Secret Banking Masterclass. You can gain free access to this course by visiting livingwealth.com/secretbanking. The course will share with you how the conventional system stacks the deck against you, and exactly how to break free from their system.

We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in defying conventional wealth tools while maintaining traditional values. After all, most of those conventional tools only ever seem to make someone else on the inner circle rich. Visit livingwealth.com/secretbanking. Ease your worry and start your journey towards security today. Visit livingwealth.com/secretbanking. Now, back to the great episode with Nate and Holly.

Nate: What happens when someone leaves the herd is opportunities start to come your way. If all your money is stuck in a 401k and you’re hoping it produces a great rate of return, somebody could come up to you with an opportunity for an investment or a business idea can come your way. Well, I can’t really partake. Why? Because I don’t have any money that I can use for this thing. It’s locked up in this 401k. I don’t have access to it.

When you change perspective and you start practicing this Infinite Banking Concept, sooner or later, you’re going to have this pool of money building up that you control that nobody tells you what you have to do with it. You’re in total control of it. When that occurs, these opportunities will come your way and you’ll be able to take advantage of them, or maybe more likely you will pursue opportunities to put that capital to work.

I’ve got clients who have come up to me and told me, Nate, you know, I’m so thankful that I’m practicing infinite banking. I’m thankful for these policies and what they’re doing for me, but man, I know for a fact that if I hadn’t started these policies, I would never have tried to open this new business. This is a very common story. I have these policies, I was being more proactive with money. I was outside the herd already and I always wanted to do something different. Now I felt like I had the money to do it and the know-how to do it, and the perspective to do it, so I opened up this new business and it could be like a side business, or sometimes we’ve seen people completely transition out of their W2 job into owning a new business.

I’m thinking of a few people, myself as well that have partnered together that honestly, as I’m sitting here, I don’t want to say their names, but these people are coming to my mind who have either started investing in certain ways or started businesses that they credit to infinite banking.

Now it has nothing to do with the spreadsheet or the wall of numbers on the policy illustration. It has to do with the ripple effects of making the decision to leave the herd and practice IBC. It has a greater and greater impact than most people can just put down in a math formula.

Holly: Often they feel like they’re so dependent and I’m going to say this in the job, like I have to keep this job, it’s the only way I can provide for my family. I’m saving for the future. I’ve got my 401k, the company or the thing is matching, so this is a win-win for me. It’s created a dependency on the job, not because they necessarily even love what they’re doing, but they feel like that’s their only option.

I think when they get out of the herd, like you said, they develop the plan and that first step is oh, there’s a little bit more freedom here. Oh, could I really pursue this job or passion that I’ve been wanting to do or try something new? I think once they see that, even I just think of clients who have told me like, “Hey, I was able to start this business and actually make it successful and transition out of my other job.”

The biggest thing is they were waking up at night with fear. Fear of this is the only way I can provide for my family. I’ve got to keep doing this. Yet they’re miserable every day of their life going into a job they actually hate. How can you be helpful to the people you’re around when you’re doing something that brings you no joy?

Like you said, even the giving, the joy, that cheerfulness of being able to help somebody. Now you’re able to pursue a passion you never thought you could do, and you can still even help others by transitioning out. I just feel like I’ve had so many clients say, “Hey, it changed my family’s life.” Whether it be kids that are pursuing sports and maybe they’re on a travel team and they’re actually able to use their policy to fund some of these travel expenses and new equipment and stuff to kids that ride dirt bikes or race cars or whatever it is that they’ve been able to use the policy, but until they broke free, they were the W2 employees that were just doing the same thing as everybody else.

Then they broke free and they started a business and they were able to say, this money is used for my kid’s racing, this money’s for… I had a client tell me I’m going to use this money for my student to be able to go study abroad, my child. They said never before would they have thought of that perspective of I can use this money for something other than just shoving it into my 401k that I have no access to or putting it in that savings account or checking account. Maybe it’s not even the 401k, it’s the savings account or checking account that’s that rainy day fund for if an emergency happens. Instead, what they’ve done is changed that perspective to actively pursuing things that money is purchasing and buying and being able to regain that money back.

Nate: I think the focus changes is exactly right. That’s one thing I was thinking about even before this podcast, as we’re talking about it is what infinite banking does is it allows somebody’s focus typically will change from being a customer, to being an owner of their financial future. We talk about that in regards to policies. Whenever you buy a policy, you become an owner. You’re not just a customer of the insurance, you’re an owner, so you have to think like a banker. That starts to branch out beyond just this little policy and this little banking function. People start to feel more like an owner of their financial future, so they actively seek ways and they actively seek unique opportunities to grow their wealth.

I like to think of it as thinking more like an entrepreneur financially. That’s more and more of what you see, people start to think of ideas. As soon as you leave the herd, you’re open to a world of ideas and world of possibilities that you would never have found out if you stayed with the herd. That’s normally what happens. You start to think more like an owner, less like an employee or a customer in the financial world.

The ownership mentality is more of the entrepreneurial mentality where you’re thinking of ideas to grow wealth or things that you could do with this policy. You would never have thought that if you had all the money in a 401k, IRA, and we’re just following the norm. We can show the power of IBC on spreadsheets, but we can’t show, as well, what choosing to go on this route will do for you.

Many of our clients listening to this are personal testaments of what we’re talking about. Some of them may hear this and be like, yeah, you’re right. I need to be doing that more. I guess that would be one thing I would just tell the listeners here, especially if you already practice IBC, if you still have the herd mentality and you’re still thinking the same way you used to and trying to do infinite banking, you’re probably not going to be very successful doing that. You really do need to change your perspective and start thinking more as an owner of your financial future and think of ideas like an entrepreneur would for how to grow this business, your business, which is your financial life.

The owner of a company tends to think differently than the employee of a company, and rightfully so because the owner is the one who’s making profits from all the transactions that occur. The employee is just there to get the clock in, clock out, get paid and do their job. That’s what most people do with money. They kind of clock in, clock out, do their job, and hopefully their money ends up working out for them at the end of the day.

The owner thinks a little bit differently, thinks more long-term, thinks about different strategies that they could implement. That’s hopefully what infinite banking will do for somebody. It will open up new opportunities, new perspectives to take advantage of investment opportunities, business opportunities, giving opportunities, family opportunities that they would have never thought they could have done just doing things inside the box.

Holly: It doesn’t mean you have to start huge with how you’re using your policy. Just like the one clients they went on a weekend vacation, tried it out. Then after that, it gets into, well, can I do it for this? Well, could I use it for this? I want to say as much as it changes the perspective, test the waters out, get your feet a little wet and do something you typically wouldn’t necessarily think, oh, this is a way for me to actually bless my family, the people I’m with, whoever it is, using this money in a positive way.

I love that viewpoint of I’m still doing everything I was doing, but now I’m controlling the money, and now I’m able to actually say this is working for me because I’ve put a plan in place that really allows me to benefit as well as be a blessing to the people around me.

Nate: Probably the biggest perspective change that occurs when you leave the herd is you start thinking more about how I can use my money to benefit me now and those around me now, as well as later, as opposed to the original thought, which most people have, which is the main thing I’m doing financially is saving for retirement. Most people just try to make decisions based on what can help me in retirement and that’s the only focus.

When you practice IBC, and what we’re trying to make crystal clear here, is that you start to change your focus to where now it’s, how can I use my money to benefit me now, as well as later, as opposed to the old mentality, which is mainly how can I just benefit me later in retirement? That’s what we’re talking about with giving or investing in opportunities and all these sorts of things. It’s mainly people looking at, okay, I have this money. What can I do with it now? That’s the owner mentality. What can I do with this now that can benefit me or those around me today?

The power of IBC where it comes in that’s not really spreadsheet related, but maybe it is, I guess, is the fact that I can use my policies now to achieve these things, and also knowing that my cash value will continue to grow so the future that I was hoping to build in retirement will still be there no matter what, but I get the opportunity to use it today.

It can benefit me now, and it will benefit me later. Just that one perspective has completely transformed lives more so than any spreadsheet would. It’s just simply a change of perspective and focus, and vision for what money can do. There are so many of us who are living testaments of it. I hope we did a decent job getting that across.

Holly: Yeah, and I think Nate, the thing of utilizing your money now that most people don’t realize is by utilizing your money now, it actually does improve your money situation in the future when you’re using IBC. It literally does allow you to use the money now in order to create more benefit in the future for that retirement.

Nate: Exactly right. That’s a kind of a new world. Most people think the only way I’ll be successful is if I stuff as much money as possible and never touch it until the day I retire, that’s the herd mentality. The entrepreneur mentality is how can I benefit today and in the future with what I have available? Infinite banking is the first step for most people in that direction. It’s step number one, it’s the foundation. Then that has ripple effects in so many different areas in your life once you decide to practice IBC.

So many testimonies of clients who are just so excited. Maybe we should interview some of them and bring them on. A couple of stories, I’m thinking out loud right now, where we let them say here’s what changed for me and the policy is great, but it was mainly the perspective that this concept changed in me that allowed me to even consider all these other things I’ve been doing. So, any last words, Holly before we close it down?

Holly: I think you said it well. Just realize that it’s not just numbers and spreadsheets. That really just getting out of that herd mentality is the first step in so much freedom that allows you to be able to live by changing your perspective.

Nate: Absolutely, and there’re some things we can put down on a spreadsheet to show you the power of IBC numerically, there’s other things that you’ll have to experience for yourself of changes in perspective that can transform your life in ways you didn’t think would happen. I know that might sound mystical, but that’s just reality when you break out of the herd in any way and you’re kind of opened up to a brand new way of thinking, it will have ripple effects that are greater than the original thought. That’s what we hoped to get across today. Remember, this is Dollars and Nonsense. If you follow the herd, you will get slaughtered.

Holly: For free transcripts and resources, please visit livingwealth.com/e17

Announcer: Dollars and Nonsense podcast listeners, one more thing before you go. Ease your worry and start your journey towards security today. Visit livingwealth.com/secretbanking. You’ll gain instant free access to the special one hour course Holly and Nate made for you. Again, that’s livingwealth.com/secretbanking.