A Not So Important Blog About Nothing

When you go shopping for a loan, specifically a mortgage, re-finance, or a debt consolidation loan, you need to ask the following questions.  If the company wont provide them, leave.  There are companies out there that will do this, many wont.  With out further ado, here it is.

This list is meant to be spoken from a page, not from memory.

Mr. Banker, I’m shopping for a (loan type here) and would like to know if you want to compete for my business.

I understand there are different guidelines for consolidating and know there is more to a loan than rate.

1. What I would like to do is apply for a loan,
2. have you process my application,
3. appraise my home to insure proper value,
4. prepare the title work to be sure everything is in order,
5. have you make me a firm offer on a loan,
6. have you help me establish a Debt Freedom Date that accelerates ALL of my debt, even what is not in this loan, in the shortest time possible,
7. with about the same money I spend now,
8. explain how your bill-paying and elimination service works, and
9. explain what investment options you offer, once my debt is eliminated.

And, Mr. Banker, I’m NOT willing to put up ANY MONEY IN ADVANCE. I don’t want to pay for an appraisal in advance.

And, if I receive a better offer, or do not feel you offer is feasable, I can walk away and owe you NOTHING.

Will you do that for me?

If you banker wont do any of that to earn your business, they don’t deserve.  Take it to someone who will.

It’s been 13 days since my last update, and well, not much has changed.  Except for almost complete with a programming contract, 2 new appointments this week, a lice outbreak was killed, I’m getting back in the Gym effective tomorrow, and I challenged 2 people in my office to an RVP in 6 months race.  You will also notice that there are 2 other sites that are being syndicated on here now.  I plan on adding a few more of my favorites and some from some of my other sites I run.

I will hold true to what I said about a sidebar showing progress.  Both personal and business.  I figure if I put it out here like this, I’ll have better accountability and make it happen.  It’s that or face public humiliation only the intertubes can provide.

Either way, we’ll have fun!!!

See you at the top.

Primerica is always looking for ways to make their representatives’ business lives easier, and that kind of innovative thinking usually leads to better technology. Since creating the award-winning TurboApps technology for representatives to send client apps into the Home Office for processing, Primerica’s IT team has continued to look for ways to make it easier and faster for representatives to grow their businesses.

Since the summer of 2009, Primerica representatives have been making the switch from their old platform in favor of the new Windows Mobile platform. With this new platform, representatives will be able to:

• Adapt quickly to Microsoft Windows and learn how to use it faster since it’s similar to what they’ve been using already.
• Process larger, more complex TurboApps applications.
• Call, email or text a client with a tap of the screen.*
• Run multiple software applications simultaneously.
• Use Office Mobile, a suite of mobile versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint Mobile, all of which are compatible with desktop versions of the Office Suite.
• Truly be mobile, because future wireless enhancements will include “over-the-air” upload of product applications, software updates and Primerica WebMail.

“This new technology is really going to enable our representatives to take their business to the next level,” says EVP of Technology, Tom Swift. “This new platform will help them help clients more quickly and efficiently, which will in turn help representatives grow their businesses even faster.”

*No emails or texts regarding securities transactions are permitted.

I know it’s been awhile since my last post, and I know I promised to post more.  What can I say? I have no excuses.  So what is this one for now out of the blue? Simple.  I’m starting another 90 day challenge effective December 1.

I have been trying to transition into my financial business for so long, I forgot how.  So, I am going to re-double my efforts.  I NEED to get it going to do all the good that I can do.  I made a 5 year game plan to have 10 direct recruits making 100k+ a year.  And 5 years after that another 10 direct (plus 10 direct to each of the previous directs).  And repeat that process every 5 years after that.  How am I going to do that with being a 0 now? Simple.  2 recruits a month.

So, in the next 90 days, I must go from Dud to Stud.  Based on my offices averages, that comes out to 6 recruits, 22.5k in premium (total team).  That includes the 7500 I must do.  The rest is based on an average sale and average number of sales.

Bottom line, I’m heading to the top and I ain’t letting nothing stop me this time.  I’ll post updates every night before passing out on my progress.  If I don’t, feel free to harass me endlessly and tell me how much of a loser I am for not taking care of my family.

I’ll add a text block to the side bar (or in the about box to the right) that will keep the score displayed.  Every 90 days will be a new challenge and increase the numbers.  This first 90 days, is all personal (in the sense of I’m signing).

I’ll see you at the top!

Companies have their different ways of communicating with their workers. They blast emails or post notices on colorful bulletin boards. Some still drop lengthy memos into their staff members’ overflowing inboxes, hoping they don’t get lost among the clutter. (Hello? Welcome to the 21st Century!) But, how many companies stream their announcements and recognition live via the Internet to thousands of people at once?

I’m guessing there aren’t too many that do. But Primerica does. Through our own television studio, EPN-TV, Primerica produces more than 100 hours of original programming each year. It is a huge part of how we spread news to our sales force of more than 100,000 representatives.

The History

EPN-TV started broadcasting in April 1986 as ALW-TV. The station was founded as a way for company founder, Art Williams, to quickly get his message to the sales force. ALW-TV was a pioneer in the corporate satellite industry. After the merger with Primerica, ALW-TV became PFS-TV and was soon renamed EPN-TV (Entrepreneurial Network Television).

In addition to recorded daily programming, the station broadcasts live each Monday from the studios at the Primerica Home Office in Duluth, Georgia. The live studio audience can number up to 200 people. In April 2007, EPN-TV took a huge technological leap and began streaming its broadcasts live over the Internet. Record numbers of people have logged on to watch remotely. Executive Vice President Norma Richardson says, “Certainly things in the technical and production world have changed over the past 20 years, but what has not changed is the pride this team takes in its work and the willingness to go the extra mile.”

The Crew

The EPN-TV full-time staff includes producers, editors, videographers, floor directors, an audio engineer and an administrative staff. Since Atlanta is a major TV market, the department has been able to recruit professionals from networks such as CNN, TBS and ABC. They also have a producer on staff who worked at the USA Network in New York. Here’s a snapshot of some of their staff’s qualifications:

Tim Foster is EPN-TV’s in-house animation guru who uses MAYA and 3D animation software program to create amazing effects for Primerica videos. Tim’s creative skills and talents can be seen on various animation projects. His credits include a feature film produced by Orion Pictures, Disney and Lucas films. While working for United Artists, Tim produced the first-ever 3D animated film policy trailer which was viewed by millions across North America. Tim’s work crosses over from the big screen to the small screen for corporations like Delta, Dun & Bradstreet and Norfolk Southern Railroad. Tim has worked with major advertising agencies worldwide. He’s a master at capturing the image and recreating it using amazing three-dimensional effects.

David Cregan, one of our executive producers at EPN-TV, works closely with our Field Instruction department producing Primerica’s training videos. Prior to joining the EPN team David worked in New York and was involved in political advertising on campaigns for gubernatorial races, congressional and senatorial candidates as well as a winning presidential race.

Mike Solomon is EPN-TV’s senior editor, and he works on an editing workstation running Premier Pro. He pushes the creative envelope by designing incredible motion graphics using a program called After Effects.

James Gavin is senior video editor/technical director at EPN-TV. Using Adobe CS4 on a non-linear workstation as well as an analog editing suite, James edits and voices many of the training programs and promos that air on EPN-TV. In his former occupation, James was video editor at a local mega-church. James also worked at CNN Headline News in numerous capacities including technical director and audio engineer. In fact, he was technical directing when the space shuttle Atlantis launch failed on live TV.

Jacques Adams is one of the busiest guys at EPN as our chief videographer working both in the studio and on location shoots. Jacques came to EPN after having worked at all major network affiliates in Augusta, Georgia, with the last one being WAGT. Jacques’ background as news videographer has helped him develop a keen eye for shot composition. At EPN-TV, he uses Final Cut Pro software for video editing.

Megan Schwindler, an executive producer at EPN-TV, has as a degree in broadcasting with emphasis on corporate video. Megan worked at the Shop at Home Network prior to coming to Primerica’s in-house business television network.

Pam Tokarz, a senior vice president, is in charge of the daily operations at EPN. A 24-year veteran of Primerica she helped launch EPN in 1986. Pam, originally from Arkansas, graduated from Arkansas State University with a major in communications. She worked at local TV  and radio stations during college and then moved to Atlanta. She even produced a PBS show. Pam has witnessed many changes at EPN from the early days of VHS videos to broadcasting via satellite to streaming video on the Internet.

The Accolades

EPN-TV has received awards from Media Communicators Association International (MCA-I) for various projects, and several staff members have won awards in their respective fields: Mike Solomon received a bronze award for editing and Norma Richardson was awarded one for producing. Richardson said, “Since 1986, EPN has been connecting the Home Office and the field force, and I’m proud to say that I’ve been here since the beginning. From a personal perspective, working with such creative and talented professionals here at EPN is perhaps the most rewarding of all my professional experiences.”

SVP Pam Tokarz is also proud of the work her department produces. She said, “TV is all about teamwork, and we have an incredible team of talented professionals at EPN. They have a true passion for their work and always strive for excellence. It’s very rewarding to see their creative talents and hard work come together on videos for meetings, broadcasts and sales tools for the representatives. Our staff ranks right up there with the big networks.”

There’s a stellar bunch of folks over at the TV studio, and their work helps keep their reps in touch with the spirit of Primerica: helping families become properly protected, debt free and financially independent … one kitchen table meeting at a time.

In early 1999 I found myself in a very frustrating situation. I was 29 years old. I was working extremely hard as a fiber optics salesman… and I was broke. My wife and I had been married for over six years. We’d just had our first child, whom we were thrilled about, however, when it came to work, money and time, we were struggling. We started praying for a better way.

My wife received a phone call one evening from a lady she had met recently. She said that she was in training with a company that was expanding, and that we should take a look at it. She said this company, Primerica, might be able to help us. We decided to meet up with her and see what this company was all about.

Neither of us had ever even heard of Primerica and I admit we were skeptical. After about 30 minutes into our meeting with the Primerica reps, I began to realize that what they were saying actually made sense. They spoke about developing “a written program to monitor and eliminate debt, term life insurance being the foundation to your financial house, and the basics of successful investing.”

At 29, I’d never been taught these principles before. I never finished college and I had no experience with “financial stuff.” He assured me that they could help educate us about our finances. The first step would be to fill out a Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) and based on where we stood financially and what our goals were, we would see what could be done.

We met again two weeks later and went through the results. It was simple: Follow a plan to pay off credit card debts, put some term insurance in place to protect my young family (we had no insurance at that time) and find a way to make more money. They said that Primerica would teach us how to do all of the above. They would even offer us an opportunity to start part-time and show us how to build a business by teaching other people what they taught us.

I guess we were just so eager to change our lives we believed them. We paid a small start-up fee, started the training process, and moved forward in faith.

Now it’s 10 years later and I’m 40 years old. I can’t help but think about how different my life could’ve turned out.

What if I hadn’t agreed to that appointment? What if I trusted my initial skeptical feelings? What if I’d listened to several friends who insisted Primerica had to be a scam? What if I believed Internet chat rooms, unregulated Web sites, and less than credible sources?

Well, my family’s life would be a lot different. See, what’s happened in the past 10 years is that we have grown tremendously — as people and as leaders. We have built amazing friendships. We’ve helped thousands of families get back on track financially. We are financially independent and have been able to give away more money each year than we used to earn before Primerica. The opportunity turned out to be a bigger blessing that we could have ever imagined.

We now have seven offices across upstate New York and many great people working with us. We love what Primerica does for families and we love the freedom we now have. We don’t punch a time clock. Each day is our own. I’ve spent countless mornings with my children. When my son turned one, I took each Friday off and we spent the day together. We did that for four years until he went to kindergarten.

We’ve traveled together as a family to so many amazing places all over the world, and created lifelong memories. My children are so much more confident because of the “family” business. We just returned from a trip to Montreal together where we spoke to over 500 people about changing their lives through this great opportunity.

The most amazing part about that is that my 11-year old daughter spoke in that meeting about how the business has impacted her personally. Imagine an 11-year old speaking to 500 people with confidence and grace so she could impact their lives. The list of benefits of winning in Primerica is extensive.

I have found tremendous success with Primerica and so have countless others. But that is not to say that Primerica is easy. It is not a “get rich quick” scheme. It would be ridiculous to think so. But to say it is a scam, or a pyramid, is far more ridiculous. My life is proof that it is real, and there are thousands of other people around the world who would laugh just as hard at the thought of Primerica being called a scam.

The Federal Trade Commission doesn’t call Primerica a scam. Neither does the Better Business Bureau, FINRA or any of the other regulatory agencies in this country. I encourage you to check the facts and to get your information from these credible sources.

I am living proof that Primerica is real. I was a skeptic who is now a successful businessman with the freedom to live the life of his dreams. There are a lot of scams out there you should be aware of. Primerica is not, and has never been, one of them.

I think we have to create our own experience in life, and we have to move forward in faith. When we do that, put forth an honest effort, and do the right things long enough — only then can we look back and really see the “real picture.”

Primerica’s Great Day of Service was a beautiful, breezy fall day that had been preceded by days and days and days of rain in the Atlanta area. Luckily, the clouds parted this past October 2, and more than 80 Primerica Home Office volunteers banded together to spruce up, clean up, paint up and generally fix up the Partners Against Domestic Violence women’s and children’s emergency shelter.

Out came the brooms, mops, paint scrapers, brushers, rollers, sprayers, rakes, shovels, shears and saws – all employed to slick the place up a bit. The object was to spend a day making the shelter and its yard and play areas just a little nicer for those in need.

The Great Day of Service is the brainchild of the Gwinnett (County, GA) Coalition for Health and Human Services and it’s one of the most popular volunteer service days at Primerica’s Home Office. Primericans are always looking for ways to give back to their community and this truly was a Great Day of Service.

Changing lives is what Primerica is all about – and that philosophy doesn’t extend just to the families our reps help to get back on track financially. The Primerica Home Office here in Georgia recently donated $10,000 to the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation Fund Inc. to help enrich the education of children in Gwinnett.

This donation will support academic and college access programs for low to middle income students across the school district.

“Primerica is proud to be a partner with the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation Fund,” says Anne Soutter, Vice President, Primerica Community and Foundation Relations. “Our goal is to make an investment in education for this county, and to be a part of the development of our future community and business leaders – our students.”

Primerica has a long, proud history of community involvement. Since 2000, the Citi Foundation, through Primerica, has contributed more than $300,000 to Gwinnett County Schools and Programs. Additionally, Primerica employees have donated hundreds of volunteer hours each year in service to the Berkmar Cluster Mentoring Program.

Learn more about Primerica.

This article is the second in a series about Primerica’s auto insurance and homeowner’s insurance referral program, Primerica Secure™. Offered through Insurance Answer Center, Primerica Secure allows clients to get multiple quotes from top rated insurance carriers so they can then make an educated decision about their coverage.

As a Staff Writer for Primerica’s  in-house publications department, I talk to a lot of people – both our independent contractors and home office employees – who have saved money just by shopping around! Here’s another story from satisfied home office Vice President Mark Beauchamp.

Mark was with the same insurer for more than 15 years. He hadn’t felt the need to switch until he tried to add his 16 year old son to his policy. “My rates went up drastically when I added him,” says Mark.

That’s when Mark gave Primerica Secure a shot. “Not only did I save $600 annually, but the whole process was very easy,” says Mark. “I’ve already recommended it to several of my friends!”

It only takes about 10 minutes to get a comprehensive auto quote and the whole process is very easy. If you haven’t shopped around lately, give Primerica Secure a try. What do you have to lose? You might just save some cash! Talk to your Primerica representative today to get started.

Note: Primerica Secure is not available in Canada.

Alright, second in a series on life insurance.  We are going to go a bit more in depth on the different kinds of term insurance.  I wish I could say that there was only one kind, but sadly, there are a great number of different kinds.  On the plus side, the break down into 2 main types.  Annually Renewable Term and Decreasing Term.

Annually Renewable Term

This one is by far the most common.  Every renewal, the price goes up.  You don’t have to prove insurability (traditionally) so long as you are willing to pay the premiums.  The premiums can get quite high, to the tune of $20k/month in the MUCH later years (80+).  No, that is not a typo.  As with all life insurance, it is meant to cover loss of income during your income producing years.  Not to cover you during retirement.

Decreasing Term

This one is common for elderly to slowly reduce the face amount as well as being used as mortgage insurance.  It’s purpose is to slowly drop to 0 over a given set of time, thus why it is used as mortgage insurance.

It should be noted that EVERY kind of life insurance out there, is a variety of one of these two.  These are also the purest form of life insurance, just cover.  Before you leave though, there is more.

Level Term

This is ART from above, but the premiums are averaged over a set amount of time.  The shorter the term, the lower the cost.  You have to be careful with who you buy this from though.  Many companies lower their prices just to attract customers and may be unable to pay claims.  Is it better to have lower premiums, of course, but not at the expense of the company not paying claims.

After the set time is up (typically from 10 to 35 years), the policy reverts back to ART with the premiums practically sky-rocketing afterwards.  In addition, most policies, at renewal, will give you 4 options.

1. Drop Coverage
2. Re-qualify Medically for another Term
3. Leave alone and pay the higher premiums
4. Convert to a form of cash value/permanent insurance (will go over this later).

If you have medical issues, #2 probably isn’t possible, #1 and #3 aren’t desirable, and #4 would probably cut your coverage down so that it barely covers even half of what it did before or your current expenses.  That being said, if you have serious medical issues, having a whole life/permanent policy may be the only way to pass on/reduce final expenses if you don’t have a sizable estate.

Return Of Premium

This is generally a rider added onto a policy.  It does cost more.  How this works is, as you pay your policy, the extra premium goes into a separate account to earn some interest.  At the end of the policy, you will get up to 100% of your premiums paid back.  However, if you cancel the policy at any time, you will NOT get all your premiums back.  It works off of a graduated chart.  Typically, the first 5 years, you will get nothing back. In addition, in some states, even if you go till the end of term, you will only get 95% of your premiums back.

When dealing with these policies, you must run the numbers.  Thus far, 9 times out of 10, ROP is a waste of money.  You can generally do better by taking the difference and putting it into a conservative fund or a tin can in your backyard.

With ROP though, you do have one additional option at the end of term (besides getting some of your money back), and that is taking out a paid-up insurance policy.

Credit Life

This is a rip off.  You are basically paying for term insurance for the balance of your credit card and that is it.  When you die, the credit company gets their money.  That is it.  Your family doesn’t get anything, and the money that could be better served helping your surviving family members, is gone.

Mortgage Life

This is also a rip off and is sometimes financed into your mortgage.  This is pure decreasing term insurance.  The face amount drops with the balance of the note.  Same as credit life, you die, it pays the mortgage company.  It generally costs more than just getting level term by it self.  If you have this, replace it.  Your surviving family will think better of you when they can actually pay the bills with the proceeds instead of giving it to the mortgage company.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment

This one, is more of a rip off than the last 2 combined.  Lets break this up into it’s 2 parts shall we.

Accidental Death – If you death is caused by accident, it pays.  What does this mean? Well, you get into a wreck, you die at the scene.  Death by accident.  Same scenario but the paramedics arrive while you have a pulse.  You die en-route or at the hospital.  Death due to complications as a result of an accident. Doesn’t pay.  But wait? Your died because of an accident and it wont pay? It’s splitting hairs, but basically yes.  It all depends on what is on the death certificate.  One wrong word and it wont pay.

Accidental Dismemberment – This has so many crazy restrictions, it’s actually funny.  It changes based on the policy itself.  In some cases, you have to loose 2 appendages (1 leg and 1 arm; 2 legs; 2 arms; 1 eye and a foot).  And in some, you have to actually have to have it in one piece so they can verify that it is yours and you really did loose it.  IE, you can’t show up with your arm chopped off and not have your arm.

I have even heard of cases where they didn’t pay unless you were fully disabled as a result, although, these are rare.

For both of these policies, just get rid of them.  They are dirt cheap because they pay out even LESS than a pure term policy.

Conclusion

Now, many cash value agents like barging that term only pays out 2% of the time in order to sell a permanent/cash value policy that, so long as you live long enough, pays out regardless.  Although this is true, lets put it into perspective shall we.  That 2% also counts all the policies that have lapsed, been replaced, canceled, etc.  It is not an accurate figure to say the least.  Of all policies that are in force at the time of the policy holders death, I’d say (my guess) 95% pay out regardless of which kind of life insurance it is.  Why not 100%? Well, you have a 2 year contestability clause that gets activated sometimes.

Death my suicide, mis-statement of information on the policy, etc can cause that clause to activate and the insurance company to not pay.  There was a recent article about a women whose house was in foreclosure.  She was given a sub-prime loan and the mortgage company refused to help.  She took out a life insurance policy equal to the balance of the note so her family could pay it off and keep the house.  Within a few weeks of it being issued, she committed suicide so the policy would pay out.  She even left a note to that effect.  Upon reading that, my heart went out to the family.  Not only did they loose a loved one, but they also lost the house because the insurance company wouldn’t pay.  They didn’t report that, but I know it happened.

Keep an eye out for upcoming articles on the other types of life insurance as well as more examples of debt killing and various other products to help you better navigate this crazy world.