Not Your Average Financial Podcast™

Think different about your money, your economy and your future. Be curious. Be stable. Be sane.

Episode 468: The T in TGIF: Tax Advantages of Bank On Yourself® – Taking Control Back from the Tax Trap

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In this episode, we ask:

  • What about stability and sanity?
  • What about an insane question?
  • Is there someone at the I.R.S. that you’re particularly in love with?
  • Who is the largest beneficiary on your IRA upon death?
  • Are you going to leave your IRA this way, now that you know the truth?
  • How about an example?
  • How do you get tax free access?
  • What about a tax free legacy?
  • How does this directly solve the problems?
  • When will you pay taxes?
  • How about an example of two retired brothers?
  • What happens to a 401(k) upon death?
  • Why is deferring taxes a good idea?
  • Who benefits from this?
  • What did Ed Slott say?
  • What did Pamela Yellen say?
  • What are the takeaways?
  • What are the action items?
  • What will your beneficiaries actually receive?
  • Do you have the eyes of a Bank on Yourself® Professional?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates?

 

Episode 466: The Real Wins and Losses of Bank on Yourself® Over 13 Years with Phil Smith

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Have you heard Episode 462?
  • Who is Phil Smith?
  • What is a super awesome privilege?
  • Why was Mark cautious?
  • What helped Phil?
  • How did Phil find the right balance with his Bank On Yourself® type whole life insurance policies?
  • What is so cool about having friends as clients?
  • What were some of Phil’s early concerns about taking policy loans?
  • What about paying off debt?
  • What about real estate?
  • What about investments?
  • How did Phil pivot, as life happened?
  • What is the new financial normal?
  • How can I route some of my major life purchases through this policy?
  • How might I keep my money growing at the same time?
  • What did Nelson Nash say?
  • What about arrival syndrome?
  • What about the beginner’s mindset?
  • What did C.S. Lewis say?
  • Would you like to meet Phil?

Phil Smith is an Associate at Lake Growth Financial Services, bringing more than 17 years of banking and credit‑union experience to the firm. A Bank On Yourself® client since 2013, Phil has personally used the strategy to navigate major life transitions, eliminate debt, fund investments, and build long‑term financial resilience—giving him a rare dual perspective as both a seasoned practitioner and a long‑term policyholder.

Known for his disciplined, thoughtful approach, Phil draws inspiration from his journey in traditional kung fu, where he is a fourth‑degree black belt soon testing for master level. He applies the art’s core principle—time and effort—to helping clients build stable, flexible, and future‑focused financial strategies. Phil serves clients nationwide and can be reached at philsmith@lakegrowth.com.

Episode 461: No. 9 The Black Belt Warning: The Real Dangers of Large Policy Loans and How to Avoid Lapse Tax

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Have we gone mad here?
  • Should we save more?
  • Should we just hope the market cooperates?
  • What is the four step process for the black belt?
  • What discipline is required to handle large loan balances?
  • What is the most important business in the world?
  • Should premiums and income match?
  • What is the black belt strategy?
  • Is it a black belt for a reason?
  • Would you like to start with capturing your monthly cashflow with No. 1 The White Belt?
  • Would you like to work with the most important people in your life, No. 2 The Yellow Belt?
  • Would you like to climb up and out on eliminating debt with No. 3 The Orange Belt?
  • Would you like to strategize to protect your retirement and business with No. 4 the Red Belt?
  • Would you like to structure a cash flow system with No. 5 the Green Belt?
  • Would you like to tackle massive expenses with No. 6 the Purple Belt?
  • Would you like to bring the generations along and up with No. 7 the Brown Belt?
  • Would you like to rise to cash flow mastery with No. 8 the Black Belt?
  • How does this actually look in practice?
  • How about some case studies?
  • Is the black belt a set it and forget it strategy?
  • Can the policy loans get quite large?
  • What happens if the loans are not repaid?
  • Will the policy collapse?
  • What is taxable as ordinary income?
  • What is phantom income?
  • What happens to the death benefit?
  • How can you prevent your warehouse from being destroyed?
  • Who are you working with to protect your wealth?
  • What did Nelson Nash say in Becoming Your Own Banker?
  • Why do they use whole life insurance as tier one capital?
  • What are the key takeaways?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark Willis, CFP®?

 

 

Episode 460: No. 8 The Black Belt Strategy: Expand Your Banking System Until It Handles 100% of Your Income

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Have you tied on your belt?
  • What is happening with the CPI?
  • Where is worker confidence listed with ABRI?
  • What is the median savings for people in the U.S.?
  • What age bracket is buying whole life insurance in droves?
  • What is the black belt?
  • Are you leaking wealth?
  • Is your wealth working for you or someone else?
  • Would you like to start with capturing your monthly cashflow with No. 1 The White Belt?
  • Would you like to work with the most important people in your life, No. 2 The Yellow Belt?
  • Would you like to climb up and out on eliminating debt with No. 3 The Orange Belt?
  • Would you like to strategize to protect your retirement and business with No. 4 the Red Belt?
  • Would you like to structure a cash flow system with No. 5 the Green Belt?
  • Would you like to tackle massive expenses with No. 6 the Purple Belt?
  • Would you like to bring the generations along and up with No. 7 the Brown Belt?
  • What did Nelson Nash say?
  • What happens to ALL of your money?
  • What does the bank do with your money?
  • Can your system accommodate your income?
  • Have you read Becoming Your Banker by Nelson Nash?
  • What will wreck your margins?
  • What is theft from yourself?
  • What about opportunity cost?
  • Who pays retail?
  • Where does your money live?
  • What is bank-owned life insurance (BOLI)?
  • How much life insurance do banks purchase?
  • How much of that banking function do you want to control?
  • How do we turn our headwind into a tailwind?
  • How do you live on less than you make?
  • What is the aim?
  • Can you expand?
  • Should your premium match your income?
  • What did Jim Conrad say in his dollar diagram?
  • What would happen if…?
  • How does the black belt work at scale?
  • Can you finance every big transaction in your life?
  • How do you eliminate the dreaded wealth transfers?
  • Who has the discipline for this?
  • Is this a set it and forget it plan?
  • How about some examples?
  • Who is sleeping better?
  • Who treats his policies like a family office command center?
  • Do you have a repayment strategy?
  • Do you have windfalls?
  • Who has self-control?
  • Who has patience?
  • When does the power come?
  • What is the significant danger to this strategy?
  • Could the policy trigger a surrender or lapse?
  • What is phantom income?
  • Who is trained and able to engineer policies for you?
  • What about business growth?
  • What about legacy?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark?

 

Episode 459: No. 7 The Brown Belt: Create a Family Banking System That Lasts Over 100 Years

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In this episode, we ask:

  • What can span three or more generations?
  • Have you considered the family office?
  • Would you like to get going with capturing your monthly cashflow with No. 1 The White Belt?
  • Would you like to advance to working with the most important people in your life, No. 2 The Yellow Belt?
  • Would you like to climb up and out on eliminating debt with No. 3 The Orange Belt?
  • Would you like to review strategies to protect your retirement and business with No. 4 the Red Belt?
  • Would you like to architect a cash flow system with No. 5 the Green Belt?
  • Would you like to tackle massive expenses with No. 6 the Purple Belt?
  • Have you heard the old proverb?
  • Do we prepare the people for the money?
  • Have you read Perpetual Wealth by Kim Butler?
  • What does this strategy involve?
  • What is tax free under current tax law?
  • What about the fund and the family council?
  • Would you like to plan and participate in an intentional family retreat?
  • What opportunities would strengthen everybody?
  • Have you crafted a family mission statement?
  • How does a family keep the fund distinct from a “family piggy bank”?
  • What will the next generation learn?
  • What about family loan requests and family fund underwriting?
  • What happens when the family approves a loan?
  • How many families don’t ever talk about money?
  • What is the reward?
  • Will your wealth be a blessing or a curse to the future generations?
  • What do Americans fear more than dying?
  • What are the takeaways?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates?

Episode 458: No. 6 The Purple Belt: How to Finance Massive Annual Expenses

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Why is the consumer sentiment rating in the basement?
  • What is projected to run dry?
  • What are people voting with their wallet for?
  • Would you like to begin with capturing your monthly cashflow with No. 1 The White Belt?
  • Would you like to continue on with the most important people in your life, No. 2 The Yellow Belt?
  • Would you like to climb up and out on eliminating debt with No. 3 The Orange Belt?
  • Would you like to review strategies to protect your retirement and business with No. 4 the Red Belt?
  • Would you like to architect a cash flow system with No. 5 the Green Belt?
  • Is this for the faint of heart?
  • Are you at the intermediate or advanced level?
  • What about uninterrupted compounding?
  • Are you a business owner?
  • How about an example?
  • How big are your checks to the I.R.S. every year?
  • What is growing year after year?
  • How about private school tuition?
  • What about Amazon sellers?
  • Does a policy loan have to be repaid?
  • What about property taxes?
  • What about property and casualty insurance premiums?
  • What about charitable pledges?
  • What about major annual business operating expenses?
  • How does one pay off a giant loan?
  • Should everyone listening to this do a purple belt strategy?
  • What happens when a loan meets or exceeds cash value?
  • What about the sale or 1031 exchange of real estate?
  • What about receiving a substantial inheritance?
  • What about large bonuses or commissions?
  • What about the sale of intellectual property?
  • What about receiving a lump sum?
  • What about extra income?
  • What carries real risk?
  • What is the Plan B?
  • What are the serious consequences?
  • How do we work to make sure the loan never threatens the contract?
  • Is your money working full throttle?
  • What about steady, predictable growth that you can control?
  • Is that big expense dead weight?
  • How might you benefit from the cash flowing through your life?
  • What did Nelson Nash say?
  • Do you control the financing function of your life?
  • What did Pamela Yellen say?
  • Can you weather the storms that are coming?
  • What are the takeaways?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark?
  • Would you like to join our FREE! Not Your Average Financial Community?

Episode 457: No. 5 The Green Belt: Not Just a Policy, A Cash Flow System

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Are you crossing your fingers and hoping Wall Street delivers?
  • Would you like to start with capturing your monthly cashflow with No. 1 The White Belt?
  • Would you like to follow up with the most important people in your life, No. 2 The Yellow Belt?
  • Would you like to catch up on eliminating debt with No. 3 The Orange Belt?
  • Would you like to review strategies to protect your retirement and business with No. 4 the Red Belt?
  • Does financial mastery unfold in a straight line?
  • How about a cash-flow management system?
  • How does the green belt obliterate the main-stream 0h-so-average financial advice?
  • How many policies can you get?
  • What is the key mindset shift?
  • How does one build a portfolio of policies?
  • What are the lifetime wealth leaks?
  • What happens to the 529 plan?
  • How are you buying cars?
  • What compounds into serious money?
  • What about family vacations?
  • What about investments? What about entrepreneurial pursuits?
  • What are 15 creative green belt solutions?
  • What about tuition?
  • What about vehicle and major purchases?
  • What about real estate (without a credit check)?
  • What about business expansion?
  • What about a family vacation or memory?
  • What about home renovations and repairs?
  • What about medical and health costs?
  • What about milestone events?
  • What about tax bill buffers?
  • What about opportunities?
  • What about emergency funds?
  • What about charity and legacy?
  • What about down payments?
  • What about self-insurance?
  • What about retirement and fun money?
  • What is the biggest expense staring at you right now?
  • How are you managing the cash value?
  • Does every dollar in your policy have a job to do?
  • Is the cash value untouchable?
  • Is the cash value perfectly liquid?
  • Who borrows without a real plan?
  • What about a proper buffer?
  • How does the green belt balance this out?
  • What are the buckets?
  • How can you gain total confidence?
  • How might one command their money with purpose and clarity?
  • How does the disciplined approach change the game?
  • What are the takeaways?
  • What are the action items?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates?

Episode 450: The Tardus Income Snowball and Bank On Yourself® – Are They Your Financial Game Genie? with Ben Berry

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Who is Ben Berry?
  • Would you like to check out Episode 397?
  • What is Tardus Wealth Strategies?
  • Would you like to hear Episode 376?
  • How does the Bank on Yourself tool integrate with the Income Snowball?
  • Do you remember Nintendo, back in the day?
  • Do you remember the Game Genie?
  • Why is control so important in wealth creation?
  • What are the headwinds working against your money?
  • Would you like to view video and/or Subscribe on the YouTube page?
  • How might we think and learn about money differently?
  • What is a myth?
  • What can Wall Street legally claim?
  • What does it mean to change the environment where your money lives?
  • Who wants the wind at your back?
  • Is this going to take me all the way to the end?
  • Will I make more than that in my stocks?
  • What about the payout or withdrawal rate?
  • When will passive income exceed your living expenses?
  • What are the options?
  • What is a “MELOC,” and how does it differ from a HELOC?
  • What did Mark Twain say?
  • How many questions are involved in a whole life insurance loan?
  • How do you take a HELOC?
  • What kind of impact would non-direct recognition loans have?
  • Are you constantly breaking the compounding of your growth?
  • What is the “eighth wonder of the world”?
  • What breaks compound growth?
  • What one little glitch could be the difference between success and failure?
  • What are the wrong tools?
  • Is it a cheap knock off?
  • Are you taking on unnecessary risk?
  • What becomes more expensive as you get older?
  • What won’t work with the income snowball?
  • What about building capital?
  • How about moving to stable, long-term assets?
  • What are the paths to getting started?
  • When is the liquidity ready to deploy?
  • What about building with monthly cash flow?
  • Do you need to lock money away for forty years?
  • What asset can you build right away?
  • What instantly multiplies your family’s legacy?
  • What will improve?
  • What will happen to your lifestyle?
  • What will happen to your demeanor?
  • What are the risks of the income snowball?
  • Who is doing the due diligence?
  • What is Plan A? Plan B? Plan C?
  • What do you need to pay attention to?
  • Who is on your team?
  • Would you like to reach out to Ben at bencberry@gmail.com?

Ben Berry is the owner of Berry Financial Services, LLC, where he helps individuals, families, and business owners take back control of their financial lives. As a Bank On Yourself® Professional and Safe Money Specialist, Ben focuses on building predictable, tax-advantaged wealth strategies designed to support long-term security and generational impact. His approach integrates advanced business planning, life insurance solutions, contingency capital, and asset-mapping to create clear, customized financial pathways. Known for translating complex concepts into practical guidance, Ben equips clients to make confident decisions in an uncertain world. He is passionate about education, relationships, and helping people build wealth they can depend on. 

Episode 443: Don’t Diversify! Put All Your E.C.S. in one basket!

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Is there a nagging worry?
  • Will the nest egg actually last?
  • What about efficiency?
  • What about control?
  • What about safety?
  • Do you need to spread your money thin across a lot of baskets?
  • What is Mark’s core philosophy on planning?
  • What is the E.C.S. factor?
  • What can eat through savings like a wildfire?
  • How prepared are you, really?
  • What has the average U.S. family saved?
  • How many years has the typical boomer pushed back retirement?
  • How much time do you take to plan your vacation?
  • How much time do you take to plan your retirement?
  • Who is your coauthor?
  • When does Mark walk away?
  • What dilutes your returns in TDFs?
  • When will you need the money the most?
  • Is your money locked up?
  • What does the government force?
  • What about safety?
  • What did Grant Thompson say?
  • What was supposed to be safe?
  • What about taxes, fees and regulations?
  • Would you like to listen to Episode 206?
  • Are there investment fees or other fees on whole life insurance?
  • Who owns it?
  • What questions are asked?
  • What about the growth in the contract?
  • What about tax?
  • What about required RMDs?
  • What about market timing?
  • What is locked in?
  • What about dividends and PUAs?
  • What about creditors?
  • What about bankruptcy proceedings?
  • What beats inflation?
  • What is private?
  • What is predictable?
  • What is proven?
  • How can many families increase their retirement income?
  • How can you get more upside and less downside?
  • Are you in the driver’s seat of your financial life?
  • Is diversification gambling?
  • What about social proof?
  • What did Pamela Yellen say in the Bank on Yourself Revolution?
  • What did Nelson Nash say in Becoming Your Own Banker?
  • What did the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College find?
  • What did Ray Dalio say?
  • What happened in 2008? 2022?
  • What is uncorrelated?
  • What did Suze Orman say about whole life insurance?
  • What does Warren Buffet say in his letters?
  • Wouldn’t it be nice to reclaim those years?
  • What about cash value and dividends?
  • What can you dream?
  • What can you buy?
  • What about age?
  • What about losses?
  • What about the illusion of safety?
  • What holding led to 20% greater net worth?
  • What basket doesn’t crack?
  • What if taxes went up 10%?
  • What if taxes doubled?
  • What about peace of mind?
  • Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates?

Episode 434: NEW BOOK! Part 2 – Bank On Yourself®: Liquidity, Compounding and Lifetime Income

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In this episode, we ask:

  • Would you like to hear Part 1?
  • Why does uninterrupted compounding beat every mutual fund?
  • Would you like to go to bankonyourselfbook.com to get the new book?
  • What do Brian Kay, Tim Austin and Pamela Yellen know that other financial gurus have failed to tell us?
  • How far does the influence of Bank On Yourself® reach?
  • What is persistency?
  • What can (and will likely) change in a government sponsored program?
  • What is the power of uninterrupted compounding joined with liquidity?
  • What asset can you leverage to take advantage of an opportunity?
  • What about meeting life’s financial milestones without taking unnecessary risks?
  • What about taking advantage of unexpected opportunities?
  • What did Warren Buffet say?
  • How long will you live?
  • What is a fail-safe way to protect against running out of money?
  • How might you secure guaranteed income in retirement?
  • How is Bank On Yourself® a concept and philosophy that transcends product?
  • How are these insurers built differently?
  • Why does Warren Buffett love insurance companies as an asset?
  • What is built to last?
  • How do I replace my income?
  • How might I do it passively?
  • Would you like to go to bankonyourselfbook.com to get the new book?
  • What are the action items?