Loans

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

April 17, 2026 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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!

February 27, 2026 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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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

December 26, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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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?

Episode 433: NEW BOOK! Part 1 – Bank On Yourself® Origins and Why Now? with Pamela Yellen, Brian Kay and Tim Austin

December 19, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

How can you build wealth safely and predictably?
Who is Pamela Yellen?
Who is Brian Kay?
Who is Tim Austin?
Would you like to go to bankonyourselfbook.com to get the new book?
What’s Pamela’s story?
How did Pamela meet Brian and Tim?
What’s Brian’s story?
Should you turn over your financial independence to other parties?
Should you become your own source of financing?
Should you recapture the interest you have paid to other sources?
Should you be careful with borrowing and debt?
How did Brian meet Tim?
Can paying for college be an affordable reality without taking unnecessary risks?
What’s Tim’s story?
What was happening in the 1980s?
What are the strategies that worked in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s?
How is risk finicky?
Do you have to have debt to get where you want to go?
Do you have to be in the market to be successful?
What about uncertainty?
What about anticipation and preparation?
How might we crisis-proof our finances?
What is the average household debt?
How many people are behind on paying their debt?
What percent of retirees, age 66-71 have debt?
What about medical emergencies?
How many would be able to cover their expenses if they had a one-week delay on their paycheck?
Why is this book necessary?
What are the action items?
Will you join us next week for Part 2?

Episode 432: Why Does the SEC Chair Paul Atkins Have 54 Life Insurance Policies?

December 12, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

What does he know, that we don’t?
What is his net worth?
What does the SEC chair do?
What is the cornerstone of his wealth?
Is this a quiet vote of confidence in life insurance over volatile securities?
What protections does life insurance offer that stocks don’t?
What is a state insurance department?
What are consumer protections?
What reserves are the insurance companies required to hold?
What about reinsurance companies?
What is a state guarantee association?
Why 54 policies? Is this overkill?
Is he diversifying?
What is a life settlement?
What’s the importance of having multiple policies?
What are the benefits?
What gives you tax-free access to cash?
Did you know you are forced to take money out of qualified government accounts by a certain age?
Do required minimum distributions (RMDs) exist in life insurance?
What do retirement researchers like Roger Ibbotson, David Blanchett, and Wade Pfau say about life insurance?
What is the efficient market frontier?
What about the volatility buffer?
What about taking distributions from the life insurance cash value during crashing stock values?
How can a policy be “overfunded”?
How many policies will be enough to buffer volatility?
How about an example?
If one policy is good, are 54 policies better?
What is a modern tool for building resilience?
What is the purpose of each policy?
What about policies with various carriers?
What about different terms on paid up additions (PUAs)?
What about guarantees?
Do you want to meet one-on-one?
What about policy loan rates?
How do the rates vary by company?
What is a 1035 exchange?
Would you like to subscribe to this podcast?
Who needs to hear this?
Would you like to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates?

Episode 430: Guest Host Episode with Frank Herbik | Why Whole Life Insurance Is the Ultimate with Marvin Bulas

November 28, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Who is Frank Herbik?
How did Marvin Bulas get started with Tim Austin?
What does the concept of Bank on Yourself® focus upon?
Do you rely on other outside financial sources?
What requires self-discipline?
How can you achieve your financial milestones without taking unnecessary risks?
What about discipline and freedom?
Have you read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink?
How about a lifetime of tax-advantaged income?
What is hard?
How does the Bank on Yourself® strategy differ from a typical market-driven approach like a mutual fund, an ETF, an IRA, etc.?
How about some examples?
Are we completely against the market?
What is the barbell strategy?
What about a better “desk drawer”?
How can you harness compound growth?
What about cash, that’s available to you, whenever you need it?
Could everyone benefit from this?
How does the insurance carrier manage and carry the risk?
What is the non-guaranteed component?
Are the companies in the insurance industry well regulated?
What are the living benefits?
What’s the difference between a typical life insurance agent and an active Bank on Yourself® Professional?
What’s the CFP® designation?
Does a typical CFP® (or CLU®) understand how to correctly structure and design a Bank on Yourself® type whole-life insurance policy?
What does Marvin enjoy?
What can smooth out a lot of things?
How about a case study?
What is the approval process to get a loan from an insurance carrier?
How much do you want, and when do you want it?
Who sets the terms of the loan?
What resonates with Frank?
Do carriers have apps?
Who would these concepts benefit?
How does age affect the growth of a whole life insurance policy?
What is a “sprinter” policy?
What is a “marathon” policy?
How many ways could an advisor design a policy?
Would you like to search on bankonyourself.com?
Would you like to talk with Frank at 630-330-1799 about your specific situation?

Episode 426: The Monster of Variable Universal Life (VUL)

October 31, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Would you like a practical guide to building a resilient business?
Would you like to read and review our new book, The Business Fortress: How to Grow, Protect and Exit Your Business?
What was so scary about Frankenstein’s monster?
What is Variable Universal Life (VUL)?
What is the nightmare twist?
What are the risks of VUL policies?
Why did VUL policies decline in popularity after the 1990s?
How many VUL policies lapse each year?
What are the hidden costs inside a VUL policy?
What happens when a VUL policy lapses?
What is a sub-account in a VUL policy?
What is an expense ratio?
Why is 2-4% so bad?
Why are VUL sub-accounts more expensive than regular ETFs?
What about capital gains tax?
Why do advisors push VUL policies to high-income earners?
What about the 7702 section of the tax code?
Is VUL a good tax-advantaged investment?
What happened to the S&P in 2002?
What happens to VUL policies during a market downturn?
What is the net amount at risk?
What happens when the markets dip?
How does market volatility affect VUL insurance policies?
What is a death spiral in VUL insurance?
Can VUL costs increase during retirement?
What about the total annual fees in a VUL policy?
How do VUL fees compare to whole life insurance?
What is the total drag on a VUL policy?
What is a Bank On Yourself® whole life policy?
What are the benefits of whole life insurance vs. VUL?
What happened to VUL policies during the .com crash?
How did VUL policies perform during the 2008 financial crisis?
What about class action lawsuits?
What are the risks of borrowing from a VUL policy?
What is negative arbitrage?
Why do VUL loans often result in poor returns?
Why do insurance companies discourage fixed account use in VULs?
What are the downsides of VUL fixed accounts?
What does the SEC say alerts say about VUL illustrations?
Why is a Bank On Yourself® whole life policies far superior?
Have you seen The Hunchback of Notre Dame?
What is a fixed index annuity (FIA)?
What did the 2002 Morning Star report say?
Can fixed index annuities replace VUL for retirement planning?
Do you own a VUL? Would you like to know how to audit your VUL policy?
How about a case study?
What should you look for in a VUL in-force illustration?
What happens when VUL cash value drops significantly?
Can VUL policies collapse due to market losses?
Why are VUL loans problematic during market downturns?
What are the loan interest rates in VUL policies?
Why is VUL unsuitable for retirees?
What are the risks of managing a VUL policy with age?
What are the benefits of whole life policies for long-term care?
Can whole life insurance help with medical expenses?
How does a fixed index annuity provide retirement income?
What are the top alternatives to VUL policies?
Can you transfer a VUL policy to whole life insurance?
Why does the SEC say that VUL policies are unsuitable for nearly everyone?
What is SWAN money?
What are low-risk retirement strategies?
What are the takeaways?
Who needs to hear about this?

Episode 413: The Closed-End Second Mortgage Consideration for High Interest Debt

August 1, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Do you have a mortgage?
What about the hidden potential within the walls of your home?
Would you like to hear Episode 157?
What’s been going on with the mortgage industry recently?
What are the hidden costs of home ownership?
What is a home equity line of credit (HELOC)?
What is a closed-end second mortgage?
What are the disadvantages and risks of a HELOC?
What about a cash out refinance?
What are the options?
How about some examples?
What are the risks?
What are the takeaways?

The topics presented in this podcast are general information only and not for the purposes of providing legal, accounting or investment advice. On such matters, please consult a professional who knows your specific situation.

Matthew Shanlian is the Vice President of Lending for Crosscountry Mortgage, LLC. the Largest independent mortgage bank in the United States. For the past 15 years, he has focused on educating and supporting the financial services industry and their clients. Matthew travels the country to train financial professionals on Strategic Equity Planning for their clients. He believes that the having a plan for your home is paramount to a building wealth.
Reach out to Matt Shanlian | Call Matt at (330) 414-8856

Episode 401: More Proof Direct Recognition Loans are Terrible for Bank On Yourself®

May 9, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Is the policy correctly structured?
How about a case study?
Does the policy with the most cash value always win?
What is the difference between a direct recognition and a non-direct recognition whole life insurance policy loan?
What did the footnotes say?
What are some possible outcomes?
What happened to the dividends with an outstanding direct recognition loan balance?
What happens to the dividends with an outstanding non-direct recognition loan balance?
What’s the difference?
How much loan interest?
What’s the big takeaway here?
Why would this policy become a modified endowment contract (MEC)?
How about another example?
What happened with the dividends?
What about the policy loan interest?
What are the takeaways?
Why do Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy loans use non-direct recognition policy loans?

Would you like to avoid direct recognition loans and loss of dividends?

Is my policy a Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy?

Agent

Is my agent captive or independent? (Can he/she work with multiple companies or just show me one company’s product line?)
Is my agent trained to confidently and competently answer all of my questions? (Am I having to educate him/her?)
What is the agent’s training and stability? How long will the advisor be around to help me?
Is my agent among the ~200 Bank on Yourself® Professionals in good standing with the Bank on Yourself® organization?

Insurance Company

Does the company offer whole life insurance? (Do I have Whole Life or a Universal Life, Variable Life, Indexed Universal Life or Term policy?)
Is the insurance company mutually owned or stock owned?
Is the insurer’s customer service department educated enough to help me with policy loans?
Does this company have a high Comdex Rating and solid financial strength? Will they have the stability to be in business for the next 100 years at least?

Tax considerations

Will this policy become a modified endowment contract (MEC)?
Will both principal and gains be accessible tax-free under current law?

Riders

Are paid-up additions (PUAs) offered through premiums or just through dividends?
What is the Insurance Company’s PUA load cost? How does it compare to other whole life products?
What are the PUA limits (and any other gotchas)? When and why must we reduce our PUAs, even if we don’t want to?
Were any other riders available to help accelerate my cash value growth, like term riders?
If I miss a premium payment, are there protections? What will happen to the policy?
Is there a Chronic Illness Rider or similar available? What are the fees for this rider?
What are the limits on Chronic Illness, Long Term Care and Accelerated Death Benefit riders?

Dividends

Does the insurer who issued my whole life insurance policy pay dividends?
Does the whole life product I purchased receive dividends?
Is the dividend based on company performance, with me participating as an owner, or is it merely “interest sensitive” based on industry performance?
Has the insurance company paid dividends at least 100 years straight?
Was there significant dividend variability over the last 12 years, suggesting risk to future cash value growth?

Loans

If I take a loan, how will it affect the policy, short-term and long-term?
Do I have non-direct recognition loans or direct recognition loans?
When will I pay policy loan interest (at the end of year or immediately)?
What limits are at work for policy loans? Is there a maximum amount per loan
What will they allow me to borrow out at a time?
What is my loan interest rate on this policy? Is it above or below the industry average?
Is the loan simple interest or compound interest?
At what time interval is the loan interest being accrued (annually, daily, etc.)?

Would you like a second set of eyes to review an existing policy, or would you like to discuss your specific situation? Reach out to meet with Mark or one of Mark’s associates.

Episode 399: How to Pay for Everything in Life

April 25, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Would you like to join us live for the Bank on Yourself® Rescue Your Retirement Bootcamp on May 6th, 2025, 1PM-5PM ET?
What deals are you making?
What does it take to start a bank?
Where do banks keep their capital?
What is Tier 1 capital?
Who needs a liquid, regular parking spot for savings?
How does the money continue to grow, even while you’re using it?
What about major wealth transfers?
What are people saying?
Why work with us?