Retirement Plans

Episode 420: The Hidden Power of Protection: How Avoiding Market Losses Can Supercharge Your Retirement

September 19, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Have you ever been on a roller coaster that dropped so steeply that your stomach flipped, and just when you think it’s over…?
What if there was a way to enjoy the upward momentum of the market without all of the terrifying drops?
Are market events and crashes black swan events?
If someone was stealing 20% of your cash out of your bank every couple of years, what would you do?
Who would move the money to another bank?
When are you ever not going to need money?
Is your strategy vital, over the long term?
Do you have a sense of the major events in recent market history?
Who is losing money?
How often is the market really dropping? What are the implications of this?
What about the sequence of returns risk?
How might one tame volatility?
What about loss aversion?
Is your retirement vaporizing because of someone’s whims on Wall St.?
What about panic during market downturns?
How does one live on reduced retirement income?
If you lose 50%, do you need 50% or 100% to rebound just to get back to even?
What are the major market crashes of recent history?
Could anybody hold on throughout all of that madness?
What about beginners? What about the advanced?
What is the key insight to all of this?
What about preserving your principal?
What about compound growth?
What about having a financial fortress?
What are some one things to try?
What do these insights mean for you and for your long-term financial life?
Are you confident in having a guarantee in your portfolio?
What is the shield against the storm?
What is the ease of a fixed indexed annuity?
Am I doing what I need to do with my money?
Would you like to read and review our new book, The Business Fortress: How to Grow, Protect and Exit Your Business?
What are some next steps and takeaways?

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Episode 414: The 10-Year Retirement Danger Window with Grant Thompson

August 8, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Would you like to read Mark’s new book, co-authored with David Barnett, The Business Fortress: How to Grow, Protect and Exit Your Business with Confidence?
What is this 10-year window?
Who is Grant Thompson?
Would you like to hear Episode 357?
How does the Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy actually work in retirement?
What are the passive income years?
What about the one trick ponies?
What about social security?
What could cause that to reduce in the future?
Where should one draw money from for income and/or a buffer?
What do you need to have in retirement?
What about multiple streams?
What is the foundation of the house?
What is the Swiss army knife?
What about peace?
What does it take to have a true plan?
What are some examples of how clients use the policies?
What about taking money with tax efficiency?
What about the five years before retirement?
What about the five years after retirement?
Am I going to run out of my income?
What about leaving a legacy for the family?
What about inflation?
What needs to be on the guaranteed level?
What happens for those who have everything in the market?
How can one reduce pressure in retirement?
What about purpose?
What is a buffer asset?
Would you like to hear Episode 194?
What about borrowing against the policy?
What about long term care?
Do you have to die to win?
What about the 1035 exchange?
What about moving money from a life insurance policy to an annuity?
What about costs increasing?
What do you want your money to do for you?
What if you don’t need more income?
What about setting up something for the kids?
What about pensions?
Can you give yourself social security benefits?
What about your estate?
Is there someone you love so much at the IRS that you want to send them a bunch of money?
Is there someone you love so much at the assisted living facility that you want to send them all of your money?
What will check off many of the boxes?
What assets will you have left upon death?
What are the takeaways and action items?

Grant Thompson works with families and their businesses nationwide. The Thompson & Thurman Agency works with families who share in their vision and want to become financially set for life without taking unnecessary risks. With so much misinformation in our financial world today, families really need guidance and direction to find the true path to financial freedom. Grant, Chris and their team of trusted advisers nationwide have are leading the way to meet that challenge. Grant is married to his wife Kathy and they have 2 sons Blair and Blane along with his wife Brittany. Grant enjoys spending his spare time with his family at reining and cow horse competitions plus trying to squeeze in a shooting competition every now and then with his sons. Reach out to Grant at grant@thompsonthurman.com or call Grant at (806) 352-3480.

Episode 410: The Devastating Thrift Savings Plan Pitfall with Amanda Neely

July 11, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Who will you become?
Do you or your loved ones have a TSP or Thrift Savings Plan?
Who is Amanda Neely?
Would you like to hear Episode 113 or Episode 362?
What has Amanda learned as an author?
What about joy and peace?
What did Amanda discover?
Do I need to do something different than what my parents did?
What is a TSP, and how is it different than a 401(k)?
Is a TSP essentially a government employee’s 401(k)?
What about the match?
What is the difference between a traditional and a Roth?
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
What are the different funds?
What about the fees?
What are you actually invested in?
What happens with a loan in a 401(k)?
What happens with a loan in a TSP?
Who wants to be double taxed on the same dollar?
What are your choices?
How about an example?
What are the restrictions?
What happens with a surviving spouse?
What can be quickly locked down?
What about taxable withdrawals?
What about non-spousal beneficiaries?
What are the tax implications?
What about a delayed death certificate?
How savvy are adult children?
What if you’re under age 59 1/2?
What if you’re older than age 59 1/2?
When is your TSP free?
What happens to federal employee group life insurance?
What happens if you don’t have a plan for your assets?
What’s the government’s plan for your assets?
What happens when you have a will?
What about probate?
What happens when you have a trust set up?
How can you reduce the drama for your family members?
What about financial wellness?
Would you like to join our FREE Not Your Average Financial Community and private message Amanda Neely?
What are the takeaways?

Amanda Neely is a CFP® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®) professional and CEO of Wealth Wisdom Financial. She makes financial planning more accessible through podcasting and through developing personalized financial strategies for individuals and couples, as well as profitability strategies for small businesses. She works virtually to help everyday Americans all over the United States to create smart, stable financial futures.

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Episode 400: How to Never Run Out of Money – Even if You Live to 120!

May 2, 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?
Will you run out of money if you live to 120?
What are we going to do make sure your money doesn’t run out before you do?
What about market volatility? Do you remember 2008?
What replaced the pension plans?
What about inflation risk?
Is the answer investing in the market?
What does the economist William Sharpe say?
What percentage can one take out of a 401(k) without running out of money?
What percentage of 65 year-olds will live beyond age 90?
Who is underspending?
What about annuities?
What about inflation-protected payouts?
What is the only true form of retirement security?
What are endowments?
What is the history of the annuity?
What happened to Babe Ruth?
What about Ben Bernanke?
What is a fixed indexed annuity?
What about immediate pay annuities?
What about letting your money grow before turning on income in an annuity?
Why do so many financial infotainers bash annuities?
Are there quality annuities?
What about special benefits?
What about increasing income?
How about some case studies?
What about guaranteed lifetime income?

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WHO: The Top Bank on Yourself® Professionals
WHAT: An afternoon-long bootcamp
– a deep dive into the workings of Bank on Yourself® –
(lifetime access to the recording available!)
WHEN: May 6th, 2025, 1PM-5PM ET
COST: $47
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Episode 396: Double Bonus Strategy: Enhancing Employee Benefits With 162(a) Plans

April 4, 2025 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Would you like to meet with Mark?
What are the challenges for small businesses?
What’s wrong with a small business’s 401(k) offering?
What is the problem with fees?
What is the problem with liquidity?
What are the penalties?
What about the severe loss of control?
What about forced participation?
Why, with all of these problems, does everyone set up 401(k)s?
What about a financial Frankenstein?
Is the proof in the pudding?
How are we fairing?
What is the average 401(k) balance for a 55 year-old?
How might a business owner attract the best talent and offer the best benefits?
Why are Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policies superior?
Would you like to hear Episode 36?
What about tax?
What about eliminating restrictive rules?
What about going from a 401(k) to a 162(a)?
What are executive bonus life insurance contracts?
What are the administrative costs?
What are the additional benefits?
What are the considerations?
What are the backup options?
How about an example?
What is a double bonus?
What about the tax?
Would you like to hear Episode 206?
What can the employees do?
What about the taxation of social security benefits?
What if tax rates double on you on income in required minimum distributions or other qualified distribution income?
What are additional benefits of the 162(a)?
Would you like to establish a better than a 401(k) alternative that benefits your employees profoundly?
Would you like to meet with Mark?

Episode 366: From Mowing Lawns to Mastering Money with Dave Bonnemort

September 6, 2024 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Does X mark the spot?
Who is Dave Bonnemort?
How did Dave get his start?
How many policies does Dave and his family own?
What is the E.S.I. framework?
What about earning?
What about saving?
What about interest?
What about banking?
Who is good at at least two of the three?
What about investing in yourself and your health?
What about education?
How might we bring value to others?
What have you done to help keep up with inflation?
What is the difference between saving and investing?
Is a 401(k) saving or investing?
What about the book Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash?
What about keeping your debts low?
What did Charlie Munger say?
What about Willie Sutton’s law?
What about the changing rules?
Have you looked at the history of taxes?
Where are the big payouts?
What about risk?
What about the likelihood of loss vs. the likelihood of winning?
What about volatility?
What about saving and building capital?
What about being broke as a joke?
How did Dave 10x some of his money?
Who knows better (what to do with your money)?
What about banking, rate and volume?
What are the two businesses?
How about patience and hard work?
What about the mindset?
What are the ugly, painful, grinding years?
What about the capitalization phase?
How is this like starting a tree farm?
What about the loan phase?
How much money do you bring in every month?
What dollar amount do you bring in as loans?
What if you were paying yourself back (for loans) and recapturing that interest instead?
Would you like to hear Part 2 with Dave next week?
What are the takeaways?
What about the need to have accessible, liquid capital?

Dave Bonnemort is a current client and active practitioner of the Becoming Your Own Banker concept, as well as a husband to an amazing wife and father to three incredible kids.

He makes his living as a small business owner, is a student of Austrian economics, and a personal finance junkie.

Episode 358: From Panic to Peace of Mind – The CURE Strategy for Late Stage Retirement Planning

July 12, 2024 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

Did something or someone take you out?
Can you retire at all?
What are some tactical strategies?
Do you feel behind?
What happened to the stock market?
What happened in 2022?
What does one need to keep up with inflation?
What happened to the average 401(k) balance?
How long does it take to break even?
What is a single premium policy?
What about the fixed paid up additions rider?
What are the costs of the C.U.R.E. strategy?
What is the growth potential on this strategy?
How about a case study?
What about the tax?
What about risk?
What are the two stage rocket strategy stages?
…What to do?
What about a catch-up retirement engine?
How about the numbers?
What happened?
Would you like to hear Episode 271?
Would you like to hear Episode 150?
Would you like to hear Episode 83?
What are the takeaways?

Episode 356: Your 401(k) Will Be Gone within a Decade

June 28, 2024 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

What lasts forever?
What could be happening right before our eyes?
What did the February 2024 Bloomberg article say?
How old is a 401(k)?
Are we still living through the great experiment of a 401(k)?
Is it forced?
Who is going with the flow?
Is it just automatic and easy?
What’s the point?
Why are many people starting to scrutinize 401(k) accounts?
What will happen?
What about the tax benefits?
Why bother at all?
What are you agreeing to?
What about the book 401 (not) Ok?
Do you want anything on this list?
What is sacrilegious?
Is that money all yours?
How much is in a 401(k)?
How much of that belongs to the owner?
What about the vesting trap?
Who else gets a portion?
Are tax rates going down?
Is it “monopoly money”?
What is a ticking time-bomb?
What’s the solution?
What are employer sponsored liquid accounts?
What about penalty?
What about liquidity?
What are the taxes?
What about the gains?
How is this different from a Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy?
What do studies show?
What about automatic employer contributions?
Would you like to speak with Mark?
Is it easy to withdrawal money from a retirement account?
What is gone?
What is a downfall?
Does the money stop growing?
What continues to grow?
What about big life expenses, like paying for college?
Is there a vesting schedule with the Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy?
What grows tax-deferred?
What represents real wealth?
What is locked in, even when the market takes a crash?
How old is the Bank on Yourself® type whole life insurance policy?
Why do we keep using a 401(k) for retirement planning?
Would you like to hear Episode 9? Is it time to retire your 401(k)?
Would you like to hear Episode 10? Your 401(k) – who is benefiting the most?
Would you like to hear Episode 11? A 401(k) – How’s that working out for you?
What are the takeaways?
What is the true cost?
Would you like to meet with Mark or an associate?

Episode 355: The Ultimate 401(k) Upgrade – Tax-Free Income and Market Protection

June 21, 2024 by Not Your Average Financial Podcast

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In this episode, we ask:

What is finite?
How do we solve that problem?
What can be converted into a lifetime stream of income?
Is there a stream of income that you cannot outlive?
Would you like to hear Episode 354?
How can you get through your retirement without coughing up a third of your income into taxes and fees?
What about the allegory of the cave?
What about the fear of change?
Who has a 401(k)?
Did you know…?
What could take about half of your life savings away?
Are you one of the lucky ones?
Would you like to hear Episode 79?
How much would one have after taxes and fees?
How much could one take per month?
What about another way?
What if one could spread it out slowly?
What happens in systematic withdrawal?
What are some possibilities?
Who would like to preserve the wealth?
How about an example?
What about annuities?
What about fun?
What would you rather have?
Would you like to meet with Mark?