Tom's Blog

The title of this article is the title of the tele-seminar I am currently presenting. When I mentioned this title to my 17-year-old son, he said it sounded like a marketing gimmick. And I would ordinarily agree with him. But, the simple fact is that millions of people are tired of the same old 30-year savings-to-retirement plan and want something that works faster than that. So, here we are presenting a series of tele-seminars to help people achieve financial freedom in as few as 5-10 years.

The tele-seminar has been very well received so far and I especially appreciate the many questions asked during our "ask" campaign and the several follow up questions since our first seminar last Tuesday. In this entry, I am going to answer several of the questions that have come up during the past week.

Q: Daniel asks:

Do you have a spreadsheet that we can use to develop our financial statements? This is important as they will always be changing and it would facilitate keeping them up to date.

A: We love this idea, so we have created and posted a spreadsheet at the webpage for our tele-seminar participants

Q: Gus asks:

We have several out of state single family properties as rentals. Regarding Corporations and LLC's - What is the best way to structure a company to protect commercial real and residential rentals for asset protection and from excessive taxes? One LLC per property or all properties in one LLC? One LLC per property per state? I am so confused, everyone I speak to seems to have a different opinion I have spoken to Lawyers, accountants, financial planners and so far no one seems to agree.

A: As with almost all such questions, the answer is "It depends." The problem we find with most financial advice is that it is given without a full knowledge of the facts and without a full and complete set of goals and objectives in mind. The only way to truly answer this question accurately is to sit down with a Strategic Tax Coach and an attorney and strategically determine what the best answer is for the individual taxpayer. Some people may be so risk averse that they want a separate LLC for each property. Others may want the simplicity of a single LLC and they are less concerned about the risk of multiple properties owned by the same LLC. But remember to think strategically and make sure the answer fits within your own strategy and goals.

Q: Ellen asks:

Page 8 in the workbook talks about Cash Flow--I have an accounting background and I am a "SAVER". Consequently we have very little debt. In my "household expenses" I have always got things built in like PAC payments that go to mutual funds, and money to go into savings for various items. I find it very hard to calculate expenses without considering my savings--but I need to know if that is what you want--to find out what kind of cash is left over---without putting ANY away in any type of savings or investments? (I assume so that we can use that cash for investments we will learn about later on?

Page 9 - Balance sheet --- Money we have put away in IRA's and HSA's--I would consider long-term because if we take it out we will be penalized--but need clarification ---- again because we COULD use that money for investments??????

Its hard to get out of the mindset of saving for retirement - but I think I need to re-think that if I am financially free - I don't need retirement money???

A: First, the simple answer to the cash flow question. The answer is that you want to list the amount of actual expenses you have right now, BEFORE any savings.

The IRA question is more problematic. I would put this in the liquid asset category, as it is funds available to be converted to cash (assuming you hold liquid assets within the IRA). If you want to be conservative, list it net of the taxes and penalty you would pay if you were to take it out.

The last question is the best of the questions and I think you have answered it on your own. If you are financially free, then you ought to be able to retire at any time. It is a change in your mindset from retirement (safety) to financial freedom (wealth). Good for you for recognizing the difference!

Q: Ruben asks:

I enjoyed our first teleseminar on Tuesday and I'm psyched to begin developing my personal wealth strategy. I have two questions for you:

1) First, you advised us to report net rental income on our breakdown of income. Here's my situation...I live in one of three units that I own in a tri-plex. I rent the other two. The rent of the two rented units does not cover or exceed the mortgage, therefore there is no net rental income (I pay for the difference between the mortgage and the two monthly rents from my personal funds. How do I account for the rental income to reflect an accurate amount on my workbook?

A: You need to evaluate this as two separate properties for cash flow purposes. One property is the rental. So, 2/3 of the payment belongs to the rental. The other property is the residence. 1/3 of the payment belongs to the residence and should be reported as a personal expense.

2) I have a close friend that offered me a path to begin building my real estate portfolio. She joined a group/company (by paying $16000 to $18500). I attended one of their presentations and it seems like a fancy type of pyramid scheme.

A: I intentionally omitted the name of the organization Ruben asks about because it is not important. What's important is the due diligence required for any such organization. You need to evaluate the company, it's history, and it's financial success. I always suggest involving an expert, such as a CPA, in an evaluation like this. We will talk more about team members in our 4th and 5th tele-seminar sessions.

Q: Barb asks:

My workbook planning has resulted in two different cash-flow goals ... I would like to achieve one within the next 12 months and the other within the next 6 years. But the only wealth goal I am interested in would be the net assets necessary to achieve the cash-flow goals, and I'm not sure how to define that number. I don't want to just pull a number out of the air. Is there any kind of industry formula I could use that defines the relationship between income-producing assets and that income itself?

A: It's great that you have both mid-term and long-term goals. We will get very specific about setting such goals in our 3rd session. The question you need to ask is what return can you expect to receive on your wealth once it is accumulated? We will go over much of this in our meeting tomorrow night when we discuss different asset classes and how to evaluate investment choices.

Q: Aifala asks:

Hello Tom, Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and wisdom. My question
is, if I don't have any money save or negative cash flow showing on my
financial statement, would it be possible for me to purchase a 16 unit
apartment building?. Thanks again for everything.

A: Once again, the answer is "It depends." It depends on the seller, it depends on your negotiation skills, it depends on your credit score and it depends on your current cash flow. I can certainly conceive of ways to do this deal. This is the perfect question for your Wealth Coach. Before you get to this question, though, be sure you have your Wealth Strategy in place. Be sure you really should be investing in a 16-unit complex. I suggest you wait on this question until we complete the tele-seminar series and then go through it with your wealth coach.

These are all great questions and I have enjoyed answering them. As the tele-seminar series progresses, continue to send in your questions and I will do my best to answer them within my blog.

Warmest regards,

Tom

This is the question I received yesterday from Arliss, one of our participants. Here is the exact scenario she ran into in her words:

Hi,
First I want to say I really enjoyed session 1 it was basic enough for me, and I am going to keep up with you, understand and learn all that you are teaching.
This past Fri I went to see the Bank Financial Advisor (they had called me in). Of course, they wanted me to buy Mutual Funds. I did nothing. They asked me what steps I was taking for my Financial Future. I told them that I was taking a course with a Wealth Strategist....The bank financial advisor told me that I was not wealthy enough for a wealth strategist. I did not really respond...Just "oh". I told him that I would get back to him in late August or first part of September and let him know what I was doing/or planning. I have a job and I have a lot of equity in my home. My accountant told me that I can not become a business because I wanted to do the same thing...more or less...than what I now do...I told him I would do whatever it took to become a business...or whatever to bring down my taxes...he has not helped me. So...my question... am I not wealthy enough for a wealth strategy?

A: Congratulations on not caving to the strong-arm tactics of this sales person! The short answer to your question is: The less wealthy you are, the more you need a wealth strategy. Otherwise, how will you ever build the wealth you are looking for? I am constantly amazed by the thought processes of so-called financial advisors. It's pretty clear that the Bank Financial Advisor is nothing more than a salesman with very little training in financial principals. My guess is that he has less wealth than you have and is not well-equipped to respond to someone like you who is serious about creating wealth.

As for your accountant's comment - maybe it's time you found another accountant. Tax planning is a crucial part of wealth creation, as fewer taxes means more money that can be devoted to capital accumulation.The fact is, there are a multitude of ways to bring down your taxes if you have a creative tax professional and a willingness to learn. It is totally possible that you could create a business doing what you are doing to help lower your taxes. Our Tax Coaches at ProVision help people with this type of planning every day.

Today's entry is going to answer several questions from our teleseminar participants about tax and accounting. All of these questions make me wonder why so many? Thinking about this, I can only come up with two possibilities. Either, there are a lot of people who don't have an accountant or, they have asked their accountant and their accountant cannot give them a satisfactory answer.

Those of you asking the questions are making a significant effort taking our Wealth Strategy teleseminars. Let me suggest that if you do not have a CPA (CA in Canada), then get one soon. We will be talking about team building in our 4th session and I will address how to find a good accountant in that session.

If you do have a CPA/CA and they cannot answer your questions, it may be time to change accountants. As I told Arliss yesterday in my blog, many accountants do not have the knowledge or creativity necessary to create a high level of tax savings.

Now for the answers to your questions:

Q: From Jesus:

"My Question is we are contributing to corp bank account's with personal income and we have been writing on the checks "Capitalize Business Structure" is this correct? @ this time we are building mostly business credit for real estate investments etc.

A: This may be correct, depending on the type of business structure you have. Contributions to your company can either be treated as a loan to the company or as a capital contribution. This is the type of question that really must be addressed as part of a comprehensive Tax Strategy. Our website, www.ProVisionWealth.com, has more on Tax Strategy.

Q: From Daniel:

Is there a way to roll over a portion of an INHERITED Traditional IRA (inherited from a parent) into a Roth IRA? (I understand that if so, the money rolled over would be taxable as income in the current year.) The custodian of my self-directed IRA says “no,” and I did find in Publication 590 on irs.gov, the following statement: “If you inherited a traditional IRA from someone other than your spouse, you cannot convert it to a Roth IRA.” HOWEVER, I have talked to at least one highly experienced CPA who says he has had numerous clients who have done this without any problem.

A: The answer given in the IRS publication matches our understanding of the law. However, we don't really know all of the facts about the clients from this CPA. I would caution everyone to be careful not to take heresay as competent advice. Remember that just because someone gets away with something doesn't mean the IRS allows it. In addition, it may be that the IRA's converted to Roth's did come from their spouse. One question I would be asking that CPA is whether any of his clients who have done so have been audited and, if so, if the IRS has addressed the issue with them. The other question I would ask this CPA is whether he could please provide the legal support for this position.

It is always fair to ask a tax advisor for the legal support for their answer. If they won't give you the legal support, I would seriously question their answer. As with Jesus' question above, the best answer will always come from a tax advisor who has worked with you to create a comprehensive tax strategy so they know all of the facts and circumstances surrounding your question.

Louise asks:

Could you please explain what a Roth IRA is please...can I change my present IRA into a ROTH IRA?

How do I go about using my IRA to invest in real estate or is using a ROTH IRA easier?

A: When you contribute to a regular IRA, you receive a tax deduction for the contribution and all payments you receive from the IRA are subject to tax at your ordinary income tax rates. When you contribute to a Roth IRA, you do NOT receive a deduction for the contribution, but the payments you receive from the Roth IRA ARE NOT subject to tax when you receive them.

At ProVision, we are big fans of Roth IRA's. Whereas a regular IRA is merely a deferral of tax to a later year, a Roth IRA provides PERMANENT tax savings. You will need to speak to your CPA or Tax Coach about whether and when you can roll your regular IRA into a Roth IRA and the tax consequences for doing so.

As to investing in real estate through an IRA, I strongly recommend you speak to you CPA/Tax Coach about this. It is a fairly complicated question and your tax advisor needs to have ALL of your facts and your goals to determine even WHETHER you should invest in real estate through your IRA.

That's it for the tax/accounting questions for today. There are some wealth questions I will answer on Monday. Keep working on your Wealth Strategy workbooks. I will talk to you all on Tuesday.

Warmest regards,

Tom

Thanks to all who are participating in our teleseminar. Once you have completed the work books, you will have a great start to building your own personal wealth strategy. Congratulations!!!

Here are a couple of additional questions I have received from teleseminar participants:

From Louise:

Q: Also where do I find information on your wealth coaching? I am just coming out of a 20 year marriage and being a single mom, I feel like I am starting from scratch. I never learned about wealth stratigies and the whole financial picture blows me away!! Thus, taking Harv's courses and gaining knowledge to be the best that I can possibly be!!! Signing up for this teleseminar with you is priceless...thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and wisdom!

A: Good news, Louise! We discuss how to find, interview and select a wealth coach in our 4th teleseminar. Feel free to call our office at 866.467.5809 and ask for a client service representative to find out more about ProVision's Strategic Wealth Coaching. Or visit our website at www.ProVisionWealth.com and click on the Wealth tab.

From Tim:

Q: I am getting started in options trading and am planning to use it as my primary income source (I have a reasonable net worth, mostly in my IRA, but have not had employment for a few years).

Is it reasonable to remove my money from an IRA (and pay the penalty and taxes) to invest it?

A: It depends. You can do option trading within your IRA. So there is no real reason in your case to take the money out of your IRA unless you need it to live on. If you were investing in real estate, the answer may be significantly different, as there are tax advantages and leverage advantages to real estate that are considerably better outside of an IRA.

From Jeta:

Q: I currently have mutual funds & would like to know at least where I might be able to do some research for what's best or what to look for (any book or article recommendations) for at least the time I am going to be invested in them.

A: There are a number of places to do research on mutual funds and other paper assets. I am going to put this question to the group to find out if any of our readers have favorite places to research mutual funds. Group? What do you think?

From Sinden:

Q: Based on my preferences, Paper Assets seems to be the
best fit. Even with your descriptions, I still don't
understand the definitions, or especially the
implications for criteria in investing (risk, strategy
etc.) Say, the difference between an option or REITS.
I have looked for books in the library, asked my $
planners, successful acquaintances and relatives and
have not really gotten an answer except that "you pick
it up over time". Not if I don't know how to ask an
intelligent question of things I have never heard of.

A: This is where a wealth coach would be particularly helpful. In one-on-one wealth coaching, you can ask your coach questions and your coach will help clarify it. It's difficult to get everything from a book or a seminar, because you can't really ask clarifying questions. I find one-on-one training the best for this.

Q: Our last question today comes from Reuben:

How do you suggest we utilize our wealth coach for the questions in the workbook thus far?

A: Great question, Reuben. I suggest you walk through each work book with your wealth coach. He/she should be asking you questions and focusing you to the best answers and strategy for you. You may find that you are doing much of the talking. That's good, because in reality, you have the answers. You just need to be asked the right questions. And that is what a coach is for - to ask the questions that will result in you coming up with the best strategy.

That's all the time we have to answer questions for today. I can sense that you are feeling just how beneficial a personal wealth coach might be. In two weeks, we will discuss your team and especially how to choose your wealth coach. In the meantime, keep working on your work books and remember that "Financial Freedom is Closer than You Think."

Warmest regards,

Tom

Many of you, particularly those of you who attended Harv Eker's Never Work Again seminar, have asked about the adviseability of specific investments. I am not an investment advisor, so I would never provide specific advise about whether or not to purchase a specific investment. But there are some fundamental guidelines to follow when evaluating investments. We have been over several of these guidelines during our three teleseminar sessions. Here is a sample quesiton.

Jeta asks:

Q: I''m involved w/ the Financial Freedom Now thru the Never Work Again workshop. I have the opportunity to buy land in Costa Rica. It would mean I''d need to redeem shares from investments w/ a fee to do so. I don''t make a lot of $ at my day job, so I''m not sure of any other possible solutions like a loan or something.

A: It is always tempting to rush into an investment that seems so good that if we don't take advantage of it, we will always regret it. I strongly advise against this practice, no matter what the deal. The reason is simple. In the words of my friend, Dolf deRoos, "The deal of the decade comes around once a week." There will always be great deals. More important is investing within the context of our own personal wealth strategy.

When we have determined what type of assets we want to use to accumulate our wealth and we have determined the investment criteria for our investments, then deciding on any investment is a simple matter of applying our criteria to the investment. This method of investing is far superior to the haphazard investing most of us do. The difference? Strategy. Strategic investing, following our wealth strategy, will result in the best and fasted accumulation of wealth with the least amount of risk.

Keep working on developing your personal wealth strategy and feel free to send in questions to cs@provisionwealth.com.

Warmest regards,

Tom