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The 31 FLAVORS of Missed Fortune

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“FLAVORS” stands for “Fortunes Lost Amid Valid Optimization & Reallocation Strategies.”

These are the 31 most common ways we see people losing money. Read through these and see which ones apply to you and consider where you could save money by meeting with a Missed Fortune advisor.

Retirement Planning (choosing the wrong investments):

1. Using short-term investments for long-range goals and long-term investments for short-range goals

2. Putting money in “crawl” investments such as CDs and Money Markets

3. Putting money in “walk” investments such as annuities

4. Thinking that IRAs and 401(k)s are the best way to save for retirement

5. Postponing qualified plan distributions until age 70½ and/or taking minimum distributions

6. Not employing one of your greatest assets—home equity via a reverse mortgage

Your Home and Other Real Estate:

7. Not employing the lazy, idle dollars trapped in your home and other real estate

8. Sending extra principal payments against your mortgage

9. Paying large cash down payments when acquiring real estate

10. Paying unnecessary capital gains when selling rental income real estate

11. Not realizing that you can buy property without down payments or credit.

12. Renting your residence instead of owning (buying) it

Tax Planning (paying unnecessary taxes):

13. Not claiming enough withholding W-4 allowances (to get bigger tax refunds)

14. Not maximizing tax deductions and itemizing them on your tax return

15. Not understanding the huge difference between tax-deferred and tax-free growth on savings and investments

    Asset Management (choosing the wrong strategies):

    16. Trying to time the market (thus buying and selling at the wrong times because of emotion)

    17. Relying on the purchase of commodity products rather than employing proven investment strategies

      18. Not maintaining liquidity with all assets (the ability to get your money when you need it)

      19. Not keeping your principal safe (protecting yourself from potential loss of principal)

      20. Not earning a rate of return greater than taxes and inflation, and the cost of those funds

      21. Not fully understanding the power of compound interest

      22. Locking up serious cash in gold and other precious metals

      Risk Management and Insurance:

      23. Not funding your life insurance properly or using insurance for superior capital accumulation

      24. Not letting Uncle Sam pay for your life insurance (by redirecting otherwise payable income tax)

      25. Not structuring your health insurance for optimum efficiency with the proper deductibles

      26. Not structuring your auto and homeowners insurance efficiently with the proper deductibles

      27. Not understanding safe, positive leverage (the ability to own and control assets with very little or none of your own money at risk or tied up in the asset)

      Credit and Debt Management:

      28. Not maintaining your credit score at 720 or higher

      29. Paying off debt (including your mortgage and student loans) the wrong way

      Estate Planning:

      30. Having too much liability exposure and losing hard-earned assets to losses and frivolous suits

      31. Not eliminating or reducing unnecessary estate tax through the use of trusts and life insurance

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