Strategies
The tools, and what each one actually does
Every strategy here has a job and a cost. These pages explain both. If you are not sure which applies to your situation, that is what the review is for.
Health Insurance
Coverage options for the self-employed, families and small teams, including alternatives to marketplace plans.
Often a fit for
Self-employed and 1099 professionals · Families losing employer coverage
Supplemental Coverage
Accident, hospital, critical illness and dental cover that pays cash into the gap a high deductible leaves.
Often a fit for
Families on a bronze or high-deductible plan · Anyone whose deductible is larger than their emergency savings
Life Insurance
Term, permanent and hybrid coverage, sized and structured around the plan rather than sold in isolation.
Often a fit for
Families with income that others depend on · Anyone with a mortgage or business debt
Tax Advantaged Retirement
Diversify not just what you own, but how it will be taxed when you eventually use it.
Often a fit for
High income earners already maxing out qualified plans · People 10 to 25 years from retirement
Infinite Banking
Use a properly designed participating whole life policy as a personal banking system for liquidity and control.
Often a fit for
People who keep meaningful cash reserves · Business owners who fund equipment, inventory or payroll
Business Owner Strategies
Executive bonus plans, key person coverage, retention strategies and succession planning.
Often a fit for
Owners with two to fifty employees · Partnerships without a funded buy-sell agreement
Not sure which applies
Start with the question, not the product
Most people arrive here unsure which of these fits their situation. Fifteen minutes on the phone usually settles it faster than another hour of reading.
Also part of the work
Concepts that show up inside almost every plan
These are not standalone products. They are the questions a Financial Legacy Strategy tends to surface, and they get addressed alongside whatever else is in the plan.
Debt Reduction StrategyInterest is a cash flow problem before it is a balance problem. Two households with identical debt can pay very different total amounts depending only on the order they pay and where their reserves sit while they do it.
- The order matters. Highest-rate-first minimizes total interest; smallest-balance-first tends to be easier to sustain. The right answer depends on which one you will actually finish.
- Cash flow is the lever. Freeing up monthly cash flow — by restructuring, consolidating or repositioning where money sits — is usually what changes the trajectory, not finding a higher return somewhere.
- Reserves and repayment compete. Emptying savings to clear a balance often means borrowing it back later at a worse rate. Where your liquidity sits during a payoff is part of the strategy.
- Some debt is not worth accelerating. A low fixed-rate mortgage and a revolving balance at 24% are not the same problem and should not get the same treatment.
We do not promise a payoff date, a debt-free timeline, or that any strategy eliminates debt. What we do is show the math on the options you actually have.
Legacy and Estate ConceptsMost estate problems are not tax problems. They are liquidity and paperwork problems — assets that cannot be divided, bills that arrive before anything can be sold, and beneficiary designations nobody updated.
- Beneficiary designations override your will. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by designation, and a form filled out before a marriage, divorce or birth is a common and entirely avoidable failure.
- Liquidity at the wrong moment. Estate settlement costs, final expenses and taxes arrive on a schedule that illiquid assets — a business, real estate — cannot meet without a forced sale.
- Ownership structure changes the outcome. Who owns a life insurance policy affects whether the death benefit is counted in a taxable estate. This is fixable in advance and expensive to fix afterward.
- Fairness is not the same as equal. Leaving a business to one child and cash to another requires the cash to exist. Insurance is often how that gets equalized.
Wills, trusts and estate documents are legal work. We coordinate with your attorney and CPA on the liquidity and insurance side rather than drafting anything ourselves.
Liquidity and Emergency CapitalWhere reserves sit, how quickly they can be reached, and what it costs you to keep them accessible. This is usually the first thing a Financial Legacy Strategy surfaces, and often the easiest to improve.
- Most households hold reserves in exactly one place and have never asked what that placement costs them.
- Access speed matters more than headline yield when the money is there for emergencies and opportunities.
- A tiered approach — immediate, short-term and longer-term reserves — usually beats one undifferentiated pile.
Annuities and Guaranteed IncomeFor some retirees, converting a portion of assets into contractual income reduces the pressure on the rest of the portfolio. For others it locks up capital that should have stayed flexible.
- Surrender periods and charges are the first thing to read, not the last.
- Income riders carry ongoing fees that are often quoted separately from the illustrated income.
- Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier, so carrier strength is part of the product.
- Annuitizing everything is rarely appropriate. The question is what portion, if any.
The strategies described on this site are educational in nature. Whether any of them is appropriate depends on your individual financial situation, objectives, time horizon, insurability, policy design, carrier and applicable state regulations. Nothing here is individualized financial, tax or legal advice.
Not sure where to start
Most people arrive here unsure which of these applies to them.
That is normal, and it is a good reason to have the conversation rather than keep reading. Fifteen minutes, no product presentation, no cost.