Posts by Rachel Marshall
Spouse Financial Preparedness: Ensure Your Partner Can Flourish—Not Fumble
I’ll never forget the moment my co‑host Bruce Wehner shared a powerful story: Nelson told his wife, Mary, “I need to teach you how to be a widow.” That striking phrase stopped us in our tracks. It wasn’t morbid—it was strategic. Nelson recognized that spouse financial preparedness is the cornerstone of true legacy planning. If…
Read MoreHow Much Life Insurance Do I Need? Ask This Instead
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need? Why That’s the Wrong Question If you’ve ever asked, “How much life insurance do I need?”—you’re not alone. It’s a common starting point. But in this article, Bruce and I (Rachel) want to challenge that question and offer something better. Because “need” is often based on a survival…
Read MoreMutual Holding Companies: What Whole Life Policyholders Need to Know
Lately, we’ve seen a troubling trend online. People—some well-meaning, some not—are sharing misinformation about mutual holding companies, claiming these companies are no longer mutually owned or that they’ve quietly abandoned their policyholders. That couldn’t be further from the truth. So Joe, Bruce, and I decided it was time to clear the air. Because when it…
Read MoreThe Truth About Single Premium Paid-Up Additions (SPUA): How to Design Infinite Banking Policies With Wisdom, Not Hype
A few weeks ago, something special happened as we kicked off a podcast recording—Joe DeFazio held up a first edition copy of Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash. It had just arrived in his hands, passed down like a sacred trust. We weren’t in the same room, so Bruce and I couldn’t flip through…
Read MoreHow Whole Life and Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance Support Legacy, Wealth Transfer, and Tax Efficiency
In today’s post, Bruce and I (Rachel Marshall) want to bring you behind the scenes of a candid and educational conversation we had with Matt Ewald, Vice President of Life Insurance at Advisors Excel. If you’ve ever wondered when and why to use guaranteed universal life insurance (GUL) —especially in the context of estate planning—this…
Read MoreAlign Wealth With Values Through Faith-Based Legacy Planning
There’s a story Buffy Ruthardt shared that still gives me chills. She and her husband Darren were on a drive, just processing life and legacy—wondering aloud what it might look like for their children to live in their inheritance while they were still alive. Not just financially, but spiritually, relationally, and generationally. It was a…
Read MoreHow to Design a Whole Life Policy for Infinite Banking: Avoid the Pitfalls, Build Long-Term Wealth, and Create a System That Lasts Generations
Let me tell you a quick story. Imagine walking into your local grocery store, grabbing a can of peas, and sneaking out the back door without paying. It sounds ridiculous—maybe even unethical, right? Now, imagine the opposite: You pick up the same can, go to the register, pay for it, and walk out the front…
Read MoreShould You Put All Your Income Into a Whole Life Policy? Here’s What You Need to Know
It started with a bold question that showed up in a public comment: “If infinite banking is so powerful, why wouldn’t I just put all my income into a whole life policy?” That single comment sparked a deeply layered, thoughtful conversation that we knew needed more attention. It wasn’t criticism. It was curiosity. And curiosity,…
Read MoreCan You Deduct Life Insurance Premiums? The Truth Every Business Owner Needs to Know
Recently, Bruce shared a story that perfectly illustrates unexpected life challenges—his basement flooded, turning a peaceful Easter weekend into an emergency cleanup session. Just as unexpected problems can flood your home, unanswered financial questions can flood your business strategy, especially questions like: “Can you deduct life insurance premiums?” Tax questions, much like sudden home repairs,…
Read MoreInfinite Banking Concept (IBC): The Golden Key that Unlocks Your Financial Life
The Infinite Banking Concept is a financial strategy, first codified by R. Nelson Nash, that uses high-cash-value, dividend-paying whole-life insurance so policyholders become their own bankers. They store savings, earn guaranteed growth and tax-deferred dividends, and then can borrow against the policy’s cash value. This creates a powerful system where YOU control your capital, not…
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