The Whole Truth About Your Mortgage BY KIM D. H. BUTLER.

Transcription

1 The Whole Truth About Your Mortgage BY KIM D. H. BUTLER

2 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 2 The Whole Truth About Your Mortgage The decision to finance your home is the beginning of an emotional and informational river rafting trip. Discussion, information and misinformation crop up, like rocks jutting out of smooth water. Emotions surprise us, like the rocks and whirlpools hidden beneath the surface, changing the direction of the boat without warning. Everyone has an opinion about what to do and how to respond to the currents and the obstacles as they present themselves. But you are the one steering the boat and you are the one who makes the ultimate decisions as to the course your boat takes. Many Americans make inefficient use of their money because of the lack of complete information coming from mortgage companies, banks, media, CPA s, and friends and family who they believe know more than they (or you) do. In this book, you will learn the information most critical to your decision making, motivated strictly by the desire to be informed home owners. The more you know the better your decisions are, creating more positive outcomes, more often. This book will focus primarily on the economic issues, with some light philosophical commentary to support the emotional investment financing requires. To begin, let s address the four most common questions: 1. How much should my down payment be? They don t advertise this fact, but the bank wants you to put as much down as possible to reduce the risk of the loan for the bank, not for you, to offset the threat of foreclosure. Many Americans make inefficient use of their money because of the lack of complete information coming from mortgage companies, banks, media, CPA s, and friends and family who they believe know more than they (or you) do. Many Americans are losing their homes because they put too much principal into the mortgage. Had those Americans saved those principal dollars in an account they owned and controlled, they would have had the ability to meet the mortgage payment with those saved dollars. In times of unemployment or unexpected needs for additional cash due to disability, illness, or death, having solid savings is the difference between solvency and ruin. 2. What type of mortgage is best for me? Should I get a 15-year mortgage, 30-year mortgage, fixed rate or adjustable rate? Everyone you know has an opinion on this question. Deciding the best fit for your finances and your future plans takes more than advice from a friend or neighbor. We ll be using financial calculators to help you keep the decision-making based on your finances and less on emotional reasoning.

3 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 3 3. Should I pre-pay my mortgage? This question is an excellent example of misinformation coming from the banks that makes us think this is a good thing to do. A Loan Analysis Calculator will accurately help you answer that question. I have found there are only a few calculators in the market place that tell the whole truth about this issue. We ll use one from www. truthconcepts.com that anyone can buy. Please remember that sometimes peace of mind or a strong feeling about debt will override the pure economics of your decision. This has been ingrained in us from early childhood. In, Killing Sacred Cows, Garrett B. Gunderson writes: The purpose of this book is to help you kill these sacred cows to identify and overcome the subtle and destructive myths, lies, and fallacies about money that are perpetuated through social programming and unquestioned traditions. These myths are crippling us individually and societally. Garrett is a well known speaker, author and friend. While his quote above was made for his book, it is absolutely perfect for this one as well and I thank him for sharing it. From this point on, I will illustrate what is the most efficient way to finance a home if ALL you are looking at is the pure economic benefit to you from your money. Keep in mind, if you have the ability to pay off your mortgage at the time you choose, that, too, can be achieved with much less risk. It is important that you continue to read with your eye on the economic reality versus the feelings you may have about how you should pay off your mortgage, or what you have heard from the financial gurus who state that you should pay off your mortgage as fast as you can. Keep in mind, if you have the ability to pay off your mortgage at the time you choose, that, too, can be achieved with much less risk. But then, a fourth question will arise; Do I really want to pay off my mortgage? I ll be using a Loan Analysis Calculator, available at from Numbers Analytic Inc. My choice of this particular tool was determined by its absolute usefulness, accuracy and the inclusion of the tax deductibility of mortgage interest. It was created to allow us to better inform home owners and to increase the overall education and prosperity of home owners everywhere. The calculators provided by Truth Concepts ensure that the numerical side of this discussion tells the whole truth. The software was written by my husband, Todd Langford, and is used by Prosperity Economic Advisors nationwide. For accuracy, the software does not round off to the nearest decimal point. In other words, while the payments are showing $ they are actually $ , and it is important NOT to round up or down, so you get exact matches. It is also important to note that payments are made at the end of the period and monthly. If end and monthly aren t checked, you won t get the same answers.

4 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 4 ANALYSIS First, in any economic analysis, you can only change one variable at a time to adequately measure one strategy against another. Next, the time frame must be for the longest period possible; the starting point in this analysis is a 30-year mortgage (360 months). For purposes of continuity, clarity, and comparison, we will us a 6% interest rate for all loans and side funds (or savings accounts) throughout our first analysis. This rate will seem low if you are an investor and high if you are a saver. Either way this reflects an after-tax return. Therefore, if you are in a 33% tax bracket, the before-tax rate of return would be 9%. I ve chosen this number simply as a midway point to maintain a consistent measurement to help you to answer the questions above. Let s look at Question 1: How much should my down payment be? Below is a Loan Calculator illustrating a 360-month time period. The calculator is comparing a 15-year mortgage on the left with a 30-year mortgage on the right for a $250,000 loan with a 6% fixed interest rate. The first step is to keep all variables equal with the exception of one thing, in this case, the time frame in question. Question 1: How much should my down payment be? Noting the Compound Costs and Compare buttons in the middle of the calculator, you can see that there is a major statement made by most banks and mortgage companies and that is that the 15 year mortgage has less interest. Later in this book, we will address the fact that a bank generally charges a lower interest rate for a 15-year loan than for a 30-year loan. You might want to wonder why that is. FIGURE 1.0 LOAN CALCULATOR - INITIAL COMPARISON

5 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 5 Loan 1, on the left, is a 15-year mortgage with cumulative cost of all payments totaling $379,736. Once you remove the $250,000 of principal, the interest amount paid equals $129,736. Loan 2, on the right, is a 30-year mortgage with a cumulative cost of all payments totaling $539,595. After removing the $250,000 of principal, the interest amount paid equals $289,595. Do you want to know the whole truth? It appears that a 15-year mortgage has less cost than a 30-year mortgage, but in truth, it has only less interest, not less cost. If it were true that a 15-year mortgage cost less, then paying cash would cost the least. Because it is commonly believed that paying cash is the most effective (least cost) way to purchase a home, it is often forgotten that in order to tell the whole truth, we must see what that account where the cash was could have grown to in order to tell the whole truth about which method has the least cost. Looking below, that measurement is outlined in Figure 2.0, Future Value Calculator. This is the amount the investor would have had in the investment account had they left the $250,000 growing at 6% net after taxes and/or fees over a 30-year period. That amount is equal to $1,505,644. Remember that number. FIGURE 2.0 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR Because it is commonly believed that paying cash is the most effective (least cost) way to purchase a home, it is often forgotten that in order to tell the whole truth, we must see what that account where the cash was could have grown to in order to tell the whole truth about which method has the least cost. Now adding the 6% net interest rate we viewed in our investment to the Net Savings Rate in the Loan Analysis Calculator below, we can see the compound costs of all 3 methods, paying cash, financing via a 15-year loan or via a 30-year loan are all the same. This will be proven as we move on throughout this piece.

6 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 6 FIGURE 3.0 LOAN CALCULATOR NET COMPOUND COST Question 2 What type of mortgage is best for me? Let s look at Question 2: What type of mortgage is best for me? Notice in the middle of Figure 3.0 Loan Calculator Net Compound Cost, where the comparison of compound cost of all payments is reflected, the two loans have an equal Net Compound Cost. This is the SAME amount that was SAVED by the person who left their cash accumulating at 6% over a 30 year period (See Item 2.0 Future Value Calculator). The Truth: Paying cash; using a 15-year mortgage and investing the last 15 years of payments; and using a 30-year mortgage ALL have the same compound cost: $1,505,644. Let s look at what a future value calculator shows using the same mortgage figures as above. FIGURE 4.1 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR 2 Remember is the 15 year mortgage payment amount. If that gets compounded out for 180 months, you get $613,523 shown in Figure 4.1.

7 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 7 FIGURE 4.2 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR 3 If a dollar leaves your The above, Future Value Calculators 2 and 3, reflect how the 15 years of payments come to $613,523. That same number compounded out for the next 15 years totals $1,505,642. This is critical to get us to the same 30 year time frame with which we are analyzing the other numbers. FIGURE 4.3 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR 4 control, and cannot be recovered, you have lost the ability to earn money on that dollar in the future. Future Value Calculator 4, shows that 30 years of payments of $ (the 30 year mortgage payment amount) compounded at 6% totals the same $1,505,642. Lost Opportunity Cost A summary of Figures If a dollar leaves your control, and cannot be recovered, you have lost the ability to earn money on that dollar in the future. When the cash buyer puts $250,000 down on the new home the opportunity to earn money on the $250,000 is lost. Therefore, when the cash buyer wakes up 30 years from now, and looks at the value of his home it will be the same value as that of the 15-year mortgage person and the 30-year mortgage person. Will the cash buyer save the 30 years of payments to get back to ground zero? We hope so; but he ll have to save $ per month over the next 30 years to get there as shown on the next page.

8 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 8 FIGURE 7.0 PAYMENT CALCULATOR FIGURE 7.1 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR Opportunity Cost is simply what would you do with the money if you had the opportunity to keep it?

9 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 9 MORE VARIABLES TO CONSIDER Tax Deductibility The next measurement is Tax Deductibility. For most people, their mortgage interest is deductible, so add taxes in the Tax Bracket field as a Marginal (not Average) Tax Rate. FIGURE 8.0 LOAN CALCULATOR TAX DEDUCTIBILITY Do I want the money on my side, or do I want to give it up in additional taxation? Notice in Figure 8.0 Loan Calculator Tax Deductibility, that Loan 1 (the 15- year loan) has only $190,863 of tax savings, while Loan 2 (30-year loan) has $319,682 of tax savings, causing the 30-year loan to have less cost when measuring the tax deductibility of mortgage interest. Many accountants mention the interest deduction phase out that occurs with your mortgage interest if you are high income earner. The term phase out isn t quite accurate, since what happens is your mortgage interest is being combined with your charitable deductions and your property taxes and any retirement plan deductions, to get a total which is then reduced in increments based on your income. This is still a savings, no matter the amount. The question then becomes: Do I want the money on my side, or do I want to give it up in additional taxation?

10 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 10 Now, consider Questions 3: Should I pre-pay my mortgage? Let s use the 15 year mortgage we ve been looking at and add $1000 to the payment for a total of $ See below in the Loan Calculator that after taking the tax deduction you get for interest payments into consideration, the Net Compound Cost is $1,387,869 versus the Net Cost of a regular 15 year loan at $1,314,781. More principal payments equals higher Net Cost. FIGURE 9.0 LOAN ANALYSIS WITH $1000 EXTRA PAYMENT ON A 15 YEAR MORTGAGE Question 3 Should I pre-pay my mortgage? The bank controls the deal 100% until you have paid your house off 100%. BUT WAIT, THERE S MORE! What else do we need to consider? Clearly, paying off one s home is a decision requiring consideration of both your peace of mind and your economic stability and prosperity. Sometimes, peace of mind decisions override economic decisions and you may choose to pay a home off for pure peace of mind. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you know it is not necessarily the most effective and efficient economic decision. What about risk? The closer you get to 100% ownership, the riskier your overall economic safety becomes. This is because UNTIL you own your home outright, the bank can still take the house if you can not make the payments. The bank controls the deal 100% until you ve paid it off 100%. Even after that, the bank determines what the value of your home is for not only you to access, but to another buyer who does not have cash to buy the home. Increasing equity in the house until you own it 100% is increasing your risk.

11 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 11 Earlier we spoke about putting those dollars in a side account where you owned the value, you controlled the risk, and you made the decision when the time was right to use those dollars. If you had put those extra payments in a self-owned account then you would be the only decision maker as to having access to that source of money to draw on to get your payments made during a disability or job loss. Once you have enough to pay the mortgage loan off 100%, then it becomes a question of opportunity cost and where the best place is for that amount of cash to be working for you? The equity you build by paying down a mortgage is not yours since you cannot get a Home Equity Credit Line if you lose your job, your health, or your credit. Paying down a mortgage gives you a false sense of peace of mind. A disability or temporary job loss renders it impossible for you to access the cash you ve been putting into your equity. Inflation A $1,498 monthly payment on a 30-year home feels like $1,498 when you start. However, if you actually keep that home for 30-years, with 4% inflation, the day you send in your last payment, it will feel like $452 in today s dollars. See Figure 10.0 Present Value Calculator. FIGURE 10.0 PRESENT VALUE CALCULATOR The equity you build by paying down a mortgage is not yours since you cannot get a Home Equity Credit Line if you lose your job, your health, or your credit. During the 15th year, with 4% inflation, that $1498 will feel like $823 in today s dollars. FIGURE 11.0 PRESENT VALUE CALCULATOR

12 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 12 This further supports the fact that a 30-year mortgage is the more efficient of the two choices, and also tells us why the banks offer a lower interest rate on the 15 year mortgage. First, a bank does not want those deflated dollars in the future, and second, they want your money faster so they can use your dollars to lend and create greater profit for them. What about investing the payments after the 15th year? Many people are told that after the 15 year mortgage is paid off, they could invest what they had been paying to the mortgage for years and this is a better deal than the 30 year mortgage. If you were to do that, then you d make payments of $ for 360 months (180 months to the mortgage company and 180 months to your side fund or investment account.) The side fund numbers are shown below in Figure Remember the $613,523. FIGURE 12.0 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR This further supports the fact that a 30-year mortgage is the more efficient of the two choices, and also tells us why the banks offer a lower interest rate on the 15 year mortgage. How can you make a valid comparison of $ for 360 months (total principal $539,596.80), which is the 30 year payment to $ for 360 months (total $759,470.40) which is the 15 year payment made for the same time frame? The answer is you can t. The only way to make a valid comparison is to have the same cash flow (or payments) in both scenarios. This means with the 30 year mortgage you don t have to wait 15 years to begin saving or start investing. You can do so immediately because if you took the difference in payments between the 15-year payment and the 30-year payment ($ $1498 = $610) and saved that over 30 years, you d end up with the same amount as if you saved your 15 year payment from years FIGURE 13.0 FUTURE VALUE CALCULATOR 2

13 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 13 This ability to save money immediately is critical, as most people want more control of their money, want access to their cash in the form of liquidity, want the ability to use the money for whatever reason, and want the equity to remain in the home until the day they sell. The market value of the house is the same whether there is a loan against it or not. Saving the extra principal, in an account owned and controlled by the homeowner, allows the homeowner to have the decision to pay off the home at the time they want, based upon the economic conditions at the time the decision is made. Making extra principal payments to the bank is reducing the risk for the bank not for you. So why do so many people want a 15-year mortgage or want to pre-pay their 30- year mortgages? Largely because of knowledge that came from the depression about the bank s ability to take the house, and also because they really don t know where else to put the money. Then banks get involved and by only telling us half-truths (there is more interest on a 30-year mortgage) and leaving out other truths (opportunity costs and tax deductions) lead us to believe it is in our best interest to pay off that debt fast. This ability to save money immediately is critical. Anytime you want The Whole Truth about a loan, use this Loan Analysis Calculator available at to get the full picture, so you know all the economics behind the decision. Another way to calculate it: How low do you think the interest rate on the 15-year mortgage would have to be before the net after-tax cost would be equal to a 30-year mortgage? The answer: 3.8%. FIGURE 14.0 LOAN CALCULATOR

14 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 14 How about the emotional issues? Many people think that reducing the debt on their home will provide them greater peace of mind. Let s think about a couple who have worked hard to pay down their mortgage with extra payments, get 90% of the way there, and then disaster strikes. They have no control over their principal, no liquidity, can t use the home or the equity. How is that peaceful? If they d put those extra payments into a side fund, they d have the cash with complete control, liquidity, use, and probably still a little bit of equity. Another emotional issue arises from being taught that it is better to stay out (or get out) of debt and never owe anything to anyone. The personal and emotional issues associated with money run far and wide, from our upbringing, to our religion, to what we interpret from what we read. I ll acknowledge that while there are good reasons to abide by this thinking, yet how you get there plays a big role in your economic success. One could also argue that there is a BIG difference between being IN debt and HAVING debt. The IN debt family owns a $300,000 house and owes $300,000 on it, plus another $100,000 in consumer debt in the form of car loans and credit cards; they, live paycheck to paycheck and have no other assets. The HAVING debt family owns a $300,000 house, owes $250,000 on it a plus a $30,000 car loan, no credit card debt and also has another $50,000 in assets. In other words, their assets are greater than their debt. The personal and emotional issues associated with money run far and wide, from our upbringing, to our religion, to what we interpret from what we read. Why is there so much misinformation in our market place? Because only part of the truth gets out from the banking and mortgage institutions. For example: a partial truth commonly put forth by the banks is that you will pay more interest with a 30-year mortgage than with a 15-year mortgage. That is true, but the whole truth is that a 30-year mortgage has less COST because that higher interest amount enables us to save the difference in the mortgage payment, save money on taxes, protect against future loss, and have the ability to continue to make decisions about recovering lost opportunity cost all equal a net effect of less cost for you, which ultimately means more money for you. Have you ever read a mortgage analysis between a 15-year mortgage and a 30- year mortgage that includes the economic reality of opportunity cost? Most personal economic discussions of any sort miss this very important concept. Opportunity cost is simply what would you do with the money if you had the opportunity to keep it? Think of it also as the part of the investment that stops working for you. It is calculated by applying a net after-tax interest rate to the lost money over the time frame under analysis.

15 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 15 Retirement Let s also address the goal of having your home paid off at retirement. Under current tax law, the interest payments on our mortgage are one of the few remaining tax deductions available to tax payers. Most retirees still have taxable income, either from pensions, investment accounts, real estate and/or other work they are still doing. Having an offsetting deduction can be very helpful. At some point in your 80 s, it might make sense to take cash from that side fund and pay off the mortgage and then possibly get a reverse mortgage, whereby an income stream or lump sum is provided by the bank to you based on your life expectancy. This would depend on your wishes for the house in relation to your heirs and would also be a choice you created rather than a choice that passed you by from lack of planning earlier in your life. He who has the gold makes the rules We ve all heard that cash is king. In today s economy we are faced with continuing inflation, whether it comes in the form of higher gas prices, real estate taxes, state and income taxes, sales tax, cost of health, car, hurricane, or homeowner insurance programs. The truth is money has a cost. The answer lies in how you manage the amount of dollars you work with in your personal economic scenario. If you live above your means, the only hope is to realize that and make a change. If you feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck and feel there is no way out, it is time to analyze what you are doing that can be changed to create positives as opposed to negatives. Thinking from a mindset of prosperity versus a mindset of scarcity is the first step. The answer lies in how you manage the amount of dollars you work with in your personal economic scenario. We alluded to the fact that whether you paid cash for a mortgage or financed it, the value of your home will be the same value either way. Extra principal dollars paid into your mortgage DO NOT equate to increased Gross Market Value. Therefore, the dollars you put back into your home, whether by paying extra or doubling up on payments are not helping. You are losing Control, Liquidity, Use and Equity (CLUE). While it s not the role of this booklet to get into specifics about what kind of side fund or cash account to choose to hold the cash, I do recommend asking yourself the following questions before choosing a financial vehicle to hold your cash: 1. Can I Control the money? 2. Is it Liquid? 3. Can I Use it for what I want and when? 4. Will it act like Equity, i.e., can I leverage it? This CLUE acronym can help you remember the test questions. Additionally: 5. Is the account taxable or tax advantaged in some way? 6. What are the risks associated with the particular vehicle? 7. Is it protected from creditors? 8. Can I buy additional guarantees for disability or death?

16 THE WHOLE TRUTH KIM D. H. BUTLER 16 Where do you store that extra cash? Throughout this article, we ve referred to a cash account and/or a side fund that earns 5 or 6%. In 2010 this can be hard to find, yet it is available to people who know how to use Whole Life Insurance. This century old product passes the CLUE test above as well as provides a yes answer to many other questions. The most efficient products come from mutually owned insurance companies that pay dividends. While dividends are not guaranteed, the typical internal rate of return over 30 years tends to be around 5 to 6%. For more information, go to To summarize, since potentially one of your largest financial decisions will be how you handle your mortgage, learning the whole truth about how it and its tax deductions work is critical. Understanding why the banks and mortgage companies try to sell you on shorter terms and pre-payment options can help you see the whole picture. As to why so many others think that it s cheaper to pre-pay, I can only guess that it is because they ve never had the whole truth fully laid out to them. I know I used to be in that position and it took me seeing the above many times to make the paradigm shift. This brings us to our last question, which only you can answer: Question 4 Do I want to pay off my mortgage? Question 4, Do I WANT to pay off my mortgage? I hope you now realize that whether you pay cash, truly invest the difference all the way for 30 years with a 15 year mortgage, or use a 30 year mortgage, the Gross Costs are all the same. It s your Net Costs that impact your long river boat ride called life. Net Costs are after tax deductions and it is usually the 30 year mortgage that has your lowest Net Cost. Now your decision should come down to which one puts you in the most Control, with Liquidity, the Use of your money, and the ability to leverage it like Equity. Hopefully I ve made the case for the 30 year mortgage meeting that desire. Where do you put any extra cash? All of our clients use their Whole Life Insurance and its Paid Up Addition capability to store cash in a way that meets the CLUE test. What can you do now? If you are purchasing a home or re-financing, choose a 30 year mortgage, with a minimum down payment. Do not put any extra down payment or any extra monthly payments into it. If you have a 15 year mortgage, consider re-financing to a 30 year mortgage and find a Prosperity Economic Advisor at com to help you strategize the best way to save that monthly difference. If you have been putting extra principal in every month, switch that contribution to a savings account until you learn about more efficient options for storing cash. Finally, keep reading; keep thinking, learning, and seeking solutions that fit you. In the end, once you ve built up lots of cash, choosing to completely pay off your mortgage may be the best thing for your peace of mind. On the other hand, once you truly understand the whole truth, you may feel that having a 30 year mortgage the rest of your life with all your cash stored elsewhere may be the best thing for you. I know I do.

17 About the Author Kim D. H. Butler Founder: The Prosperity Pathway TM, a 5-step Prosperity Economics TM program provided to clients nationwide. Dairy cows don t care if you don t feel like milking them you just gotta do it! Twice a day. EVERY day. Milking those cows, twice a day, every day, on her family s farm in Oregon taught Kim Butler powerful life lessons from age 10 that she never forgot. Selling that milk, buying the feed, caring for the cows, selecting the next cow to buy, and saving her money, allowed Kim to pay her own way through private college. Teaching and helping others throughout her childhood no doubt came naturally to Kim, as her parents were both teachers. And her strong moral compass of what was right and wrong shines through her early spiritual upbringing. All of her early life was about renewal and growth, a theme that has sustained her throughout her career. Making money grow became a new mindset for me. After interviewing 40 junior attorneys during her stint with a major law firm, Kim discovered that her natural tendency to focus on growth and renewal were not going to be nurtured in the study of law. But her roommate at the time was in banking and Kim truly blossomed in that atmosphere. Bitten by the banking bug, Kim began a quest to understand how money could become a tool for more growth, not just an exchange for time. Entrepreneurs were sprouting up in the deserts of Arizona! Following the debacle of the Savings and Loan scandals and the wreckage of many financial markets, Kim helped young entrepreneurs in the Phoenix area grow their businesses to incredible heights. But something was still missing. Giving people money was not enough! Working in the banking industry was strangling Kim s innate desire to help people grow. She could only provide business loans to her customers. And she knew they needed a more integrated financial solution. While she earned her formal financial planning licensure and was very successful in helping people grow their investments, she realized something was still not quite right. Throw out your financial plan! They just didn t work in the long run! The huge financial plans we would present to our clients just did not get to the real heart of the problems people had in growing their net worth. They needed a better mindset about money and a better system to manage and grow to create true financial independence. Finally, I found the launch codes! When I started work with Robert Kiyosaki, international best-selling author of the Rich Dad series, the clouds parted and finally I could see the light we had been missing. I recognized that financial planning was so limiting because it made false assumptions about needs and goals 30 years from now, so it gave people a false sense of security. So Partners for Prosperity was founded to help people practice Prosperity Economics, the truly efficient way to accelerate prosperity. This enables us to teach clients seven distinct Principles of Prosperity that allow you to look at what each of your dollars is doing today and maximize their potential by getting them to do the work of more than one job. You can find Kim at The Whole Truth About Your Mortgage 2010 Kim D. H. Butler. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except for brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. Partners for Prosperity, Inc Hwy 259 South Mt. Enterprise, TX 75681