Monsters | Stanley Greenfield,RHU

Monsters

"Pokemon," one of the latest fads to hit this crazy world of ours, began as a cartoon. Trading cards soon followed, then a movie and the mass marketing of an assortment of little plastic "creatures." Pokemon or ("pocket monsters") is a Japanese brainchild that has snowballed into a multimillion-dollar industry.

I, too, have a new "pocket monster" that I carry around with me: the new gold-colored dollar coin recently released by the U.S. Mint. The one I carry has been slightly altered to make a point. Mine has a hole drilled through it, with a small padlock attached to it. Mine, in its condition, is worthless.

My coin cannot be used in a vending machine, nor used for a toll. I locked it to convey a point. We all have money that we think has value, but in reality it is "locked up" and therefore worthless to us. We all have "pocket monsters," "wallet monsters," "bank account monsters," "retirement fund monsters," The list goes on and on.

What about your "overhead monster?" You say you have a great practice, you see tons of patients and have a great cash flow? Is it flowing to you or elsewhere? A high overhead is a real monster that robs you of your hard-earned money. There is no virtue in a high overhead. If you are grossing a million and spending a million, what's the point? Who are you trying to impress? It is time to get this "monster" under control.

Are you still dealing with the "First National Monster, the bank that is eating your cash up as quickly as you give it to them? Do their "monster" fees almost equal your deposits? Have you figured what those fees are? Have you told them that they are unacceptable? Perhaps it is time you did.

How about those plastic "monsters" in your wallet? Your credit cards could be making more on you and your debt than you earn on your investments. Ironically, if you earned a substantial amount on your investments, you would be in great shape, except for the fact that Uncle Sam would then hit you for more taxes! This is not a bad dream. The monsters are real. You could wake up one day and find your money gone!

You say you have a good retirement plan? How much are you paying in fees and commissions each year? Are you earning that much? I'll bet that if you have a plan, you have to earn over 50 percent per year on your part just to cover all of the expense plan! Don't forget that you cannot get to that money until you are over 59, and then you must pay taxes on all of it. If you die, Uncle Sam will probably take over 55 percent of everything in the form of estate taxes. Sure, it sounds like a good deal for somebody, but I am not sure if that somebody is you! There are lots of dollars, but they all have padlocks on them - and you don't have the keys!

Do you have any "insurance monsters" lurking in your policies? I'll bet you do. Life insurance is designed to cover you if you "live too long or die too soon." Death insurance is designed to get you to buy a policy because it is cheap, and then before your loved ones might "profit" from it, you can be "priced" out of it so that you cannot afford to keep it. This creates more dollars that are "locked up" so that you can never get to them. Is that what you have? Do you even know what you have?

Got disability coverage? Have you read the definitions pertaining to it? There is another real "monster" out there to get you and keep those insurance dollars "locked up" in the insurance companies' vaults, safe from any claims by you. Just keep paying those premiums and don't even consider filing for a claim. How is that for security?

I hope by now that I have gotten my point across. These monsters can be done away with and those dollars unlocked. You have a choice as to what type of dollars that you have: free and clear, or ones that are locked. I also carry around the most important thing for you: the key to open all those locks!

Stanley Greenfield,RHU
1829 Green Heron Court
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
Tel: (800) 585-1555
Fax: (904) 247-1266
stan@stanleygreenfield.com