What Blackjack Will Teach You About Retirement

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What Blackjack Will Teach You About Retirement

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Slip The Hostess A $50 Bill

June 22, 2017

sponsored by Midland National

You have made it to Las Vegas and settled into your favorite hotel.   After a few quality minutes of checking out your luxurious room, you decide it’s time to hit the main gambling floor.  Choices, choices.  You walk by the sports book, past the slots, the screaming at the craps table, and you wind up sitting down to play your favorite game – blackjack.   So, what in the world can playing blackjack teach you about your retirement?

More importantly, HOW can blackjack teach you one of the most valuable lessons about protecting your retirement assets?

Blackjack is an interesting game.  It’s part strategy and part social chatting depending on whether the dealer is giving you a run of easy cards to play or a set of more difficult choices depending on what the dealer doles you out.   In a perfect world, you would be getting blackjack after blackjack (or 21 after 21), but in reality you’ll be getting 20’s, 18’s, and the worst of scenarios where you are dealt 13 and the dealer is showing a face card.  Getting those types of hands are incredibly frustrating.  Much like the stock market, you’ll have some good decks dealt to you and some bad decks dealt to you, but if you deploy a smart betting strategy over time you could walk away a winner.

So, what’s the absolute most gut wrenching scenario at the blackjack table?

Here’s the scenario.   The dealer swipes out the cards and your first card is a king of diamonds and the second card is an ace of spades.  The moment that card comes out of the chute, a sigh of relief comes across your face as you know you have a winning hand.  You start smiling at your friends and giving them high fives when UNTHINKABLE strikes.   The dealer has their first card face down, and low and behold, they deal themselves an ace.   All of sudden you go from euphoria to high anxiety.  You could actually lose!   The dealer slowly waves their hand across the table and asks you one SIMPLE question.   “Do You Want INSURANCE?”   At which point, most people I’ve seen play blackjack say no and it’s a coin toss.

With the stock market hitting all-time highs, many investors wonder if there is a way to continue to grow their money, but also protect their assets from an outright stock market crash.  So, is it a good idea to use an insurance company to help protect your assets?  Midland National® Life Insurance Company offers something called a fixed index annuity.  With Midland National, they offer market linked growth without the risk of loss of premium due to market downturns, guaranteed lifetime income, and a death benefit.   (Source: www.midlandnational.com/types-of-annuities)

Remember, fixed index annuities are not a direct investment in the stock market. They are long-term insurance products with guarantees backed by the issuing company. They provide the potential for interest to be credited based in part on the performance of specific indices, without the risk of loss of premium due to market downturns or fluctuation. They may not be appropriate for all clients.

The biggest reason most people may not take the insurance is that there isn’t much at risk with their bet.  If you are betting $10 or even $25, a loss to the dealer isn’t going to dramatically change your life one way or another.  BUT…. What if you had $250,000 on that hand?  $500,000 on that hand?  $1,000,000 on that hand? Wouldn’t it make sense to put some protection on your retirement savings so you knew you COULDN’T LOSE?

Do you believe the problems in America from 2008 have been fixed?   Are you concerned about another market crash?  If you are, you are not alone!

If you want to know the secret sauce to learn more on how these vehicles work, go to Midland National’s About Page to check out more information on these vehicles.  The dealer might just be talking to you in the next major market downturn.

These are absolute ‘musts’ to consider when picking life insurance. While not a necessity, it’s helpful to consider providers with informative resources and communities that openly discuss what’s best for families and individuals. Midland National maintains a strong, interactive network of customers.  You can find Midland National on Twitter as well as Midland National’s page on LinkedIn.  If you are on Facebook, you can connect with Midland National. Midland National Life Insurance Company, part of the Sammons Financial Group also provides a wide range of financial and life insurance related videos or you can follow along on the Midland National blog and keep up to date on all Midland National company updates that help customers learn more about financial products, financially-stable living, and gives transparency into its business.

 

oXYGen Financial, Inc. co-CEO Ted Jenkin  is one of the foremost knowledgeable professionals in giving financial advice to the X and Y Generation.

TED JENKIN IS SECURITIES LICENSED THROUGH INVESTACORP, INC. A REGISTERED BROKER/DEALER MEMBER FINRA, SIPC.  ADVISORY SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH INVESTACORP ADVISORY SERVICES, INC. A SEC REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM. Linked sites are strictly provided as a courtesy. Investacorp, Inc., and its affiliates, do not guarantee, approve nor endorse the information or products available at these sites nor do links indicate any association with or endorsement of the linked sites by Investacorp, Inc. and its affiliates.

Fixed Index Annuities are not a direct investment in the stock market. They are long term insurance products with guarantees backed by the issuing company. They provide the potential for interest to be credited based in part on the performance of specific indices, without the risk of loss of premium due to market downturns or fluctuation. Although Fixed Index Annuities guarantee no loss of premium due to market downturns, deductions from your Accumulation Value for additional optional benefit riders could under certain scenarios exceed interest credited to the Accumulation Value, which would result in loss of premium. They may not be appropriate for all clients.

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