Lucas Bicknell

What is BUSINESS CREDIT and does it matter?

is the ability to buy something now and pay for it later as a company. When your credit is properly established, it is much easier to get money when you need it most.

Of course, lenders check your credit for loans, but your business credit can be checked by other groups too.

🤝 Vendors check business credit to approve a large order of product or to establish repayment terms

🧐 The large companies you're pitching to land as a client or partner are checking your business credit to make sure your business is reliable and able to provide the products or services you're offering

📤 If you're getting shut out of deals due to lack of credit, it is likely because the companies you are working with aren’t reporting. You can always ask them to report on your behalf, but it’s voluntary and no guarantee.

💳 Once you have business credit established, make sure you are paying your bills on time every month to keep building a positive credit reputation. A negative payment report can stay on your record for up to three years.

What measures are you taking to keep up with your business credit?

For the sake of this poll, let’s not only think about bank accounts, but investment accounts, high yield savings accounts, cash value accounts, and even your crypto trading accounts...

There are countless places to “save” your money. How many accounts are you currently saving in?

VOTE with the reactions 🗳 and let me hear any thoughts you have in the COMMENTS

What’s going on with Evergrande?”
Man, if I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me that since last week, I’d take y’all all out to dinner 💰

For those who follow international markets, you know what I’m talking about.

For those wanting a quick overview, here’s my version:

Evergrande is part of the Global 500 and is one of China’s largest companies. While it’s primary interests are in real estate development, it expands into many industries with over 1300 projects across China including electric vehicles, sports, theme parks, food, and more.

Bottom line, if it went belly-up, it would likely cause some major market shifts.

🤷🏻‍♂️ So what?

Evergrande is also one of the most indebted companies in the world.

Their credit rating has been downgraded and they've lost almost 85% of their stock value this year. They’re in danger of missing (more) interest payments and there’s still no answer as to why they froze all trading last week.

“Cliffhanger... So what does this mean for me?”

For those of you who keep up with the markets like an 80s housewife with her soap operas, Evergrande is the latest character to take a headline role.

For those who have other things to take care of, that’s why portfolio diversification is key. The only thing guaranteed about the market is that it will go up and it will go down.

You should position yourself to take advantage of the ups and the downs. Downs are only bad if you didn’t prepare.

⬇ Drop your thoughts on Evergrande here ⬇

Lucas Bicknell updated their phone number.

🏈 Back in the day, I played defense on my high school football team. Coaches have a lasting impression on kids at that age. Coach would always say to us:

“A good defense bends, not breaks.”

That stuck with me.

You have to be flexible, adaptable and intentional with how we play the game— whether it’s the game of football or the game of life.

It takes an offense AND a defense to achieve the win (and a reliable special teams). Think of your financial plan in the same way.

🏈 Offense = growth strategies (such as investments)

🏈 Defense = protection strategies (such as insurance)

🏈 Special teams = safe money strategies (such as cash reserves)

You can have an amazing offense, but if your defense doesn’t keep the other team from scoring on you, there’s only so much an offense can do alone. Especially if they get tired from being overplayed.

A solid financial plan bends, not breaks— its trains your money to adapt to the constantly evolving world we live in.

Taking the time to train your defense is just as important as training your offense, especially if your sights are set on making it all the way to the Championship 🏆

It’s 📆

When it comes to life insurance, which one are you?
⬇ Give me your vote below ⬇

When you leave a job, you're probably not thinking about your benefits or retirement plan.

But you should.

My planning process is like a treasure hunt. One of the most common treasures we uncover are old 401(k)s.

Today’s is , so let’s use the opportunity to refresh ourselves on what to do with old 401(k)s.

💰 You could leave the where it is. But be sure you do your research into the fees and options available to you. Chances are you can get a better arrangement elsewhere.

💰 You can roll it over into your new employers retirement plan. Assuming they accept incoming transfers.

💰 For those wanting a bit more control over their investments, you can rollover the money into an IRA.

💰 For those needing the cash and willing to take a hit on the value, you can cash out, and pay the penalties and taxes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before leaving your job, it’s smart to check your vesting schedule— nothing worse than leaving your job a few days before you’re fully vested...

⬇ Message me or comment with questions! ⬇

I’m here to help.

Guidance about your financial plan should not be hard to find.

My goal for this platform is to be a helpful resource. I have been where you are and I want to help you find financial freedom. There is a lot of noise out there, I want to be the voice of advice and reason.

Let’s start a conversation – it's free!

📧 [email protected]

Which one are you?

🏢 The Federal Reserve announced that it is keeping the benchmark interest rate near zero.

Understanding that this low-interest rate environment may not last, here are some things you should take advantage of while we're low -

🏡 Refinance your mortgage or use a home equity loan to free up cash in your budget.

⚡ Use a personal loan to consolidate high-interest credit card debt.

🎓 Student loan payments are interest-free through September, so every dollar goes to the balance.

💵 On the downside - saving is difficult in a low rate environment. Cash savings are making next to nothing in CDs and savings accounts.

📉 Rate hikes could come as soon as 2023. Let's work on optimizing your plans before these low rate policies disappear.

What else should the low interest rate environment have you considering?

🛠Strategize like the wealthiest Americans using a tool that's accessible to (almost) everyone.

🔒The Roth IRA, established in 1997, was to allow middle-class Americans to save money, tax-free, for retirement. Even though contributions were capped at $2,000 and some were blocked completely from using them, some business owners found a way around the rules.

📈Eventually Congress made it easier for everyone to use the benefits of a Roth account - you could take money from less favorable retirements accounts and shift to a Roth with paying a one-time tax. Money could grow unchecked by the government - and the Roth IRA became a major tool for the wealthy.

🛠Regardless of your current situation, there are tools for you to use...you just need guidance on how to use them.

⬇ Give the article in the comments a read. What are your thoughts on possible Roth IRA reform?

📧 [email protected]

Does investing a lot of cash at once make you nervous? Let’s look at dollar cost averaging, or DCA.

DCA is a strategy that investors use to build wealth over a long period and lessen short-term volatility. Using the example in the graphic, let’s say you have $8k to invest.

With DCA, you can chose to periodically invest a set amount of money into the market over time ($1k for 8 months in the example).

Instead of locking into the price per share at the time you invest, DCA is investing smaller amounts over a period of time, and lowers your market risk by averaging the price per share out.

In this example, for the same investment amount, you would end up with a higher rate of return by using dollar cost averaging.

You can’t time the market, but you can use time to your advantage.

Remember, building wealth is a marathon – not a sprint. Let me be the coach that pushes you to the finish line.

There are a handful of you out there who won’t read this because I mentioned cash value life insurance (CVLI). And that’s fine. Honestly, it’s what makes CVLI one of the best-kept secrets.

Forbes recently released an article “How to Enhance Your Retirement Plan with Cash Value Life Insurance,” and I wanted to share my main take-aways:

🧩 THE PRODUCT SHOULD FIT YOU
Not the other way around. There are a lot of shiny marketing gimmicks out there, so make sure the policy type and features are intentionally built into your plan— whole life is different from variable, is different from universal, etc. Then there’s all the optional features you can dd on...

🧐 QUESTION PRODUCT ILLUSTRATIONS
There’s a lot of key information in an illustration, so ask questions. Don’t make the mistake of comparing illustrations across product types, such as a whole life illustration to a variable life illustration. Remember, illustrations are a product guide, not a comparison tool.

🏊‍♂️ MORTALITY COST MATTERS
There is a 100% risk that every policyowner will die, but no one knows when. Insurance companies perform based on the health quality of the people they insure. The healthier the pool, the greater the potential return.

I put the article in the comments. I’d love to hear your takeaways.

Lucas Bicknell updated their business hours.

Is this the dawn of a new age for financial security in America?

Throughout history we’ve seen wars, recessions, depressions and pandemics leading Americans and American businesses to question their financial preparedness.

While many companies in the financial industry are focused on driving value for shareholders, that often comes at a price to policyholders.

As a mutual company, ’s priority is always its policyowners. In fact, NM announced a record $6.2 billion DIVIDEND to be paid to their policyowners— a life insurance payout that more than doubles their closest competitors!

This is why it is important to know the financial strength and stability of the company you choose for your more secure assets.

The bottom line is, Americans are craving security. The pandemic brought to light many of the falsehoods our society has taught us about money, and companies with proven strength and sustainability are prevailing.

While I offer many products with many companies, I always make sure to chose the companies with the highest financial strength. My team is ready for the new dawn of American financial security and looks forward to serving you for decades to come! 🇺🇸💪

What is “a lot of money” anyway?

It’s all relative.

Having a lot of money sitting in a savings account accruing little to no interest is great for liquidity, but it’s not keeping up with inflation.

Having a lot of money tied up in accounts with a penalty to access them, can be costly if you need to liquidate.

Having a lot of money in taxable buckets can be inefficient.

Everyone who earns money can build wealth. You can also burn through it if you don’t have the best options in place.

Being efficient and smart with your money is the first step to achieving intentional wealth.

📢 Following its June 15-16 meeting, the Federal Reserve said that it plans to keep interest rates steady.

While this was widely expected, it certainly doesn’t turn the heat down on inflationary pressures.

So what does this mean to you??

In a basic nutshell, as a consumer, rising interest rates primarily affect you because if you go to borrow money for a mortgage, business loan, etc., you’ll pay more in interest. On the flip side, if you open a savings account or CD, you’ll be getting a little more interest.

Credit cards, adjustable rate mortgages, and any kind of loan that is attached to a benchmark would also rise.

Remember, banks make their money by taking in money, and then loaning it out at a higher rate. So as rates go up, theoretically so do their returns.

Another key player in the interest rate ring is bonds. Typically, when interest rates rise, bond prices go down and bond yields rise.

It’s all a balance of risk exposure and returns. For example, you wouldn’t want to invest in a riskier asset, such as a REIT, if a 10-year Treasury is paying a higher percentage.

Looking for some guidance on what you should be doing with your portfolio? Shoot me a message or email me.

Conversations are always free!
📧 [email protected]

Great question! I’m glad you asked...

Having a financial plan is like having a book of keys 🔑 that can unlock the optionality you need to reach your goals.

The first step is figuring out what your goals are. This is the fun part— the part where we get to release the weight of today and let your gut and imagination roam free.

From there, we get to know where you are today.

With a pulse on your current situation and your goals as the finish line, we can start to build out the meat in the middle.

🔓 What’s the best strategy for paying down debt?

🔓 Which investment vehicles should you be using?

🔓 How much should you be setting aside for retirement?

🔓 How much should you have in your oh-crap fund?

🔓 How much should you be putting toward big savings goals?

🔓 How can you mitigate natural risks in life so your plan stays on track?

🔓 How can you cover expenses and goal contributions while making sure you can still life your life and have fun?

A lot of thought and time goes into building your plan. It is designed with keys that can open more possibilities as you live your life.

You work hard to make money. Having a plan in place for each dollar unlocks the potential your money has to WORK FOR YOU.

What was your first job?

I’m sure you remember when Hurricane Michael plowed into the Florida panhandle and the town of Mexico Beach got decimated.

As the news crews arrived and video started coming in, we all saw that one house still standing. It was the first category 5 hurricane to make landfall since Andrew in 1992 and winds were recorded at over 160 mph. Yet an oceanfront house was still standing with nearly everything still in tact.

The owners, Dr. Lebron Lackey and his uncle, were interviewed many times to learn more about the construction and the decisions they made to make such a miracle possible.

They did an extensive amount of research to make sure all the materials and labor went the extra mile because they were building a house to survive “the big one.”

And survive they did.

Dr. Lackey’s best piece of advice was to pay attention to the construction of your house— give attention to every detail, and be active in the process to make sure it gets done the way it should.

Your wealth is only as strong as the house you build for it. You can either choose to prepare for the hurricanes in life and the markets, or you can leave the stability of your home to chance.

We’re not trying to defy nature, we’re simply preparing for it.

CNBC released an article recently that said a study revealed 77% of Americans feel anxious about their current financial situation.

It’s , and I don’t take that lightly.

The study also revealed that 58% of people feel like finances control their lives.

That is a scary world to constantly live in—a world where you feel like finances control you instead of you controlling your finances. It’s a world I’ve lived in before, so I fully understand the weight you 58% are carrying.

This is why I became a financial advisor. I was so tired of money controlling me instead of me controlling my money. I had to learn how to make my money work for me.

And once I did, I knew I needed to share it with all of you.

Keeping up with the cost of living, managing debt levels, having enough money for your future... there’s a lot to keep you up at night if you don’t take the time to organize and plan.

I’m here as the advocate for your sanity, and together we organize and strategize to create a plan individually unique to you.

So if you’re ready to take care of your mental health and sleep better at night, I’m here to help 💪💤

📧 [email protected]

YOU ARE YOUR GREATEST ASSET!

Your ability to earn an income is what makes everything possible.

How would you and the people who depend on you survive if you didn’t have an income?

No one likes to think about what would happen if you weren’t able to earn an income, but the pandemic has made many Americans stop and think about disability insurance (DI).

May is , so it’s time to talk about it.

DI provides you and the ones who depend on you with a steady stream of income when your livelihood is temporarily or permanently lost due to injury or illness.

Many advisors avoid this conversation based on their lack of understanding or because they think it’s awkward to talk about. With me, it’s not the focus of our financial planning conversations, but it is a basic fundamental that I make sure to educate each of my clients on.

Let’s be honest, is it more awkward to talk about “what if” and plan for it, or to avoid planning for the “what if” and then having it ruin your financial goals?

Between cost, coverage, definitions, etc, there is a lot to navigate when it comes to DI.

I am here to help!
? [email protected]

Organizing for tax season is a pain in the...

I’ve meet with a lot of you recently who have put this task off to the last minute, so here’s a basic list of 6 things to have prepared:
1️⃣ Documents for all income earned
2️⃣ Unemployment income (if applicable)
3️⃣ Unreported income (including cryptocurrency)
4️⃣ Rental income and expenses
5️⃣ Records of expenses
6️⃣ Receipts for charitable donations

Especially for those of you with variable income and expenses, it can be a royal pain to file each year especially if you don’t have a tax plan that’s built into your overall financial plan. This is why it is important to have a good bookkeeper/CPA on your side that works with your financial advisor.

Do you have a go-to tax advisor?

It is also worth noting that the IRS is cracking down on cryptocurrency this year and has added it to this tax season’s 1040 form for the first time.

A lot of changes are happening leaving you all with a lot of questions ?
Conversations are free, so let’s talk them through!

An online survey conducted by the research group LIMRA in January found that 36% of Americans plan to buy life insurance in the next 12 months. That makes it the highest percentage in the history of the survey.

This rise is spurred largely by the pandemic with millennials leading the charge.

Unfortunately, the survey also found that there is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to Americans understanding of life insurance.

More than half of Americans overestimated the cost of life insurance, the research shows. Additionally, what’s preventing Americans from adding coverage boils down to a few things:

1️⃣ Lack of understanding
2️⃣ Unsure which type of life insurance to buy
3️⃣ Believing they won’t qualify

Lastly, data shows that virtually no one regrets purchasing life insurance. It’s simply a matter of finding the right person to guide you through the complexities.

If you’re one of the Americans looking to secure your family’s financial future, let’s get you set up in a plan designed just for you.

[email protected]

As we continue on with , I wanted to touch on a topic that not everyone talks about: Divorce.

We have all heard that divorce rates are rising among the pandemic, so this is a topic of increasing relevance for many of my clients.

Divorce is no fun. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there too. However, my experience with my own divorce and helping others through theirs has taught me all about how to navigate it and the unexpected issues that most people don’t even think about.

3 unexpected financial issues of divorce:

1️⃣ TAXES! There are different implications to factor in for many of the specifics like child support, selling the home, splitting retirement accounts, etc.
2️⃣ Dividing up marital assets— not just the house and cars, but also the subtleties that can add up like insurance premiums, replacing furniture, etc.
3️⃣ Being single costs more— especially when both spouses are contributing to expenses

The path to divorce is hard. Don’t make it harder by trying to deal with all the financials without a professional. With the proper assessment, we can create a plan to help you through divorce and into your new future.

? [email protected]

It’s , and for all of you who keep up with the financial world, this Ernst & Young paper has been stealing the show recently.

The analysis focuses on whether integrating Permanent Life Insurance (PLI) and a deferred income annuity (DIA) with increasing income potential (IIP) into a financial plan provides value relative to an investment-only strategy.

Investment-only advisors have been trash-talking the holistic planners who integrate alternative strategies. They all say, “buy term invest the difference!”

The problem is, investment-only advisors are so stuck in their ways that they would rather sacrifice the integrity of their clients’ portfolios than admit their approach is overly basic.

My key take-aways from this are:
🔑 PLI + Investment strategies outperform investment-only AND term + investment strategies
🔑 Integrated strategies are more efficient than investment-only strategies for retirement income AND legacy
🔑 For investors with a higher risk appetite, integrated strategies remain better

If you haven’t met with a holistic planner who understands how to integrate the necessary complexity into your portfolio, do yourself a favor and shoot me a message
[email protected]

How insurance and investments can improve financial wellness Permanent life insurance and a deferred income annuity with a loyalty incentive both outperform investment-only approaches in our analysis. Read more.

Happy Easter 🐣🐰💰