CHEERS to this!

In a recent study it was discovered that the average American will spend $120,000 on alcohol during their lifetime. That comes to $2,400 per year, or $6.57 each and every day, for 50 years.  This daily cost exceeds the average cost of a six pack. And that means a lot of alcohol is purchased by the glass or the bottle, which increases the cost significantly.

Don’t kid yourself! You and I both know that nobody is going to willingly stop drinking alcohol.  In fact, there is much evidence that alcohol consumption in America is rising.  Some reports show a 30% increase in consumption in the past decade alone.

But, humor yourself for a moment and consider what would happen if you decided to cut your cost of alcohol in half either by consuming less or not purchasing pre-pour drinks. Then used the money you didn’t spend on alcohol to purchase Participation Whole Life Insurance (PWLI). Your results should astonish anyone!

• $1,200 a year spent on PWLI, instead of alcohol, beginning at age 25 for 50 years, would
  • Recover the cost of all the alcohol you did consume over those 50 years
  • Provide you with over $180,000 of death benefit
  • Allow you to be on the receiving end of potential dividends in excess of $56,000

That being said, you could leverage your growing cash values throughout your life time, and finance vacations, significant purchases or even use them for a down payment on rental property or your own home.  And of course, any of these would majorly increase the amount of money that you could keep which otherwise will be lost to you due to finance charges and interest costs.

Obviously, the same could be said about soft drinks, candy consumption and a host of other consumables that are not necessities.  The only difference is that the average household spends $850 a year on soft drinks and merely $88 a year on candy, not $2,400 per adult per year, as is the case with alcohol.

With the median 75-year old only having $126,000 in their retirement account (March 3, 2019), this unique way of planning for your future could easily double the amount of money you will have when you reach 75. And that will make those golden years much easier on you.

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Pathetically, traditional financial planners will tell you that you have a lot of time to create your retirement account. But take a look at the facts.

• Those under 35 have a median saving account of $12,300
• Those 35-44 have only $37,000
• The age group between 45 and 55 have $82,600
• And those from 56 to 64 have only $120,000
• As stated above, if you are over 65 the median saving account is $126,000

But it is widely known that you will need to have between $1 million and $1.5 million saved by age 67 to make it the rest of your life without running out of money.  And so, it may be a viable option for you to consider keeping half of what you spend on alcohol and keep it for your own retirement.  The joy and pleasure that extra money will provide would definitely be worth it.

Dr. Tomas P. McFie

Most Americans depend on Social Security for retirement income. Even when people think they’re saving money, taxes, fees, investment losses and market volatility take most of their money away. Tom McFie is the founder of McFie Insurance which helps people keep more of the money they make, so they can have financial peace of mind. His latest book, A Biblical Guide to Personal Finance, can be purchased here.