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Offshore Accounts Reminder, And Is It Really The Money?

By John Dietz - Email Editor

Date: March 28, 2006

I feel great. I am taking a break from a few hours of skiing at beautiful Mammoth Mountain, California. I haven’t quite figured out if this is spring skiing in Mammoth, but the sun is hot and weather is perfect.

OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS
Here’s a quick reminder on offshore accounts and anonymous credit cards. In the last two weeks I have been deluged with email questions regarding offshore accounts and offshore credit cards. Remember, there is no such thing as a secret offshore account. The IRS in this post Patriot Act world is simply stated “All Knowing” when it comes to your accounts and your money.

ALL offshore accounts need to be reported, and U.S. Citizens are taxed on their worldwide income. Any regular reader knows this, as it is one of Rob’s constant rants. So please stay away from whatever promoter must be saturating the financial world with promises of TAX FREE secret bank accounts. There is no such thing. They are illegal, and if you use them, you should expect to be caught and criminally prosecuted. The icing on the cake is that these same crooked promoters are selling anonymous debit cards to extract the hidden “tax free” money. Please remember that the IRS has subpoenaed all records from all credit card companies of ALL offshore debit cards. Debit cards invite audit as powerfully as honey attracts flies.

Please don’t fall for this scam.

IS IT REALLY THE MONEY?
It’s been said that if you follow the story, it’s interesting; but if you follow the money, you’ll find out what’s going on. It’s a pretty good philosophy, but for this newsletter I am going to delve into Asset Protection at its core.

If you list the things that matter to you besides the money (meaning things YOU are not willing to loose or see destroyed), you will soon realize that this changes the way that you look at the term "Asset Protection." For example, I believe that you could go so far as to say that when a football player puts his pads on, he is performing Asset Protection.

This more holistic look into the real things that matter is eye opening. If you were to draw up a list of assets that you would like to protect, money would certainly not be at the top. I think the list would probably start out with something like family, relationships and health. Money would surely be in the list, but not number one. The reason is simple: Money is replaceable. Those who have sorted out how to amass wealth can and will repeat the process if they take a financial hit.

Consider what happens when our mental health is jeopardized by divorce, family tragedies or physical health. I have spoken with plenty of wealthy folks going through the process of a divorce who wish they were broke just so they would not have any assets to be separated from. Are these folks thinking rationally? Most certainly not!

Protecting your money is something easily managed by experts; protecting your mental attitude takes constant vigilance, and more importantly, is a self-help project. Asset Protection at its very core, comes back to you. Your daily choices from the food you eat, to the alcohol you consume, to the exercise you get, will ultimately increase your clarity, concentration and decision-making. Honoring your mind, body and spirit will put you well on your way to a complete Asset Protection Plan. Take notice that there will come a time when you will need to employ all of your faculties at once.

One of my mottos: Don't do anything today that could cause you to wake up tomorrow and not feel great!

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