Form a Self Directed IRA LLC

To set up and make investments from your own Self Directed IRA LLC you will need to:

Form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the state of your choice.

• Prepare an Operating Agreement that meets the specific requirements for a Self Directed IRA LLC.
• Open a Self Directed IRA account with an IRA Custodian that permits truly self directed investments.
• Fund your new Self Directed IRA account or transfer funds from your existing retirement account.
• Direct your new Self Directed IRA custodian to make an investment in the LLC.
• Find a suitable investment vehicle that you wish to invest in.
• Purchase the investment in the name of the LLC.

· When you have an investment you want to purchase...all you need to do is to write a check from your LLC to purchase the investment product in the LLC's name. There are no approvals necessary from your custodian. There is no time delay awaiting approval from your custodian.

By using this simple method your Self Directed IRA LLC can invest in real estate and other investments without the red tape and administrative fees normally involved when using your IRA to directly make an investment.

The most important step and the key ingredient is to have a properly prepared Self Directed IRA LLC Operating Agreement that meets the specific requirements for a Self Directed IRA.

Source: SelfDirectedIRA.org

Why a Self Directed IRA?

A Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account (SDIRA) allows you to take control in your retirement account, and can go a long way toward building your wealth. So this requires a little primer on the benefits of this type of account.

First of all, what is an IRA? Individual Retirement Accounts have been around for quite a while. They were created in 1974 with the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) as an investment vehicle to grow retirement savings.

Usually, people want to know the benefits of a SDIRA over other options. The SDIRA is an IRA that requires the account owner to make investment decision and investments on behalf of their retirement plans. Did you know that the Social Security Administration’s most recent trustee report states that Social Security will begin to run a negative cash flow by the year 2017? By the year 2040, it will not be able to pay full benefits at all.

With the impending Social Security crisis and dramatic reduction in pensions, it is imperative to begin planning for your financial future today.

Many of you probably know that this type of account exists, but you would be amazed at how much people don’t know about the options they have out there. The goal of the WCA is to educate you so that you become much more informed on how to invest your money.

There are a couple of ways to do this. You can have a custodian who helps manage your money, or you can set up an LLC so that you can have checkbook control. I am a big fan knowing where my money is and how it is being handled, so checkbook control is a good way to go if you like to actively manage your money. Plus many custodians charge based on the size of the account, or amount of transactions. The fees can add up, so it’s best to pay a little more to set up an account that allows you to save a lot more money in the future. Click here to learn more about setting up an IRA with check book control.

So what type of retirement accounts can I move into a Self Directed IRA?

Any retirement account that allows a transfer to a traditional IRA including 401k’s, a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA , and a Simplified Employee Pension plan, or SEP-IRA.

With an SDIRA, it’s virtually an unlimited possibility of investments. The rules governing what an IRA can invest in are exclusive - not inclusive. The self directed ira rules only specify where you cannot invest. The IRS only defines the following assets as prohibited:

• Life insurance contracts (e.g., a life insurance policy on the life of the IRA owner);
• Collectibles (e.g., antique rugs, cars, stamps, furniture, etc.);
• Capital stock in an "S" corporation.

Examples of investments allowed (specialized assets) within self-directed IRAs

• Residential real estate—including apartments, single family homes, and duplexes
• Commercial real estate
• Undeveloped or raw land
• Real estate notes (mortgages and deeds of trusts)
• Promissory notes
• Private limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and C corporations
• Tax lien certificates
• Foreign currencies
• Oil and gas investments
• Publicly traded stocks, bonds, mutual funds
• Private stock offerings, private placements
• Judgments/structured settlements
• Gold bullion
• Car paper
• Factoring investments
• Accounts receivable
• Equipment leasing

So you can see that the sky is the limit when it comes to investing your self directed IRA!

What Grandma doesn't know could hurt her.

The other day, I had a phone conversation with my Grandma (a very sweet lady). In between the chit chat about her travels and her favorite cat (his name is Bruno, and he is treacherous to everyone but her), she told me that her retirement fund was constantly loosing money. She is invested in a wide variety of mutual funds, and they are bleeding her fund dry. At the age of 68, do you think she can afford to have her largest means of support continue to loose money?!!

I don’t think so.

The sad fact of the matter is that she is not alone. Many Americans have experienced the same trend over the last couple of years. With the volatility of the stock market, most people don’t have the financial intelligence to gauge which stock to buy, and when. That’s why they put their money into low yielding CD’s or Mutual Funds.

Just like that popular infomercial, people are hoping that they can just “Set it, and forget it!” and come back to a well prepared retirement. This type of thinking usually gets people in trouble.

Mutual Funds are invested in with little or no information, with managers who tack on the fees and commissions (and some are of the notion that a monkey could pick stocks to invest in and have a portfolio garnering equal or better returns). CD’s just barely staying ahead of inflation, and IRA returns are marginal at best. So what’s the forecast? If people don’t radically change their outlook, and learn more about investing…it looks like the perfect storm for poverty in retirement. Maybe that’s a little to extreme, but in the least, at the age of retirement, you will live in a condo in Florence, AZ instead of villa in Florence, Italy.

So it’s time to get more serious about your finances. Over the next few weeks, the Wealth Creation Alliance will do a series on investing your retirement plan for better returns.

What are the option plans?

What is favorable for taxes?

How much can you invest in any particular plan?

We’ll go over these topics, and provide you with the most up to date information that will help you make the calls to retire better…faster. In addition, you will be able to control your accounts, ensuring you are the one making the important decisions on your financial future.

With a little more diligence and investment savvy, my Grandma should be able to make more informed decisions on how to invest her retirement savings properly. Stay tuned for the progress!

Arizona Economic Update

I went to the Economic Club of Phoenix meeting last week, and they had an interesting update on Arizona's Economy. They had a little quiz for all attendees entitled "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly." I received permission from the Dean of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Dean Mittelstaedt, to reproduce the quiz. See below for questions and answers.

Enjoy!
______________________________________________________________________

Second Annual Arizona Economic Confidence Quiz

2008: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)

How confident are you that you understand the Arizona economy? For each of the items below please provide your best estimate of the value.

______________________________________________________________________

1. In the previous recession Phoenix unemployment reached 5.8 percent. What is the current Phoenix unemployment rate?

2. At this time in 2006 Arizona ranked first among all states in the rate of employment growth. What is Arizona’s rank today vs. all states in year-over-year rate of job growth?

3. During the recession of 1991, Arizona construction employment peaked at 86,900 jobs and bottomed out at 76,500 jobs, a decrease of 12%. How many construction jobs have been lost since construction last peaked at 247,500 in 2006, and what is the percent drop?

4. The Phoenix metro area is one of 27 with labor force exceeding one million workers. What is the Phoenix metro area rank today vs. the 27 largest metro areas in year-over-year rate of job growth?

5. Number of foreclosure filings in AZ in March 2008

6. At this time in 2005 single family resale homes in the Greater Phoenix area averaged 33 days on the market before sale. What is the average time on market today?

7. What is the current excess supply of housing units in the Metro Phoenix area – just physical supply, not counting those homes that are occupied but for sale?

8. How many gallons of gasoline are consumed annually in Arizona in a typical year?

9. Gross Domestic Product was up by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008. But the National Bureau of Economic Research determines the start and end of recession by looking not only at GDP, but also several other indicators including those listed here. Circle those that were DOWN as of the last monthly report:

Employment, Personal Income, Industrial Production, Retail Sales, Factory Orders

10. If half of the undocumented workers in the state migrated elsewhere in 2008, for whatever reason, what would the state’s population growth rate be for the year?

Bonus Question: Amount of new capital raised by Citigroup this year?

Think you know the answers? Well here they are. Let me know your reactions.

1. 3.5%
2. 46 , Arizona is one of 11 states losing jobs; states ranked lower include Nevada, Florida, Michigan and Rhode Island.
3. Jobs lost: 43,800 Decrease: 18%
4. 20
5. 9,199
6. 102 days, Over 3 times longer; there is a 13 month supply of resale homes, listings of 53,125 and 4,000 sales per month in March.
7. 56,000
8. 2.6 Billion. Note that an additional $1 per gallon draws $2.6 billion out of the Arizona spending stream from other consumer items.
9. Employment and retail sales were down, the others were up
10. – 1.8%

Bonus: $ 45+ Billion

© 2008 W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University

WCA sponsors the Alpha Cashflow Club to have meeting at Sky Song in Scottsdale on May 22 at 6:30 pm

Have you ever been part of a group that changed your life forever? I have. For me, that group has been the Alpha Cashflow Club.

The meetings changed my whole paradigm of thought. I learned to think in abundance. I learned what it meant to manage a balance statement. How to accrue assets verses liabilities. And I learned all of this...by playing a game.

The club is based upon playing the game Cashflow as designed by the Rich Dad Company. The focus is to train people how to get out of the rat race. How do you do that? When you have enough money coming in the door without having to work for it, then you have made it out. So if you still hold a J-O-B, then there are some lessons for you to learn that the club can teach you.

The Alpha Cashflow Club is headed up by Jovan Will and Kas Randolph, two of my good friends. The mission statement is “to elevate the financial intelligence of the local community by promoting personal growth through education, and by developing relationships that support and encourage members to achieve financial freedom”.

I remember my first time at cashflow like it was yesterday (insert nostalgic flashback here). There was just over 10 of us meeting in the waiting room of a doctors office. There was very little room to move around, and the room was stifling hot. When I first went, I didn’t know what to expect. What I got was some of the best lessons in personal finance that I could ever hope for.

Now the club has hundreds of members, and has a dedicated following. It has come very far, and with the help of the Wealth Creation Alliance, it is about to meet at its next bench mark.

The club will be meeting at the Sky Song in Scottsdale next Thursday, May 22, at 6:30 pm. Sky Song is one of ASU’s newest initiatives to promote global entrepreneurship and innovative. One of its directives is to connect the world through technology, and that is something it does very well. The club will be living in the Global room, (201). The first time this room was used was by 14 NFL players to give a free webinar for children around the country to ask them questions and offer inspiration.

Skysong is home to a diverse crowd from Ticketmaster, to the Venture Capital firm Finao, to international companies from Turkey, Germany, China, and many other countries. It’s no wonder the Alpha Cashflow club has been drawn to Sky Song with all of its global initiatives. Jovan Will, director of the club just got back from a whirlwind trip through Europe where he was furthering the reach and impact of financial intelligence throughout the European community with the Rich Dad company. He met many unique individuals there that have been successful in their own businesses, and strive to see others make a dramatic impact in their lives as well.

I am a testament to the club. It made a great difference in my life. It encouraged me to become a real estate investor, and it was the launching pad for the Wealth Creation Alliance, a group focused on helping individuals invest into performing assets. The club has many members that have already made it out of the rat race. Some of these individuals have become my mentors in my life and business.

So with all of that, I highly encourage you to make the Alpha Cashflow Clubs one of the groups you might go to. At the meeting, we will be introducing Rich Dad’s Cashflow® 101 Kit, a series of ten teachings designed by Robert Kiyosaki and specially engineered to accelerate the learning experience of each player. No matter who you are and where you are in life, we can all benefit from more financial intelligence. So check out the club, and build your network and financial intelligence at the same time.

EVENT DETAILS:

DATE: Thursday, May 22, 2008

TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Skysong Room 201, 1475 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85257

For more information and future meetings go to: www.AlphaCASHFLOWClub.com

Welcome to the Wealth Creation Alliance Blog!

Hi all,

The Wealth Creation Alliance now has a blog! The WCA was created to serve the needs of investors to accrue massive wealth. We bring you amazing investments to help you realize huge returns. WCA members have seen returns higher than 80% annual, and have also invested in Cashflow property that makes greater than 100% cash on cash return.

So why are we so passionate about investing? Did you know that only 5% of Americans will be financially fit by the time they turn 65? So what about the other 95%. Well...they're either dead, still working, or just dead broke!

Pretty sad when you think about it. Add that to rising gas prices, food prices going up, and inflation picking away at your savings.

What I'm saying is that there are a lot of factors out there that can affect your bottom line in a negative way. I could go on and on about gloom and doom scenarios, but I'll stop there.

And instead I'll tell you this...

You don't have to be one of the 95% of Americans that will not have enough money to retire, or at least retire comfortably! And you don't have to work yourself to the bone to be one of the 5% that will enjoy their retirement in comfort. You just need to work smarter, and you need to have your money work harder for you!

And the best time to do something about it is right NOW! Keep putting off your retirement until tomorrow, and before you know it, you'll be 65 and greeting people at the door of a big retail chain (you know the one) to just barely make ends meet.

The WCA seeks out high quality investments that will greatly increase your wealth so you don't have to follow the dismal fate that so many others have followed. We are a select group of investors that are serious about building wealth. Growing your wealth isn't something that happens overnight. But with the WCA, it doesn't have to be something you wait all your life for.

By being part of the WCA, you receive exclusive opportunities to invest that no one else gets to see! So become one of the select members of the WCA and start building your wealth now so that you can retire sooner rather than later, and retire rich!