Becoming Your Own Banker

Becoming Your Own Banker is a financial strategy that empowers you to take control of your money, rather than relying on banks. With a properly structured participating whole life insurance policy, you’ll have access to the benefits of dividend-paying whole life insurance to grow your family’s wealth today and for the future.

In this article, we’ll explain the process of Becoming Your Own Banker and show you how a participating whole life insurance policy is a central component of your financial independence and success.

What Does “Becoming Your Own Banker” Mean?

Becoming Your Own Banker is not just a financial strategy, but is a mindset and a long-term process. This process empowers you to take control of your banking by using a properly designed, participating whole life insurance policy.

Your policy becomes your bank, and you are the banker. Through your policy, you build a cash value that grows uninterrupted, even while you borrow against it to finance life’s needs. You can use this borrowing power to pay off debt, fund investments, or make major purchases. The key is that you’re recapturing the interest and control that would otherwise flow to traditional banks, keeping that money within your own system. This process is known as the Infinite Banking Concept.

To learn how to become your own banker, you need to make three mindset shifts:

1. Recognizing that you’re already in the banking business. Whether you realize it or not, every time you borrow, save, or spend, someone is profiting from your financial activity. The question is: who? The shift comes when you decide to take back control of that process and make yourself the one who benefits.
2. Long-term thinking. This isn’t about quick wins or short-term gains. It’s about building a system that grows wealth predictably over your lifetime and even for future generations.
3. Embrace discipline. Treat your policy loans like real loans and repay them to keep your system thriving. It’s about becoming intentional with every dollar.

With these three mindset shifts in place, you’re ready to take control of your finances with Infinite Banking.

The Key To Infinite Banking

Here’s the key: every dollar you earn flows through a system. When you’re your own banker, that system is one you own and control. You decide when to access funds, how to use them, and who profits from the interest.

And the best part? Your money continues to grow, uninterrupted, even when you borrow against it. It’s about ownership, liquidity, and creating a financial tailwind that works for you…not the banks.

The Origins of Becoming Your Own Banker

Nelson Nash (1931-2019) penned the Infinite Banking Concept as a means for individuals and businesses to break free from the bank’s control and build wealth now and in the future. In his popular book, Becoming Your Own Banker, he explains how to build your own personal banking system by using a participating whole life insurance policy to finance major expenses, pay off debt, and grow wealth for generations.

Nash was a life insurance agent for decades and an advocate for personal liberty and free-market economics. His work sharing the Infinite Banking Concept earned him many accomplishments and impacted countless families and businesses worldwide.

The late R. Nelson Nash developed IBC to show how you can control your cash flow by not borrowing from banks but from a financial asset you co-own (your policy’s cash value). He discovered that uninterrupted compounding growth is essential to building and protecting wealth.

At Ascendant Financial, our advisors were trained under Nelson Nash and are deeply rooted in the concept principles:

“What truly sets us apart is our commitment to ongoing education and personalized support. We design policies tailored to your unique financial goals, ensuring they’re structured for maximum efficiency and long-term growth. Plus, we provide continuous coaching to help you fully understand and implement the strategy, so you’re never left wondering, “What’s next?” It’s about empowering you to take control of your financial future with confidence.” -Jayson Lowe, CEO

Working with an Authorized Infinite Banking Advisor can help ensure your policy and financial practices are set up for success.

How to Become Your Own Bank With Life Insurance

Many of the world’s most successful people have used the concepts of Infinite Banking, long before Nash officially named it. For example, Walt Disney used it to help fund his theme park vision, and Ray Kroc used the concept to expand McDonald’s. The Rockefeller family also leveraged these principles to grow their family’s generational wealth.

But it’s not just the uber-wealthy who can benefit from this system. It’s accessible to anyone with a properly structured whole life insurance plan. As you pay your premiums and purchase additional Paid-Up Additions (PUAs) with cash or dividends, your policy benefits from significant, compounding growth.

Over time, your account will begin earning a cash value. This cash value acts as collateral for loans whenever you want them, for any reason. Many policyholders borrow against this cash value to pay off debts or make significant purchases. Unlike traditional bank loans, borrowing against your policy gives you flexible repayment terms and competitive interest, compared to conventional lenders with strict repayment schedules.

Some policyholders may earn a paid annual dividend. This non-guaranteed dividend is a share of the insurance company’s profits for that year. To make your dividend payment work harder for you, many policyholders use it to purchase paid-up additions (PUA) to support faster, compounding growth in their policy.

The Benefits Of Becoming Your Own Banker

The benefits of breaking free from the banks and using the Infinite Banking Concept are vast:

• Your principal is safe, and growth is guaranteed year after year.
• You can access your equity whenever you choose and for whatever reason. There are no additional credit checks or restrictions.
• Your growth and distributions are typically tax-advantaged.
• You can receive creditor protection (where applicable by law)
• You can experience uninterrupted compound interest growth on your money over a lifetime.
• Your gains are locked in every year and cannot be taken away from you.
• You are insulated from market volatility (so your cash values do not decrease).
• Your family is protected for life, and the protection continues to grow and pay out tax-free after you have passed away.
• The sense of control that it provides can create a peaceful, stress-free financial life.
• Canadian and American families and business owners can experience significant tax savings (subject to some jurisdictional laws).
• You can help finance your retirement.

Reclaim Your Banking Power

Imagine a financial system where you call the shots. Explore the principles of privatized banking and start recapturing lost interest today.

Discover Your Banking Power

The Value of Insurance Policyholder Dividends

Dividends, while not guaranteed, have proven to be historically consistent with most reliable insurance providers. Policyholders have the financial control to choose how to use their dividends.

A popular option is to direct dividends back into the policy to purchase Paid-Up Additions (PUAs). These are one-time top-ups to your policy that help accelerate your daily cash value growth and total death benefit.

Learn more about how PUAs work to increase your policy growth within the Infinite Banking System.

How Often Are Dividends Paid?

Dividends are paid annually on the anniversary date of your policy, not to be confused with the calendar year. They are declared annually by the life insurance company when they release their annual reports. Policyholders are paid at their next policy anniversary date. Once paid to the policy owner, dividends cannot lose value or be taken away. They are fully vested for the life of the policy.

Are Dividends Based On PAR Value?

Yes, the dividends you receive on a participating (PAR) whole life policy are based on the performance and size of your policy. The larger the policy, the larger your share of the divisible surplus. Many factors go into the actual dividend paid each year. The life company assesses how each policy contributed to the net earnings, a formula is applied, and the actual dividend yield per policy is determined and declared.

Learn more about the factors that influence dividend payouts.

Be Your Own Banker With Ascendant Financial

The Ascendant Financial team wants to help you take control of your financial future by leveraging your own capital through a whole life insurance policy. Our team provides education and assistance to structure your policy for your unique financial life. More importantly, with our ongoing training, videos, resources, client portal, and coaching method, we are with you for life as your guide.

To be clear, this process is not a “get rich quick scheme.” Instead, it’s a long-term financial strategy and mindset that enables you to build wealth and harness it for multiple lifespans. By changing how you think about money and the flow of income and payments, you can keep more of the cash that passes through your hands.

More Resources To Learn About Becoming Your Own Banker

To get the maximum benefit from Infinite Banking, learn Nelson Nash’s five key principles of a successful private banker. You can learn more about these from our on-demand training. Our site also has in-depth videos and articles on many topics related to the concept and the tools that help make it possible. The materials explain how insurance works and how to use it as a tool within Infinite Banking. Becoming Your Own Banker is a process, not a product.

Check out our learning and free online resources, webinars, and training materials or read Nash’s bestselling book Becoming Your Own Banker. Then, contact us to talk about your financial goals.

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