Freedom From the Financial System

You’ve done everything “right.”

You’ve saved 10% of your income. You’ve maxed out your 401(k). You’ve built an emergency fund. You’ve got great credit. Kyle down at the credit union knows you by name and fast-tracks your loan applications.

So why don’t you feel free?

Why does every financial decision still run through someone else’s approval process? Why are you still waiting in line, filling out forms, and accepting whatever terms they offer?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: You’re not financially free because you’re still trapped in a system designed to keep you dependent.

The Third-Party Trap

Nelson Nash discovered something that changed everything. He calculated that 34.5 cents of every dollar you earn flows to third-party lenders throughout your lifetime.

Think about that. More than a third of your life’s work goes to banks, credit unions, and finance companies.

Nash used a brilliant airplane analogy to illustrate this. Imagine you’re flying east at 100 mph (that’s your 10% savings rate). But you’re flying into a 345 mph headwind (that’s the money flowing to third-party lenders).

You’re not going 100 mph east. You’re going 245 mph backwards.

But what happens when you turn around and use that same wind as a tailwind? Now you’re flying at 445 mph in the right direction.

That’s a 690 mph difference. Same plane. Same pilot. Different direction.

The difference between financial dependence and financial freedom isn’t working harder or saving more. It’s changing direction.

Meet Kyle at the Credit Union

Let’s talk about the hidden costs of borrowing. Not just the interest rate—the real costs that nobody calculates.

You want to buy a rental property. You call Kyle. He’s friendly. He knows your name. He says he can “probably” get you approved.

Here’s what happens next:

You spend 2 hours putting together a loan application. Another hour gathering documents. Your CPA spends 3 hours preparing financial statements—that’s $900 right there. You provide personal guarantees on business assets you’ve spent years building.

Then you wait. Kyle’s loan committee meets next Tuesday. They want updated bank statements. They question a $500 expense from six months ago. They want a higher down payment.

Three weeks later, you’re approved. Congratulations! You can now borrow your own money back at 7.5% interest with a callable note. The bank can demand full payment anytime they want.

Ask Grant Cardone. When his bank went under in 2009, the new bank bought the assets and called his loans. All of them. Immediately.

Almost every third-party loan is callable. They can change the rules anytime they want.

The Government’s Crutches

Here’s where it gets really interesting. The same government that created the problem offers you the solution.

Income taxes became permanent in 1913. Suddenly, you’re losing 20-40% of your income to Washington. But don’t worry—they’ve got a plan to help you.

401(k)s arrived in the late 1980s. IRAs followed. Roth IRAs. SEP IRAs. Every acronym imaginable, all with the same promise: We’ll let you defer taxes if you follow our rules.

What rules?

• You can’t touch your money until you’re 59½ (penalty)
• You must start taking distributions at 73 (forced withdrawals)
• You can only contribute a limited amount each year (contribution limits)
• You can only invest in what they approve (restricted options)
• If you need your money for an emergency, pay a penalty

As Nelson Nash observed: “When the government creates a problem (read: onerous taxation) then gives you the solution (read: government-sponsored retirement plans) — are you not the least bit suspicious?”

I compare this to someone breaking your legs then handing you a pair of crutches and expecting a thank you.

The government created the largest block of equities in the world through retirement plans. A third of that money is Uncle Sam’s anyway through deferred taxes. Nelson even floated the idea that government might someday demand their third immediately.

Think they won’t? They changed Social Security rules. They changed Medicare rules. They’ll change retirement plan rules when it suits them.

What Freedom Actually Looks Like

Real financial freedom means controlling your own capital without asking permission.

It means access to liquidity in times of crisis or opportunity without applications, credit checks, or committees.

It means borrowing your own money on your terms and setting your own repayment schedule.

Nelson Nash called this “becoming your own banker.” Instead of being a borrower, you become the lender. Instead of paying interest to others, you pay interest to yourself.

Here’s how different this looks:

Traditional borrowing:

• 20+ page application
• 3-week approval process
• Personal guarantees required
• Callable note (they control you)
• Their interest rates, their terms

Policy loan:

• 1-2 page form
• 3-5 day processing
• No credit check, no approval process
• Contractual right (you control them)
• You set repayment terms

There’s really no comparison.

When you need $50,000 for an investment opportunity, you don’t call Kyle. You don’t wait for a committee. You don’t provide three years of tax returns.

You call your insurance company and request a policy loan. They send the check.

Because it’s not their money. It’s your money. You’re borrowing against cash value you’ve accumulated in a properly designed whole life insurance policy.

Breaking the Dependency Cycle

The system wants you dependent. Banks profit when you borrow. The government profits when you defer taxes into their retirement plans. Financial advisors profit when you keep assets “under management.”

Everyone wins except you.

But here’s what they don’t want you to know: Life insurance predates the income tax by 200+ years. It’s not a “tax scheme” or “loophole.” It’s a foundational financial tool that existed long before governments started manipulating the tax code.

As Willie Sutton (the famous bank robber) might have said: “IBC is not an exception to the Internal Revenue Code.”

Life insurance was designed to create liquidity when you need it most. The tax advantages are just a bonus—not the main event.

When you understand this distinction, you realize you’re not gaming the system. You’re using a legitimate financial tool the way it was designed to work.

The Path Forward

Financial freedom isn’t about having more money. It’s about having more control.

Control over your capital. Control over your cash flow. Control over your future.

When you become your own banker, you stop asking permission and start making decisions. Instead of hoping Kyle approves your loan, you approve your own loans.

Instead of wondering if the government will change retirement plan rules, you use a system that’s been stable for over two centuries.

Instead of paying 34.5 cents of every dollar to third-party lenders, you recover that money and put it to work in your own banking system.

This isn’t about getting rich quick. This is about getting free systematically.

It’s about turning the 345 mph headwind into a 445 mph tailwind.

It’s about walking away from Kyle’s credit union and never looking back.

It’s about throwing away the government’s crutches and walking on your own two legs.

When You Know What’s Going On

Nelson Nash had a simple observation: “When you know what’s going on, you’ll know what to do.”

Now you know what’s going on.

The financial system is designed to keep you dependent. Banks need borrowers. The government needs taxpayers deferring income into qualified plans. Financial advisors need assets under management.

You don’t need any of them.

You need control. You need liquidity. You need a system that works for you instead of against you.

That system is the Infinite Banking Concept. Not because it’s some magical money-making machine, but because it gives you something much more valuable than returns.

It gives you freedom.

Freedom from Kyle and his loan committee.

Freedom from government retirement plan restrictions.

Freedom from begging permission to access your own capital.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to implement IBC. The question is whether you can afford not to.

Because every month you wait, more of your money flows to third-party lenders. Every year you defer taxes into qualified plans, you’re betting the government won’t change the rules.

Every time you fill out Kyle’s loan application, you’re admitting you’re not in control of your own financial destiny.

You can change that. You can turn around. You can use the headwind as a tailwind.

But first, you have to decide you’re tired of being dependent.

Are you?