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There's no age that's considered too old to buy a house. However, there are different considerations to make when buying a house near or in retirement.Is there an age at which the dream of homeownership has passed? Absolutely not! However, when you're buying a home later in life, you have different considerations to make, or your dream home could turn into a nightmare. Many baby boomers and even older seniors are becoming first-time homeowners. According to the 2017 NAR Homebuying Report, almost a quarter of first time home buyers were over 52 years old. Thirty percent of all home sales in 2016 were made by baby boomers age 52-70, and 8% of home purchases were made by seniors age 71-91. With this many older buyers, you're in good company. However, is buying the right choice for you? Consider the following issues when making this decision.1. Is buying a good financial move?In 2016, 68% of buyers aged 62-70 financed their homes. If you're planning to take out a mortgage to make your home purchase when you're in or about to enter retirement, look carefully at the financial impact.Consider your financial situation to be sure you will be able to make the payments throughout the life of the mortgage, even if your income drops after retirement or if a spouse passes away. Review any life insurance policies you have for you and your spouse or consider getting insurance.Even if you plan to keep working, you or your spouse may retire sooner than you plan. According to the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, 60% of retirees surveyed retired before they planned, mostly because of reasons other than being financially ready. If you need to retire because of health concerns or other reasons, will you still be able to afford the house payment?While the mortgage costs in a conventional loan will remain constant, taxes, insurance, and homeowners' association fees will continue to climb. Be sure you will have funds to pay these fees as they increase over time. It is also wise to make extra payments on the mortgage if possible to pay it off faster.2. Will this home fit your retirement lifestyle?Consider why you want to buy a home and what activities you plan to enjoy during retirement. Make sure that you and your spouse understand each other's expectations. If one of your dreams of retirement days spent volunteering and having the grandkids visit the house constantly while the other wants to travel the world, you will likely be looking at very different types of houses.Are you buying because you are moving to a new location to enjoy your retirement? If so, have you spent significant time in this new location to be sure you love it before making it a permanent home? It would be terrible to uproot your life and move to Florida only to realize you miss your grandkids or you don't really like the heat, bugs, or the company of other retirees.If you plan to do significant traveling in retirement, consider how much it will cost to pay for lawn care and other maintenance while you are away. Moving to a condo or retirement community that does the lawn care for you may be a better plan.3. Will this home still be suitable if my health declines?If you're moving to a home you plan to stay in for as long as possible, keep in mind that your health and fitness may change. Choose a home design and location that will be suitable as you age.Climbing a flight of stairs to a master bedroom may not be an issue now. However, it would be wise to consider a single story home or a home with a first-floor master bedroom with laundry on the first floor. Look for a home with updated windows that tilt in for easier cleaning or consider updating the windows when you move.Remember that there may even come a time when you are not able to drive. If possible, choose a home located near public transportation or within walking distance of shops. It may be challenging to have to depend on friends or family to drive you to shop or appointments.4. What type of home maintenance is involved?You may be able to manage your own yard work and repairs when you move into the home. However, as you age you may need assistance with these tasks. Consider the extra funds you will need to hire a lawn service and pay a handyman to do home repairs.If you're moving into a senior community that takes care of these tasks for you, be sure to understand the additional fees. Since these fees increase over time, ask at what rate they've been increasing to be sure you can continue to afford the payments.Many seniors choose to live with family members. You may consider pooling resources with an adult child to purchase a multi-generational home with an in-law suite. You get constant access to spoil your grandkids, and your adult child will be able to assist with your care if you need it in later years.Something big just happenedI don't know about you, but I always pay attention when one of the best growth investors in the world gives me a stock tip. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner and his brother, Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner, just revealed two brand new stock recommendations. Together, they've tripled the stock market's return over the last 13 years. And while timing isn't everything, the history of Tom and David's stock picks shows that it pays to get in early on their ideas.

There will be 73 million U.S. millennials in 2019, according to Pew Research, when they will overtake the long-dominant baby boomers as the largest single generation in the United States. As such, just like those boomers before them, they are bound to transform every aspect of American life, from popular culture to the workplace and economy. In many ways, that process has already started.Whereas boomers came of age amid postwar optimism and a roaring economy, millennials were influenced by 9/11 and the Great Recession. With fewer economic prospects at the outset, they’ve been slower than previous generations to enter the workforce, buy houses and start families. Yet as the leading edge of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) nears 40, they are rapidly making up for lost time, says researcher Philippa Dunne.As co-manager of the influential economics publication The Liscio Report, Dunne (a boomer) specializes in crunching the numbers and unearthing facts that often belie preconceptions and stereotypes on social trends, government policy, markets and other subjects. OUTLOOK spoke with Dunne about why millennials are an idealistic, committed generation that is energizing the companies they work for and the economy as a whole.OUTLOOK: What sort of economic force does this generation represent?Philippa Dunne: Millennials represent 24 percent of the population in the U.S., and they already account for 35 percent of the labor force—the largest share of any generation. But they haven’t started out with much clout. They came into the workforce during the worst economy in decades, and if you begin your career underpaid and underemployed, that can have a lifelong impact on your earning power. Recently, the unemployment rate for millennials was still in the teens, and they also have had a high rate of underemployment. At one point, 40 percent were working in jobs that didn’t require the degrees they had earned.Still, this generation will eventually have a major impact on the economy and the country. Millennials are educated, they’re vocal and they think in different ways than previous generations did. They’ve been essential to advancing the technological revolution. They want corporate structures that are flatter, they’re more interested than previous generations in being mentored and they want immediate feedback. And the U.S. shift from a goods economy to a service economy suits them, because millennials tend to be more interested in working in the service and information sectors.OUTLOOK: What are the generation’s demographic characteristics as a social and economic force?Dunne: It’s the most diverse and well educated we have ever seen. Much of its growth has come not from a high birth rate, as with boomers, but from immigration, with 14 percent of millennials being first-generation residents and 12 percent second generation. Nineteen percent of millennials are Hispanic, 14 percent are African American and 5 percent are Asian, and the number of bilingual households is much higher than it was in previous generations. Millennial women are four times more likely to have a college degree than women of the silent generation, born in 1945 or before. And 71 percent of young millennial women work, compared with 40 percent of silent generation women who worked when they were young.OUTLOOK: As millennials increasingly assume management roles, how are corporate cultures evolving?Dunne: The move toward a more horizontal management structure is a big thing, and could have a leveling effect on income inequality. Because of the global world they have grown up in, this generation’s understanding of different cultures and acceptance of different life choices is bound to make companies more and more inclusive and reflective of society as a whole. Outside the workplace, millennials are also changing philanthropy. Stephanie MacKay, Chief Innovation Officer at Columbus Community Center, a social services agency that helps individuals with intellectual disabilities join the labor force, has noted “a profound shift in how [younger people] think about the world, money and social impact,” and that millennials “are demonstrating that they value the work they do towards social impact, rather than the money they give.”OUTLOOK: Millennials have often been characterized as a “me generation.” Is that a fair assessment?Dunne: The idea that these are entitled children of privilege may be true of some parts of this generation but it’s at odds with many other aspects. For example, millennial immigrants tend to keep strong ties to their home countries, and millennials in general are likely to feel connected to their own ethnic backgrounds. More than 70 percent say they appreciate the influence of other cultures on their lives, compared with 62 percent of boomers. Millennials are also more likely than those in previous generations to think that taking care of their parents is important. They are socially concerned, and they’re more likely to buy a product made by a company whose values they admire, or that supports a performance by an artist they like. They’re the kind of educated consumers businesses have always wanted, and needed as employees.The young people in this generation have also been shaped by what they lived through when they were young. My son is a millennial, and he was 10 years old and living in New York City on September 11, 2001. And you didn’t need to live in New York City to be deeply affected by that. Then, during the financial crisis, when he was in high school, he saw families of his friends losing everything and he worried that the same thing might happen to us. Those were two enormous events that occurred within seven years of each other, and I don’t think this generation gets enough credit for the way it has dealt with that.OUTLOOK: How have those events shaped how they view their economic future?Dunne: In the wake of the Great Recession, a lot of millennials have felt some malaise about what’s ahead. The Transamerica Institute recently found that 81 percent of millennial workers are ‘concerned that Social Security will not be there for them,’ and Pew Research reports that half expect to receive no benefit at all. Many don’t have credit cards and aren’t interested in buying things on credit—because they’ve seen how things can blow up if you’re not careful. They have also been slow to form households and buy houses. A smaller percentage of millennials are married than was the case in previous generations. They do have a lot of college debt, and education and health expenses have been very high for this generation. But some of these characteristics that set them apart from previous generations are beginning to change.OUTLOOK: In what ways?Dunne: One of the standard assumptions about millennials is that they aren’t interested in homeownership. Twenty-six percent of those age 25 through 34 were living with parents or other relatives in 2017—an all-time high for that age group. The proportion of younger millennials, ages 18 through 24, living with parents peaked at more than 50 percent in 2012, though that’s declined slightly. Some studies have shown that some of this is based on finances.Yet we may have gotten ahead of ourselves in using such statistics to conclude that millennials are confirmed renters. Abbe Will, a researcher at Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, maintains that 70 to 80 percent of millennials want to own a home someday, and Fannie Mae reported in 2017 that 93 percent of millennials age 25 to 34 aspire to be homeowners.The overall national homeownership rate, which peaked during the housing bubble, recently ticked up again for the first time in 13 years—and that growth is largely being driven by millennials. In 2011, when the largest group of millennials was in the age range of 20 through 24, only one in four was head of a household. But in 2016, those millennials were age 25 to 29, and 42 percent headed households. That is projected to rise to about half of the generation by 2021. We need caution here too, however. Recent reports suggest that college debt is tempering a growing interest in home ownership among this group.OUTLOOK: How is that increasing interest in home ownership likely to affect the U.S. housing market and the larger economy?Dunne: Building and furnishing houses has a high, 2.27 economic multiplier—meaning that for every dollar spent, in the case of housing construction, there’s an average of $1.27 in additional, related purchasing, and as more millennials buy houses, that will certainly boost the economy. There’s also likely to be an increasing share of millennial immigrants owning houses, since the foreign-born are more likely to open new businesses, and that should spur economic growth as well.OUTLOOK: Is there data on how many children millennials are or want to have, on average?Dunne: It’s hard to predict how many children this generation will have, but the “total fertility rate,” the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, fell from 2.12 in 2007 to 1.8 in 2017, its lowest level since 1978. Because rates tend to move with business cycles, these statistics have puzzled many analysts in light of the economic expansion. But the decline itself raises questions about the vibrancy of the expansion, i.e. why the change?This generation will eventually have a major impact on the economy and the country. Millennials are educated, they're vocal and they think in different ways than previous generations did.OUTLOOK: Has the delay in homeownership been an advantage for millennials in any ways. Does it make them more mobile?Dunne: In some cases, yes. millennials are open to moving around, and if you’re not stuck in one location with a mortgage that’s underwater, you can move to where the jobs are. Yet while renters have traditionally moved more often than homeowners, renters’ mobility rates have been declining steeply, according to the The State of the Nation’s Housing 2018, from the Joint Center for Housing Studies. So although the number of renters jumped from more than 72 million in 1996 to 83 million in 2017, the number of “rentermovers” dropped significantly.OUTLOOK: Are economic pressures influencing the types of careers that millennials choose?Dunne: Of course this is a diverse group, but there is evidence that growing numbers of millennials are choosing the kinds of careers they want. Yes, a few years ago, a lot of them were forced to take just any job, and that’s one thing that has kept their wages down. But now, as the economy has improved, they’re starting to think about what they really want to do—and if their dream jobs don’t come with a high salary, they’re willing to cut back on spending.OUTLOOK: How does their status as digital natives affect this generation’s viability and flexibility in the work force?Dunne: One reason they are willing to move around more than previous generations is that so many of milliennials’ communities are electronic. They’re able to network online, and to use crowd-funding, which is having a democratizing influence on all kinds of businesses, not-for-profits and social network organizations.In one recent survey, most millennials said they wouldn’t accept jobs at companies that didn’t allow them to use social media at work. And while corporations may not like that idea, they may have to learn to live with it. If they want to have millennial customers, they’re going to need to have millennials working for them, and they’re going to have to accommodate their preferences. That’s one more way that millennials are reinventing the culture of the corporate workplace.OUTLOOK: How do millennials differ from other generations as consumers, and how does that affect their economic impact?Dunne: They have a tendency to prefer experiences over material goods, and that can play out economically in unexpected ways. For example, Chattanooga, Tennessee, put in a municipal highspeed internet system, and a bunch of recent college grads have moved to the city just because of that. If you have a higher share of residents with college degrees, you’re going to have a much lower unemployment rate. And the Pew Research Center has reported that those with college degrees are more likely to be married than those without. It’s about a 10 percentage point difference, enough to make some difference in household formation. Eighty-eight percent of millennials are living in metropolitan areas, compared with about 60 percent of the silent generation. Having young, educated people moving in changes the economies of those metro areas and of the regions where they’re located.OUTLOOK: Is millennials’ concern for environmental and social issues having an impact on corporations?Dunne: Millennials want to invest in companies that have good records on ESG [environmental, social and governance] behaviors, and 60 percent say they’re willing to pay more, as investors and as consumers, if something is good for the environment. That compares with 34 percent of those age 55 and over. As millennials gain in wealth and invest more, the impact of those preferences is likely to intensify in the years to come.OUTLOOK: Millennials seem to be willing to work in nontraditional ways, often referred to as the “gig economy.” Is that having a major impact on the larger economy?Dunne: I think the importance of the gig economy has been overstated. During and after the recession, a lot of people were forced into the gig economy because they lost their jobs. It wasn’t about freedom from the workaday grind as much as it was about necessity, and several recent studies have shown that most people who are in the gig economy would rather have real jobs.Still, some millennial preferences really do support a move away from traditional ideas about working. Many of them came into the workforce as interns or in contingent arrangements, where loyalty is not a given on either side. They’ll leave a job if they’re not happy, and they don’t feel they have to be on a strict career path. For instance, my son is an educational consultant, and he chose a nontraditional career path as he now works in China because he likes being there. Access to the internet means he can do his job from almost anywhere.As millenials gain in wealth and invest more, the impact of those preferences is likely to intensify in the years to come.OUTLOOK: You mentioned that most people of this generation prefer to live in metro areas. How will that affect agriculture and other rural industries?Dunne: For now, urban living is this generation’s clear preference, which makes it an uphill battle to attract young people to rural areas or to keep them there. But if housing prices and rents in cities continue to rise, more millennials may think about exploring alternatives. And if they move to rural areas and if those areas have the broadband internet connections that are a must for millennials, then those places could gradually become more attractive as destinations for this generation.OUTLOOK: What do the leaders of corporate America still need to learn about this generation?Dunne: They need to know that these are people who can make real contributions. Millennials are innovative, they’re eager for change and they are willing to change jobs or move to a different part of the country if that’s in their best interest. They want to work for organizations that are more horizontal and promote communication and idea-sharing among workers. As this generation becomes a larger and larger part of the workforce, corporations are going to have to pay attention. I truly believe millennials will be disruptive in a good way.

Most people would do just about anything for a million dollars. Sure, a cool million isn’t what it used to be, but it is still a life changing sum of money that, if invested wisely, could reap a significant chunk of passive annual income spanning generations. The problem is, that human beings are impulsive creatures, and in this fast-paced world of cool consumerism, money has become an incredibly difficult thing for people to hold onto. In a culture where 70% of lottery winners end up going broke within 3 years, it’s apparent that many Americans struggle to cultivate a healthy relationship with money. Even if the average American was able to hold onto a significant portion of their salary, and modified their spending habits to consistently save money year after year, simply saving that money in a personal savings account would fall well short of the steps needed to ensure one’s needs were met throughout their retirement. A 2018 study found that 29% of baby boomers aged 65 to 72 were still working. According to a recent Transamerica survey, the median savings balance among baby boomers is a mere $144,000. It goes without saying, that even with an anticipated monthly Social Security payout of $1,300, $144,000 falls well short of providing any semblance of a comfortable retirement, given that the standard rule of thumb for determining a conservative retirement nest egg is to withdraw 4% annually over an estimated 20-year timeframe. I’m too lazy to do the math, but 4% of $144,000 might secure you four sold walls at a self-storage facility in Palm Springs. On a side note, I have seriously considered living in a storage locker for a brief period of time in my mid-twenties. I don’t understand why storage companies will not even consider the idea given this country’s current housing crisis.When assessing the future retirement outlook for Millennials, a recent survey by Get an email address at millman.com. It's ad-free, reliable email that's based on your own name | millman.com showed that 45% of Millennials don’t even have access to an employer sponsored retirement plan. According to conservative estimates, the average Millennial earning a median income will have to habitually save 9% of their salary pretax. While not unreasonable, the average person between the ages of 21 and 36 has the majority of his or her savings in cash. Any expert will adamantly explain that an individual will never be able to accumulate the money they need to retire without significant exposure to equities.Given the dismal financial outlook of current and future generations of Americans reaching retirement age, it might be important to understand a bit about how the richest 10% of Americans invest, store, transfer, and ensure generational longevity with their amassed wealth.While roughly 52% of Americans own some form of stock, 84% of stocks owned by US households are held by the wealthiest 10% of Americans. The top 10% of wealthy Americans have a minimum net worth of $2,079,069. One of the differences between the top 10% of wealthy Americans and the Baby Boomers with a meager $144,000 in retirement savings is the way in which the wealthy 10% make their money work for them. There are three investment strategies that, when employed in combination, create the potential for significant and guaranteed streams of passive income. So, what are three of the investment strategies the wealthiest 10% employ to ensure long term generational wealth? The typical investment portfolio of the average millionaire hitting retirement age is comprised of stable, high income yielding stocks(stocks that collectively realize a dividend of 4%), and at least one income generating property on top of their fully owned primary residence. And finally, the third piece of the generational wealth puzzle is to ensure privacy, ease of transfer, and a significantly lower tax burden by placing these appreciating assets in one or more trusts designed to guarantee longevity and outright control.Dividend Yielding StocksToday, there are over 3,671 domestic companies listed on US stock exchanges. These companies and their related stock can be casually split into two distinct categories.1) Growth Stocks2) Income Generating Stocks (stocks that pay a dividend)The average millionaire has 7 streams of passive income, and income generating stocks(stocks that pay a dividend) are one such vehicle that enables a steady and reliable rate of return. While growth stocks tend to be more glamorous (such as stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google), they choose to take their profits and use them to facilitate growth (i.e. increase stock price and market capitalization to secure quarterly bonuses). The way these companies generate growth is by investing the bulk of their profits into research, branding, and product development.Of all the so-called FAANG stocks(Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google), the most popular and well performing tech stocks, Apple is the only one that pays a dividend ($0.73/share). The way a company manages its money is, in simple terms, wholly dependent upon the evenly matched game of Tug-of-War waged by Democrats and Republicans in an effort to further their wealthy donors’ interests by continually amending the corporate tax law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Trump in 2017 lowered the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Corporate income tax still remains the third-largest source of federal revenue, though the 2017 law will save corporations $1.35 trillion over the next ten years. Various loopholes exist which are routinely exploited, permitting corporations like Amazon and Netflix to pay an effective tax rate of -1% and -3% respectively. That’s right. They pay zero Federal taxes.“The specter of big corporations avoiding all income taxes on billions in profits sends a strong and corrosive signal to Americans: that the tax system is stacked against them, in favor of corporations and the wealthiest Americans.” – Matthew Gardner, Senior Fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)I have included the preceding statistics and touched on the United States’ current corporate tax policy to further illustrate the means through which wealth is accumulated and retained via the oftentimes swift evolution of legislation that enables the rich to further distance themselves from the true pulse of the country.To further illustrate the gradual decline in the common man’s ability to invest in transparent and profitable ventures, consider the first recorded public company to offer a regular dividend: The Dutch East India Company. They offered a generous 18% annual dividend to their loyal shareholders for close to 200 years (1602 – 1800). Nowadays, the most reputable of dividend yielding stocks barely registers a return of 4%. In addition, 47% of stocks pay no dividend at all.Given the nature of, and the relatively low tax burden created by income generating dividends, it comes as no surprise that the wealthiest Americans take full advantage of what is truly a time-tested investment vehicle. In essence, investing in high yield dividend stocks generates virtually guaranteed long term residual income from a single injection of capital. In addition, the principal investment is subject to steady appreciation as a result of a continually increasing stock price, where the average historic increase in a given stock’s value is 7% annually (on top of a guaranteed income derived from dividends paying out at a rate of anywhere from 1% -9%)Dividend paying stocks are stable, time tested investment vehicles that still value the common investor in an age where the majority of corporations are opting to remain privatized, and those that do go public refrain from any form of profit sharing. Dividend paying stocks are, in many ways, a fading opportunity for consistent returns in an era dominated by rapid growth and market capitalization fueled by executives seeking bonuses for hitting a targeted price. Hardly anything is guaranteed nowadays.A company like Verizon pays a dividend of 4.2%. That means, for every $100,000 of shares owned, the shareholder will receive an annual dividend of $4,200. Additionally, the most reputable and stable of dividend paying companies routinely raise the dividend. AT&T, a direct competitor of Verizon, has consistently raised its dividend every year for the past 35 years. Their current dividend yield sits at 7%. That means for every $100,000 of shares owned, the shareholder would receive $7,000 in annual passive income.The stock portfolio of the average wealthy American is comprised almost entirely of dividend yielding “income generating” stocks. Using the top 10% of wealthy Americans as an example, if their net worth were $2,079,069, and using the median home value in the United States($320,000) as a reference, this would mean that barring any additional real estate holdings, which is unlikely, the top 10% of wealthy Americans have an average of $1.75 million invested in the stock market. It would be easy to create a diversified portfolio of dividend paying stocks with even a conservative yield of 5%. At that rate, $1.75 million would reap an annual passive income of around $88,000. Of course, many investors choose to reinvest this money into their portfolios and purchase more stock. This is known as dividend reinvestment, and is comparable to the benefits of compound interest.Real EstateAlong with investing in income generating stocks, wealthy Americans likewise invest heavily in real estate, which brings to mind another characteristic of the wealthiest 10%, the ability to secure loans and/or private capital. In our United States, access to capital is virtually endowed upon us by the founding fathers as a birthright. What does the pursuit of happiness even look like without the freedom provided through the ingenuity of the American capitalist? vThat freedom? Other people’s money. Why risk your own money when you can use someone else’s at no risk to your personal assets (one of the many benefits of forming your own corporation). Perhaps the most meaningful perk of the wealthiest 10% of Americans is the endless opportunity afforded through profiting off of other people’s millions. How many times has Donald Trump declared bankruptcy? He obviously did things right.In taking full advantage of the opportunity afforded through low interest loans or private capital, the most viable options for generating routine passive income come through investing in multi-unit residential properties or commercial land located in developing areas of the country (preferably with low property tax and rising property values, such as Nevada, Alabama, Louisiana, or West Virginia). Another alternative is to invest in what is known as a real estate investment trust. A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income producing real estate in a diversified portfolio that realizes a consistent return of anywhere from 5% - 10%. REITs own a large portfolio of commercial real estate, and share profits with shareholders in the form of dividends. Again, wealthy investors invest a principal amount and live solely on the quarterly “dividends”. However, there is no tactile ownership of physical property when investing in REITs, and therefore no realized appreciation other than the often times volatile fluctuation of the share price. REITs are considered a risky investment by most conservative analysts due to the historic ebb and flow of the real estate market. A 10% yield means nothing if the share price drops 90%.There is no greater asset than real estate. It serves as a reliable store of wealth with historic patterns of appreciation, and holds the greatest potential for long term security. There is a finite amount of available land. Its value is intrinsic, and less susceptible to the emotional whims and mass hysteria that can send a company’s share price plummeting. Land is THE appreciating asset with a value tied to scarcity due to an ever increasing demand.TrustsTo summarize, a well-balanced portfolio of dividend yielding stocks, along with a significant investment in diversified real estate holdings are two of the primary means of realizing generational wealth. However, no worthwhile estate is complete without its incorporation into a trust, particularly a dynasty trust with a primary purpose of protecting the future appreciation of any assets from repeated taxation. The main purpose of most trusts is to pass wealth between generations without incurring various forms of estate tax. Dynasty trusts have been a powerful tool to preserve and transfer the wealth of America’s richest families.In addition, when looking to maximize the financial benefits of a particular type of trust, an individual is free to set up a trust through a company that operates in a state with low taxes and strong asset protection laws. The trust is therefore tied to the laws of the state in which it was filed(created). Tennessee-chartered dynasty trusts are popular among the super-rich, as Tennessee consistently ranks as one of the most trust friendly states in the country due to its low taxes and strong asset protection laws. Any homeowner with reasonable equity and assets contained within an investment vehicle outside of a tax friendly retirement fund should consider a trust due to the constantly changing legislation governing probate.Trusts are the primary vehicle through which the super-rich preserve their assets for generations. Some states set limits on the length of time a trust can be in place, while other states allow some trusts to remain intact for upwards of 400 years. Imagine the amount of wealth that could be generated from even the most conservative of investment portfolios, all the while sustaining the lifestyle of generations of family members through income generating dividend stocks, while the principal sits untouched with permission to freely appreciate (relatively) tax-free for 400 years!A strong portfolio of appreciating assets that yield guaranteed income, along with the generational protection of a trust, are just a few of the strategies wealthy Americans employ when considering an unlimited array of investments.Most millionaires are painstakingly frugal, and seek to limit unnecessary expenditures whenever possible. Their lifestyle is made possible through a principal nest egg engineered to yield long term sustainable income. They live well within their means, and are wise enough not to showcase their wealth. “Have more than you show, speak less than you know.” It’s the motto they live by.To make a long story short, our system is designed to benefit the rich. Consider this. Why does the CEO of a publicly traded company opt to collect a modest salary and $3 million in exercisable stock options per year? The answer lies in the tax code, which is designed to benefit those individuals willing to faithfully invest in the ingenuity of the American capitalist. Long-term capital gains are taxed separately from one’s ordinary income, and ordinary income is taxed FIRST. In other words, long term capital gains and dividends(which are taxed at a maximum rate of 20%-22%) will not push an individual’s ordinary income into a higher tax bracket. A $3 million dollar salary would undoubtedly fall into the 50% tax bracket, whilst $3 million in stock options offered at a fraction of their real cost will only ever be subject to a maximum tax rate of 22%. Not only that, but stocks are an asset class that can be afforded a “step-up basis” when transferred to a living heir upon the principal’s death. In other words, the “cost” of the stock is “stepped up” to the value of an individual share at the date of death. No taxes are required on any appreciation up to that point. That’s quite a benefit, considering a relative could have held a given stock for 50 years and seen exponential growth during that time.If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that wealth is most commonly the result of a series of mindful, intentional acts. In other words, the biggest difference between a multi-millionaire business owner and a day laborer making minimum wage… is mindset. Some of you might argue with me and say that opportunity is the rare commodity that most people lack. I don’t disagree. But the best opportunities will never come knocking. Instead, they must be discovered. Knowledge is the greatest asset of all.It takes mindful action to set out and achieve anything worthwhile in this world. Success is a mindset, and is the product of a brand of effort forged through countless failures. The difference between most men and women is the quality of their mindset. Mindset cannot be bought. The value of this article will be measured by the quality and quantity of failures you will endure before stumbling upon your success. The goal is not to become a millionaire, it is to achieve wealth, and wealth is a mindset that can’t be bought.