Wade Borth - Sage Wealth Strategy

Wade uses his annual ritual of winterizing his North Dakota property to frame how he thinks about financial preparation. He walks through three client conversations from the past week: a retiree using life insurance as a permission slip to spend, a client turning a 401(k) RMD into a tax-free legacy, and a couple weighing long-term care coverage, then makes the case for disability insurance. He clo...

Wade wraps up his review of The Richest Man in Babylon, covering chapters eight through the end. He pulls out lessons on taking responsibility for your circumstances, choosing a simple framework over more information or another product, and doing the work now so you're prepared when opportunity shows up. He closes with a reminder that you'll end up exactly where you're headed unless you change cou...

Wade opens a book study on The Richest Man in Babylon, a nearly hundred-year-old book his agency is reading together, and walks through the first half's core lessons on saving, protecting capital, and controlling your own banking function. He explains why high income rarely equals real financial control, why guarding against loss matters more than chasing returns, and how the ancient walls of Baby...

Wade opens up about the real reason he's in the life insurance business: providing liquidity at the time of death, and every day before it. He traces that mission back to 1981, when his father died suddenly and a banker's advice to drop an "expensive" life insurance policy left the family with no death benefit and no liquidity. A farm auction, a sale bill a family friend recently rediscovered, and...

Wade Borth marks the 200th episode of the podcast by bringing on Mike Brevik of Cyberdogz Marketing, the guest who first pushed him to hit record. Together they look back at what actually changed since episode one and look ahead to the next 100 episodes, where liquidity, preparedness, and adapting fast take center stage.   Key Takeaways Stop waiting for the perfect version of anything. The episode...

Executive Summary An article pitting Bill Bengen's revised 4.7% withdrawal rate against Suze Orman's 3% rule sent Wade Borth down a different road this episode. Rather than picking a side, he asks why anyone would build a retirement plan on a rule that only claims a 90% chance of success. His answer starts with rejecting scarcity thinking and becoming your own fiduciary. Key Takeaways Bill Bengen'...

Executive Summary Wade Borth revisits Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrants and picks up a thread the book never finishes: every quadrant, employee, self-employed, business owner, or investor, still depends on a bank. Wade argues the real shift isn't earning more new money, it's taking permanent control of the old money already flowing through your life. He lays out how a properly structured whole...

Summary Recorded from the lake, Wade Borth uses a fishing analogy to talk about goal-setting and purpose: you won't catch fish by dropping the boat in the water and drifting, you have to start the motor and steer toward a specific spot. The same is true for financial and professional success. Wade explains why so many agents and clients have never been asked to define success, encourages listeners...

Summary Wade Borth is recording from the lake this week, and it gets him thinking about purpose, patience, and where people store their money. He shares a story about fishing with his son Josh and compares the pressure to fish once you've made the trip to the pressure people feel to invest cash the moment it's sitting in a bank account. Wade introduces the "boat lift" analogy: money in a properly...

SUMMARY Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant maps out four types of people in the money game: employees, self-employed workers, business owners, and investors. It's a powerful framework, but Wade Borth argues it's missing one critical player: the banker. In this episode, Wade breaks down who actually controls the money game. No matter which quadrant someone occupies, they all need access to liquidi...

Summary Wade Borth takes listeners inside a recent Tough Money live event, using real data to show what financial life actually looks like for a top 10% household earning $150,000 per year. The numbers may surprise you, starting with the size of the average family's liquidity bucket. The episode builds to a direct challenge: if you are already aware of the problem, if you have been educated on sol...

Summary Most people know Medicare costs money in retirement, but few understand how much their income level affects what they actually pay. In this episode, Wade Borth unpacks IRMAA, the income-related surcharge that can quietly add $162 to $650 or more per month to your Medicare premiums, depending on what you earn. Wade walks through who gets hit, what counts as income in the calculation (includ...

Summary This is part 3 of our series. What if your quarterly tax bill could become a retirement engine? In this episode, Wade sits down with Rohit Punyani, founder of The Owner's Asset, to unpack the pension strategy most business owners and their advisors overlook. The conversation covers the sequence of financial planning, the psychology of guaranteed income, and how to combine IBC with a define...

Summary In part 1 Wade Borth and Rohit Punyani, founder of The Owner's Asset, explore how small business owners can use a cash balance plan to capture six-figure tax deductions while building a seven-figure guaranteed retirement. Rohit walks through the two schools of retirement thought, the mechanics of a pension compared to a 401(k), and the compelling opportunity to purchase whole life insuranc...

Summary Most business owners know that taxes are their biggest expense. Fewer know there is a legal, IRS-approved way to redirect that money into a guaranteed retirement asset. In this episode, Wade sits down with Rohit Punyani of The Owner's Asset to walk through cash balance plans, the modern business owner's version of a pension. Rohit explains how owners with active income can take deductions...

Episode Summary In this episode of Wade Borth Podcast, Wade Borth and Beth Reich tackle one of the most common reactions people have when they first hear about Infinite Banking and whole life insurance strategies: "This sounds too good to be true." Wade breaks down why skepticism around alternative financial strategies is natural, while also challenging listeners to examine the traditional banking...

Episode Summary In this episode of the Wade Borth Podcast, Wade Borth sits down with assistant Beth Reich to tackle one of the most common reactions people have when hearing about Infinite Banking and whole life insurance strategies: "This sounds like a scam." Through an open and candid conversation, Wade explains why skepticism often comes from misunderstanding how whole life insurance works, the...

Summary What would happen if $5 million suddenly landed in your bank account today? Would it change your life for the better—or quietly destroy it? In this episode, Wade Borth explores a powerful and often overlooked truth: money doesn't create success—it amplifies who you already are. Without the right mindset, habits, and financial framework, even large sums of money can disappear quickly, leavi...

🎙️ Episode Summary Have you ever felt like everyone else is getting the best investment opportunities — except you? Market downturns happen. Crypto dips. Real estate deals surface. And somehow… you're watching from the sidelines. In this episode, Wade Borth explains why. It's not because others have a secret playbook. It's not because you're not smart enough. It's not even about access. It's about...

🎙️ Episode Summary In this deeply personal episode, Wade Borth clarifies what he really means by "liquidity." After releasing a previous episode on burn rate and days of liquidity, someone asked him a simple question: "What's liquidity?" That question sparked this conversation. Liquidity isn't jargon. It's simple: Do you have enough cash — or access to cash — to sleep at night? Wade shares the sto...

🎙️ Episode Summary In this episode, Wade Borth breaks down a powerful yet surprisingly simple framework to eliminate financial pressure: understanding your burn rate and calculating your days of liquidity. Instead of complex financial strategies, Wade focuses on clarity through simplicity. By knowing exactly how much you spend daily and how much accessible cash you have, you can determine how many...

Episode Summary In this episode of The Wade Borth Podcast, Wade Borth and frequent guest David Zapata recap their experience attending the Nelson Nash Institute Think Tank in Birmingham, Alabama — a gathering of Infinite Banking Concept (IBC) practitioners focused on preserving Nelson Nash's legacy and advancing financial education. Rather than discussing tactics alone, the conversation explores d...

Summary   In the final episode with Wade, Todd, and David, the conversation shifts from philosophy to history and mentorship. Wade asks what has changed in the financial industry over the past several decades and what hasn't. Todd reflects on the early days before computers, the impact of mentors like Norman Baker, the myth of "deals" in insurance, and the importance of integrating tools—not repla...

Summary  In part two, Todd shares the essential ideas he believes every advisor and client should understand: the difference between savings and investments, why life insurance belongs in the "certainty asset" category, how cash protects against both gray and black swan events, and why net worth isn't the real target—cash flow and distribution are. The trio explores asset sequence, liquidity, and...

Summary  In part one of this three-part conversation, Wade Borth sits down with Todd Langford and David Zapata — two thinkers who have been reshaping how advisors and clients approach money. Together they break down why most financial decisions are emotional rather than mathematical, why small behavioral shifts create massive compounding effects over time, and why understanding your relationship w...