We received several hundred correct entries to last week’s blog contest and the five randomly picked winners are listed below, along with the details of a NEW contest I’m holding.

You could win an iPod Touch, $100 Amazon.com gift certificate, a $25 dining Certificate and more!

In case you missed last week’s contest, I had posted a podcast discussing some of the internet forums where people anonymously debate the merits of Bank On Yourself and discuss whether or not it’s a scam.

On one of those threads that comes up very high in the search results, one of my toughest, potty-mouthed critics has slowly come around and admitted I’m right about many of the points I’ve been making.

When challenged by another poster about the actual returns people get in the stock market, he dragged out 29 years of records of his own investing accounts, and was shocked to discover what his returns had actually been.

The contest was simple to enter – just listen to the podcast where I revealed what my critic discovered was his actual annual rate of return BEFORE accounting for inflation and taxes… and then tell us what the percentage was.

Since the contest has ended, I can reveal the answer now.  My critic averaged a 4.5% annual return over the past nearly three decades of investing in the stock market.

That’s BEFORE accounting for inflation, which averaged more than 3% per year, bringing his real return down closer to 1% per year.

And since much of his investing has been in tax-deferred accounts, he has yet to pay taxes on that money.  Of course, he doesn’t know what the tax rates will be during his retirement, when he’s taking income from those accounts.

But what direction do you think tax rates will be going over the long term?  (If you said “down,” I’ve got a Rolex watch I’ll sell you for $20.)

When you account for inflation and taxes, the question that ought to hit you over the head is…

Was it worth it?!?

Was it worth all the roller-coaster ups and downs and the sleepless nights to get 4.5% per year before taxes and inflation?

As I pointed out in the podcast, Bank On Yourself can beat that with a stick.   And without the risk or volatility of traditional investments.

My critic’s experience wasn’t unique, although I’ll commend him for actually looking at his statements and then being willing to admit publicly – if anonymously – his disappointing results.

One subscriber to the Bank On Yourself blog made a similar discovery and posted this comment on last week’s blog:

Wow. I had the exact same experience when investigating Bank On Yourself before starting my own plans (have multiple policies and am LOVING the results – exactly as predicted or better, no surprises and I sleep well at night). I made the same Google search and spent hours poring over the posts. What struck me was that nobody ever presented any evidence of any kind of scam. Some folks disagreed with the assumptions or touted their wildly inaccurate assumptions about equities as a more attractive alternative, but never did anyone have anything remotely scam-ish to report.”

This comment came from Dan Proskauer, a very analytical man who has spent literally hundreds of hours researching Bank On Yourself, running spreadsheets and crunching the numbers.

He says the Bank On Yourself method looks better the more he studies it.  Dan revealed the conclusions of his research in an interview I did with him last year.  I’d encourage you to read or listen to it.

And this concise comment made last week by a subscriber named John really summed up what a lot of people are (finally) figuring out…

I LOVE my Bank On Yourself plan, it does everything I was promised and more. I’ve not borrowed a penny from a bank or credit card in over a year. Why should I? I lend it to myself! And if you want a scam, I have two words for you … Wall Street”

Now for the details of our NEW contest…

A comment was made on the same thread that debates the merits of Bank On Yourself that it essentially works the same as a savings account, but with the added advantage of having a death benefit.  This statement really got me thinking.

While there certainly are some ways in which Bank On Yourself-type policies function like a savings account, I can think of a lot of major, critical differences.

But rather than me telling you what those differences are, I’d rather hear what you believe they are.  And some of our subscribers are a whole bunch smarter than I am.

So, I’m holding another contest, and our team will pick the five best answers and award a top prize of an iPod Touch (a $229.00 value), a second prize of a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate, and three runner-up prizes that will give you a choice of a $25 dining gift certificate or a personally autographed copy of my best-selling book for you or to give to someone you care about.

Just answer the following question in the comments box below no later than midnight, Monday, October 3:

The contest question is:  How is dividend-paying whole life insurance different from a savings account (besides the death benefit)?

You can address one or more differences, or comment on someone else’s response to qualify.

And if you think I’m “full of it,” feel free to tell us that, too.  (Some of our subscribers don’t seem to need any encouragement to do that…)

We’ll circle back here next week to report on the contest results and winners.

To qualify, just type in your response in the comments box at the end of this post no later than midnight, Monday, October 3rd.  Please note that all comments are moderated, so there will be some delay before it appears.  (Sorry – open to U.S. residents only.)

And now for the winners of last week’s contest.  As I mentioned, we received hundreds of entries with the correct answer by both email and via the blog comments.  These five randomly chosen winners have all been notified by email:

$100 Amazon.com gift certificate – Sheri Browning

The four winners of the $25 dining gift certificate or autographed book – Jeannie Fisher, Kevin Caldwell, Lynne, and Rich Rhoads

Okay!  Scroll down to the comments box and enter the contest…