What are Freedom Checks? How Do You Get Them?

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I’ve seen a lot of people mentioning Freedom Checks lately, so I thought I’d take a closer look.

Their website claims you can get checks for $24,075 … $66,570 … and even $160,923.

Apparently, there are a number of people who are already receiving these checks.

After looking at their website I didn’t understand how this could work or what is involved, so maybe you’re in the same position.

When you land on the FreedomChecks.com website you see the statement:

“designated entities” will begin paying out $34.6 billion to American Taxpayers in …

US Freedom Checks

Now, I don’t know about you but I want to know what these “designated entities” are and how do you get a slice of the $34 billion.

It all sounds too good to be true, so let’s see what’s involved.

Who are the owners of Freedom Checks.com?

The company behind Freedom Checks is Banyan Hill Publishing. Originally founded in 1998 as The Sovereign Society, they provide their readers with investment advice.

They have a team of experts in different fields of investment to provide readers with a wide range of investment opportunities.

So now we know that Banyan Hill Publishing provide investment advice, are Freedom Checks some sort of investment or the fruit of an investment? Let’s have a look!

What Are Freedom Checks?

When you land on the Freedom Checks.com website, there is a long video, presented by Matt Badiali. One of the Banyan Hill experts.

This is the type of video you often see on low-quality programs. You just want them to tell you how to get “Freedom Checks”. But they go on forever, showing examples such as

Lisa Luhrman — a 57-year-old in Tulsa, Oklahoma — is cashing in an even bigger check for $66,570…

and other similar examples just to keep you interested.

Why don’t they tell you clearly what you have to do to get Freedom Checks and what they are?

In my opinion, showing a video like this doesn’t encourage you to go any further with a product or program. You just want to stop the video and look for something that seems more genuine.

What You Learn From The Video

I sat through the video and to be honest didn’t learn a great deal.

The first thing you discover is the term “Freedom Check” is the name given to the checks by Matt Badiali.

To get the checks you have to take action today. Is this a pressure tactic or is there a real reason we need to take action today?

Some people seem to be getting these checks every month, others every week and others every 3 months. Why the difference?

You can sign up to get these checks regardless of age or income. You just have to decide how many Freedom Checks you want. Do we decide how many checks we want and sign up?

At the end of the video, these questions were largely unanswered.

You Will Be Buying Shares

Eventually, you do get a little info about the origin of the checks. It’s all about encouraging American companies to produce natural resources. So one-day perhaps the US will become self-sufficient!

Matt reveals that, due to “Statute 26-F,” the companies that issue these “Freedom Checks” can operate tax-free. However, they have to meet two requirements:

1. They must generate 90% of their revenue from the production, processing, storage, and transportation of natural resources in the United States…
2. Agree to pay out the lucrative “Freedom Checks” to shareholders, many of whom are collecting $124,000 … $266,000 … and as much as $643,000 each and every year.

So, in a nutshell, it looks like you will buy shares in some of these companies and will be paid dividends or “Freedom Checks”. You invest as much or a little as you like, even starting with as little as $10.

Next, come some pretty startling figures.

Matt compares “Freedom Checks” to some other investments (see below) of $1000 invested for 20 years and says you could get a return of 14,930% with “Freedom Checks”. Wow!

Apparently, Matt makes investment recommendations but before Mr. Bidiali recommends a company as an investment for Freedom Checks, the company has to comply with the 4 rules you can see below.

The video lasted for nearly 50 minutes and in the end, the only real information you get is that you will be investing in companies, selected by Matt Badiali, that have something to do with natural resources.

Is it necessary to have a video this long for these limited details?

A Short Video With The Information You Need

Wouldn’t it be great if Matt came out and stated clearly you would be investing in the stock market and you may make some money from dividends and capital growth but beware you could also lose your money.

Believe it or not, that is what he did.

After this long video, many people were still not sure what “Freedom Checks” were. So to his credit, Matt made the short video you can see below which explains simply and rapidly what a “Freedom Check” investment really is.

In 1 min 30 seconds, you get all the information you need without all the inflated examples. This video is much more helpful!

How “Freedom Checks” Work

Here he clearly states a “Freedom Check” is a dividend from one of two types of companies a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) or a Royalty Trust.

Both of these types of companies profit from tax advantages. They are not taxed at the corporate levels. Which means they can distribute a high level of their profits to their shareholders in the form of dividends.

It’s these dividends that Matt Badiali calls “Freedom Checks”.

There is more information from Matt Badiali about Freedom Checks here. It would be more useful and more interesting if information like this was included in the long sales video.

Is It Possible To Get These Big Checks?

Investing in these shares and getting giants checks is possible. Let’s use one of the examples given in the video to see how realistic it really is.

That’s what Doug Smith, a 46-year-old from Joplin, Missouri, basically did. And now he’s set to cash his $24,075 freedom check later this month…

To get a check of $24,000 you would have to invest $300,000 in stocks paying 8% dividends or $400,000 in stocks paying 6% dividends.

So “Freedom Checks” are technically possible providing you have sufficient money to invest.

Most of us will never be in a position to receive these checks!

Who Is This For?

If you have some spare cash then you could invest in these companies.

As you will be investing in the stock market there is a risk. I wouldn’t recommend investing anything if you can’t afford to lose the money.

As you have seen, to get the big checks that Matt Badiali talks about you will need to invest a lot of money.

Why The Name Freedom Checks?

Matt has given these dividends the name “Freedom Checks” because the companies:

• are involved in the energy business and help make America “a freer nation” (not so reliant on imports)
• the large returns they pay out help make Americans financially free

Why Invest in MLPs?

“Freedom Checks” is about investing in Master Limited Partnerships.

Here are some are some of the reasons given by Matt Badiali to consider this as a good investment:

• MLPs are not required to pay corporate taxes
• They provide attractive yields 4%- 6% sometimes as high as 10%
• Often involved in industries like pipelines or refining which are considered low risk and can earn income from long-term contracts
• Oil and gas prices are volatile, companies involved in transporting or refining will get paid regardless of the prices
• Monthly or quarterly dividends
• Not taxed – the dividends are treated as a return of capital and not income
• When you sell MLPs they are taxed at the lower capital gains rate
• You can purchase MLPs in the same way as ordinary shares

This list makes buying MLPs sound interesting but always get your own personal advice from a professional. I have read elsewhere that each unitholder is responsible for paying their share of the partnership’s income taxes which could get complicated.

Why Does Matt Promote Freedom Checks?

The long video about “Freedom Checks” is an elaborate sales pitch to get you to sign up for a subscription to Real Wealth Strategist. A publication that will give you tips on what stocks to buy, at what price and when to sell.

They use pressure tactics to encourage you to sign up right away.

• Only 1,000 memberships available today
• You could make $1,000, $10,000 or $100,000. But to claim your full share, you must get started today!
• But you must act now if you want to start collecting your checks next month.

These sort of tricks are often used by dubious programs.

The very large “Freedom Checks” shown in the video are checks that the ordinary investor will never receive. The crazy returns on your money are simply shown to a sell a Real Wealth Strategist subscription.

What’s The Cost?

As the freedomchecks.com website is all about selling subscriptions let’s look at the prices.

There are 3 subscription rates:

• Premium $79 – digital and print version plus bonuses
• Deluxe $129 – digital and print version
• Standard $47 – digital

Not too expensive if you are getting some good info but the subscriptions have an auto-renewal feature. The current renewal price for Real Wealth Strategist is $97 per year. There is also another publication included, The Bauman Letter that renews at $79 per year.

You can cancel the auto-renewal feature by contacting Banyan Hill Publishing.

There is a 12-month guarantee, which is nice to see, but it might be unnecessary if the video was more honest.

What Do The Readers Of Real Wealth Strategist Think?

The BBB.org have a few complaints – some about the information subscribers receive, some about the excessive number of emails they get to invest in other newsletters and others about the problems people have contacting customer service.

There are also a couple of positive reviews.

The Stock Gumshoe website has a rating of 3 stars out of 5 from subscribers of Real Wealth Strategist. There is also a comments thread that anyone interested in subscribing should read first.

Bottom Line

I wouldn’t describe this as a scam but it is misleading. The long video has one goal, to get you to subscribe to a newsletter.

Matt calls these checks “Freedom Checks”. Usually, they are known as dividends (as he makes clear in the second video).

He says you can sign up to get these checks. The reality is you will need to invest to get these checks.

To get the checks the size of the examples he gives, you would have to invest a fortune.

All you’re buying is a subscription to the Real Wealth Strategist newsletter where you will get tips on which stocks to buy and when to sell. Should you trust the investment advice from someone who has misled you in a long video?

Why don’t they advertise Real Wealth Strategies honestly as a publication giving investment tips?

The long video with the excessive returns people are getting is deceptive. Although investing in MLPs and Royalty Trusts could be an interesting investment, I doubt you will make the returns Matt talks about in the video.

My advice is to only invest money you can afford to lose. Be cautious because it’s ultimately a gamble, you might make money but you could lose your investment, nothing is guaranteed.

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If you’ve had any experience with “Freedom Checks”, investing in MLPs or the Real Wealth Strategist newsletter let us know in the comments area below.