[Vegas69]

It seems the best things in life are fairly simple and Whole Life isn't. Have you noticed how complicated that product is? The fact of the matter is that you can get term life for pennies on the dollar to protect your family. The more I researched Whole Life, the more I hated it!

Just to clarify my thought process, I'm 39 and 100% debt free including my house. If I kick the bucket, my family will be doing alright with our current net worth and my 20 year term life policy. If I live to be 79 which is roughly the average life expectancy of an American these days, I've paid a whole life insurance premium every month for 40 years that I don't need!!! Let's call that $100,000 in premiums for round numbers. Clearly that gets invested plus the cash value monthly amount. in my case, it was another $400 roughly for principal.

The best Whole Life policies will get you 5% on your money if you keep them FOREVER. They are so loaded up with commissions and fees the first 10 years, that you will be in the hole in most cases at that point. Many policies also surrender your cash value for the insurance amount. Your family doesn't keep both. Lastly, for you to get your money tax free, you have to BORROW your own money with interest which offsets the death benefit! Bull f#@#@#

Let's say you invest the premium amount of $200 plus the $400 in cash value you were creating in stocks, index fund, or mutual fund at 8% for 30 years. Drum roll.... You end up with over twice $$$$$! I'm talking $500,000 more! The power of compounding isn't a gradual ladder. Compounding at 8% is stronger than 5%.

Now, I'm not saying there aren't times when people SHOULD keep Whole Life. Especially if your health has declined since you got the polices or you are getting old enough where term insurance is hard to get. In my case, I aggressively paid off debt over the last 3-4 years and it eliminated the need for the extra insurance. With that being said, I would've been better off with term from the start and investing my money in a higher return vehicle.
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One thing I recently learned is that 96% of mutual funds under perform the S&P 500. The Index funds I've seen, out perform it slightly due to dividends.

You make a good point. You get the whole ball of wax instead of hand picking the best companies. I think I'll move forward with both strategies and see where they get ME in 5-10 years. I enjoy the individual stock investing.