For a million-dollar whole life insurance policy, let’s say you pay $200 (a conservative number) for your monthly premium. For that same amount of term life insurance, you’d pay $10. Why? Because $190 of that whole life premium goes toward a cash value savings account attached to your life insurance policy. And you pay that pricey premium for the rest of your life (long after anyone depends on your income).

To see what it would cost you for a term life versus whole life insurance policy, use the free tool below! 

Cash value accounts average a 1–3% return on your investment. That's a terrible growth rate for a longterm investment! You’re way better off getting a million-dollar term life policy and using the $190 you save per month to invest in good growth stock mutual funds, which average a 10–12% return on your investment.



Paying a life insurance agent to invest your money (instead of an actual financial planner) is like paying a pastry chef to fix your private jet (a crash and burn). Spoiler alert: Legit financial planners won’t recommend whole life insurance. Only whole life agents posing as financial planners sell this kind of crappy financial product.

When you get life insurance tied to an investment savings account, guess how much it makes over the first three years? If you said “zero dollars,” give yourself a high five. Any growth gets eaten up in fees by the insurance company in the first few years.

And when you finally do start growing cash value, guess what happens if you actually want to use any of it? While you might not pay fees up front, you do have to pay the money back with interest. It’s basically a fee by another name.


You only need life insurance while someone in your life depends on your income. So if you decide to cancel your whole life policy because you realize you don’t actually need life insurance you whole life? You’ll get hit with—wait for it—more fees.

When you have a million-dollar policy (whether term life or whole life) your beneficiary gets the million dollars if you die.

But if you have a whole life policy and the cash value grows to $200,000, what happens to that savings account if you die? The life insurance company might just keep it. (Gross.) Depending on the policy, only you can use the cash value (or prevent forest fires). So you have to use it while you’re alive—and get hit with fees in the process.