The 1 bad, 1 neutral, and 1 good thing you can do with your money...

Originally Posted by sandalwood

Rob,
Hence buy term and invest the difference is the worst advice I know of.

Tom,

Thanks for your reply and I'm not arguing here either. There are many financial products out there and several (not all.... lol) have a valid use and audience. Maybe my issue with you classifying this as the worst advice could be differing definitions of "invest the difference". In my definition, anything not spent on the term insurance become available to the use in the rest of the plan (which could include an annuity or anything else you might be recommending). I just mentioned a few of my other choices (like company matched 401k) but not my entire financial plan (which I'm sure has some gaps as well).

So, how does term help me if I survive a heart attack? It doesn't because it is not designed to help in the least for that scenario and wasn't purchased to fill that gap. However, in an equally undesirable event (my death during a critical 20 year period of my income contribution to my dependents) it is an excellent affordable tool. This is just one of the many tools I use and doesn't mean I ignore the others.

Thanks,
Rob Yaggie