Life insurance is a valuable asset to have for wealth protection, yet did you know it can also be an efficient savings account? With the right type of insurance, you can have a cash value account that is part emergency fund and part opportunity fund. Or, as we call it, an emergency/opportunity fund.
While most people—especially those with new families—are taught to buy term insurance as a safety net of sorts, life insurance has the potential to be so much more. One whole life insurance illustration that I think is particularly helpful is comparing whole life to gardening.
Saving Money Takes Patience
When you garden, much of the work is upfront, with little to no immediate reward. It requires thoughtfulness, time, and attention to start a garden. If you’re growing vegetables in your garden, you’re probably going to spend time and resources making garden beds, attending to the soil, and strategizing how you’ll arrange your plants.
Then, once the major work is done, you can operate a bit more like you’re on autopilot. You show up, water your plants, and you wait. There’s not much excitement for a long while—just patience and a commitment to the habit of tending your garden. Then one day, you have ripe vegetables, and you get to enjoy them!
Saving money, particularly into whole life insurance, works in a very similar way. You do the work of applying for a policy up-front. You take a free health exam, fill out a questionnaire, and see what insurance you’re entitled to. (Working with an agent means you can get help with this process!) Then comes the long game: you pay your premiums diligently. Your cash value may accrue slowly in the beginning, yet the habit of paying premiums is critical. Then one day, your cash value is suddenly MORE than you’ve paid into it, and you get to enjoy the work you’ve put in.
Whole Life Insurance is an Emergency Fund AND an Opportunity Fund
Among the MANY reasons we appreciate whole life insurance, and advocate for it as a savings vehicle, is because it allows you to live in the house of “both.” In other words, having whole life insurance prevents you from having to CHOOSE. With most typical savings accounts or methods, when you liquidate that money, you only get to use it once. So, many people are stuck choosing between spending the money on emergencies OR opportunities. Yet because whole life insurance has a loan provision, you can use your cash account without liquidating it.
This means you can use your money while it grows! And as you pay back your loan, you get access to that money all over again. This gives you the flexibility to use and reuse your money without starting from ground zero all over again.
You might still be wondering how gardening is helpful as a whole life insurance illustration, and the answer is simple! When you garden, you also get to live in the house of both! Some people garden to enjoy beautiful flowers. Others garden to grow their own food (and save some money on groceries). Fortunately, you can garden in any way that works for you personally, without limiting your future options. Planting one type of seed doesn’t limit you from planting another type.
We love the freedom and flexibility of whole life insurance AND gardening!
Being in a Position of Cash Gives You Peace of Mind
When you garden, you can grow an abundance of food for yourself and others. In my own garden, I usually grow much more than Todd and I can eat. Having this abundance allows us to share and give freely with our family and neighbors. It also helps us to know that in an “emergency,” we’d have access to fresh food. And for the savvy gardeners, you may even choose to can and preserve your surplus to have food for the future.
Whole life insurance also provides a certain peace of mind. In general, having cash helps you feel more stable in your day-to-day life. You know that your needs AND desires are covered when you have an emergency/opportunity fund to fall back on. Furthermore, you can be confident that you won’t lose money, even if you use money (barring a withdrawal, that is). Mutual insurance companies must have money to pay claims in full, so they operate on significant reserves.
Perhaps best of all is that with whole life insurance, your cash value grows each year. While your premium payments contribute to this increase, you also earn a guaranteed dollar amount each year, as well as non-guaranteed dividends. So with whole life insurance, you can be confident that you’re also growing your funds at a steady pace, with certainty you can’t find in the stock market.
From Whole Life Illustration to Application: What Do You Want From Your Life Insurance?
For the reasons listed above, we think whole life insurance is one of the best places to save your money. While it takes some patience, it’s certain, secure, and reliable. The same can’t always be said for typical savings accounts or CDs. And certainly, the same can’t be said for investments in the stock market. Sometimes slow and steady DOES win the race.
As you make choices about where and how to save your money, consider whether or not it’s like a garden. Do steady habits create powerful results? Can your results help you in emergencies or moments of opportunity? Can you be confident in the results?
If you’d like to get started on your savings journey today, we’d love to help. You can reach out to us here, or email your questions directly to welcome@prosperitythinkers.com. We’d love to be a part of your savings journey, and help you buy whole life insurance.
