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you are the right course in my view. you understand it was a mistake to purchase but need to make the most of the situation. you should ask for in force illustrations yearly (which they must provide if you request) to track your progress. dont fall for any sales pitches though I'd love to surrender...

Portfolio is 100% tax advantaged. By going with a surrender, about 12k, roughly, would be taxed as income. I agree, that this product is not desirable for me, but at this point I'm going to stay the course and let the dividends pay the premiums. I find this be a frustrating outcome, but it is what i...

Perhaps my plan is rather simplistic. Saving the max in mine and wife's 401k and maxing our Roth space yearly (41k space), and investing in low cost index funds according to my asset allocation plan (80% equities, 30% of which is international, 20% bond, using Schwab ETFs available in Roth and prima...

Also, I don't understand most of what you are speaking about. Save early, save often, and look to minimize compounding fees makes sense to me. I'm not the brightest guy investment-wise, but I can appreciate a simplistic, broad approach and feel comfortable as I understand it (and lack the time to ac...

By the way, just to be super clear here, Term insurance and Permanent products are both good products in my book. I'm not going to be "that guy" who tells you to only own one, because they both have appropriate uses. What, exactly , are the appropriate uses for whole life insurance for &q...

By the way, just to be super clear here, Term insurance and Permanent products are both good products in my book. I'm not going to be "that guy" who tells you to only own one, because they both have appropriate uses. What, exactly , are the appropriate uses for whole life insurance for &q...

Agreed. Cheap term and self insuring is the way for me. These policies weren't my purchase choice. They are very confusing indeed,and go against my rule of not investing unless I have understanding of the product.

Thanks to all for the considerate replies, this has been helpful. Like most things finance-wise, I'm going to "stay the course" by continuing to pay down the $30k mortgage. We are going to free up some cash flow, and will hopefully pull in the payoff date to early 2013.

Keep those whole life policies. Never buy new whole life as an investment, but policies as old as yours are a good investment in today's market. Up-front sales loads have long since been paid and your total effecitive rate of return (as a living investment) is between 5% and 8%. I recommend not tak...

One more thought, once you get the second mortage paid off you will be getting close to the 20% equity mark that would allow you to refinance get the best mortage rates. It might worth focusing on that even if it meant cutting back some on some of your retirment savings for a year or two. Based on ...

To cut to the chase, I'm looking at three options. If you have paid off cars that are worth a fair amount then I would add a fourth option. This would be to get car loans at a much lower interest rate and use that money to pay the second mortage off or at least pay it down. PenFed has them as low a...

Thanks all. I'll post an update after I receive the IF Illustrations. As far as mortgage payoff is concerned, I'm likely on an 17 month timetable for the 10% @ $30k, starting March 2013. In addition, adding $500k of term will cost ~$300/year versus my current policy. I'll likely consider doing this ...

Term isn't with NWM, luckily. Thanks, I'll ask for both of those illustrations.

Thanks for the insight regarding tax rates. Income is less desirable, obviously. I don't currently have plans to leave behind wealth, though I can't say how I will feel in many years. At present, I feel it best for one to make their way in life. Dividends were used for PUAs for many years, until 1.5...

Forgot to add, but I will be discussing with my agent any tax implications of surrendering. I believe that part of this MAY be taxable (I.e. more cash value than premiums paid), but I'm not sure at this point. I believe the taxable portion, if any, will be small enough so as to not impact my decision.

Hello all, After being "loose" :oops: with my finances for six or so years, my wife and I have been on a mission to pay down debt and build our portfolio. In calendar 2012, we paid down a bit less than $40k in debt principal (student loans, small credit debt, car, etc.). We are 30/28 years...