Years ago, I also learned firsthand the fallacy of “buy term and invest the difference.” On paper it looks appealing—but in reality: Term insurance builds no equity and no certainty, and it is over at
the end of the term’s time limit. Few policies ever pay a claim. Costs skyrocket as you age.
The stock market can erase decades of savings in one correction. I believed in this strategy for a time in my life until it bit me personally. That experience forever changed how I have guided others with this
limited financial strategy. Personal Experience
In 1989, I purchased a Universal Life policy for just $50 per month. Like many, I believed I was making a wise, long-term investment. Over time, I increased my premiums, eventually paying $400 a month simply to keep the policy from collapsing. Then, in 2012, I received a letter that stunned me: unless I increased my payments to $1,000 a month, my policy would expire in two years. By 2016, the same company told me I’d need to pay over $2,100 monthly to maintain coverage until age 85. And because I was now uninsurable, I couldn’t even switch policies. My only option was to reduce the death benefit. This is the trap so many people fall into with “buy term and invest the difference” strategies. It is a “bull shift” philosophy. Chapter Five will explain the “Why.” Challenge to Conventional Wisdom Traditional thinking has failed countless families and will do so for many, many more. Much of what is taught in the financial services industry is based on projections, assumptions, and outdated models. Advisors often use “wisdom,” but I discovered it was simply groupthink. When I began questioning these ideas, I realized I was swimming against the current. Yet, as I studied further, the truth became clear—and liberating. There is a saver, a proven, and tax-advantaged way to build wealth that most of the 950,000 financial advisors in North America—and even the largest
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