Why Is Dave Ramsey Against Whole Life Insurance? 
Dave Ramsey 's concept is that you should buy term and invest the difference . Since term insurance is less expensive initially , investing the difference in cost between term insurance and whole life insurance you will receive a greater return . In principle and theory he is right . In actual practice , statistics show that people buy term with this in mind but do not follow through on the investment portion . The result is that people are left with no insurance in their later years , because term insurance premiums increase in later years and become unaffordable . Often they end up with less savings than they would have had if they had purchased whole life . When you consider the tax friendliness of whole life , probate avoidance , and other factors Whole Life often in reality comes out on top . Dave Ramsey 's concept is not new , it has been around since A.L. Williams in the early 1980 's . Unless a person is extremely disciplined and has enough liquid cash flow , the concept of buy term and invest the difference has historically not worked for most people . Life happens , emergencies come up , expenses rise and the investment part of the plan is put on the back burner . I know some of my colleagues will disagree with me . They point to numbers on illustrations that look good in theory . I am not saying the concept wo n't work . I am pointing out the reality that unless a person truly follows through on the plan , historically it has n't for many . I see too many people end up with no insurance in their later years when they need it most . You should have at least a solid base of Whole Life . Life Insurance is not a good investment in fact it is not an investment . It is a good semi-compulsory way to save money for a later date while at the same time providing an immediate estate should you die too soon . 