Dave Ramsey Shares the One Financial Product That Just Isn’t Worth It (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 funds Dave Ramsey recommends? ›

Pick the right mix of mutual funds.

That's why you should spread your investments equally across four types of mutual funds: growth and income, growth, aggressive growth, and international.

For every $100 you invest in whole life insurance, the first $5 goes to purchasing the insurance itself; the other $95 goes to the cash value buildup from your investment, Ramsey says. But for about the first three years, your money goes to fees alone. Someone is making out, and it's not your beneficiary.

Any permanent life insurance policy with a cash value can be used to invest — but for most people, it isn't the best strategy due to high costs and low returns. Buying a term life policy and contributing to a 401(k) or IRA account is often a better option.

It's also worth noting that cash value will not build up quickly. It may take 10 years or longer before your policy is worth enough for you to reap the benefits. Additionally, the cash value of some policies will revert to the insurance company upon your death.

There's an 80-20 rule for money Dave Ramsey teaches which says managing your finances is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge. This 80-20 rule also applies to constructing a healthy life. Personal wellness is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent knowledge.

But every type of whole life insurance has the same problems—they combine life insurance with some kind of savings or investment account that comes with low returns and high fees. The result—you don't get the life insurance coverage you really need or build the savings you expected.

Suze Orman recommends that generally most people should get a 20 year term life insurance policy at 20 times your annual income. What does that mean? That means if you're 30 years old and you make $50,000 a year you should get a million dollar 20 year term life insurance policy.

A more complex product than term life insurance. Higher premiums than term life insurance. Could be costly if coverage lapses early.

Life insurance may not be worth if you have no dependents, if you have a tight budget, or if you have other plans for providing for them after your death.

Is life insurance worth it after 60? ›

The bottom line. Life insurance is a smart idea for most seniors. That's especially the case if you have a spouse, lack plans to cover end-of-life costs or don't have a long-term care insurance policy. The simple fact is that just about everyone has someone who loves them, depends on them or both.

One reason why the wealthier may consider purchasing life insurance has to do with taxation. Tax law grants tax benefits to life insurance premiums and proceeds, affording asset protection in the process. The proceeds of life insurance are also tax-free to the beneficiary.

However, a 401(k) typically makes more sense as your primary retirement income because it's more affordable and offers better returns than a LIRP or other types of life insurance.

If you need cash and want to take it from your life insurance policy, you typically have four options: withdraw, borrow, surrender, or sell. Here's an overview of each option along with the pros and cons you want to consider.

A typical life settlement is worth around 20% of your policy value, but can range from 10-25%. So for a 100,000 dollar policy, you would be looking at anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 dollars.

I put my personal 401(k) and a lot of my mutual fund investing in four types of mutual funds: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and international.

The Four Fund Combo is built on four index funds (or exchange-traded funds) that include the most basic U.S. equity asset classes: large-cap blend stocks (the S&P 500 SPX, +0.27%, in other words), large-cap value stocks, small-cap blend stocks, and small-cap value stocks.

The 4% rule limits annual withdrawals from your retirement accounts to 4% of the total balance in your first year of retirement. That means if you retire with $1 million saved, you'd take out $40,000. According to the rule, this amount is safe enough that you won't risk running out of money during a 30-year retirement.

Simply put, the Four Walls are the most basic expenses you need to cover to keep your family going: That's food, utilities, shelter and transportation.