I spent two weeks reading everything I could find about term vs whole life insurance and I want to share the plain-language summary.

Term life insurance: pure death benefit for a fixed period (10, 20, or 30 years). Premiums are low because most policyholders outlive the term. A healthy 30-year-old can get $500k of 20-year coverage for roughly $25-30/month.

Whole life insurance: permanent coverage with a 'cash value' component that grows over time. Premiums are 10-20x higher than equivalent term coverage. The cash value grows slowly and the investment returns embedded in it are generally worse than what you'd earn investing the premium difference in index funds.

The dominant advice in the financial independence community is 'buy term and invest the difference.' For most people who actually need life insurance (dependents, mortgage, income replacement), this is correct. The scenarios where whole life makes sense are narrow and specific — mostly estate planning for ultra-high-net-worth individuals with specific tax objectives.