Whole life insurance? I was a sucker once... (Financial Housekeeping, Part II)

I have some embarrasing things to admit, but I was young and there are lessons in them.

When I was in my 20s, newly graduated from college and a brand new 2LT (second lieutenant) in the Army, part of the orientation to the military was a seminar on investing. Sounds great, right? The presenter just happened to work for an investment and life insurance. Everything they said made so much sense. Their motto was "Pay yourself first". Front load mutual funds just got all the annoying fees out of the way up front, clearing the way to fee-free future investments. Whole life insurance "builds cash value", etc. (Are you choking yet?) The fact that they were allowed in a military orientation gave the impression of an official endorsement. I bought it, hook, line, and sinker.

*hanging my head in shame at the memory*

Did that mutual fund do as well as (almost) promised? Heh, heh, of course not, especially after paying all those front load fees. I liquidated that a few years ago, right around the time that the company, USPA & IRA, had a class action suit filed against it. The life insurance was only $90/month and I didn't have contact information to get rid of it and I was lazy so I let it be, foolishly.

Now, finally, I am freeing myself from the last of that bad investment. Why do I need a bunch of life insurance anyway? I have no children to care for and a BF who has a good job and can support himself without me. My mother inherited a huge pile of money from her parents (a story for another time) and has a pension and lifetime medical insurance, and her house is paid for; she doesn't need money from me. I have life insurance through my employer, how much more do I really need? My "final expenses" would be a couple thousand bucks for the funeral and BF has enough available in the joint account for that. For my situation life insurance is hooey. As for the "building cash value", I can borrow against the policy about half of what I contributed so far in premiums, at a rate of 8%. Heck, if I wanted to pay that much interest I would charge it on a creditcard.

Long story short, I just "found" an extra $90 a month in my budget! Bit by bit, I am working to improve my financial picture. What to do with the money? $90/month would keep my vacation fund in good condition, maybe I should take the money I was saving for death and invest it in living.