<prompt> Human: Ive always been a here and now kind of person when it comes to my finances. I can budget fine, but when it comes to extras, I tend to spend all that I make. My kids are making me feel older and older each time I look at them so Im thinking maybe I should start planning a bit better for the future. I am absolutely clueless when it comes to financial planning. My employer offers a matched 401k. I dont do it. I dont even have a savings account.So, its time I start some better planning. Im 29 so I know its not too late. My wife and I have had term life insurance for about 7 years now. I also talked to my employer about getting going on the 401k and Im working on getting a savings account established. However, I still have some leftover money that Id like to try and put to good use. Then I get a call from a guy my brother recommended call me from Northwest Mutual. He talked to me about whole life insurance. It seemed great because its looked to me like a versatile savings plan that could provide for me in retirement, or give me the flexibility to have access to money before then without penalty. The life insurance itself isnt a huge factor to me because I already have life insurance. Long term investment with potential to have early access is more of what Im looking for. It would be incredible if anyone could give me some general advice here, let me know in a very concise list of why I should or should not consider switching my life insurance to whole life, or let me know of some alternative planning options that I may want to consider.UPDATE:First of all, thank you all for all the input. Understanding all the options is a massive undertaking when just starting out.So, I looked at the suggested links and tried to do as much research as I could on 401k, Roth IRA, and WL insurance. Then I met with my guy today to discuss some of the details. Some of the things he said contradict what I have found in my personal research as to the pros and cons of these different investment options. I took a few notes. Can you guys have a look and tell me if these statements are accurate? 401k does not take current tax bracket on withdrawal.Huh? I thought that was one of the potential pros to the 401k. Im in the 25 bracket right now but if for some reason 25 years down the road I change jobs and drop down to like a 15 bracket, then when I retire Ive got 25 years of awesome buildup in there and will only be paying 15 tax on the 401k. Roth IRA has potential to earn a higher return but is entirely dependent on the market and you can literally loos everything.Again, Im a bit lost here. I havent done as much research on the Roth IRA but this statement seems like total BS. Roth IRA can only withdrawal for specific emergencies, such as for a home, childrens education, or medical emergency.One of the things I thought was cool about the Roth IRA from looking at the khanacadamy videos is that I could have early access to the money if I wanted and only pay taxes on whatever I took out that was above what I put in. i.e. I put in 5k, withdrawal 6k, and only pay taxes on 1k.Northwest specific WL details:Reference chart for the discussion: Imgur You continue to gain compound interest, even if you withdrawal everything.In thinking of WL as a mid term bucket for investments, at around 10 years in or more I could have access to the same or more money as I would put in. So if I put in 50k by year 10, I could have access to withdrawal about that much. Compound Interest would continue without change. By that year Im gaining annual compound interest of 6k, even though my premium is only 5k, and the compound interest continues to grow. That does sound like a good deal to me. That actually sounds too good to be true. At year 20 I could take out nearly all of my invested money and its return, and continue to have compound interest to be added to my account of 11k a year that continues to grow. You spouse gets the insurance and the money you put in if you die.One of the things I thought was a negative for WL is that if I dont take the money out the insurance company gets to keep the money I put in and the beneficiary just gets the insurance amount. Looking at that chart I posted above, the insurance amount grows every year. By year 20, I put in 100k, have access to 130k, and my insurance is worth 700k. My spouse doesnt get both the bumped up insurance and the 130k, but its offset by the raised insurance amount. You continue to be insured if you take your money out. Granted, I have to keep 3 in there. But in the case that I posted a link to, when I turn 60, I will have put in 160k, can withdrawal 310k, and still be insured for 550k. WL is the only mid term plan available401k, Roth IRA would be long term plans. An emergency savings fund would be short term. WL is the only available mid term plan for the 10-20 year mark.WL tl;dr: Never changing compound interest and taxpenalty free access to the money makes this an investing route that cant be bad. Or so its being made to appear.  <response>: Whole life insurance is generally a bad idea.Put your money in the 401k to get a match. Should there actually be an emergency, you can access the money. Get a emergency fund and max out your 401k. 