An exchange with a reader inspired this short blog post. My dad who is almost 70 recently told me that he was trying to reduce his expenses and he asked if he should still pay almost $500 every quarter for his one and only whole life insurance policy. It amounted to almost $2,000 a year as a recurring expense.

Unnecessary recurring expenses are like financial chains.

I explained to him that he has no dependents anymore and that it is OK for him to terminate the policy. He said that we would get more money from the insurance company if he should pass away while the policy was still in force. My dad is right, of course, but I told him our family don't need the money. We are no longer dependent on him financially. I think he might already have thought of terminating the policy but was unsure because ......