Search Google for “Whole life insurance scam Reddit”.

Yes. Your friend took advantage of you for a commission.

I would cash it out and be done with it. You basically have Whole Life, and here is why it is bad for the vast majority of people: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/debunking-the-myths-of-whole-life-insurance/

This is particularly egregious because it looks like OP didn’t need any life insurance at all. And then his friend goes and convinced him to buy the worst type.

Definitely. Horrible “friend”.

I also find this PBS video to be informative regarding [whole life] vs [term life + investing yourself]. I agree with what everyone says here. Cash it out now. You've got sunk costs but don't let that stop you from getting out.

Thanks for the advice, sucks to realize that but ill cut my looses and collect whats available!

Yeah thats why ive been confused. Like I said I got in blind, kinda forgot about it. I recently brought it up to one of my coworkers and they said it didn't sound right.

Typically why I prefer not to do business with friends. I was young and dumb and was caught slipping.

Thank you!

I appreciate it! I had a feeling I was caught in a trap, but ill cut my looses and be done with it at this point!

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One of my first job interviews after college was a bit of a bait and switch. Something like “Analyst position at major finance company”. Turned out to be a group interview trying to find people to sell life insurance.

There was only one happy person in that building and it was the “star salesman” who was around 30 and drove a Ferrari. I later learned his dad founded the company and he took over when dad retired.

The sheer misery for everyone else was palpable. Over hearing people on phones trying to sell this crap to relatives and acquaintances.

Years later I got cold called by the same company by completely different people to interview for the same thing. I went in just to waste their time. The only people I recognized from round 1 were Ferrari and his secretary.

To be fair your friend may have believed in the product. The marketing on these is great and easy to fall for. I've known some people starting out in insurance or finance that sell these and pretty sure they don't even know how bad they are - at least at the start. If they are still doing it give years later - then they are probably horrible people.

You hit the nail on the head. This friend is now almost done with medical school after only a few years in the insurance biz post college.

Cut your losses. Look at the bright side, you have 10k!

I have a whole life policy that my parents got when I was a baby, so I don’t pay anything on it - it pays its own monthly premiums. Should I still cancel it? It’s not a huge amount of money, I think it’s 30k insurance and cash value around 3.5k right now (and again I am not putting any of my money into it and never have.)

Thanks for the positivity!

If it's already paid up in full, you could keep it or you could not. $30k isn't a whole lot as far as life insurance policies go, but it will at least allow your dependents to pay for funeral costs and maybe some months of bills if you die. On the other hand, if you DID cash it out, and put that $3,500 into an index fund and let it ride for a few decades, you MIGHT come out over that $30k. Really up to you.

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Cash it out.Count your losses and walk away.Get a term life before you cancel your current scam,policy I mean.

Confirmation bias much? Of course research “scam” after anything will give you the results that validate that.

Not that you’re asking OP, but the best advice I’ve ever gotten is to never take advice from someone else’s experience, especially on Reddit.

Was your friend trying to scam you for a commission? Potentially. We’re they doing the best they could with the way they were training? Potentially.

Truth is that you don’t know, so don’t assume.

Seek to understand more and ask questions. Ask people who’ve had whole life and/or sell it. Be curious to learn, don’t take someone else’s word for it.

And, $2,500 isn't the worst cost if you can cash it out now! It is more than you would have paid in Term Life, and you didn't need life insurance at all. But, I wish every financial mistake I made between 25 and 30 only cost me $2,500!