We step back from “term good, perm bad” and map the real trade‑offs of permanent life insurance. We explain whole life, UL, VUL, IUL, and GUL, where they fit, where they fail, and how to avoid sales traps by matching the product to the problem.

• term versus permanent: cost, certainty, purpose
• whole life guarantees and steady cash value
• universal life flexibility and moving parts
• variable UL market exposure and premium risk
• indexed UL caps, floors, and illustration pitfalls
• guaranteed UL for low‑cost permanent death benefit
• permanent needs: special‑needs care, legacy, liquidity
• tax angles: income‑tax‑free death benefit, tax‑deferred cash value
• sales tactics to question and fee awareness
• what to do with an existing policy: keep, reduce, exchange, gift, sell
• guardrails: right sizing, clear goals, realistic expectations

Variable Universal Life is a complicated life insurance product that may not have the best reputation, but we visit with Victor Yates of Nationwide to learn about how they are doing things differently.

We'll discuss the role of life insurance in general in a financial planning, when permanent life insurance is a fit, how Nationwide's VUL works, and who it is best for.

As a reminder, Colin and Taylor do not sell insurance. This is a detailed discussion on the inner workings of an important financial planning tool.

We unpack why most portfolios don’t need frequent changes and how a clear purpose, time horizon, and risk preference do the heavy lifting. We trade “performance reviews” for plan reviews, walk through rebalancing and tax tactics, and explain how to ignore scary headlines and shiny objects.

• setting allocation by purpose, time horizon, and risk
• why daily market moves rarely justify changes
• when not to act at all-time highs or during drops
• the trap of performance chasing and survivorship bias
• practical rebalancing cadence and thresholds
• rebalancing with contributions and withdrawals
• tax loss harvesting limits and wash sale rules
• direct indexing complexity and future tax overhang
• donating appreciated stock to boost tax efficiency
• plan reviews over portfolio performance check-ins