A common financial trap on the path to early retirement is purchasing complex whole life or universal life insurance policies marketed as savings vehicles. These products combine insurance protection with a cash value account, but they charge high management fees and commissions.
For most individuals pursuing FIRE, a much more efficient strategy is 'Buy Term and Invest the Difference.' Term life insurance covers you for a set period (such as 20 years while you build your nest egg) at a tiny fraction of the cost, leaving you with substantial cash to invest yourself in index funds.
Once you achieve financial independence, you become 'self-insured' because your asset portfolio is large enough to sustain your dependents in your absence. Ditch expensive, low-yielding insurance savings structures and focus on clean index funds to maximize your terminal compound wealth.