Should You Drain Your Emergency Fund? (And 4 Other Money Questions Keeping You Up) SB1750

10 snips

Oct 20, 2025

In this discussion, financial planner Anna Allem shares her expertise on emergency funds and insurance. They debate whether draining your emergency fund to pay off debt is wise and evaluate the real necessity of whole life insurance for children. The conversation also dives into how much life insurance one actually needs and the risks of investing part of an emergency fund. Through differing opinions and practical tips, listeners gain insight into navigating their own financial dilemmas.

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ADVICE

Skip Kids' Whole Life As Default

Avoid buying whole-life policies for young children unless you have a clear, specific insurability need.
Instead, prioritize saving for the child's future and fund their early financial independence.

ANECDOTE

Personal Case: Child Became Uninsurable

Anna shared that her child became uninsurable due to a disease, which reframed her view on children's coverage.
She still recommends focusing on employee benefits and savings as primary protections.

INSIGHT

Use Capital Needs Not Rules Of Thumb

Calculate life insurance needs with a capital-needs approach, not a simple multiplier.
Include debt payoff, college funding, and the income replacement needed to sustain your household.

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You've got questions. We've got two CFPs and a former planner ready to hash it out.

Joe Saul-Sehy, OG, Doug, and CFP Anna Allem tackle the money decisions you're actually losing sleep over—and here's the thing: they don't always agree on the answer. That's the point.

Should you drain your emergency fund to pay off debt? Is whole life insurance for your kids a smart move or an expensive mistake? How much life insurance do you actually need (not what some calculator tells you)? And when life throws you a curveball—layoff, surprise expense, major purchase—what's the move?

With Joe Saul-Sehy's 16 years in financial planning, OG's CFP perspective, and Anna's insights, you'll hear how experienced voices think through these decisions differently—and why your answer might be different than all of theirs. Because the real skill isn't finding THE right answer; it's learning how to make YOUR right call.

This episode is for anyone who's ever stared at their bank account thinking, "I know I should do something... but what?"

Plus: Doug delivers trivia about the first auto insurance policy (because of course), the gang weighs in on athlete endorsements and reverse mortgages, and there's a TikTok money tip that sparks some debate.

What You'll Walk Away With:

• How experienced financial minds approach the emergency fund dilemma differently—and what that means for your situation

• The whole life insurance debate: when it makes sense for kids and when you're better off elsewhere

• A framework for figuring out how much life insurance you actually need—and why the "rules of thumb" don't always work

• What to do when your financial plan meets real life (layoffs, surprise bills, major purchases)

• The confidence to make a decision even when experts would handle it differently

Before You Hit Play, Ask Yourself:

What's the one money question you keep Googling but still don't feel confident about? If you're second-guessing your emergency fund, your insurance, or a big financial move, this episode is your permission to stop spinning and start deciding.

Got a question we didn't cover? Call in to the show! StackingBenjamins.com/Voicemail

FULL SHOW NOTES: https://stackingbenjamins.com/answering-your-burning-financial-questions-1750

Deeper dives with curated links, topics, and discussions are in our newsletter, The 201, available at https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/201

Enjoy!

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