Dear Helaine: I’m self-employed and decided to take out some life insurance for my wife that doubled as an investment vehicle. It was explained to me that one advantage of it is that it’s permanent, rather than term, and as someone who is self-employed and in my late 30s, it’s helpful to have this locked in early.

My concern is that this appears to be a pretty inefficient investment vehicle. At the beginning of the year -- my third -- I had an accumulated balance of $566. This year I had a premium of $225 a month, and only wound up with an accumulating value of about $1,500. Is this a foolish product, or should I stick with it while investing in other retirement vehicles, like a Roth IRA? -- What to Do?

Dear What to Do: When my dad goes to a movie and he doesn’t like it, he’s not very patient. He gets up and leaves almost immediately. His reasoning? The money is already gone. He can either waste another hour of his life miserable, or he can get up and leave and get on with his day. I’m afraid you are at the same juncture here.

This is not a good investment, and it’s almost certainly not a particularly good life insurance policy either. If you need life insurance, you should have term life insurance. It’s significantly less expensive than whole life, which is what you are currently paying for.

You can get a term policy for 30 years, which is likely all you will need. Life insurance is meant to replace your work income, and when you retire, that will presumably no longer be necessary. Then take the cost difference on the two offerings and invest that for retirement via a Roth IRA.

As for whole life, it’s pitched as a way of protecting your loved ones while still setting money aside for retirement. In fact, you’ll pay multitudes more money for the protection, the investment options are limited, and it's often loaded with fees designed to make money for the seller and insurance company.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: I’m about to graduate from a master’s program and start a job with a $60,000 salary. Currently, I have a $10,000 student loan with my credit union at a 4.5% interest rate and two federal loans (undergraduate and graduate) at 5.4% and 6.8% interest rates. I am single.

My payments will be about $475 a month, which is definitely doable while still saving for other goals. But ... my parents have let me know they are giving me $10,000 as a very generous graduation gift. Should I (1) pay off my private student loan entirely, which has the lowest interest rate but is the least flexible -- there’s no income-based repayment plan or deferment should I need it or decide to enter a Ph.D. program; (2) put my money toward the highest-interest loan, which is a government loan and does offer flexibility; or (3) put the money in an emergency fund and make my student loan payments as normal? After setup costs (move to a new city, new apartment), I believe I will have $3,000 left for an emergency fund.

Or should I do something different I haven’t considered? I’d love your input on this! -- New Graduate Getting Started

Dear New Grad: First, congratulations on your achievement, for both graduating and already having a job lined up. Second, it’s terrific that you have such generous and loving parents, who gave you a gift you must certainly need on graduation. You should absolutely choose option No. 3.

Life has a way of throwing curveballs at all of us, and it’s best to have some money set aside for when things don’t work out as planned. And, as you said, you do have the ability to save money even as you are paying down the loans. You could choose to use that money to make extra payments on the loans, for other goals (say, money to live on if you do return to school for the Ph.D. so you don’t need to borrow money for that purpose), or simply, sometimes, to have fun.

If you do decide to work toward eliminating one of the loans, I would absolutely start with the privately issued one, which could, as you note, trip you up the most should you encounter a rough patch. Good luck with all of it.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: My situation is a mixed bag. I’m currently an adjunct professor who somehow manages a decent -- $75,000 -- income. I’m 34. I have $80,000 in an IRA and another $20,000 in emergency savings. On the other hand, I still owe $10,000 on $75,000 in student loan debt. My profession is unstable, and I sometimes don’t know what I’m earning until all my classes are assigned. But I know my schedule for the next several months, so should I take out half my emergency savings and pay off the student loans, which otherwise have five years to go at $350 a month? They aren’t keeping me awake at night, but I would like to see them gone.

I’m quite conflicted. I am frugal, but I don’t deprive myself of simple pleasures -- I eat out with friends, and I travel at least twice a year. I think that paying off that debt will help me feel better about my financial situation. Also, I’d like to begin to save for a down payment on a home. What do you suggest? -- Feeling Trapped for No Sane Reason

Dear Trapped: I think you are obsessing about the student loan to cover for a bigger worry: You don’t have a steady source of income. Working as an adjunct at institutions of higher learning can be very fulfilling, but as you yourself point out, it’s less than predictable. You literally don’t know what you are going to earn the next semester -- or if you are going to earn anything at all.

And you are in your mid-30s, reaching an age where your friends are likely buying homes and otherwise getting more fixed in their lives. You, on the other hand, are going to find it tough going getting a mortgage even if you have a down payment in hand, because you can’t show steady income.

I wouldn’t pay off the student loan right now, but not for the reason you are thinking. I believe you need to keep the money in emergency savings, not just for an out-and-out emergency like an unexpected medical bill, but because you might need it to get started on the next stage of your life.

My advice? Give yourself a set period of time to get a tenure track position. And if that doesn’t happen, start contemplating another, more steady career where you can put your obviously well-developed skills to good use.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)