First focus on the death benefit, not the type of insurance. If your time comes soon, your family will be much more concerned with your coverage being adequate than the type of life insurance you had. My neighbor was convinced to buy whole life, but only budgeted enough to buy $100k. That'll help his wife and kid out for 1-2 years, and then what. The benefits of permanent insurance are not so great that you should put your family's future at stake.

If you really will have a permanent need for life insurance, you might consider permanent life insurance (there are other types besides whole life). Keep in mind that while life insurance is generally less expensive, the ROI on the death benefit tends to be better the older you are. Sometimes taking out a term policy with the plan on converting it later is better from a cash flow stand point.

Don't get hung up on cash value. There is no way to access your cash value without effecting your policy in an adverse way. Also if you take out a life policy for the purpose of cash value, the insurance company poses an additional risk that more traditional investors do not have to deal with.

Realize that if you buy term without a plan to offset your family's risk in the future, you have a bad plan. Make sure that you are dilligent in your investments and stay on track.