Getting Priorities Straight (Why Term Life Insurance?)

 

A good friend of mine named Bill loves Co$tbuck$. Note: Bill is a character based on real life scenarios (names and coffee companies have been changed to protect identities).

 

There is nothing wrong with that because we all have our favorite drink at Co$tbuck$. Mine is a Hazelnut Macchiato, what’s yours?

 

One day, Bill and his wife came into my office for a financial planning appointment. He brought his three kids and Co$tbuck$ for everyone. That means 5 drinks and pastries (I love pastries). I don’t have to tell you how much that cost, you can figure it out.

 

The priority problem arose when I was going through Bill’s estate planning and found out he didn’t have any life insurance to protect his family.

 

 

Bill is the primary bread winner and his family relies on his income.

 

Bill’s wife stays at home and works her tail off to raise their three children.

 

They have a mortgage and some other personal debts. Their savings is enough to cover most little emergencies, but it wouldn’t cover a larger tragedy or the loss of Bill’s income.

 

What happens to the family if Bill dies?

 

Bill’s wife and kids are toast. How is she going to pay the mortgage, student loans, and the credit cards they racked up? Wait, how is she going to continue to provide for their kids with no income coming in?

 

She will most likely lose the house and end up on some type of government assistance unless she is able to get a high paying job that will be enough to afford daycare.

 

“I love Co$tbuck$ more than I love my family”, said no one ever worth their salt. Bill doesn’t realize that a term life insurance policy is much cheaper than that one trip to Co$tbuck$ cost.

 

At Bill’s funeral they will be serving generic brand coffee. His family will be starting a crowd funding campaign to cover the funeral costs.

 

Ok James, I get it, I’ve had my priorities all wrong.  Tell me the things I need to do to protect my loved ones.

 

How To Protect Your Loved Ones With Term Life Insurance?

 

  First thing you need to know about any life insurance is you NEVER cancel a policy until another policy is in place.

 

  Term Life Insurance is a great low cost option to get the most bang for you buck.

 

  Most of the time if you have your insurance through work you don’t get to keep it when you leave or get fired. Forget about the saying don’t let the door hit you on the way out, don’t let a bus hit you on the way out. You should own your life insurance outside of work.

 

  The typical minimum amount of term life insurance you want is 12 times your income. You also need to consider the current amount of debt you carry. Anyone who’s income is relied upon needs to be insured as well.

 

  A stay at home parent needs to have a policy. Why? The cost of replacing what that person does is enormous. Have you seen the price of daycare?

 

Cost of Co$tbuck$ vs Term Life Insurance

 

☕ $4.75 – Cost of my macchiato

☕☕ $57 a month – If I have three a week.

 

The cost for a male 20 year Term Life Policy in good health.

• $20.37 a month – $500,000 Policy (Age 30)
• $28.91 a month – $500,000 Policy (Age 40)
• $34.98 a month – $1,000,000 Policy (Age 30)
• $51.97 a month – $1,000,000 Policy (Age 40)

The cost for a female 20 year Term Life Policy in good health.

• $17.93 a month – $500,000 Policy (Age 30)
• $25.25 a month – $500,000 Policy (Age 40)
• $29.42 a month – $1,000,000 Policy (Age 30)
• $43.92 a month – $1,000,000 Policy (Age 40)

 

Co$tbuck$ is just an example of how affordable and simple it is to include this into your monthly budget to protect your family. The math is clear, it’s important to keep your priorities straight in order to protect your loved ones.