The need for life insurance

If you have dependents or others that count on you for financial support, you may have a need for life insurance. Life insurance provides a lump sum or annuity payments upon the death of the insured person.

For example, Rich and Joan Brown are a young married couple with two young children. Joan is a stay-at-home mom, and the family relies on Rich's income for their living expenses and mortgage. If Rich were to unexpectedly die, Joan and her kids would be forced to make significant lifestyle changes, including Joan's returning to work, unless Rich had an adequate amount of insurance coverage.

Life insurance is an important part of this couple's financial plan. For most people who have a short-term insurance need, term insurance is appropriate. For the Browns, their need for insurance coverage is less than 10 years, since Joan plans to return to work in 10 years when her youngest child is age 10. Term insurance generally provides the most bang for your insurance buck.

Hide Your Own Money To Avoid Debt!

Hide Your Own Money To Avoid Debt!

You probably believe that everyone else is hiding money from you already -- why don't you hide money from yourself, too?! There are many creative ways to stash some cash to help you avoid going into debt when you need some extra funds.

Here's how it works: If you receive money on a regular basis from a source other than your paycheck, put that money in an account that you don't regularly spend from. If no account is safe from your spending habits, give the cash to a trusted someone (i.e., your spouse or a parent) to watch over for you. For example, many of us receive expense reimbursement checks from our employers. This is often "extra money" that you can stash without missing.

When vacation or holiday time rolls around, use your stashed cash instead of your credit cards. In this way you can avoid adding another layer of debt to your household.

- Rick Fields