Information sourced from Genworth Financial
One of the things that I’ve learned after reading so much about personal finance has been the importance of adequate insurance. I never really had much dealing with insurance before last years hail storm, I just felt like it was someone that I had to pay to drive my car and to that end, I was going to get as cheap of a product as possible.
All of that changed after the hail storm. I didnt own the vehicle, so I had to have full coverage on it and I’m glad I did. There was quite a bit of damage on my car, and it was all on my insurer to pick up the tab. I got a check for more than 5k and was able to put that all on my car loan, bringing the balance down by 33% at the time (It is now below 7k).
Now though, I’m looking at insurance in a different light. I’m getting married in about 6 weeks (I cant wait!) and it’s not going to be just me anymore. I’ll have someone that I need to be there for, to help out when needed and someone to support in whatever way that I need to until I kick the bucket. One of the ways to do this is by ensuring that if something happens to me, she (and any potential remaining family) are taken care of. One of the best ways to do that is making sure all needs will be met financially without having to work immediately, ensuring that enough time is available grieve over the loss and chart a path to go forward.
Though I know next to nothing about life insurance (though I did find this quick guide), there are plenty of good resources on the internet to learn all about the different types of life insurance and how they work. Right now, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll need, but I know that you’re supposed to take into account anticipated monthly expenses as well as debt that will be left, so the surviving spouse will be able to continue to eat and pay the bills (and hopefully pay them off) in the event of a tragedy.
So, sometime after the wedding, H and I will delve into the super boring world of life insurance and confront our mortality head on and attempt to deal with it to prepare for the unthinkable in the future.
We need to look into life insurance. Its been one of those things on our radar for a while now but somehow keeps getting pushed back.