A GOOD FINANCIAL PLAN BEGINS WITH INSURANCE

When I was newly married I immediately bought some life insurance. The monthly premium was small, and the death benefit seemed like a fortune. As I worked to build my business I often joked that I was worth more dead than alive. But it gave me great comfort knowing that for a very small monthly amount, my wife and family would be cared for if something happened to me. Many of my friends struggled with whether to buy insurance, reasoning that they were young and healthy and would likely never need it, the money for premiums then being wasted. I explained to them that not needing to use the insurance was the whole point.
I have an alarm system I hope I never need; I wear seatbelts that have never saved my life and I even buy food storage I have never had to eat. In each case I consider peace of mind to be a great return on the investment.
 
In my business we require any young families we work with to have life insurance. It is usually just an inexpensive term policy. The reason is simple. I tell the couple that in the unlikely event that something happens to them, it will be I, not them, who is left behind to try and help their surviving family make it through. How will I explain to a grieving spouse with small children and insufficient income, how their trusted financial advisor could have allowed them to get into such a mess? If both parents should die, how could I live with myself knowing the children are left without means of support?
 
Death is not likely for most people in their child raising years, but it does happen, and as financial advisors we see it more than we would like. Apart from that, I happen to have a unique perspective on this situation. When I married Launa she was 23, had two small children, and was a widow. On a very normal Sunday her husband kissed her goodbye on his way to church, and within minutes rolled his car and was gone. Statistically death may be rare, but in her case those statistics didn’t matter. She was suddenly left with a family, a mortgage, a food bill and no income. Fortunately, her husband, a thoughtful accountant, had a small life insurance policy that wouldn’t make anybody rich, but at least assured the family would be taken care of.
 
If you are a young married dreaming about the great future that lies before you, start first by taking care of the present and get life insurance. Cover both parents because the death of either can put a severe financial strain on the family. The likelihood of needing it is slim, but this is a risk against which you absolutely must protect your family. Pay that small monthly fee without complaint, and then be thankful if the years pass and your only return on those premiums is peace of mind.