How To Protect Yourself From The Unexpected

Last time we talked about the three pillars of protection for you and your family: Disability, Life and Health insurance, with our primary focus on disability insurance. This time we will cover life insurance protection. If someone is depending on you, whether you work outside of the home or you are a home-maker, it is important to have adequate coverage. No one knows when they are going to go and that is why it is so important to protect yourself against the unexpected.

If you are a single mom who is raising children on your own, it vital that you protect your children’s future. Getting life insurance could be the most important thing that you could ever do for your children. If something were to happen to you, who would provide for your children? Would it be your ex-husband, your parents, a nanny, etc.? In either case, money will be required. Don’t assume that someone will step up to the plate to provide for your kids when you die. It would be a shame for your children to struggle and you could have provided it!

A common question that is, how much coverage should I have? The minimum recommended amount is six times your annual salary. So if you make $50,000 per year before taxes, you would need $300,000 at MINIMUM. If you have a lot of debt (cars, homes, credit cards, etc.) your coverage amount could be as high as twenty times your annual income. This is a decision that you will have to make for yourself, but whatever you decide, make sure that the premium is an amount that will be sustainable for future payments. Your life insurance is not something that you want to cut corners with.

There are two main types of life insurance: term and permanent. Term Life Insurance is when you make payments to a life insurance company for a certain amount of time, say ten years. Keep in mind that you will be protect only for that amount of time. One of the advantages of this type of policy is it is very cheap and generally easy to get. Permanent Life Insurance protects you for your entire life, as long as you make your payments. It is known by several different names: whole life, final expense, burial, universal life and variable life. It can be a little more expensive than term life simply because once you get it, it’s yours for life.

I am really passionate about people having life insurance and knowing the amount of coverage the policy provides. Here’s why, when I was growing up I remember he “insurance man” coming by my grandparents’ house to collect their premium for their policy. My family thought that my grandmother’s policy would more than cover her final expenses once she passed. My grandmother passed away from a heart attack many years later. Imagine our surprise when we found out that her policy was worth only $500! It is always worth the time and effort of founding out the worth of your policy, if it’s still in effect and who the beneficiaries are. A good insurance professional will check with his or her clients at least once a year to see if any life changes have taken place in their lives.

If you don’t have an agent to help you with your needs, my firm would be available to provide you the services that you need. Simply drop us an email: contact@totalbenefitsllc.com or give us a call: 205-378-9352.

Not Having Money Is The Root Of Evil… Here’s Why

Once a woman takes control of her finances, she will never be powerless again. The growing power of women and finances is not some fly by night fad. It is the new normal in American households. 73% of households in the US are managed by single moms or women who are the primary breadwinner of the family and because of this fact; women need to have a handle on how to become more money savvy.

We often hear that money is the root of all evil. I think that NOT having money is the root of evil. Here’s why…I was at home on a rainy Sunday afternoon and was looking at a program on T.V. called “Snapped”. This particular episode involved a woman who grew up being spoiled by her widowed mother. The young lady was an only child and stood to inherit her mother’s fortune. Now there is nothing wrong with that because parents are told to build an inheritance for future generations (Proverbs 13:22). How did this whole scenario go wrong? The young lady and her boyfriend plotted and killed her mother to get the inheritance sooner than she was entitled.

Now I know this is an extreme case, but I’m sure that you can think of other examples where the lack of money caused people to do desperate things.

Starting here and now, I want you to start thinking about where you are financially and where you want to be in 5, 10, 30 years from now. You can’t get there unless you know where you are now. We have all seen the infomercials where the advisor tells the client that she can’t afford that $200 camera and maybe she can’t right now, but I have yet to see that same advisor show her client a clear path to how to get there. Whatever path you start on it has to be sustainable and fun or it won’t work in the long run.

The lesson take-away this week is, start where you are, you don’t have to be rich to start building an inheritance for you and your child. Next week, we will share a plan to get started.

Financial Safety Net for Women – Part 2

Last week we discussed the importance of building a form financial foundation. This week we will cover the first step; pouring and solidifying the concrete. This step involves meeting with an insurance agent and/or a financial advisor so you can complete a survey entitled a fact finder (needs analysis). This fact finder will uncover where you are financially and where you want to be in the future. It will formulate a plan for your financial objectives and goals. Some of the questions on the survey are: 1) Where day you want to be in 5, 10, 20, 40 years? 2) Do you need long-term care coverage? 3) How much life insurance do you need? 4) How much money should you have in savings for emergencies, etc.

Women are especially vulnerable in planning for their financial future. Schedule an appointment with an agent or planner to get started building your foundation.

Financial Safety Net for Women – Part 1

We are starting a new series for women. This series will focus on areas that are of importance to women, their families and their businesses. Statistics has shown that if we aren’t already, most of us will be the sole person responsible for our financial security. A woman who is out of the workforce due to family obligations or illness will have a longer recovery period financially than her male counterparts. On average, it takes about five years to make up for every one year of absence.

We are all concerned about retirement and investments but to have a strong foundation we must start with protection. Our next blog will cover creating a financial safety net for women.

The American Dream

It’s been said that the American Dream is to own a home and yes, that is true. But I think the American Dream is much more profound than that. I think that having stability and security is the foundation of that dream and the only way for you to be stable is to plan for your financial future. The bible says, “A good man leave’s an inheritance to his children’s children”. Proverbs 13:22

Did you know that your actions today can change your family’s history? What’s important to you? Is ensuring your child’s future through a college education? Maybe is giving your child a leg up once they finish college. It could even be taking the necessary steps to make sure that Uncle Sam does not take a huge portion of your estate when you walk out of this life into the next. Whatever it is, life insurance is here to create cash for you and your family.

Call our office today to get started on your solutions. 205-378-9352