Have you herd the saying the only two things certain in life is death and taxes? Of course you have, I have herd it a million times. I don't believe the taxes part though....ever herd of tax evasion? You can not evade death!!!

So you might consider this post strange, but from time to time I like to help people understand the need for certain things in life that are easily forgotten.

I am almost 29 years old, and while I don't plan on parting from the world anytime soon you just never know. I think people my age and younger often think they don't have to worry about death and sadly that is not the case.

How many people do you know who have been killed in a car accident before their time? How many people will develop cancer before they reach the age of 40? Death comes in several forms and at any age, it doesn't discriminate. So what is the point of all of this??? LIFE INSURANCE!!!! Most people my age don't even consider life insurance because they don't believe they need it, but you do!!!

I bought my first policy outside of work (to me work policies are just bonuses b/c if you switch jobs or get laid off most of the time you lose them) the year after Mark and I bought our house, I think I was 26. I really wish I would have bought one earlier...mostly because the younger you are the cheaper the rate. I am a worst case scenario type of person and always try to plan ahead :) When we moved into this house I knew if anything happened to either of us the mortgage and monthly bills would be overwhelming, and that scared me. I would never want my sweet husband to have to leave our home that we worked so hard for if something happened to me.

So I sat down with Mark and told him we needed to buy life insurance outside of work. At first he probably thought it was a waste of money because life insurance is NOT cheap! However after thinking of all the things we had accumulated and the home we worked so hard to have he finally understood why I wanted to protect our investment. And that is exactly what life insurance is...protection!

Your need for life insurance can be based on several factors. For us it was pretty simple... Right now we have no children so there is no college funds or anything of that nature to worry about. We simply decided to take out a 30 year term policy (term is cheaper) that would cover our mortgage and other small expenses. That way if anything was to happen to us the mortgage would be paid and the other could stay in our home. We decided on 30 years because we have a 30 year mortgage on our house. My premium is higher because of my Asthma but I pay $82.00 a month for $150,000.00, and peace of mind! We can convert our term into whole life (expensive) at any time during our 30 year term. Whole life is really the best, but it is very costly.

So I am telling you, it is important to have life insurance! Think of the people you love in your life. Would you want them to suffer if something happened to you? I choose to have the peace of mind that the ones I love could continue the life they have now (in regards to monetary expenses) if something awful was to happen to me. It makes me feel good not to have to worry and know they will be taken care of.

So here are some very important questions to ask yourself...
1. Do you have a mortgage? If so you need life insurance
2. Do you have children? If so you need life insurance (will the person left to take care of them be able to provide the life you wanted for them? More than likely not if two incomes were taking care of them)
3. Do you have loans that you have a co singer on? If so you need life insurance (you wouldn't want to put someone who helped you in a financial burden)
4. Do you have family that would be burdened by your burial cost? (of course, no one plans on paying funeral expenses when they are young)
5. Is there someone (parents, significant other) that you would like to be able to assist financially? Think of things and money these people have invested in you over your life, wouldn't it be nice to do something special for them?

I know it's rather morbid to think of these things, but at the end of the day you need to. Your an adult and you need to take responsibility for the things in your life and the people who count on you. If your young and none of these things apply to you I would still recommend life insurance if you can afford it. You can get a much better rate and I can guarantee that in some point in your life some of these things will apply to you!!! Get it while it is cheap! Even buying my policy at 26 I had wished I had bought life insurance earlier.

There is nothing wrong with being ready for whatever life may hand you. Live everyday like it's your last but at the same time have the peace of mind that if it is your last you can rest in peace!