Life insurance is meant to provide financial security for your loved ones in the event that you are no longer there. It can help pay for funeral costs, debts, living expenses, provide your loved ones the time they need to grieve without the stress of financial devastation when they’re already devastated, and more. The reason it’s essential is because of the incredible calamity the loss of a loved one leaves behind. Marriage is such a beautiful thing! From the moment you say “I Do”, you’ve invested in each other’s lives. Most likely, well before then, but now it’s official. Now that someone is committing their life to you, you need to know how to protect them against all the curve balls life is going to throw at the two of you. The questions you need to ask yourself are: * What financial challenges will my spouse face if I’m no longer in the picture? * Will they have to crowdfund my funeral? * Will they be left with massive debt to figure out on their own how to pay? Will that cause them to have to file for bankruptcy? * Will they need to go back to school to be able to join the workforce and become the breadwinner for any kids we have? * How are they going to afford childcare if I was the main source of income or if we needed two incomes to make it work? * Will they need to significantly downsize and change their lifestyle? * Will they have to sell the house? * Will they have to move back in with parents/family? * Will they need to take time off work to grieve?

The main purpose of life insurance is to provide your beneficiaries with financial security and protection in the event that you are no longer there. There are other ways life insurance can be used during your lifetime that can be very beneficial to you. Here are some ways you can use your Whole Life policy while you’re still alive: * It essentially creates a forced savings account that will grow more significantly with interest rates and dividends than a traditional savings account * Use the cash value to pay premiums * Safeguarding assets due to its immediate tax-free liquidity * Supplement retirement income, if needed * Reinvest dividends * Tap into your wealth and take out loans on yourself, creating your own family bank, with lower interest rates than traditional lending institutions - tax free! * Full cash surrender of cash value

If you don’t already have any assets, life insurance will be the foundation of your estate! An estate is a person’s net worth. The collective sum of all of your assets, minus liabilities. Some things that make up an estate are: * Real estate properties * Financial Investments * Cash * Personal Assets (cars, boats, art, collectibles, furnishings, jewelry, watches, etc.) Because I want to help protect your estate, when we meet, I’ll give you an overview of the legal protections you’ll need to have in place to do so. If you’re in need of an Estate Planning Attorney to get your legal documents in order, I highly recommend Eternal Estate Planning. Eternal Estate Planning Crystal Flynn 385-602-7972 crystal@eternalestateplan.com

This one’s easy - get life insurance! The best way to ensure that your loved ones are financially protected in the event that you are no longer there to provide financial security through your income is to have certain protections in place. This is exactly what life insurance is for! To protect the ones you love most against life’s uncertainties. Through my own experiences, I know that the Grimm Reaper does not discriminate and can come at any time and it usually happens when you least expect it. We can all expect that it’s going to happen someday, but it’s rare that we’ll know exactly when. Having life insurance will provide your loved ones with time to grieve; giving them a buffer to get back on their feet. It will protect them against any debt that’s left behind. Maybe your spouse will need to go back to school to get a job to be able to now be the main breadwinner for your kids. And now they need to think about childcare costs if they were a stay-at-home parent. It will help with funeral costs so they don’t have to go down the heartbreaking road of crowd funding and putting them more in debt. It could provide your children the opportunity to go to college and give them a leg up in life. It’s a beautiful way to leave a legacy of love to let your loved ones know that you’re still there and that you’re still looking out for them from above.

The cash value component of Whole Life is something that you can use as a tool during your lifetime! Think of it as a built in savings account that you can access. A portion of each premium payment is allocated to the cost of insurance and the remainder is deposited into a cash value account. Interest will grow tax-deferred and there’s a possibility of earning dividends each year which will add to the cash value and death benefit. You can take out loans from your cash value for whatever you need and pay them back to yourself! Traditional lending institutions will generally charge a much higher interest rate, require a credit check, and the money goes back to them. When you take a loan out of your policy and pay it back, the money goes back to you and since it’s your money, there’s no credit check necessary! This is your own wealth that you’re able to tap into that you otherwise wouldn’t have. It can be used for whatever you need it for: medical emergencies, car troubles, children’s education, or even an anniversary vacation! With the interest already built in, if you never pay it back, that’s ok, because it will just be deduct from the death benefit when the time comes. But in the meantime - here’s where the magic is happening - your policy has not been affected in anyway because the loan comes from the insurance company, not your policy. So your policy continues to grow as scheduled!

Nobody can truly predict the future of when tragedy will strike and the Reaper does not discriminate. The best advice I could give you is – NOW. Premiums are contingent on these four areas: age, health, type of life insurance product, and the face value of the policy. It’s best to get life insurance when you’re young and healthy for lower premium rates, but if you feel like you are past that time in your life, it’s still just as important and the sooner you talk with me, the better off you’ll be, as those premiums will continue to go up every year that you grow older. Life insurance is not something you want to put off because you feel it’s an uncomfortable conversation or overwhelming. You’ll find that you will receive so much relief and peace of mind once you’ve done your planning and have these protections in place. It’s also important to review your policies annually and increase your coverage as life circumstances change. This can be due to marriage or divorce, buying property, starting a business, getting a raise at work, switching jobs, each time you expand your family through birth or adoption, or transitioning into another phase of your life such as retirement. When it comes to children, having the correct amount of coverage for yourself is great, but it’s also worth considering getting coverage for them, as well. Giving your children the gift of life insurance will provide them with a significant leg-up in life.

There are a few things that go into forming your premium for life insurance. Your age Your health Type of life insurance Face Amount Because your age and health are considered, it’s best to get life insurance when you’re young & healthy to lock in lower premium rates! Because life insurance is an essential asset in protecting your loved ones, start thinking of it early in life to save you in the long run from paying higher premium costs and possible denial due to health. If you feel like you're past the "young & healthy" part of your life, it's still just as important to have life insurance and the sooner you talk with us, the better off you'll be.

There are two types of life insurance: Term Life and Permanent Life Term Life: Provides coverage for a specific amount of time (i.e. 15, 20, 30 years) Generally more affordable Simple and straight forward coverage Expires at the end of the term (may have renewable or conversion options) No cash value component Permanent Life (aka Whole Life): Provides life long coverage Accumulates cash value over time Premiums can be locked in for life Can be used as a financial tool during your lifetime Complex coverage due to various components Generally more expensive Understanding your needs and goals will help determine which type of life insurance is best suited for you.

The question is... can you afford NOT to have life insurance? Think about what financial challenges your loved ones might face in the event that you were no longer there. In your current position, if you had not returned last night from work, do you see them having opportunities to thrive from being financially secure? Or are you seeing a different scenario; one that might include struggle due to a lack of financial security? If your view from above would look more like the latter, let’s have that important discussion. Life insurance is usually considerably less expensive than people think. Especially, if you’re young and healthy! It could be similar to the price of a haircut or a nice dinner once a month. Because life insurance is essential, it should be thought of as a priority. We all have insurance on our cars, phones, and homes; it’s important not to forget about the most precious thing of all to your family... your life. It’s one thing that can never be replaced if lost, but life insurance can help relieve the financial burden that’s left behind for your loved ones. The type of life insurance you’d like and your priorities factor in. Depending on your short-term and long-term goals, I can help you figure out which type of insurance you need at an amount you feel comfortable with setting aside for it.

Everyone’s situation is different. When we meet, we’ll talk about your short-term and long-term goals to figure out exactly how much coverage you need. We’ll completely customize a strategy that suits your own personal needs! A good starting point is to calculate how much income would need to be replaced, considering how much you need to pay off all liabilities and debts, final expenses for a funeral, and any extra goals you might want to add, such as your children’s education, or your spouse’s education if they need it to get back into the workforce. If anything, leaving a buffer for your family to survive for a few years while they readjust to living life without you will be a huge blessing in their lives.

There are certain life events that will cause you to need to review your coverage. If you already have life insurance, make sure you have enough to cover these exciting moments in your life. * Your wedding * Buying a home or property * Starting a family and each time you make an addition to it through birth or adoption * Changing jobs or getting a raise * Student Loans * Upgrading your car * Starting a business * Supporting aging parents You’ll want enough coverage to cover all of these life events! If you’re not sure that you have enough coverage, let’s review it!

Having life insurance through your work is a great perk and I love when employees offer it! The downside to this is that it gives people a false sense of security. In most cases, the amount is not enough coverage that you actually need and if, in the future, you are no longer with that company, you will not have it anymore. It’s always best to have your own personal life insurance policy outside of work to make sure you are fully covered and have more control over it. Most group life policies are term policies, which do not provide you with any of the benefits that Whole Life would give you.

Whole life policies can be structured in a way to help you eliminate debt in a shorter amount of time than your current trajectory. This will help save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars that you’d be paying in interest over time on these debts. With our unique solutions and strategies for this specific challenge, we can help you save money in the long run, which will allow you to use that money for more important things in your life. And the best part is... you won’t even have to be spending any more money than you already are!