By: Joel McKinnon
We have all heard the saying “bad things happen to good people.” Yet, what does that mean? How do you interpret it? For most of us we hear it, and move on. We tend to think “yes, bad things can happen to good people,” yet most of us never think that “good person” will be us. We say things like, I eat healthy, I exercise, I don’t smoke or drink, I drive with caution and our kids, well they take vitamins, play outside and overall are healthy. We tend to live a life as if we are invincible (or as I refer to it, we suffer from Superman Syndrome), as if the only people who die are 100 year old folks who have lived life to the fullest. See we tend to always think it will happen to someone else, someone else will get cancer, someone else won’t walk away from a car accident, someone else will die to soon. We as men especially think this was way, we tend to think “we are to tough for anything bad to happen to us.”
This is not a blog about how one should live their life, or what one should believe, this is a post where I am begging you and your family to take the time to prepare for the future, if not for you, do it for your spouse, do it for your kids. I am begging you to sit down with your spouse and have a difficult conversation, ask this difficult question “Honey, if I did not make it home tonight, how would you and the kids fair financially.” According to the 2014 Insurance Barometer Study 31% of adults (Nearly 1/3 of all Americans) said their family would feel the financial impact within 30 days of the primary wage earners death. Let’s think about that, close your eyes and really think about it. Within the first 30 days of your spouse passing away there will be a financial burden, you need to figure out if that happens how will you pay the mortgage, how will you pay for your cars, how will you provide food for your kids? Being a parent is a life long obligation, just because you pass away does not mean your responsibility as a parent dies with you.
I am passionate about life insurance, because I never want to see a family struggle financially over an untimely death. The issue we run into are the financial priorities of families today. According
to the 2014 Insurance Barometer Study, 52% of Americans put the cost of cell phones, and cable ahead of buying life insurance, a reason for this is that 80% of Americans over estimate the cost of life insurance, therefor they never look into it.
I am passionate about life insurance, because EVERY DAY I read of another father or mother, brother or sister, and yes even children who are battling for their life, struggling with a sickness. I know of a family right now who has a family member with stage 4 cancer – I understand that no amount of life insurance will bring this family member back if they lose their battle, no amount of life insurance will make the loss of a loved one any easier, but what it will do is ease the burden. It will allow you the time to grieve, the time to get things in order and to continue on with the life style that you lead today.
So as you sit as home this weekend, drive in the car to a baseball game, or just spend time together as a family seriously ask yourself what would you do if your spouse suddenly passed away – how would you raise the kids, how would you pay the bills, would you be able to pay for the funeral, would you have time to grieve? OR would you have to pick up a second job, would you have to move out of your house, could you provide for your family?