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- I’ve been putting off getting life and disability insurance, but now I’m taking the plunge.
- I have been married for two years now and life insurance will help us prepare for the worst.
- If I had disability insurance before I got pregnant, I could have used it for maternity leave.
When I quit my full-time job six years ago, the instability of my personal finances came to the surface. Without a steady paycheck and health insurance benefits to carry me through each month, I struggled to pay my bills and afford my lifestyle, especially since I didn’t have an emergency savings account, a retirement fund, or a lot of spare cash. available for must-buys.
It was then that I decided to slowly build my financial portfolio so that I could maintain a new career path as an entrepreneur and freelancer while also being able to grow my personal wealth. Over the past six years, I’ve come to stick to a strict budget. I was able to fund an emergency savings account that could cover six months of expenses, and for the first time ever, I started contributing regularly to retirement and mutual funds.
However, one area that I have put off that could affect my finances is life insurance and disability insurance. Even though I had been advised this by financial advisors in the past, it wasn’t until early 2023 that I realized how much I needed these policies. That’s why.
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Life insurance is good for my growing family
After being married for two years and strategizing with my partner about how to save for joint goals and future plans (from buying a house to a month-long European trip), I felt the time was right; also have conversations about how to prepare for worst-case scenarios as well.
At that time we both decided it would be a good idea to consider getting a life insurance policy since my husband and I both work full time and use our combined income to pay for our lifestyle, bills and retirement funds. If something happens to me, my policy cover will pay her my projected future earnings, and vice versa if something happens to her.
In addition to a life insurance policy that will provide income to the surviving spouse, I am currently eight months pregnant and would like to take out a policy that will also benefit my child. It’s money that can be used to pay for childcare, college funding, and other expenses that will be incurred as the child grows.
If something were to happen to my partner or myself, this life insurance policy would take a little of the burden off the survivor who would have to work extra to provide for the family.
Not having disability insurance could cost me thousands of dollars
After I got pregnant, I contacted my accountant and asked if I was eligible for maternity leave as a full-time entrepreneur and freelancer. He said that unfortunately I didn’t because I don’t have disability insurance.
Some insurance companies offer short-term disability plans that can cover 12 to 16 weeks of maternity leave, but this requires some forward planning. In most cases, you must pay into the plan for at least a year before taking the leave.
Not having maternity leave to support me in the first few months of being a new mom can cost me thousands of dollars each month depending on how much work I can do once the baby arrives.
While I won’t be able to take advantage of a disability insurance policy that can cover maternity leave for this baby, getting a plan now could benefit me if I decide to have a second child in a few years.
I want to be protected in case of future emergencies
In the past, when someone told me that I needed to get disability insurance as an entrepreneur and freelancer, I just saw it as another unnecessary expense and didn’t think to investigate further.
But after being pregnant and realizing that this was a life-changing event that would put me out of work for months, I decided that having a policy could help protect me against anything else that might happen in the future, whether illness, accident or injury.
Since our family works on two incomes, being unemployed at any time and not being able to support our finances with my income can be devastating and put us in debt.
While life insurance and disability insurance are financial investments, the potential payoff and support they provide not only to the individual, but to the entire family seems not only worthwhile, but absolutely necessary at this point in my life.
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