Insurance agents are forever trying to impress upon people that future security is much more important than instant gratification in the present. It’s one of those things that a person has to realize for themselves though. It is a matter of priorities. You’ve probably already seen insurance agencies with blog posts about the various “necessities” in life which cost you more than life insurance would each month. This post will feature the usuals but it is a little different, because 2020 has been more than a little different.
Some of these “necessities” have been a consistent drain on our wallets since time out of mind:
- A daily cup of coffee – As a popular meme says, a lot of us “can’t even” until we’ve had our first cup of coffee in the morning. But if you invest in a coffeemaker, along with a tub of grounds and some coffee creamers every once in a while, you’ll be set. It may not be the same as picking one up at your favorite coffee house and you have to do it yourself every morning, but there is a sense of accomplishment in that. And you’ll be freeing up several dollars a day that can go toward a longer-lasting investment.
- Lottery tickets – Yes, if you hit the big jackpot, you and your loved ones could be set for life. But that “could be” is a huge one. Purchasing a life insurance policy removes all uncertainty right there and then.
- The newest version of pretty much anything electronic – Seriously, just how much greater is version 17 of your phone than version 16 was? Those numbers are just random, but they point to how long many of us have been on the hamster wheel of buying the newest version of our electronics, simply because they are available. This isn’t monthly obviously but for the year they are released, you could free up some cash for your life insurance by holding on to your old but not obsolete phone for another trip around the sun.
And some of these things, we’ve probably been spending much more money on this year because we’ve spent much more time at home. But when we bring this area of our household budget back into line with where it had been pre-COVID, the best place to re-allocate those funds is in a life insurance policy:
- Video games – Like other technology, often it is just a given that when version 34 (more exaggeration) of our favorite video game drops, we’re going to buy it.
- Cable TV or movie streaming – These services were becoming huge before the quarantine but they became a constant in our lives this spring.
- Food delivery – Take out and especially delivery saw an increase in a lot of households this spring.
But it is plain to see that many of these things, with the weirdness of 2020, we have NOT been spending money on monthly.
- Dining out at restaurants and bars – Kind of the counterpart of the last entry, “Food delivery”. Maybe you spent the quarantine time learning how to cook or exploring new recipes to expand your culinary repertoire. Good! Though we encourage investing in our local businesses, it is also true that cooking at home more will give you more money to put toward a life insurance policy.
- Movie theater – Summer is usually blockbuster movie time. We missed out, but if you are usually a big movie-goer, going forward if you can cut out one theater visit per month, along with the expense of the concessions, you’ll more than gain back the amount you’d need to put into your life insurance.
- Gym Membership – While a gym membership is a great thing to have and use, the joke about people getting a gym membership in January and abandoning it by, oh I don’t know, say February, is almost cliche by now. We’re not saying that is you. If you were taking full advantage of your membership before COVID-19 hit and fully intend to resume or have resumed, great! But this is a good time to evaluate if you are in fact a “gym membership” kind of person. We all want to support local business but if it isn’t happening, why pay the monthly membership? Maybe during the quarantine, you found some innovative ways to work out at home. You’ll be healthier for not letting your workouts lapse. But if you have a family or plan to, you still need a life insurance policy.
- Haircut/tanning/nails – You may have let your hair grow a little longer this year or let the grays creep in as they will. Maybe you’ve had to cut out other cosmetic non-essentials. Maybe you’ve decided you like it that way or that you can do with less of it. Again, supporting our local tradespeople is very important now. But this is also an opportunity to find a better balance in your spending, to make room for providing the security that is essential to the ones you love.
What better time to transition the income you previously spent on the above to a life insurance policy? Call your local Horihan Insurance office and we’ll get you started toward a huge “thank you” from your future self.