Guest Post : How To Save Money on Life Insurance

How To Save Money On Life Insurance

If you are trying to pay off debts, then life insurance is probably the last thing on your mind.
Adding an extra payment each month doesn't sound like the best way to cut back, does it? But,
while life insurance may seem like a pointless expense, it is worth thinking about what it would
be like if something were to happen to you.

If you have a partner or family, would they be able to cope paying off all the debts you have left
behind? Apart from unpaid debts, there may also be only the one income in the household to pay
day-to-day expenses. And what about funeral costs?

We all know it's unpleasant to think about all the bad things that could happen, but in the end, it
can be a good idea to plan for them. Here are some common questions on life insurance – and
some ways to save money as well.

What is life insurance?

When you buy life insurance, you agree to pay a certain amount in monthly or annual premiums,
in return for a payout should something happen to you. There are many different types of life
insurance – from the standard life insurance that pays out a lump sum upon death, to income
protection insurance, which can provide regular payments if become sick or injured and can no
longer work. Find out more about what types of insurance are available so you can choose the
right one for you. Individual insurance provider websites are a great place to start. Click here for an example of one provider’s policy document section.

Why would I need life insurance?

If you have debts or dependents then getting life insurance can be a great choice. Life insurance
can pay off debts, it can offer financial assistance to loved ones left behind, and it can make an
emotional time less of a burden by taking money worries out of the equation.

How much cover do I need?

The level of cover you need will depend on a number of factors. Think about how much debt you
have – your mortgage, credit cards, personal loans, student loans, car loans, and so on. Also think
about your dependents and what they will need – day-to-day living costs, school fees, medical
costs, college tuition. If you are unsure how much cover you need, you can use an online life
insurance calculator, or you could speak to an insurance expert.

How do I choose the right insurer?

Check out review sites online to find out what other people recommend. Try to choose an insurer
that has an “A” rating or above.

How do I compare policies?

Using an online comparison site is a great way of narrowing down your options. You can
compare each policy side-by-side, and then make a shortlist of the best options. Always read the
terms and conditions in full – this is very important! - to make sure you get the most suitable policy for you.

How can I save money on life insurance?

You could get healthy to lower your premiums – stop smoking, get more exercise, lower your
cholesterol or blood pressure. You can shop around to make sure you get the best deal. You can
do some extra research to make sure you get the right policy. You can speak to an adviser to
make sure you are not over-insured or under-insured. You can buy online to get discounts and
offers.

There are many ways to save money on life insurance. It doesn't have to be expensive, and it
may be a lot cheaper than you think. Take some time to find out your options, and think about
whether it is the right choice for you.

This sponsored post was written by Jules Shiells

Okay, Onward

Okay, so the car that turned out not to work is sold. I put all the money from the sale onto debt and in the bank for my medical bills. All is taken care of and good. The good thing is, I'm really starting to see some progress on the smaller of our two credit cards. It's not been below $4,000 in over a year and now it's sitting pretty at $3,714.50.

Every so often I get horrendously frustrated with paying off debt. It causes me a lot of stress and really impacts the choices that I can make with my life. But, I know it's not forever. Sometimes, when I sell a book on Amazon or some other small thing I might put $7 towards my debt, or another small number. It may seem silly, but it makes me feel better.... lighter somehow.

You have to keep going with the little stuff. You have to keep snowballing your debt. It's really the only way to do it. I'm being much more vigilant about making sure the debt on my BoA card doesn't increase any more. We have a couple of things that get automatically charged to it, and I'm being really good about paying them off right away. You have to do that too, else you never get anywhere. My goal is that the next time my statement ends, the amount of interest won't max out the card. I don't think that's actually happened yet on that card. But when you're paying $150 a month in interest, it's easy for it to happen.

You have to keep sucking it. Keep going.

Current Totals

Prosper - $0
AmEx - $3714
BoA - $11866
ING - $833
Total - $16413

Ugh

Well, that didn't work. Not two weeks after I bought the car, I discovered that it actually needs $3500 worth of work.

I'm hoping I'll be able to sell it for more than I paid for it, then fix up my Escort with the money. So, no nice big lump sum for me.

I also just had $480 worth of medical bills added to my plate for August and September. We're also buying plane tickets every 1-2 months right now.

I'm going crazy.

Goodbye Soon, Stupid Car

Back when I moved to Las Vegas 18 months ago, I bought a car the first day I moved here. After a week, I completely hated it.

I paid way too much for it, and I did what so many people do when they get new jobs:

I purchased an item based on what I perceived my income would be, rather than money I had on hand.

Honestly, this is a really common occurrence. Lots of people get into debt this way. They get a big increase in salary and they don't pull their punches with their spending.

So, this car has been a real pain since I bought it. It's got many little things that keep going wrong, the air conditioning no longer works, and I've honestly gotten tired of it.

Sorry to whine. I made a bad choice and it's haunted me for a year.

So, anyway. I'd saved up the $350 to fix my air conditioning, when a friend of mine told me she was leaving town and wasn't planning on taking her car with her. On a hunch, I asked her what she was looking to get for it. She came back with $600 for a car in really good working order. Since that's just $250 more than my air conditioning, I'm buying her car and selling mine. This means I get to go back to driving a late 90's Toyota, which is honestly my preference over the 2002 Ford Escort!

I should also be able to recoup some money by selling the Ford, which makes me super super happy!  So, probably in a month when all of this is done and barring crap happening, because crap certainly happens, I should be able to put another chunk on a credit card. Things certainly are moving in the right direction. We've taken $900 off our debt in the last four weeks. Here are the new totals:

Starting Debt: 07/02/11 - $21543

Updated 6/15/12

Prosper - $0
AmEx - $4257
BoA - $11869
ING - $1004

Total - $17130 (20.5%)

Onwards!

Goodbye Prosper

Today is a good day. I paid off the Prosper loan today. We had it for 15 months, paying it off 21 months early. It took a lot of extra work, but this is a huge mile marker on the road to get out of debt.

Without this loan, we now free up an extra $150 a month to put towards the American Express credit card, which is currently holding a balance of around $4400. That, plus putting anything extra that we can towards it, should mean that we can really start to snowball out of this situation.

I'm incredibly relieved, though I confess it was a bit anticlimactic!

I've been working hard on projects like getting Voiceover work and finding other ways to make extra money. I have a roommate now, and wouldn't have been able to pay off this loan without his financial contribution. Needless to say, the hard work is starting to pay off!

How's your debt journey going?


Starting Debt: 07/02/11 - $21543

Prosper - $0
AmEx - $4494
BoA - $11913
ING - $1133

Total - $17538 (18.5%)

I Know, I Know

I know it's been a while. I'm sorry. There has been so much and I'm so focused on my food blog that I've totally neglected this one. I'd say No more!! I shall regularly update and prevail! but I really don't want to make a promise that I can't keep.

So, instead, an update.

I've been getting lots of extra work lately doing voiceovers. I just recently landed a contract to record an Audio Book which will help hugely. I have no AC in my car and I simply can't handle it anymore (it's already over 100 degrees in the Valley) and this will give me the last of the money that I need to finally get that handled, plus some extra to pay down my day.

Hey shameless plug! If you need voicework, no matter how big or how small, check out my website here.

So, my Stunt Guy is back in Atlanta, trying to get some work. It's done a little to alleviate the financial strain, but we have a really long way to go. Hopefully he'll get some bigger gigs soon and we can start taking big chunks off our debt. In the meantime, I've got a roommate and gone into hunker down survival mode. This has involved lots of pantry purging and not doing things that cost money. I've also done really well at getting myself in shape, even running a 5K. I'm getting close to my goal weight, and continue to plug away at it.

So, here is the real update. When last I posted, here was the state of the union:


Prosper - $3026
AmEx - $4282
BoA - $11708
ING - $968

Total - $19,984

Now, this is where we stand:

Prosper - $367
AmEx - $4494
BoA - $11913
ING - $1133

Total - $17907

So we've paid over $2000 in the last few months. We've been paying it on our highest interest loan. It's almost paid off and I am so very happy! This loan has been a pain and being done with it will be huge. We'll be able to start snowballing our minimum payments and hopefully the rest will flow nicely. I calculated that if we snowball minimums, we're looking at 32 months worth of debt. I find that to be unacceptable, and am pushing really hard for us to try and get all this paid off in half that time or more.

I'm happy that once we move on to paying off the AmEx, I can throw random dribs and drabs of cash at it whenever I want. With the Prosper loan, we always had to pay at least $150 at a time. I find it better to be able to whittle in down.

I still can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, though I'm sure it's there. But I'm going to keep trucking.

Life

Life gets crazy sometimes. I'm dealing with an impending cross country move for my guy, who also just had to have his appendix removed (thank everything for insurance, else we'd be declaring bankruptcy after this). I've got a 5K coming up that I'm trying to train for. I haven't updated this blog in ages and I have no good excuse. I'll get to it soon though. Debt totals are down from the previous. We managed to put a lot of extra money on our Prosper loan between my tax return and some extra income that we both made. The good news is that my guy is moving for work, so he'll be able to make some nice contributions to getting our debt paid down. I'm looking for a roommate to help us pay stuff down.

I've been working a lot on my other blog project too. Check it out.

Thanks so much for still being here.