She laughed in the face of danger when she was younger, says Letitia Watson. Two kids later, she’ll think twice before boarding a ship full of illegal immigrants on the Malaysian coast.
I am so glad my own parents had no idea where (or in what) my husband and I were exploring the world.
Backpacking in South America without speaking or understanding a word of Spanish, yet still making it into the Andes mountains, getting into this really scary boat somewhere off the Malaysian coast and only later realizing that it may NOT be the boat meant for tourists and we may just have joined illegal emigrants making for America…
It was so much crazy fun. And while we haven’t lost our sense of adventure, we found a new a new sense of being responsible for our own lives kicked in when we had our first child.
I realised how valuable and vulnerable life is and that I needed to protect myself (properly!) in order to take care of my daughter. This meant more than just no longer getting on the next plane to a place with an unpronounceable name.
I’ve turned into a fierce, protective tigress when it came to my babies. (To visitors: Do you think you may develop a cold in the next week? Really? Right. No touching!) Okay, it has changed a little bit. Somewhere you realize you can’t protect them against everything… It’s hard to let go.
I really understood for the first time why I needed life insurance after my first child was born. In fact, I didn’t just need it – I WANTED it.
Out with the grudge purchase, in with providing for my kids.
I know I am on a topic that can be really boring. (The renowned American oil well firefighter Red Adair once famously said that one of the things he really like about his job is that he is never bothered by life-insurance salesmen!)
But please bear with me. As life unfolds, our needs change. There are times when you don’t need life insurance, times when you do need it, and there will come a time when you can let go of it again. Let me explain.
When you have no dependents and little debt, your need for life cover is small. This changes the moment you have a little life depending on you. What will happen to your kids when you are suddenly not there? Will they have a home? Will they have enough to study after school? You can’t depend on family members to provide for them financially and support them.
Life cover is a way of providing for them financially, apart from covering debts and other costs in the event of your death. Chat to a financial expert. I mean this. It’s a serious thing and needs more than a casual conversation at a braai or a chat while waiting at the breast clinic. Always get more than one opinion, before comparing the cover, benefits and costs.
When you get older your need for life insurance may change again. You may not be burdened with the need to provide for others after your death forever.
According to financial planners, many people eventually outlive their need for life insurance. If you have no debt, sufficient assets or investments and no estate duty problems (in other words enough wealth) or your kids are financially independent, you might have outgrown your need for it completely.
In the meantime, when your kids are still dependent on you, you really need to check how to provide for them financially.
- How have you started to play it safe since your kids were born? Please share your story below.
Leave a Reply