6 minute read
Living with children
Hey Taylor - I just had a baby and almost immediately started thinking about how I need life insurance. I haven’t really looked into it at all and was wondering if you had recommendations. - Gary Hey Gary - Congrats on the new baby! I’m sure this is an exciting and tiring time, so kudos to you for having the wherewithal to look ahead. Life insurance is a must-have for anyone with dependents, and there are definitely good and bad policies, so I’m happy to offer my advice.
When choosing coverage, you’re essentially picking between term and whole life insurance. The difference is pretty basic on its face - term life insurance covers a specified term, usually ranging from 5 to 30 years. Whole life, unsurprisingly, offers coverage until you die, with a set premium until the policy is paid in full.
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If you’ve heard of people talking about life insurance as an investment, they’re referring to whole life insurance. As you pay money into your policy, you build up a cash account from which you can withdraw later in life. You can also theoretically borrow against these funds, leveraging the asset. Whole life insurance has surface-level appeal, but that’s about it. In my opinion, you don’t get out of it what you put in.
For starters, whole life policies are expensive. You spend nearly 10x what you would on good term coverage, and while you’re supposed to see some of that money when you get older, there are far better investments you could consider. The point of life insurance is to provide a safety net in the event of your passing. If you’re putting tons of money into this policy each year during your 30s, 40s, and 50s, you’re hurting your spending power during your
Bulldogs
(Continued from page 3) mon on a bubble screen that went for 46 yards to give Howe a 35-0 lead with 8:34 left in the game.
Dakota Harrington, who was called up from the varsity to fill in for an ailing Matthew Bearden, recovered a fumble at the Howe 14 yard line. That set up a 4-play, 86-yard drive that saw freshman Carson Daniels carry a workload and senior Layton Elvington carried it the final five yards for the best years and not investing as wisely as you could be. And, throughout the process, you’re not doing any better by the family you’re trying to provide for.
With a 20-year term, you eliminate the hoopla and secure a respectable settlement should tragedy strike. You’ll save money each month, you’ll get the peace of mind you seek, and your family will be covered should something happen. You should be able to get monthly premiums below $50 a month, and then you just need to renew well before the term expires.
You can certainly look into 10and 30-year terms as well, but I’ve found 20 delivers the best pricing and flexibility. If you want to learn more about term policies and how they compare to whole life insurance, you can check out a post I’ve written at GoFarWithKovar.com.
It’s good that you’re thinking about life insurance, Gary. Now it’s time to stop thinking and buy, because the longer you wait the higher the premiums rise and the more risk you endure. Take care of it now and get back to enjoying life with your new child. Thanks for the question!
Taylor Kovar, CEO of Kovar Capital. Read more about Taylor at GoFarWithKovar.com
Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.com, or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901.
John Rose-
Q: My normally happy 6-year -old son has recently started incorporating death and warlike games into his imaginative play. He isn't and has never been a meanspirited child, but his dad and I just divorced (amicably), and I feel like he's having trouble dealing with it. For example, he has started telling me he feels stupid. Can you recommend something I can do, or should I have him talk to someone?
A: I would not recommend professional help at this point. First, incorporating war and death into imaginative play is not at all unusual for boys this age and older. In and of itself, this is not cause for concern. Today’s parents have become sensitized to this sort of thing because of highly publicized incidents of child and teen violence, but boys have been playing war games forever whereas boys becoming mass murderers is a recent phenomenon – and almost exclusively an American phenomenon.
On the other hand, if a 6-year-old suddenly becomes truly obsessed with violence (e.g., begins threatening violence toward peers or family or becomes cruel toward pets) I would immediately suspect regular exposure to video games with violent themes. In that case, the obvious solution is to remove the video games from the child’s life. Evidence is mounting that video games with violent themes are contributing to both depression and outbursts of anger in young children.
It’s to be expected that your son will have some degree of difficulty adjusting to a major change of this magnitude in his day-to-day life, but the fact that a youngster is not exactly overjoyed over his parents’ divorce does not mean he’s having a psychological crisis. As for saying he’s stupid, I would tend to take a wait-and-see attitude. There is good likelihood that when he adjusts to the new family circumstances, self-deprecating comments of that sort will fade away.
On the other hand, if you and his father act toward him as if you think he’s a victim, he will begin acting more and more like a victim. Children are intuitively brilliant, and they take advantage of whatever opportunities are handed to them, however unwittingly. Your son may be repeating the “I’m stupid” mantra because you are acting as if it’s to be taken very, very seriously. You respond by talking to him, trying to convince him that he isn’t stupid. So, the next time he’s feeling a little blue and wants attention, he says he’s stupid.
The next time he says this, simply say, “We’ve talked about that enough. If you still think you’re stupid, I’m truly sorry, but we’re not going to talk about it any more. Furthermore, saying that you’re stupid means your brain is over-tired and needs a rest. So from now on, when you say that you’re stupid I’m going to send you to your room to lie down and rest for an hour so you can think straight again.” score to make it 42-0 with 2:31 left in the game.
Your confidence in your authority is the key to your son’s sense of well-being. If you are convinced that the divorce was in everyone’s best interest, then I strongly advise you to act accordingly.
Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, parent guru.com.
John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology. In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.
With the shutout thought to be in hand, the Buffaloes were able to get on the board on the ensuing kickoff return to make it 42-6 for the final score.
Howe outgained Lone Oak by 254 yards which is the first time the Dogs have reached that level versus an opponent since the area championship game in 2016 vs. Jefferson (329).
In six career starts, Austin Haley's two touchdown passes brings his career total to 12 which ties Andreas Liss in that category and places Haley 9th all-time in Bulldogs history. His 201 yards passing brings his total to 1,249 and moves him ahead of Halen Kirby, Wade Carson, and Josh Farris into 8th all-time.
The win by Howe sets up the biggest game for the Bulldogs in three years when they travel to Commerce next Friday to take on the Tigers (2-5; 1-2) whose two district losses have come to Pottsboro and Van Alstyne. Last week, they lost to the VA Panthers 46-36.
The game will be played at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadi- um on the campus of Texas A&M Commerce. Game time is 7:30 pm and the live audio broadcast will be available on howeenterprise.com and live in real time inside the stadium on 88.1 FM.
80 years ago this week
