Unknown = Life

Our dog Koda is very smart. He listens and responds to commands, knows what is expected of him in various situations, and even seems to be in tune with human emotion to a surprising extent. If you have your own pets, you likely understand this guy is part of our family! He goes anywhere we go if we let him – to the store, school, park, and friends’ houses…And he typically makes lots of friends wherever he goes! As I sift through the many pictures on my phone, Koda shows up regularly, and each picture brings a smile.

Although Koda is very smart for a dog, he still has some anxiety and fear of things we think are maybe far-fetched. For example, when he senses we are about to leave the house, he runs and hides under the bed, usually with a comforting toy in his mouth. When he was going through the motions of learning how to take care of business outside, he had to stay in his crate when no one was around to avoid having an accident in the house. Although this is likely the cause of his behavior, he’s well past this stage of Life and gets to roam freely when we’re gone. Even after experiencing the opposite of what he expects hundreds of times, he still runs under the bed at first thought we might be leaving.

We humans are not so different from our animal friends. I don’t know about you, but I can quickly come up with things I’m scared of, many of which are virtually assured never to happen. Words that come to mind are uncertainty, risk, unknown, and maybe even unknowable. These dark, mysterious concepts are just a part of everyday Life, and we all have the power to choose how we face them. We can take steps to mitigate risks in Life: invest our assets appropriately, avoid unnecessarily risky behavior, or even outsource risk to someone else by purchasing insurance.

Life insurance is one of the most common risk mitigation tools our clients are familiar with. As with other risks, discuss what you’re protecting against before discussing which strategy to use. In my experience, many are surprised how often our guidance is not to buy more but to consider relinquishing some of it as you approach and enter retirement. Conceptually, life insurance has many purposes, most commonly to replace lost income, pay off debts, or leave a specific gift or legacy behind. By understanding these important things, sound planning for those nearing retirement can help provide all these things should you pass away, possibly without the need for life insurance. In those common cases, we ask why to keep paying premiums when those dollars can be used better elsewhere.

Suppose you have questions about insurance or even simple questions about what potentially could keep you up at night. In that case, the world is full of complicated products that might be overwhelming to try to understand. Thankfully the answer for most of us might not be all that complicated; we just have to know what we’re trying to accomplish before we begin assigning a solution. Combing through a virtually unlimited number of strategies might not be a good use of your time. Let us do that for you and get all aspects of your finances moving in the right direction together, the direction of your choosing. You might find yourself comfortable and confident on top of the bed of Life instead of curled up and scared underneath.