Unfortunately, death is inevitable. We have no idea when we will die, so it’s crucial always to be prepared. It’s even more important to be ready when you have a significant other and family relying on your money or time. Putting together a plan should include purchasing a life insurance policy because this will give your loved ones the money they need to pay their bills or hire extra help. There is no one-size-fits-all for insurance, so you must take time to research and determine the amount of coverage you and your family need. Take a look at these tips to help you along the process of calculating your life insurance policy needs. 

4 Tips for Calculating Your Life Insurance Policy Needs

1. Understand the Type of Insurance You Need

Image courtesy of Unsplash.

As we mentioned before, various types of insurance can have different premiums for each person. Before you calculate your life insurance policy needs, you need to determine what type of insurance is most suitable for you and your family. The two most common types of life insurance are whole and term policies. A whole life insurance policy is with the policyholder for the rest of their life, as long as they continue to pay the premium. Part of that premium is turned into cash value that can be saved, used for retirement, or invested. Term life insurance policies are much more affordable and easier to understand. They do not have the cash value aspect and are only purchased for a specific period. The term can be anywhere from 5-30 years.

If you are searching for the most inexpensive plan, a term life insurance policy is probably right for you. It can also be the correct choice if your children will be going to college during the term of your policy. When you no longer have dependents, you might not need as much coverage. On the other hand, a whole life insurance policy is beneficial for those who will have dependents their entire life. 

1. Uncover How Much Money Your Dependents Need

A large portion of your life insurance policy will be determined by how much money your dependents need. This is because your policy payout will most likely be going towards these different things. There are two important items that you should consider when determining your life insurance needs. The first is debt, and the second is income replacement. Your debts can be one of the most significant factors in life insurance because you do not want to put that burden onto your loved ones. If you were to pass away unexpectedly and still had a student loan, business loan, or mortgage, the cosigner or a loved one will face paying it off. The policy should be large enough to pay off all of your debts in full — don’t forget to calculate interest.

You should consider the income you are bringing in now and how much you want to replace if you pass away. If you are the family’s breadwinner, you should consider replacing your entire salary plus extra to guard against inflation. Many experts recommend that you should purchase a policy that is 10 to 15 times the amount of your annual income. 

1. Use Equations to Calculate the Amount

The amount of life insurance coverage you need is not something that you can guess or estimate. So it’s crucial to be as detailed as possible to ensure that your family is protected. There are various calculations and equations that financial experts have come up with, but there are two that are extremely common — take a look.

Multiply by 10: Multiplying your income by 10 is a general rule of thumb that has also been seen to be seven or fifteen. Because it’s hard to pinpoint and find the sweet spot, it’s best to add up your total needs and subtract the assets your family could use if you died.
DIME: The DIME Method is a way to remember everything you should add together when determining your life insurance coverage.

• D: Debt

• I: Income

• M: Mortgage

• E: Education (This is if you would like to pay for your children’s schooling with your payout.)

1. Consider Your Afterlife Expenses

If you were to pass away, your funeral and burial are another expense your family has to deal with when you are gone. The average funeral can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000, which is a lot of money for most families. Many policyholders will use their payout to give their loved ones peace of mind that the funeral is one less thing they need to worry about during this time. They will be grieving immensely, so finances are probably the last thing they would like to have on their mind. Estimate how much your headstone, funeral service, and more could cost you and add that into your coverage. 

Everyone has financial obligations, but no one wants to put those burdens onto someone else if they pass away. Calculating your life insurance policy needs is crucial when purchasing a plan because various families have different needs. The Fabric app is your one-stop shop for all things considering affordable insurance and finances. You can find affordable term life insurance, assign a guardian to your children with a will, and receive a tool to plan your family’s financial future. Download the app today to put yourself at ease knowing your loved ones are protected.

It has been a while since a book made us all laugh out loud, especially at the moment when times are challenging, but this book did just that; it’s just the absurdity of a pea having an adventure as much as anything else. Our household is at the stage where the children are amused when at the start of the film there is a mild peril warning. This book needs one of those! But, what is so lovely is the the pea is resilient and cheerful throughout, it enjoys the adventures even though some of them might seem on reflection a little scary. The book is really well written and perfectly paced for reading aloud. My older kids are currently looking at it as inspiration for writing their own rhymes.

Every good picture book needs good illustrations, the illustrations perfectly depict the text and are exactly pitch perfect for the age group. The characters of the spider and pea are really well conveyed and hats off to Alex Willmore who has managed to convey emotions on a pea.

The Runaway Pea Washed Away is a good, fun, light hearted read, its perfect to raise the mood in your household during 2020. If you’d like to get hold of a copy its available at all the major retailers priced at £6.99.

The book features Asha a coding genius from a British Indian family who is recruited to join the top secret Children’s Spy Agency. With the help of her little drone, she hacks into the world’s biggest tech company (run by a teenager) in order to save the world. The book has story which is engaging on its own, however there is the added bonus of lots of top tips and tasks scattered through the book. My 8 year old really enjoyed these points in the story where he could stop, think and engage a different sort of brain to look through a decision table diagram to see the outcomes or  learn more facts about the internet.

I try to read books before I pass them onto the children because this enables me to discuss the stories with them which is so important for building their comprehension skills. Agent Asha is a very fast paced children’s book, a lot happens very quickly and it seems to have everything- sharks, a cute hamster, a drone, the internet, spies. I loved that Asha is a British Indian Girl who is so empowered, she is a really delightful role model. The story is well written with humour and even features Sophie herself. I’m not sure that children would notice these touches, but I appreciated them. Reluctant readers are more engaged when there are plenty of illustrations and the images here really bring the story to life in a way that is suitable for the target age group.

Agent Asha has some awesome spy gadgets to help her on her missions, including :

• The WHAT-A BOTTLE: It turns even the muddiest puddle water into clean drinking water and is also a state-of-the-art multi-tool that includes: a Screwdriver, Laser torch, Emergency dog whistle, and a diamond cutter
• The MEGA FART SELFIE STICK: It can be used to look round corners, but if somebody other than Asha tries to use this, it lets out a huge fart that nobody can stand to be in the room with!

This encouraged us to think about what what spy gadgets we could come up with. By far our best invention was the SUPER MULTIPURPOSE BRACELET, what do you think?

The book comes with an associated app- CSA World which has a real flavour of the book, the games require children to think about programming which is fast becoming an essential life skill. I think the fact that they tied in with the book encouraged my son to read the book. Playing the games he exclaimed: ‘this is fun!’ and ‘thats good music!’. He especially enjoyed hacking the games which appeals to his interests and natural flair for IT.

This is a great book for kids usually more interested in screens than books such as my son who was bouncing with enthusiasm with the idea that there is an app which links into a book. You can use the app as a bribe to get them to read, but the fact that the app features the book is a brilliant incentive anyway. We really enjoyed it and we’re looking forward to more Agent Asha adventures.

You can get hold of a copy from 2nd July 2020 from all the usual retailers priced £6.99 its aimed at 7+ age group. ISBN 9781406382723. You can find out more here and enjoy the blog tour.

Usually in our house the boys gang up with the girl. However, times are changing and thanks to a series of ‘sleepovers’ and camp-outs for Guiding and Cub Scout badges Fifi and little Ned have forged a nice bond recently.

I cant say our household has been particularly harmonious but there are a few pieces of advice or tips I can offer:

Let the fights happen

An essential part of growing up and learning how to interact with others is to learn how to manage conflict and how to control your emotions. My kids are certainly doing that but i’ve tried really hard not to get too involved. Tomorrow is another day (or for the big grudge bearers next week) and things blow over but lessons have been learnt.

Don’t assume loyalties between children

It can be really easy to assume whats happening in a situation and which side a child will take. This can go really badly wrong. Much better to assume none of them like each other and work from there!

Don’t take it personally

Until fairly recently I really wanted all my kids to get on with each other and I tried really hard to encourage them to play together and interact nicely with each other. I’d intervene in fights and try hard to ensure ‘fairness’. I wanted them all to like each other and to be ‘best friends’ for the rest of their lives. What I have learnt is that all children and different, all situations are different and that everyone is an individual with a different perspective on a situation. As a mother it isn’t your problem if they don’t get on and what ever has happened certainly isn’t your fault. You’ve done your best and unless they all come to serious blows its better to stand back and let it all play out in time.

I’d love to hear any tips and advice you have.

If six months ago you had been given the opportunity to revisit some of the maths and science you did at school and get a crash course in grammar would you have taken it? Personally, I think I would have, mainly because i’m geeky like that. However, I don’t think I appreciated the sheer amount of mental effort it has taken to teach myself and teach my child all at the same time. Marking grammar when i’ve only just begun to understand it myself has been really interesting and a very steep learning curve.

With all the learning the children have been doing, I’ve felt obliged to keep up some other learning as part of my CPD for my work from which i’m currently furloughed and also to ensure that I have enough skills to find work should I be made redundant. With this is mind I’ve been trying a little to diversify my interests and skills a little. I’ve been looking at courses advertised via the big recruitment agencies as there seems to be a variety available and quite a lot of good discounts on them, making them affordable. For example, I’ve just completed a Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course which is needed for working with food- for example in a Cafe. It was just £9 and I think  adds another string to my bow if I need to try to find alternative work.

I’ve also been doing a Digital Arts Course which has been really fantastic, this was a really quite intensive course run over 5 mornings for 5 weeks with follow up work. However, I feel much more confident about manipulating images, using apps and have the skills to create my own gallery to show off my portfolio of work. This course will be incredibly handy for my museums career and has significantly increased my digital abilities. The course was free through our community learning group which was amazing. They offer lots of different creative courses which are now all online and i’m sure you’d have something similar in your area.

One thing which I’ve also been doing is keeping an eye out for conferences and seminars which I wouldn’t have been able to attend due to the cost or travel involved. Many of them are now being run online and i’m really looking forward to one this Friday run by the Animal History Group.

At the moment i’m looking for positives around this horrible situation we all find ourselves in and I think the opportunities for learning is one of them. Its important to stress that digital learning isn’t for everyone so i’d hate for anyone to feel pressured or stressed into doing anything, however, even just taking a few minutes a day to do something positive for yourself will help your mental health and you never know where it might take you!

One of the sheer joys of this lockdown period for me has been the opportunity to read more. I don’t know about you, but I spend an awful lot of time rushing about taking various children to various locations alongside working full time and running the household. I really struggle to find the time to read books of my choosing, so its been a real indulgence.

I must admit the amount of time I have to read was assisted by an enforced period of sitting down which was resultant of tripping over and doing something horrific to my ankle, but less said about that the better. I’ve also been really determined to not spend time reading the news, I think this must have given me an hour (usually at about 5:30 am) every day and something which I am trying hard to keep up. You’d be surprised at how much time adds up just scrolling Facebook and the newspaper websites.

I always think that reading can be justified, not just for personal pleasure but also as setting an example for your children. The more they see you read, the more they are likely to do so themselves. So, no excuses!

I’ve managed to read several novels, biographies and a lot of books about science and nature. Its going to be a long blog post if I review everything i’ve read (and I’ve really read a lot and fairly widely) but I thought it was worth just mentioning the names of the books i’ve particularly enjoyed, i’ve love to hear your recommendations

Novels

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

Lanny by Max Porter

The other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glenn

Jump by Jilly Cooper

The Collector by John Fowles

Science and Nature Writing

Underland by Robert MacFarlane

The Running Hare by John Lewis-Stempel

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson

Autobiography

The Bumblebee Flies Anyway by Kate Bradbury

You’ll find these books in all the usual places, but I’ve been using my local library which has a digital library and also Blackwells who offer free postage and are often cheaper than the Amazon.

This is a really positive book which although written by the UK Ambassador for Girl Guiding is as suitable for boys as it is for girls. The nice thing about it is that unlike lots of adventure books its really clear on how to go about each of the activities, what you might need and inspirational real life stories of people who have succeeded at that activity.

The illustrations in the book make it really accessible and a joy to browse through. Each time we pick it up me and my daughter find something different which catches our eye. Usually these sorts of books are full of photographs which can really quickly become dated, this book will definitely sit on the bookshelf for years to come and look as fresh in ten years as it does today.

For us, this book has come at the right time, because it’s a book full of inspiration. I have been sitting with my daughter and we’ve been making a bucket list of things that we might enjoy doing once this lockdown is fully over because after all, who really does ‘grow up’! Sea kayaking is high on my list, swimming between two points of land is one for my daughter’s list. I should also say that there are a few which we have done whilst we have been stuck at home too such as learning to count in three different languages.

You can buy the book at all the usual retailers and you’ll find all the details here.

• If you have more than one child set up the working environment so that the children are working together. We set up a little ‘Internet Cafe’ and encouraged the kids to sit and work together at the same time, this means they discipline and motivate each other. Nothing like a bit of peer learning!
• Start the lessons early. I’ve discovered that if we start the work almost immediately with a break for breakfast the kids are far more awake and on the ball and that leaves the rest of the day for them to do other activities such as computer games, scouting badges, exercise. They get a sense of satisfaction from having done all the work usually before about 11.
• Be prepared! It definitely pays dividends to read through the presentations yourself beforehand and to make sure you understand what is being asked, that any print outs are done in advance and that there is a plentiful supply of paper and pens nearby.
• Encourage them to use books for research. As they are sat at the computer it’s really easy to just Google things and use dictionary.com. I’ve put a dictionary on the table and banned dictionary.com. i’m also trying to put relevant books nearby (if I have them) because otherwise they are purely screen focussed.
• Buy some nice snacks. In my experience nothing motivates a primary school child than the prospect of a nice biscuit, sweet or some fresh fruit.
• Set boundaries, encourage resilience and peer learning and if all else fails ensure the child has enough confidence in themselves to come back to the task at another time when you are free to help.
• Make sure you take the learning outside if you can.
• Make good use of board games and the other learners in your household- peer to peer incidental learning seems to work.

• Ensure that there is space to be creative, to explore what they are learning and to discuss the topic and other relevant topics. Life skills are important too. Set little tasks and projects outside of the schoolwork which can contribute to other scouting badges, Blue Peter badges or even your own well-being- my kids made us a three course meal on Saturday night and I think i’m more proud of this than anything else they’ve done.

Happy Mum, Happy Baby is something which I’ve always advocated on this blog and in my life. Above all else its really important to remember that if your household is as stress free as you can make it and that you as parents are coping, then the children will learn and blossom. If you cant home school in the traditional sense then nurture your little individuals, let them use this time to learn about themselves, to build personal resilience and just enjoy the time as a family.

Learning about nature

I am always really surprised how many adults can’t identify plants and animals, as a result I take every opportunity to try to encourage my children to learn about nature so they can benefit from the joy of being able to identify a tree or a bird. We have been watching Chris Packham’s Self Isolating Bird Club broadcasts on YouTube, going around the garden looking for mini beasts, drawing birds and animals, listening and identifying bird song using an app and taking a Woodland Trust Tree Identification Guide out on short walks.

Creating window displays

I’ve always thought that our windows provide the perfect place to showcase ideas and thoughts, once we’d done our NHS rainbow we decided to use this space to create further displays. The children have been busy painting and creating things from Hama Beads which we can hang up and display. We’ve had loads of positive comments from neighbours and its been a lot of fun.

Pet photography

My daughter has been busy learning all about photography and digital editing. These skills will stay with her for life and have given her enormous satisfaction. She has managed to get a Guides Photography Badge, used loads of digital editing apps and learnt the rudiments of Photoshop. This project was so inspirational it also provided the impetus for us to create an Instagram account for our cat.

Papercraft

We have had lots of fun creating all sorts of constructions out of cardboard from our deliveries. We’ve also created pop up cards so we have a stash of cards to send out of birthdays.

Sewing

If you’ve got a sewing machine and have been meaning to teach the kids so sew, then this is a great time to get going. We’ve been making pyjamas from Tilly and the Buttons pattern and my daughter is now fully embracing the joy of wearing home made. It is really satisfying to know that she is quite self sufficient in most things now.

Scouting, Guiding and Blue Peter badges

Sometimes having something to do which is a bit challenging is a good thing and we’ve been working away at various badges, including the Blue Peter music badge. It’s been good to have some activities which are externally recognised.

Nature based art

Creating art around things that we can find in the garden has always been a quick win and i’ve been giving the children themes to develop their practice and restricting the plants that they can use to a colour pallet or a type of plant.

Digital Art

I’ve been amazed by the number of apps that are available for free which will allow you to manipulate your photographs and create some fantastic effects. From Pixlr, Collagepic and Snapseed to many others we have been having absolutely loads of fun learning how to use these apps and create some fantastic images. My son manipulated this image of our cat and then we went one stage further to explore potato printing to create some graphics rather than doing that digitally- just because we could!

Creating our own films

I really wanted to record this lockdown period, so i’ve been encouraging the kids to write diaries but alongside this i’ve sneaked in a few film making projects. The kids have done a variety of film making from creating their own horror film, devising a charity fundraising advert through to creating an educational film about how to make Roman bread. Its been good fun and is a nice record of what they were like in 2020 as its hard to just film them as you would toddlers. The whole process has been assisted by a couple of free phone apps- VivaVideo and YouCut.

I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing, please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.

Be Kind to Your Pocket with Laminate

If you’ve fallen in love with natural materials such as wood and stone but their price tag is too off putting, then don’t worry, not all hope is lost. Laminate is the most budget friendly option and replicates natural products perfectly that often it’s hard to tell it apart from the real thing. Not only is laminate a cheaper alternative but it also has much better practicality. It is worth considering that it’s only resistant to scratches, stains and water so we’d perhaps keep it away from rooms that see high exposure to these such as the bathroom. It can cope with average amounts of these, so the kitchen and dining room would be appropriate. It also pairs with underfloor heating, something a lot of modern homes now have. Laminate is a great choice for first-time buyers, with it being an affordable fix for those not wanting to break the bank.

Show Off with Solid Wood Flooring

As much as we don’t want extra maintenance and cleaning, we’re all a sucker for a gorgeous interior. The best way to impress and show off prestige is to go for solid wood, a popular and sophisticated choice that is guaranteed to introduce a classical and charming look to your home. To make a grand first impression, we’d recommend solid wood in the hallway as it will never go out of fashion and is highly durable, ideal for those high foot traffic areas. Coming in a range of wood types, colours, plank arrangements and finishes, there’s a whole world of options available to you. If you’re wanting to go one step further to add luxury to your home, then there’s nothing better than herringbone wood. Simply beautiful!

Live Carefree with Luxury Vinyl Tiles

Anyone that has LVT in their home will know how practical and easy to manage it is. It is completely water, stain and scratch proof, so we’d always recommend it as the ideal choice for kitchens and bathrooms. Like laminate, it looks strikingly similar to natural materials as well as being much more affordable than its inspiration. The best thing about LVT is that it is extremely durable as well as boasting a very easy cleaning routine. It is also compatible with under-floor heating and anti-slip, a big advantage over tiles which are very hazardous when wet. Perfect for family homes, it’s hard to find fault with LVT really!