You presumably want to spend more time with your family because you care about them. Well, buying life insurance is the ultimate way to show that you care about your family. On a day-by-day basis, and you should absolutely strive to achieve this resolution. But for a resolution that looks a little further down the road and has the same goal at its center – showing your family you care about them – add life insurance to the list.

Spend Less and Save More

Financially-related resolutions are common, and you better believe that life insurance plays a role. Most often people start with something simple, like setting a budget or saving more – which is great! – but you shouldn’t stop there. It’s a good foundation for better money habits as a whole, and buying life insurance can be part of that foundation, too. Getting into the habit of diverting money to life insurance as a means of saving and security will keep you on a wise path of financial management.

Increase Your Family RecreationTime

If you need that extra boost of motivation to achieve any of your health-related resolutions, think about what it can do to your budget as well as your waistline. It’s not just the budget and financial implications, the stress you might feel when worrying about your family’s financial future will abate. You will have peace of mind that allows you to fully enjoy your family and recreational time for a healthy life. Healthier living and life insurance go hand in hand.

Save for College Expenses

Providing the best possible education for your children is a high priority for many. When you’re saving for college expenses, a 529 is an efficient way to go because you’re getting tax advantages on the money you invest for your child’s future college costs. But with a 529, you’ll pay a penalty if you don’t use the money on qualified education costs. Whole life insurance also offers tax advantages, and it’s one of the few assets that’s not factored into federal financial aid calculations.

Preparation for Hard Times

No one wants to think about it, but horrible things do happen. Are you prepared in the case of a disability that impacts the family income? What would happen if you pass away suddenly? How will your family maintain their financial security?

Many people choose term life insurance, which offers a death benefit for a period of time, with cost-effective premiums and the largest amount of coverage. But term insurance only offers a death benefit, meaning most people pay their premiums for years and get nothing more than the peace of mind that if something were to happen, their family would be covered. Whole life insurance can offer additional value.

If you’re ever disabled and can’t work, disability insurance can help you pay the bills. But with the waiver of premium benefit on a whole life insurance policy, whole life insurance can also help during a disability. That’s because during your disability you won’t have to pay the premium on your policy. And while you’ll have one less bill to pay, your cash value will continue to grow in the same manner as if you were still making payments, keeping you on track for other financial goals.

Living Comfortably in Retirement

Generating retirement income is one of the key concerns for adults as we near the last decades of our lives. Many people will live off investments in retirement, which is great when the market is performing well. But when the market declines, you’ll have to withdraw a larger portion of your investments to get the same income you would need to live. During a recession, that can take a big bite out of your portfolio. Since the cash value of whole life insurance never declines, it can be a great source of income during those down years.  Then when the market does recover, you can switch back to withdrawing from your investments.