May 2020

You may think that the term plan that suits your friend or relative would work for you too. But your friend’s health and age may not be the same as you. And these crucial factors affect the policy’s cost. For you, the best plan would be the one that offers you the highest amount while charging you the lowest. Apart from that, there should be additional benefits like critical illness cover, waiver of premium, accidental death, income benefit, etc.

Because you have to keep so many things in mind, choosing a term plan could be challenging for you. However, if you are the only earning member of your family, have small children, and have loans to pay, investing in a term insurance plan would be beneficial. Below are the things you should consider before buying the term insurance.

What Should Be My Policy’s Term?

If you are in your late 20s or early 30s right now, buying a term plan for 50 years can be unnecessary. Ideally, you should invest in policy until retirement. This is because as you advance towards retirement, your family would be less dependent on you. By the time you turn 60, your kid would settle down, you would pay the loans, and may also have a few assets in your name. You can choose a decreasing term plan in this case, where you will have to pay a significantly low premium amount as the sum insured decreases with time.

Advertisements Show Per Day Premium, What Are They?

You would have seen numerous advertisements talking about per day premium, which could be as low as Rs. 25 per day for 1 crore sum insured. But you should know that these numbers are specific to certain age group, health conditions and policy’s tenure. This policy could be tailored for a person in 20s without any medical condition like blood sugar, blood pressure, etc. whose policy term is 40 years. So, you should know that your policy amount and premium are affected by your health, age, and tenure of the policy.

When Is The Right Time To Buy A Term Insurance Policy?

After you turn 18, you can buy a term plan at any age you wish to because there is no maximum limit. But it is advisable to invest in a policy early because you would get a pocket-friendly deal. Not only your sum insured would be high but also your premium would below. Also, when you are in your 20s or 30s, you have more responsibilities as compared to when you are in your 50s and above. A 30-year-old is likely to have a family of their own as well as loans on their head. They would require a large cover so that the future of their kids is secure. But that would not be the case with a 50-year-old person.

The Bottom Line

Before buying a term plan, you should be aware of how term insurance policies work and what factors affect your plan. This way, you would be able to take maximum advantage of the policy.

Buying a new home is a big decision. Not only do you need to consider everything from a financial standpoint, but you also need to think about how moving into a new home could impact every other aspect of your life.

To help you in making this all-important decision, here are three things to consider when looking for a new home.

All Associated Costs

The cost of getting into a new home goes far beyond what you can pay for your monthly mortgage. Because of this, you need to be considering all associated costs before you can determine if you can really afford to make the move you’re wanting.

According to Diane Koopman, a contributor to LifeHack.org, you also need to think about things like your living expenses there, what bills you’ll need to pay, maintenance costs, renovations, furnishing, moving costs, closing costs on the home, and more. Once you’ve been able to hash out what all of these costs will likely be and then balance them against your budget, only then will you know if you can truly afford the home that you’re wanting to buy.

How You Feel About The Neighborhood

The actual home you buy is only part of the equation. Equally important is the neighborhood in which you’ll be moving into, especially if you have kids.

To get a feel for the neighborhood before you purchase a home there, Coral Nafie, a contributor to The Spruce, advises that you try to spend as much time in that area as you can. Ideally, you should shoot to visit that area on various occasions and at different times of the day. By doing this, you should be able to see what type of goings on are common in that area. You should also look up any statistics you can find about that area so you can get as clear of a picture as you can regarding how you’ll fit into that community and how well it will match with the lifestyle you’re wanting.

Issues With The Home

Before you buy a new home, you’re going to want to make sure that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into as far as any issues that the home has that you’ll then need to address.

While a lot of this kind of stuff will come up in a home inspection, you should do your own inspection before you purchase the property. During this inspection, Thomas Noel, a contributor to Freshome.com, recommends that you check out things like the roof, heating and cooling systems, the foundation, any areas where water damage is common, the windows, and the electrical system.

If you’re looking to buy a new home, consider using the tips mentioned above to make sure you get the right property for you.