How do you know the correct amount of life insurance coverage you should get? There’s an easy way to answer that question but most people have no idea where to start. There is a simple template to make sure your life insurance is adequate to take care of your family’s needs after you’re gone.

• Can you have a negative net value for your life? That depends on how and who’s doing the calculation.
• There is a template that Wayne created that allows you to figure out how valuable you are called “Can You Spare a DIME?”
• The D is debts. When you pass away, your debts need to be repaid or your loved ones get saddled with them after you’re gone.
• The I is Income Shortfall. How much income is your family going to need when you’re gone?
• The M is Missed Goals and Opportunities. Will your spouse be able to afford to save for retirement or will your child have to fund their own education because you’re gone?
• The E is Extra Expenses. Funeral costs, childcare and counselling will all come into play here.
• Once you determine these numbers, you can use them as a template to know how much life insurance you should be buying. Nobody likes life insurance but the check your family receives after you die is probably the most welcome check they will ever get.
• Most people don’t have enough life insurance. 59% of adults report that they have some form of life insurance but a lot of that comes from workplace-provided insurance which can drastically fall short in the amount of coverage your family will need.
• The best way to view workplace-provided life insurance is that it’s supplemental at best.
• The people who do have life insurance, around 1 in 5 admit that they probably don’t have enough life insurance.
• It’s often the stay-at-home spouse that gets neglected in the DIME calculation and ends up under-insured. Most people, when crunching the numbers, only think about debts and income shortfall but that doesn’t take into account the needs of a stay-at-home spouse.
• The first thing to do is figure out the value of your DIME calculation. Once you’ve got some rough figures, consider getting a fiduciary financial advisor who has your interests first.

To explore working with Wayne Firebaugh to fireproof your money, please call 855-WAYNE KNOWS or check out at fireproofyourmoney.com.