This has been a really difficult year for me. I’ve been in mourning for my brother’s death, my son’s death, my aunt’s death, and most recently, my uncle’s death. It’s been a tough few years.
And it’s not just losing loved ones. It’s recovering from that and continuing your life during that adjustment. Continuing to take care of things you’re supposed to take care of and do all the things that you’re supposed to do.
I’ve kept pushing through because I needed to work to help me get through it. That’s how I coped with it all.
One thing that’s given me peace of mind is knowing that if I need to, I can stop. I have that option, because of the types of insurance that I have. If I really needed to, I could stop working for a couple of months and just mourn.
Having the option is huge!
I want that option for all of my clients. I want them to have the option to stop if they want to or need to.
That’s why an annual review is so important.
What is an Annual Review?
I walk my clients through three steps when doing an annual review:
- Where are you now?
- Where do you want to be in the future?
- How will you get there?
Each of these steps could take weeks, as clients start to think through all the things they have now and want in the future. It can be scary…but it’s SUPER important.
This month, let’s walk through the first step, “Where are you now?”
Where are you now?
Some questions you and your partner or spouse should ask to find out where you are now are:
- What was my salary last year?
- How much did I pay myself from my business
- What were my bonuses
- How much did my salary go up or down from the previous year?
- for business owners, what was the change from last quarter
- What are my benefits from work?
- Life insurance
- Retirement
- What else?
- What are my expenses?
- Rent, mortgage, car note
- School fees, daycare, babysitting
- Caring for a parent or other loved one
- Debts
- What else?
- What do I want to keep doing?
- Vacations
- Nice clothes, bags, etc.
- Saving for a house, new car, etc.
- How much insurance do I have outside of work?
- Do I have access to lump sum cash if I get hurt and can’t work?
These questions will get us started… figuring out the amount, and type, of insurance you need to maintain what you have in the event of a catastrophic illness or death, or any major event, without causing yourself or your family turmoil.
My husband and I married in our early 20’s, bought a home, and were living our best lives. We never talked about any of the above. When he was diagnosed and died of cancer at 30 years of age, my family was devastated…I now had two children to raise alone. I had to sell our home, and I went from working one job to working three so I could cover the benefits and income that was lost. I had to make it work because we never planned with insurance.
I share my experience so that others may avoid the financial burden. In January 2024, let’s start talking about it.
Next month, I’m going to go over the next step: asking “Where do you want to be?”
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